National Metastatic Breast Cancer Day

 From the Metastatic Breast Cancer Network

 

13 Facts Everyone Should Know about Metastatic Breast Cancer

 

(click HERE to download a flyer you can print and distribute)

1. No one dies from breast cancer that remains in the breast. The lump itself is not what kills. The metastasis of cancerous cells to a vital organ is what kills.

2. Metastasis refers to the spread of cancer to different parts of the body, typically the bones, liver, lungs and brain.

3. An estimated 155,000 Americans are currently living with metastatic breast cancer. Metastatic breast cancer accounts for approximately 40,000 deaths annually in the U.S.

4. Treatment for metastatic breast cancer is lifelong and focuses on control and quality of life vs. curative intent. (“Treatable but unbeatable.”)

5. About 6% to 10% of people are Stage IV from their initial diagnosis.

6. Early detection is not a cure. Metastatic breast cancer can occur ANY time after a person’s original diagnosis, EVEN if the patient was initially Stage 0, I, II or III and DESPITE getting annual checkups and annual mammograms.

7. Between 20% to 30% of people initially diagnosed with regional stage disease WILL develop metastatic breast cancer.

8. Young people DO get metastatic breast cancer.

9. There are many different kinds of metastatic breast cancer.

10. Treatment choices for MBC are guided by hormone (ER/PR) and HER2 receptor status, location and extent of metastasis (visceral vs. nonvisceral), previous treatment and other factors.

11. Metastatic breast cancer isn’t an automatic death sentence. Although most people will ultimately die of their disease, some can live long and productive lives.

12. There are no hard and fast prognostic statistics for metastatic breast cancer. Everyone’s situation is unique, but according to the American Cancer Society, the 5 year survival rate for stage IV is around 20%.

13. October 13 is National Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day. To learn more about it as well as resources specifically for people with metastatic breast cancer see www. mbcn.org. We appreciate your support on October 13 and throughout the year.

We Must Be Too Beautiful...

It's been awhile since I posted on this blog, but a recent email I received prompted me to share this.

Katie Stotler underwent bilateral mastectomies in 2009 and found the garment she was given to use for her drains completely uncomfortable and not very flattering.  It was this experience that led her to work with a designer friend and come up with the "perfect" camisole.

Our bodies change in so many ways after breast cancer surgery but we shouldn't have to put up with discomfort and unflattering lingerie.  We have enough to be depressed about without additional assaults to our sense of self and sense of feeling good about ourselves.  If you are interested in learning more about Katie or the camisoles, please click on this link for Too Beautiful.  Every woman deserves to be too beautiful.

(image taken from the Too Beautiful website)

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

I agreed that I would post about breast cancer today -- many people are doing so on their blogs.  I haven't been blogging for a few months but this is important enough to bring me out of "retirement".

Mammograms save lives.  If I hadn't had the one I did in May 2005, I likely would not be sitting here today, typing this message.  Mine saved my life.  And in May of this year I celebrated my 5th year clean...and I'm still counting.

Nothing could be felt with a manual exam because the tumour was too small at that stage..only 2 cms.  That's my story...but monthly self exams are vital to being aware of what changes take place in your body.

Please remember to check your boobies regularly.  Raise awareness and support the cause.  You're worth it.

These Boots Are Made For Walking on Women's Cancers

First Mammogram...Don't Sweat It

This is a copy of a post I did on my journal blog, Everyday Possibilities, which was published on October 6, 2009.

First Mammogram...Don't Sweat It

I've been sharing with my friend Christina over the last few days, what to expect from that first mammogram.  Quite understandably she is nervous about the experience as I believe most women are the first time they have this done.  It is a procedure we have all heard about and we know that it requires a machine with plexiglass covers to squeeze our breasts to the shape of pancakes.  Fear of the unknown is something we all experience in various forms throughout our lives. Aside from the nerves about how this is going to feel, there is also the anxiety around the fact that there is a possibility that something might be discovered during the mammogram.  That perhaps there is cancer lurking in our bodies.  It is the "thinking" about this and the projecting ahead that causes the anxiety and we can create more fear in our minds than the actual event is worth.  That said, the feelings, the anxiety and the worry are all very real and not to be dismissed.

Having a mammogram and how it feels to each woman's body is as individual as we are.  We've all heard "horror" stories from women who have given birth and the pain and agony they describe to those who are newly pregnant would make any woman already pregnant wish there was some way to turn back the clock!  The women who feel such pain are best to keep that to themselves always remembering that we each have a different threshold for pain.

My view of life and experiences that might be less than "enjoyable" comes down to how I choose to think about them.  If I think it will painful no doubt it will be.  If I choose the word "uncomfortable", that makes me know it's bearable and I can tackle it...whatever "it" is.  How we choose to think about things can make all the difference in any experience.

I'm partial to visualization.  I like to let my mind wander to something pleasant, something that makes me feel good and while undergoing something like a mammogram I let my mind go to that place.  We are told to hold our breath while the image is being taken and while doing that, true enough, my eyes are squeezed as tightly as my breast but I float in my mind and I know that this discomfort is only going to last a few seconds.  And that I only have to do it four times -- 2 shots of each breast.  There is always going to be someone who says, "discomfort?  It was pain, I tell you, what were you thinking??  You call that discomfort?" and my reply would be "yes".  There is pain and there is pain.  You can choose to suffer with it or you can choose to work through it and with it. And if laughter is your way to cope, think about a man having his manhood squeezed between those plexiglass sheets while you are in there.

Tips to help you through:

1.  Do not wear deodorant to your mammogram.  The deodorant will cloud the image and the technician will ask you to remove it before entering the room.  Save yourself the trouble and don't put any on before you go.  Bring some with you so that you can apply it before you leave.

2.  Once the films have been taken, the technician will ask you to sit in a waiting area while the radiologist reads the films.  The technician may come back and ask you to return for a few more shots.  Do Not Panic.  Please.  This does not necessarily mean that they have detected a problem.  It may be that the pictures were unclear and the radiologist would like a better or a different view.  This can happen to women whose breasts are very dense.

3.  If there is a problem with your mammogram as easy as it is for me to say don't panic, remember this:  80% of lumps are actually benign cysts. 

At the end of the day there are many other procedures and tests that are more invasive and uncomfortable than a mammogram.  I know.  I've had quite a few.  This is one that takes only minutes of your time, might or might not bring tears to your eyes but those tears will dry quickly and isn't it better to have done this and lived to see many more days to have tears of joy?

Paxil Blocks Effect of Tamoxifen

Paxil blocks effect of breast cancer drug

from the Toronto Star

February 9, 2010

Joseph Hall

HEALTH REPORTER


A popular antidepressant eradicates the benefits of life-saving breast cancer drug tamoxifen, a new Ontario study shows.
The study of 2,430 women taking tamoxifen showed the drug's potent cancer-fighting capacity was lost in patients using paroxetine anti-depression drugs such as Paxil.
"If someone is on tamoxifen for five years ... and they're taking paroxetine the entire time, they've effectively not been on tamoxifen," said study co-author Dr. David Juurlink, a researcher with the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences.
"And what this study shows for the first time is that that translates into an increased risk of deaths because the patients are being deprived of a very important drug."
The study was published Monday in the British Medical Journal.
Conducted between 1993 and 2005 on women 66 and older, it showed that those treated with Paxil-like drugs for 40 per cent of the time they were taking tamoxifen had a significantly greater risk of dying of breast cancer within five years of diagnosis.
This combination resulted in one additional death for every 20 patients so treated, the study showed.
Juurlink said about 30 per cent of women taking tamoxifen were on antidepressants, and most of those were prescribed Paxil-like drugs.
While other antidepressants, most notably Prozac and Wellbutrin, can also interfere with tamoxifen's effectiveness, there are others that won't, Juurlink said.
"There are many other options out there that ... are almost certainly better choices for women who are receiving tamoxifen ... It's not a reason to withhold antidepressants."
Women taking Paxil with their tamoxifen should not stop the antidepressant abruptly, Juurlink said.
"There's a well-recognized withdrawal syndrome for people who stop it suddenly, so if it's going to be discontinued it needs to be tapered off over a couple of weeks," he said.
An email from Paxil maker GlaxoSmithKline Canada said the company had been aware of reported interactions between the two drugs and had posted a warning on the antidepressant's monograph.
"GSK will review these additional data and will work with regulatory authorities to determine next steps," the email said.

Managing Your Treatment