American Cancer Society: Finishing the Fight (sponsored video)

May 16, 2013 by 8 Comments

American_Cancer_Society_Logo2This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of the American Cancer Society!  I’m thrilled to have this opportunity to share my experience with cancer as a part of the American Cancer Society’s 100th Birthday Celebration!  It’s important that my readers know a “sponsored post” means that I am being compensated for what I have written.  However, all thoughts and opinions are my own and I would never accept an invitation to write sponsored content if it wasn’t a project I truly stood behind.  In fact, I have decided that the compensation I will receive for writing this post will be donated to the American Cancer Society in an effort to finish this fight.

I learned at a young age to be afraid of cancer because my first experience with the disease left me without a best friend.  As a high school freshman, Mindy was diagnosed with a childhood cancer.  She felt a lump in her groin and I remember the day her sister called to tell me that it was indeed malignant.  I didn’t know what that meant exactly, but I knew it wasn’t good and the dictionary confirmed it; Evil and life threatening.  Cancer and its treatment ravaged Mindy’s ballerina body and turned her into a ghost – literally.  Nearly twenty three years later, I still miss her.

Fast forward to 2008.  I lay on a table with my left arm over my head, the doctors talked in whispers while looking at the computer screen.  Hot tears rolled into my ears and dripped onto the paper beneath me.  Two days later I got the call from my doctor who informed me that my own tumor was malignant.  Those words – evil and life threatening – burned into my brain years before were now mine.

I was 33 years old and I had stage II breast cancer.

In a couple of months, I’ll celebrate five years of being NED (no evidence of disease).  It didn’t come easy though as I endured several rounds of chemotherapy and weeks upon weeks of radiation treatment.  I take cancer blocking drugs daily and deal with the psychological aftermath of what this disease brings.  Two out of three people are cancer survivors.  I’m thankful to be one of these people.  I wish I could say the same for my sweet friend Mindy.

It’s been kind of cancer heavy around the blog this week but I’m an advocate at heart and truly believe that change cannot be made when we’re silent.  I’d love for you to take 1 minute and 34 seconds right now to watch this video.  The American Cancer Society will celebrate its 100th birthday on May 22, 2013 and they want to lead the loudest. most aggressive assault on cancer.  I hear their rally cry loud and clear.  Will you?

American Cancer Society has led the way in saving lives over the last century.  Their advancements in cancer research has contributed to a 20% decline in cancer related deaths since the early 1990s.  They have given nearly 1.2 million people more birthdays during that time!  All this thanks to 15 doctors and business leaders who thought it was time to start raising awareness about a topic many didn’t want to even talk about.  Think about the potential we have today to raise even more awareness!  Sharing this blog post or the video above with your friends and family is one simple step to finish this fight!

The goals of ACS include

• Ensuring lifesaving cancer research continues to get funded.

• Enroll 300,000 people in a historic research study known as CPS-3.

• Making sure the people who need assistance are getting it.

• Keep fighting the good fight so that we continue to celebrate more birthdays, have quality health care,  access to lifesaving screenings and more.

Will you join me in finishing this fight? 

All you have to do is share this blog post.  Tweet it.  Facebook it.  Heck, even email it.  Whatever you do, MAKE SOME NOISE!

This post is sponsored by the American Cancer Society. 

Filed Under: advocacy, breast cancer, sponsored Tagged With: , , ,

“My Perspective” on being BRCA +

May 15, 2013 by 2 Comments

It is downright scary how worlds collide in the blogosphere.  Just days ago, I “met” Mollie West when I bought her BlogHer’13 ticket.  While messaging back and forth over the details, she mentioned that she looked at my blog and called me “amazing” – and then I knew she was cool!  Anyway, Mollie writes several blogs including one called Tata to the Tatas.  Clever name, right?  There she blogs about being BRCA+ and her journey through all of her prophylactic surgeries.  Ring a bell?  Yes, the same surgery Angelina Jolie just wrote about in the New York Times.  While I’ve read a lot of criticism over the last 24 hours about Jolie’s decision to remove her breasts, I applaud her being transparent and using her celebrity to bring awareness to the disease.  But, I also think it’s important for people to know that there are everyday women facing this same decision and that it’s not an easy one to make nor is the surgery a piece of cake.  Help me welcome Mollie as she shares a powerful piece called “My Perspective” on being BRCA positive.

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courtesy of Tata to the Tatas

Now that I’ve met with my doctors I feel like there is nothing left to do but wait…wait and read every single blog ever written by women that have undergone prophylactic bilateral mastectomies.  The views inside these women’s lives have surprised me more than any information thus far.  My goal for my blog was strictly information.  After reading so many other blogs I decided that I need to give more background, more of a view from my perspective.

I can’t remember the exact day, but I can pinpoint the day that cancer started affecting my life.  I was in a graveyard with my mom sitting by her mother’s gravestone, asking her to tell me about her mom.  From what I can remember my mom mostly discussed cancer and her mother’s untimely death.  My mom only had a mother until she was 16 and she felt that the most important thing to tell me was about my grandmother’s stoic fight against this disease.

 

I celebrated the 10th anniversary of the passing of my mother this last weekend.  I guess I can consider myself lucky in comparison because I had a mother for 23 years of my life.  I’ll take that extra seven years again and again.  I realized that my recount of my mother’s life is very similar to my mom’s about her mom.  It always starts with the fact that my mom fought cancer for almost 12 years.  That’s right – my mom was in a constant battle with the disease for over half of my life.  My mom is the strongest person that I know and I want the world to hear how she survived much longer than any doctor predicted and kept a positive attitude year after year, treatment after treatment.  It saddens me, though, because I realize how cancer is the focus.  I rarely recount the time that we found out that I am allergic to penicillin because my body was covered internally and externally with hives after prescribed the medication to combat bronchitis and a sinus infection and my mom let me lay on her lap as she continued to rub me to relieve some of the itchy sensation.  Or during my senior year how I didn’t make the cheerleading squad (although I cheered since 8th grade) and how she let me cry as she held me and vowed that she would make it right.  True to her word, I cheered my senior year.  Why do I never begin telling about my mom with her being my mom, not a victim to cancer?  Or even that she wasn’t the most outgoing person, but if anyone who gave her a chance to befriend them was forever touched by her positive, loving, and gentle nature.  Why don’t I lead with her character instead of her situation?

 

One of the greatest gifts my mom passed down was being the first person in our family to get testing for the BRCA mutation.  Cancer was so prevalent with diagnoses as early as 28 years old and no survivors.  That’s right.  No one in my family has been able to celebrate their remission.  I think the entire family didn’t question that we had a mutation, but it was my mom that gave her blood to find out exactly where it was.  She did that shortly before her death.

 

The first tested was my cousin who is three months younger than me.  She is a carrier.  She received the mutation from her father.  Despite our closeness in age, we were at very different points in our lives in 2003 when she underwent testing.  She was newly married, months away from becoming a pharmacist, and ready to start a family.  I was working as a legal secretary (my first office job) with a relatively new boyfriend.  She was ready to find out so that she could plan her life and move on.  I was not.  That’s exactly what she did.  In 2006 she had a daughter followed by a son in 2007.  After a couple of bad gynecological exams she decided that the hysterectomy took precedence.  That happened the summer of 2009 and by fall she had both breasts removed with expanders placed for later implant insertion.  That happened the spring of 2010.  Her surgeries concluded later that year.

 

In 2006 I graduated with my BBA and started on my MBA.  I was still dating that boyfriend that seemed rather new in 2003 and my education was finally falling into place.  I had a pretty good steady job now (with insurance), so early 2007 I decided that it was time.  My older sister (by two years) and younger sister (by four years) had still not been tested, so I would be the first in our immediate family.  I was nervous.  I was anxious.  Honestly I kind of liked being the first because for some reason people associated that with braveness (still think that it’s an odd association, but sure, I’ll be brave).  I think that it was a lot like my cousin and my situation, though – my sisters were at a different stage in their lives.  I was wondering if this was the boy that I was going to marry and have my children with.  If he was the one that knew all of the information before any commitment and would still choose to stay with me through it all.  Neither of my sisters seemed to be contemplating this yet.

 

The testing is quite uneventful.  Take some blood.  Send it off.  Get results.  I know that a lot of information was covered.  I know that I was very emotional.  I remember Dad and me getting lunch and me chugging a dirty martini immediately upon arrival home.  I don’t remember much more than that.  I think that it’s because it was such an emotional process that I felt like I was in a dream through most of it and like a dream it fades as soon as you wake up, or in this case as soon as reality hits you and you need to be present in life.

 

I had one thing that I was counting on – at least one of my sisters had to have this, too, right?  I know it’s a 50/50 chance, but our gene seems to be incredibly aggressive.  My mother has three siblings and we know that three out of the four have the mutation and the fourth hasn’t tested yet.  Sounds like crappier than 50/50 odds, right?  Let me clear something up – I do not want either of sisters to have the mutation.  It’s not something that I would wish on anyone.  What I wanted was a partner through this journey.  I had grown up with these women.  Lived with them for the majority of my life.  I know them.  I love them.  Their understanding and support would mean the world to me.

 

I don’t remember when each of them tested, but it seemed to be forever after me and it seemed to be close together.  I can’t even remember which one tested first, but I think my older sister was first if I were to guess.  As they tested I sat and waited.  Who would be my partner?  My confident?  Who could I form this everlasting, unique bond with?  Would it be the older?  The younger?  BOTH?  I had visions of each of us recovering from surgeries completely understanding the others pain, emotions, vulnerability and caring for each other like no one else could.  As each tested negative I couldn’t help but feel a bit of desperation along with my elation.

 

I didn’t really feel too much of the “why me?” at that point.  All of that came when I tested positive.  I felt alone.  Honestly, I felt abandoned.  They couldn’t help that.  Each of them were so scared to tell me their results that I actually felt guilty.  And so alone.

 

That’s when I started searching within myself.  My real, blood, family sisters can’t be my BRCA sisters.  Now what?  It wasn’t until I talked with my cousin that I realized what I wanted.  It was because it is what she wanted.  We want the exact same thing – to put cancer behind us and never speak of it again.

 

It was at that moment that I started to plan.  I planned my life through the surgeries.  After that, I am a blank canvas.

 

I wanted to get married and have two children.  In 2007 after confirming that I carry the mutation, I pretty much ultimatum-ed that long-term boyfriend.  I told him exactly that – married and two kids and either he was in or he needed to be out as soon as possible.  We were married in 2008.  It looks like those prophylactic mastectomies would have to be put on hold for a while longer.  We tried to enjoy life as we moved on with “the plan”.  After a miscarriage, my first son was born in 2009.  Another miscarriage, but then another blessing, a son in 2011.  I nursed both of them.  Now it’s time to be proactive.

 

My body has cooperated with “the plan” so far.  My mammograms and ultrasounds have been clean.  Besides battling this baby weight, I am healthy.

 

This is what I want.  I want to undergo prophylactic bilateral mastectomies and a preventative hysterectomy.  I want my sons to reminisce about the days that I kissed boo-boos, helped them look stunning for their prom, cheered them on at sports/math league/marching band, and gave them advice long into adulthood.  I do not want them to begin their stories of my brave (hopefully!) face during cancer treatments, or my fight before my defeat.  I want it gone before they can remember.  I want to be the first generation that’s story doesn’t begin with cancer.

 

I was told to join FORCE and Bright Pink.  To walk in Relay for Life and find other women.  This is all excellent advice, if that’s your thing.  It’s not for me.  At least right now.  I am excelling in my career and raising two energetic boys.  I have a husband that I adore and our time is so limited right now (due to this career and these cute babes), why would I abandon that to look for support?  I have all the support right here.

 

I’ve noticed that a lot of women have realized true friendships and have lost friends during their journey.  I feel for these women understanding that it’s such an emotional process anyway.  Fortunately, that’s not at all what it’s about for me.  I have an amazing support group.  Although my sisters can’t be my BRCA sisters, they are still my real, blood, family sisters.  Both are always there.  My cousin is amazing.  We pop in and out of each others lives with many miles separating us and young children occupying us.  I believe that we will both always be there for each other whenever needed.  My family is so close.  Then my friends.  They mean the world to me.  Each being supportive in their own unique way.  Portraying love in every offer of assistance or reassurance that they will, indeed, be there.

 

I read this on another blog and loved it – my boobs have six months to live.  My initial surgery is scheduled for January 17, 2013.  I scheduled it today and later realized that it is six months to the date.

 

That’s my story.  I’m not a warrior against cancer.  I may be some day, though.  Right now I am trying to create an experience that not many women in my family get – to live cancer-free.

 
Read more from Mollie West at Tata to the Tatas. Her blog is powerful, transparent, and informative. As mentioned above, she also writes at Full Plate Momma and Newly Organic. You can also follow her on Twitter and Facebook.

Filed Under: breast cancer Tagged With: , , ,

Understanding Why Angelina Jolie Removed Both Breasts

May 14, 2013 by 9 Comments

This post has been slightly edited this morning to reflect new information.  I was completely stunned last night when I saw Greta Van Susteren’s tweet last night that read “Angelina Jolie had a double mastectomy.”  I was  stunned further when I read that Jolie had a prophylactic double mastectomy based on the findings that she possesses the BRCA1 gene mutation.   Read her essay here from the New York Times.

So what does that all mean?

First, Angelina Jolie does not have breast cancer.  Her mother, Marcheline Bertrand, passed away in 2007 after years of battling ovarian cancer.  I’m guessing Jolie has known for some time that she carried the BRCA gene mutation.  This diagnosis is determined by a blood test which must be analyzed at a laboratory specializing in genetics.

I wrote extensively about the BRCA gene mutation last year.  Read more to understand how we all have these BRCA genes but not all of us carry the mutation.

Women who test positive for the BRCA gene mutation are presented with several options which can include intense surveillance (mammogram, ultrasound, and MRI), taking Tamoxifen, or prophylactic surgery.

Women who test positive for this gene mutation are presented with several options which include intense surveillance (mammogram, ultrasound, and MRI), the drug Tomaxifen, or prophylactic surgery

Jolie opted to undergo a prophylactic double mastectomy.  This is also commonly called a “preventative” mastectomy or a “risk-reducing” mastectomy.  It means she chose to surgically remove both breasts in an attempt to reduce her risk of developing breast cancer in the future.  Women who are carriers of the BRCA1 gene, on average, have a 65% chance of  developing breast cancer.

I wrote about the difference between a lumpectomy and a mastectomy here.

She explains that after undergoing a procedure known as a “nipple delay” to rule out disease in the milk ducts, leads me to believe she had underwent a nipple sparing mastectomy.  This type of surgery isn’t usually an option for women who have already developed breast cancer.  For Jolie, and other women choosing to have a preventative double mastectomy, this particular surgery involves preserving the breast skin and nipple while all the underlying breast tissue  is removed.

angelina-jolie-removes-breasts

Jolie explains her post mastectomy reconstruction phase included having expanders. A tissue expander is a temporary device that is placed on the chest wall deep to the pectoralis muscle. The purpose of the expander is to create a pocket which will eventually contain the permanent implant. This, I understand, can be a very painful and arduous process.  Over a period of nine weeks, Jolie’s reconstruction process was final when the tissue expanders were removed and replaced with a breast implant.  Breast reconstruction is not as simple as it may seem.  The recovery time is difficult and the breasts may never look and feel like natural breasts.

A couple of important notes from Los Angeles based breast surgeon Dr. Deanna J. Attai:  ”The risk of developing a cancer is not eliminated. There remains a 1-3% risk of developing a breast cancer after prophylactic mastectomy. If the ovaries are removed (due to the increased risk of ovarian cancer), there still is a slight risk of developing ovarian cancer or primary peritoneal cancer, which mimics ovarian cancer in it’s growth and aggressiveness. BRCA mutation carriers are also at increased risk for the development of other cancers, so lifelong surveillance is important.”

Dr. Attai also notes “Some women struggle tremendously with the decision even to be tested; there are implications not only for the patient but for her relatives.”

I applaud Angelina Jolie for sharing her story and starting the conversation again about the BRCA gene mutation.  You’ll remember that Christina Applegate was diagnosed as being BRCA positive after it was discovered she had breast cancer in 2008 at the age of 36.  Sharon Osbourne underwent a preventative double mastectomy in late 2012 for carrying the gene mutation.  And, TV host Giuliana Rancic also underwent a double mastectomy in 2011 but never disclosed if she possessed the BRCA gene mutation.

I tested negative for BRCA 1 and 2 back in 2008 after my own cancer diagnosis.

Genetic testing for the BRCA gene mutation is costly.  Dr. Attai says “Insurance coverage for BRCA testing is not universal, even when the patient meets accepted criteria for testing. Without insurance, BRCA testing is approximately $3000-$4000. In addition, insurance coverage for reconstructive breast surgery varies as does access to skilled plastic and reconstructive surgeons. Many disparities in terms of access to care and quality of care still exist, and these need to be addressed.”

I want to leave you with this from Dr. Attai, who says, “I also feel that it’s somewhat of a shame that in 2013, the best we have to offer patients who are at extremely high risk is prophylactic mastectomy. I hope that I will practice medicine in a time when we have a much less drastic option to offer women and their families.

It’s not a complete win for Angelina Jolie but it’s a whole hell of a lot better than the alternative.

Angelina Jolie: 1  Cancer: 0

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Breast Cancer Hair Diary

March 21, 2013 by 16 Comments

Cancer does not consume my life today.  Did it at one time?  For sure.  Do I still think about it often and worry about it coming back?  Yes, of course.  But, cancer doesn’t rule me.  For years, I struggled with being known only as “cancer girl” — yes, someone once actually actually called me that to my face.  Years out from my diagnosis now, I get further and further from being “cancer girl” but I’ll never totally forget.

With that, today I’m sharing my breast cancer hair diary.  Losing my hair was by far one of the hardest parts of the cancer treatment process.  If you’re currently being treated, you should now — it will grow back.

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I had already had my first round of chemo by Thanksgiving. I thought I’d be lucky and not lose my hair. But it came out two days after my second round of treatment. In chunks. And it hurt like a mother. Seriously.

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I absolutely hate this picture. I look sick, especially in the eyes, and that smile is fake but I was trying to be a good sport because it was my baby’s first Christmas.

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My cashmere beanie from Nordstrom. Loved it and good thing it was winter, otherwise I would have looked pretty stupid!

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I was about a month away from finishing chemo here. I had a little bit of hair starting to grow back but wasn’t brave enough to go scarf-less. Plus, I looked like George Clooney – all salt and pepper. Not so sexy on a chick.

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The waiter called me “sir” that night at dinner as we celebrated Mother’s Day. Needless to say, his tip sucked.

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Starting to now look like a new mom who chopped off all her hair. My eyebrows and and eyelashes weren’t all back yet though.

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Slowly but surely it was coming back.
My husband and I look kind of like twins. Scary.

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This is the picture where a lot of people say I looked cute with short hair. I mean, it was ok, but I’ll probably never go back to being that short again. Unless more chemo is in my future.

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This is when I started loving my short hair. A genuine smile.
I had flat ironed all those waves and was happy with how it looked! So much I took a photo of myself. #selfie

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Pretty much a normal hair day but I was still in the habit of clipping my bangs back. I’m sure my friends were sick of seeing my huge forehead by now. 

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This photo was taken around the second anniversary of my diagnosis. Back to the girl I was…well, sort of.

“How can I control my life when I can’t control my hair?” – Author Unknown

Click on over to my Facebook page to see additional photos from my time during treatment.

 

Filed Under: breast cancer, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , ,

Act with Love

February 13, 2013 by 7 Comments

It’s been in the works for a couple of weeks now but today is the day!  I am thrilled to be featured on the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation website today.  I was asked to write about being diagnosed with breast cancer shortly after becoming a new parent and how that experience has made me Act with Love!

I encourage you to click on over to DSLRF.org and read why I proudly Act with Love, what that means, and how you can get involved!

With that, I’d like to say hi to the readers clicking over from DSLRF.org or from the DSLRF Valentine’s Day email campaign.  You can get to know me better by clicking on this About Me link or read more about my breast cancer profile and treatment plan.  Or just click around and see what I’ve got to say.  I’m not all-cancer-all-the-time.  I like to say I’m much more than a survivor!

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Have a great Wednesday and go Act with Love – now!

You don’t want to miss my gems.  Click the highlighted links to follow me on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest.  Also, never miss a post.  Get my updates in your email!

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Filed Under: advocacy, breast cancer Tagged With: , , ,

Why Inflammatory Breast Cancer is the Worst to Have

November 30, 2012 by 15 Comments

inflammatory-breast-cancerA few weeks back, one of my lovely readers asked if I would write about inflammatory breast cancer because her sister had been diagnosed with it and wanted to spread a little awareness about this particular kind of breast cancer diagnosis.  Her wish is my command.  So, in today’s Breast Cancer: 101 lesson we’re talking about what inflammatory breast cancer is and why it’s probably the worst type of breast cancer to be diagnosed with.

When I was diagnosed, the doctor – reviewing my pathology report – said “thankfully, you have the good kind.”  What did she mean by that?  Well, first, I’m pretty sure it was said to calm the scared shitless patient sitting in front of her but also because doctors know how to treat the particular breast cancer I was diagnosed with.  Inflammatory breast cancer is rare and very aggressive and the five-year survival rate hovers around 34% compared to 87% with other forms of breast cancer.

Inflammatory breast cancer is the most difficult type of breast cancer to diagnose because there is no lump.  Most breast cancers form a tumor that can be felt or seen on a mammogram.  Though IBC will have a primary tumor site, the cancerous cells usually grow in sheets or nests.  Most often, when patients are diagnosed with IBC, the cancer is already a stage 3 – which means that it has spread to the lymph nodes or other organs.

How is Inflammatory Breast Cancer diagnosed?

Inflammatory Breast Cancer usually presents itself with the following symptoms:
edited: not all symptoms will occur at the same time.

  • breast warmth
  • redness of more than 1/3 of the breast
  • thickening (edema/swelling) on the skin of the breast
  • ridging of the breast skin (similar to an orange peel)
  • the nipple is inverted occasionally

Swelling of the breast is commonly associated with a breast infection – especially in women breastfeeding.  But since IBC can spread so rapidly, it’s always best to contact a doctor immediately.

Treatment for IBC is the usual trifecta: chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery.  Most often, a radical mastectomy is the only surgical option because of the nature of the cancer.

Inflammatory Breast Cancer is frequently hormone receptor negative, which means that hormone therapies, such as tamoxifen, that interfere with the growth of cancer cells fueled by estrogen may not be effective against these tumors.  It is possible the IBC can also be identified as a HER-2 positive cancer.

To learn more about Inflammatory Breast Cancer definitely visit Inflammatory Breast Cancer Research Foundation and the Mayo Clinic.  I also encourage you to visit the Susan Niebur’s website Toddler Planet where she wrote extensively about her experience with IBC.  Susan passed away from the disease in early 2012.

That wraps today’s Breast Cancer: 101 lesson.  Next time, we’ll talk cancer treatment and some of the less known side affects associated with them.  In the meantime, do you have a question?  You can ask me anything and if I can’t answer it, I’ll be certain to direct you to someone who can!  Reach out in the comment section or you can always find me on Facebook too.

This information should not be used to substitute any professional medical advice.  If you have questions or concerns about breast cancer, I urge you to visit your physician.  Works cited: Inflammatory Breast Cancer Research Foundation and American Cancer Society. 

 

Filed Under: breast cancer Tagged With: , , , , ,

Parenthood Addressing the Less Obvious Aspects of Breast Cancer

November 28, 2012 by 11 Comments

What can I say about Parenthood?  Man, they are so totally getting it right — at least compared to my experience with breast cancer.  Parenthood is brilliantly addressing some of the less obvious aspects of breast cancer and that makes this girl happy.

Last week, I had almost forgotten to watch but luckily only missed the first few minutes after snuggling in for the night.  Kristina had completed her first round of chemo in the episode before and I’m guessing this episode was supposed to be the next day.  The girl was sick off her ass until Adam got his hands on some “high powered genetically modified ganja.”

Here’s the crazy irony of this episode: it aired four years to the day that I underwent my first round of chemo.

From the stick of the needle to the overwhelming feeling of nausea, my first time was awful.  The nurse struggled getting the I.V. into the stupid catheter embedded below my collarbone that afternoon.  My anxiety was already sky-high and to have things go wrong only amplified my fear of what the chemo was going to do to me.  I broke down in tears, naturally.  That night, the nausea hit me like a ton of bricks.  I learned quickly to stay on top of my medications.  Chemo made me feel as if everything in my body came to a grinding halt.  A fight between good and evil.

Last night’s episode we see Kristina start to fear what she might miss.  This is where I think Parenthood is getting the story so right.  See, before being diagnosed, I never thought about dying.  Well, of course I did.  But, it was always this “thing” that hangs out there on the fringe of reality.  However, when you are presented with your own mortality – you bet your ass you think about it.  What sucks though is that you aren’t allowed to talk about it.  You’re challenged to stay positive and optimistic – you know, “Livestrong” –  and the topic is often brushed off at the mere mention of it.

I loved Adam’s reaction to Kristina’s wishes to see Max go to the dance.  It says so much about the character and how he’d do anything for Kristina.  I’m worried about Adam though.  I think he’s trying to hard to keep it together that we’re going to see him break.  This could potentially be a really interesting dynamic I hope the writers explore.

My love for Parenthood is in full bloom.  Not only am I so pleased with Kristina’s breast cancer storyline, I’m really loving the complex relationship budding between Amber and the former Dillon Panther and what about the previews for next week?  Sarah and Ray Romano?  I never really thought Jason Ritter’s character was right for Sarah but I certainly don’t think Hank is any better.  Lorelai and Luke forever.  Ok, now I’m just mixing real names with old shows.  But you get me, right?

So, here’s the question: are we going to see Kristina lose her hair or what?

Photo by: Danny Feld/NBC

Filed Under: breast cancer, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , ,

Breast Cancer 101: Understanding the Breast Cancer Diagnosis

October 25, 2012 by 2 Comments

understanding-the-breast-cancer-diagnosisWe’re back this week with another Breast Cancer: 101 lesson!  Today we’re focusing on the specifics of the breast cancer diagnosis.

If you read here regularly, you know I’ve been writing about the television show Parenthood and the breast cancer story line they are doing this season.  Today’s lesson has been inspired by Kristina Braverman’s breast cancer diagnosis: HER2.

So, when the tumor is removed from your body it is sent to a pathology lab to be analyzed.  The lab looks at a lot of different things.  Far too many to explain in one post.  But, one of the specifics they determine is its hormone-receptor status, HER2 status, and whether the cancer is triple-negative.

Let’s break these down:

Hormone Receptor Status (ER+, PR+)

Breast cancer cells have receptors for the hormones estrogen and progesterone. Hormone receptors are proteins that are found in and on breast cells that pick up hormone signals telling the cells to grow.  Pathology will determine if your breast cancer is estrogen-receptor-positive (ER+) or progesterone-receptor-positive (PR+) or both.  Studies indicate that two out of every three breast cancers test positive for hormone receptors.

Treatment for hormone positive breast cancer (beyond chemotherapy and radiation treatment) includes hormonal therapy which can either lower the amount of estrogen in your body or block estrogen from supporting the growth of breast cells.

HER2 – positive

HER2 (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2) was discovered in the early 1980s.  HER2 is a normal gene that makes HER2 proteins.  Those HER2 proteins are receptors which helps control the growth of healthy breast cells.  However,  in about 25% of women diagnosed with breast cancer, there is a genetic mishap with the HER2 gene causing it to make more proteins than needed.  So you’ve got the HER2 gene making too many copies of itself and also making too many HER2 proteins (also known as amplification and over expression).  When this happens, you’ve got breast cells growing and dividing uncontrollably.

HER2 – positive breast cancers tend to grow faster and are likely to spread and come back to other parts of the body as compared to HER2 – negative breast cancer.

Treatment for HER2 – positive breast cancer (beyond chemotherapy and radiation treatment) includes a medication called Herceptin.  Herceptin was approved for use in 1998.  It blocks the HER2 signals from attaching itself to the HER2 receptors on breast cancer cells and blocking them from receiving growth signals.

Triple Negative  

Triple negative breast cancer is when pathology determines that the cancer tests negative for ER+, PR+, and HER2.  Triple negative breast cancer does not respond to hormone therapy or Herceptin treatment.

There is no additional treatment beyond chemotherapy and radiation treatment for triple negative breast cancer though studies indicate that triple negative cancers respond better to chemotherapy drugs compared to ER+, PR+, and HER2 breast cancers.  Some suggest that triple negative patients undergo chemotherapy first to see if the treatment reduces the size of the tumor.

There you have it.  My personal breast cancer diagnosis?   You can read all about it on my Cancer and Me page.

There won’t be a Breast Cancer: 101 lesson next week as I’m taking the entire week off!  But, I’m always around Facebook and Twitter, so if you have a question you can always ask.  There are no dumb questions!

So, back to Parenthood.  What did you think of this week’s episode?  I big puffy heart Jason Katims right now.

This information should not be used to substitute any professional medical advice.  If you have questions or concerns about breast cancer, I urge you to visit your physician.  Works cited: BreastCancer.org and Genetech. 

 

Filed Under: advocacy, breast cancer Tagged With: , , , ,

Guest Post | It’s Not Just a Pink Thing | Male Breast Cancer

October 24, 2012 by 2 Comments

Throughout the month I am featuring some fabulous writers – some I’ve met in real life and others just around the blog – to guest post about an experience they’ve had with breast cancer.  Today, I’m pleased to introduce you to Alexis Ritter Gubbay.  After a thirteen year battle with breast cancer, Alexis lost her husband to the disease at age 43.  Yes, you read that right.  Since her husband’s passing, Alexis has taken on a personal crusade to have the third week in October recognized as Male Breast Cancer Awareness week. 

the-blue-wave-male-breast-cancer-awarness-weekI learned a long time ago to surrender. Surrender to what was happening around me that I couldn’t control. It was a big emotional energy saver. I started doing this over a decade ago when I realized that coming at everything like a lion might not be serving me. Married life with breast cancer is not easy. Cancer can metastasize in every area of life and I looked at it as a challenge (I surrendered to this alternative) to survive this beautifully with my husband.

Because it was my husband who had the Breast Cancer. Yes, I know you may be shocked, but it is also our husbands and our fathers, our sons and our brothers. This is not widely known partly because the percentages are relatively small and partly because Breast Cancer has been branded a pink thing.

Statistics about Male Breast Cancer:

  • Male Breast Cancer only accounts for 1% of all breast cancers,
  • A man’s lifetime risk of getting it is about 1 in 1,000,
  • The American Cancer Society estimates that in 2012 about 2,190 new cases will be diagnosed and it will be the cause of approximately 410 deaths. This rate grows annually. That is a lot of husbands and fathers.
  • The most sad and avoidable statistic is that the survival rate for men and women is the same when the cancer is diagnosed at the same stage. Due to lack of awareness, men are often diagnosed at a later stage so 27% of men with breast cancer will die from the disease compared to 19% of women. This is the crack into which my husband fell. Thank you pink ribbons.

At 30, my husband was at the height of his game. He had come over from India to go to Cornell and was working for IBM. He exercised a lot, ate well and led a healthy lifestyle. He found a lump in his right breast and went to the doctor who told him that he wanted to remove it; that he didn’t like to leave any three-dimensional mass in anyone. A member of his immediate family with medical training dismissed the early signs saying it was just an American doctor who wanted to operate. A year and a half later he had lymph nodes and a breast removed.

He had been cancer free for five years when we met. It’s a great story. Two of our friends had an argument about which was the best Malaysian restaurant in town and to resolve it they decided to each choose a neutral party. That was us. We went to one restaurant one week and the other the next and we all decided which one was the best. Out of that was born an eating club. Nine months later, when the main two friends had to be out of town, we ended up on our first date. On Valentine’s Day. Within weeks we knew we would be together forever (“forever”). We were two peas in a pod.

But just before our wedding things started changing and we spent the next eight years on the roller coaster of cancer. We would develop our routines and then they would all be put aside with the priority that serious illness takes. Life was normal and then it was not. I never knew which. Family planning became a nightmare. I made shakes. I would tease my husband that I was married to a handful of different men—one with hair, one without, one with an extra 30 pounds, one thin. I made soups. I joked that the tiny radiation tattoo markers, once magnified, would read, “I love my wife.” Keeping the humor was key. I made his favorite foods. Everything was more than I bargained for. And yet love really helped us conquer what we needed to. Mostly.

He had five years on me in dealing with everything. So, I was able to learn a lot from him. He embraced life to the fullest and head on. No challenge was too high. But denial also helped him through. It was the spoonful of sugar. “Any of us could get hit by a bus,” he would say. He accomplished many things because of what was chasing him in his nightmare. In the end, his nightmare, our nightmare, became my nightmare. And one morning I woke up at the end of it which was simultaneously the beginning of the next one. He hadn’t left anything in order and I found out that the law does not always protect the just and can be manipulated by the ill-intentioned.

Alexis-Ritter-Gubbay-the-blue-wave

Alexis Ritter Gubbay

Five years later, we have downsized and changed our lifestyle and I have gone back to work. Our little family is happy and healthy though there is a big void. Not all real life stories end up with a happily ever after. I have surrendered to that, too.

Alexis lives with her two kids and dog.  She started a Male Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign to close the survival gap between men and women.  She says “I cannot cure breast cancer but this, I can do.”  Earlier this week,  Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey, officially declared October 21-27 Male Breast Cancer Awareness week! To learn more about male breast cancer, visit The Blue Wave.  

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Stella & Dot Breast Cancer Awareness Collection

October 18, 2012 by 1 Comment

I don’t have a Breast Cancer: 101 lesson for you today.  I’m busy crafting my recap of the incredible Influencers Weekend in Las Vegas with The Trend Tribe.  Phenomenal.  I can’t wait for you to see what we ate and drank and where we danced and slumbered.  Check back here Friday for the full low down and don’t forget to stop in over at The Trend Tribe to read what the other Trendsetters had to say about Sin City!

But before you go…

I want to share with you some amazing Stella & Dot jewelry and accessories from their breast cancer awareness collection!

Ready to shop for a cause? Stella & Dot has released limited editions of some beautiful accessories and best of all…100% of the net proceeds will benefit the Noreen Fraser Foundation!

stella and dot breast cancer awareness collectionThe Noreen Fraser Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to raising funds for groundbreaking women’s cancer research and raising awareness of the importance of early detection for the prevention of women’s cancers.

I really wanted the Luna Wrap Bracelet in Rose Gold but it’s already sold out!  The Hope Bracelet in Rose Gold ($32, pictured) is also really cute and has been featured in US Weekly and USA Today.  If it ever cools off here in Southern California, I will wear the adorable Bryant Park Scarf in pink ($59, pictured).  It does come in a variety of other colors but the pink one only benefits the Noreen Fraser Foundation.  And finally, who doesn’t need the Mercer Zip Wallet in peony ($79, pictured)?  The smaller size wallet is also sold out.

If you want to get your hands on any of the Stella & Dot breast cancer awareness collection, I urge you to contact my lovely friend and Stella & Dot stylist Robin Sarner, Independent Stylist for Stella & Dot!

Robin can be reached at (310) 971-5570.  She’s also on Facebook and can be emailed at rjsarner@gmail.com.

If you are outside of Southern California, you can still place your order with Robin as your Stella & Dot jewelry and accessories will be mailed directly to you.

Now, go shop.

This is not a sponsored post.  I support the Noreen Fraser Foundation and the work being done to find cures for women’s cancers!  Robin Sarner, Independent Stylist for Stella & Dot is my personal friend and this post appears as a courtesy to her and her business. 

 

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