Discussing Breast Cancer

To everyone who has been discussing breast cancer with me here at 451 Press for the last year (yes, it has been a year — can you believe it?):

It is time for me to say goodbye.

It’s just time, that’s all. No bad blood … I just need to shake things up a bit in my life.

I can’t imagine saying goodbye to you all forever. You know I’m passionate about this cause so I won’t be able to keep my mouth shut for long. I can say that if you want be to kept abreast of any future conversations I have about breast cancer, email me at karenmlynch at gmail dot com. I’ll get you (and keep you!) on my mailing list.

Meanwhile, stay healthy, stay strong … stay informed. God bless.

in the 2008 bloggies weblog awards. Last year Discussing Breast Cancer was nominated for Best Health Blog but didn’t win. Voting for 2008 has begun … this blog is still in the running. If you want to see this one make it to the top, please click on the link below, register if you need to, and cast your vote!

If you’ve found this blog, it’s also quite likely that you took to the Internet quite quickly after learning that you had breast cancer, searching for information on the disease, its treatment and its repercussions.

My doctors warned me specifically to be careful when doing Internet research — and they had good reason to do so. According to a new study, one in twenty breast cancer web pages contain inaccurate information … and web sites devoted to complementary or alternative medicine were fifteen times more likely to have false information.

(From a recent press release: “The study is published in the March 15, 2008 issue of CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, and suggests that patients consult clinicians before taking action on breast cancer information gathered on the Web.”)

I hope it goes without saying that you guys should be careful. The best place to turn for information is your physician’s office. Make your decisions based on the information provided to you by your medical professionals.

Your best bet? Find a National Cancer Institute Designed Cancer Center near you — visit that organization’s website first and foremost. Trust the American Cancer Society — they’re the most reliable source you’ll find online.

And trust me … to lead you in the right direction.

Survivor Heather Jose interviewed me recently and that interview is being featured on her blog today. Check it out!

There are just a few things I want to share with you:

(1) I revisited and redid the categories for this site. I think you’ll easily find posts you’re looking for in each category. If you are just joining now, and you want to know my story (at least what I’ve told to date) — head to survivor stories — but scroll to the last one since the list starts with the most recent post.

(2) The spam filter here at 451 Press is blocking everything these days. On any given day I have approximately 100 comments to sift through and if I fall behind that numbers heads up to 1,000. That’s when I give up. That means real bona fide comments have fallen through the cracks. If that’s happened to yours, I’m so, so sorry. If you are trying (or have tried) to post a comment and it didn’t make it through, please let me know and I’ll search for your words!

(3) I am just now figuring out that I have an email address here at 451 press — you can always send me an email or feedback at karen dot lynch at 451press dot net.

10. More than 1.2 million people will be diagnosed with breast cancer each year worldwide (according to the World Health Organization). This site will empower those 1.2 million people.

9. Each year, 500,000 people will die from breast cancer (also according to the WHO). This site will offer support to those facing death or the death of a loved one.

8. 12.28% of women born today will be diagnosed with breast cancer at some point in their lifetime. This number can also be expressed as 1 in 8 women. This site will be a place of solace for the women who find themselves on the wrong side of those statistics.

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It’s especially important to get through the holidays without added stress when you’re a survivor. But sometimes things get in the way of that. Today, as I prepare for my Religious Education classes’ ‘birthday party for Jesus’ and my husband’s corporate Christmas party, I feel I need a little perspective. I don’t want to yell at my kids, I don’t want to be too busy for them, I don’t want to get annoyed at incompetent cashiers and insensitive customers. I want to survive the holidays with my spirit intack.

I’m guessing your days are as busy as mine are this time of year. And, I’m guessing you might a mantra or five to help you through, too. So here you go, five mantras for survivors:

1. Take a deep breathe. Say this mantra over and over again as you shop, clean or wrap … “just keep breathing, just keep breathing” (yes, think Dory from Finding Nemo). I’m talking good, sound, deep breathing. Deep breathing has been proved to reduce tension and increase relaxation. So breathe. Literally, breathe your way through your errands and chores and you’ll find that few deep breaths does work wonders to reframe the picture you have in your mind about how it should be going and allows you to stay calm in the moments you actually face.

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I’m continuing my research into the research findings I reported earlier. Here’s more information for you:

90% of breast cancers in women with BRCA1 mutations are not estrogen receptive or progesterone receptive and they test negative for an over expression in the HER2 gene — this is called a ‘triple negative’ in breast cancer speak. Triple negative breast cancer sounds worse than it is — there’s good news and bad news associated with this diagnosis.

The bad news is that HER2 negative breast cancer is thought to be particularly aggressive and ER/PR positive cancers feed on the naturally occurring hormones in your body. While there are drugs available to women who are HER2 positive (Herceptin) and ER/PR positive (Tamoxifen and Aromatase Inhibitors), there’s nothing yet for the women who is triple negative.

However, triple negative breast cancers do really well with chemotherapy. Really well.

Anyway, all this says to me … it is so important for researchers to keep up their efforts. It matters to the triple negative woman. It matters to all women.

Researchers have known for years that women with BRCA1 gene mutations were at high risk for breast cancer. What they haven’t known is how or why that is the case.

But now, researchers have observed that mutations in the BRCA1 breast cancer seem to be linked with the loss of a protein that impedes cell growth. A collaborative team at Columbia with Sweden’s Lund University have found that a mutated BRCA1 gene can leave cells “incapable of repairing routine DNA damage. When such damage occurs in a protein called PTEN, which regulates the growth of cells, cell growth is unchecked and tumors form.”

Their job now is to take this a step further … how can they pharmacologically or biologically increase that protein and/or repair that DNA damage to prevent those tumors from growing?

I find this particular research study so inspiring — but there are other research studies (like this one) also getting us closer to a cure. Thank you, thank you, for all your hard work!

And you’re the caregiver. And that means so much falls on you. It’s true, you’re going to be the one bearing the brunt of the stress this year. Here’s a few pointers on what you need to do, for the survivor in your life and yourself, to get through the holidays without wishing them over!

What you need to do for her:

Grant her holiday wishes — see what traditions mean the world to her and make them happen. If that means taking her to pick out the perfect tree, then get out that day to do just that. If lights on the trees outside mean warm memories for her, get them out there. Find out what warms her heart the most and do your best to make sure that warmth permeates her soul.

Take on the givens — organize the shopping list, sit with her and some catalogs and get gift ideas then shop (!); buy the stamps, address the cards then get them mailed; pack up the packages to be shipped (and get them shipped); take the kids for a photo with Santa, take the kids shopping … just take the kids!

Limit the visits — be the heavy with a strong lead out the door to keep your visits to other people’s houses short; suggest she go upstairs and rest when your visitors are lingering too long (hopefully they’ll get the hint); use the cancer card to back out of parties you really don’t want to attend and to stop people from dropping in.

Spend quality time with her — make time to be with her, sitting with her in front of a fire, talking with her over a cup of cocoa, watching a holiday movie together — anything so she gets attention and doesn’t feel alone.

Talk to her — converse about the people she loves and point out the positives … the positive moods, the positive reactions to gifts … notice them, share what you notice, and ask her what she notices, too. Ask what is going well, what she wishes was different (knowing she’ll wish she didn’t have cancer, push the envelope to see what else she wishes was different). Talk to her — about holiday music or holiday movies, about people and animals, about anything. Just stay connected to her verbally this holiday season.

What you need to do for yourself:

Schedule personal time — head to the movies with a friend, stop at a bar for a drink, read the paper at Starbucks with a Gingerbread Latte … anything that will take your mind off cancer for at least an hour.

Exercise — it’ll keep you energized to get through your to do list and help you feel at the top of your game.

Get a good night’s sleep — you need to sleep well at night so you can go, go, go during the day. Figure out how many hours you need to function at your best and give yourself a bedtime. Then stick to it.

Eat well — in fact, eat better than you ever have. Think of food as fuel and go for premium unleaded.

Enjoy the perks — the woman you are caring for will appreciate what you are doing to make the holidays special more than you can imagine, the children who are affected will have holiday memories that aren’t tainted by cancer and the God of all things will bless you with peace, love and joy.

cancer, breast cancer, health, wellness, survivor, caregiver

So I get this email from a friend today with the subject: The Game Is On! When I open the email it reads:

BE KIND. The Game is on!!! And you’re IT!

Describe ME in one word….just one single word. Send it to me and to me only. Next, send this message to all your friends and see how many strange and interesting things they say about you.

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When I was in college, nothing much mattered to us students other than classes, fraternity parties and dorm life (and that list is not necessarily in order of importance). But these days it is quite common to see and hear about college students doing their part to support a cause.

I’ve posted before that I’m enamored with the students at Fairfield University — especially after they hosted a Relay for Life as part of the American Cancer Society’s Colleges Against Cancer program.

Now, check this out. The University of Toronto women’s basketball, volleyball and hockey teams are hosting what they’re calling the ‘Varsity Blues Think Pink Weekend’ in support of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation (CBCF). It’s the first one of (hopefully) many — and it is coming up this weekend.

According to a recent press release: “The Blues have pledged to raise a minimum of $10,000 for the CBCF.”

Here are two other important details:

• Limited edition Varsity Blues Think Pink t-shirts will be available in the Athletic Centre lobby from Nov. 27-29 and will be on sale at all three Think Pink Weekend games for a $10 minimum asking price. Note that says minimum.
• All proceeds from the sale of tickets, t-shirts and other event merchandise will go towards the CBCF - Ontario region.

This is just another reason for me to be proud of my Canadian roots (for those genealogists who want to know, my maiden name is Langevin — we’re a part of the 300+ year old Roberge family who began their Canadian tour on the Ile d’Orleans in Quebec).

Anyway, I’m proud of these girls. If you’re Canadian, and I know many of you are, do your part to CHEER PINK!!!!!

Wednesday, November 28th, is another Inspire! blog talk radio program — my co-host and I are interviewing Kim Dalzell again. She’s got four things she wants to cover:

1) Why we should NOT eat healthy for the holidays.
2) The newest cancer risk in food fortification.
3) The best kind of drink and getting real bang for your buck.
4) The power of the plant: A simple and cost effective way to add this basic that every breast cancer patient and survivor MUST have for her healing journey.

Should be interesting — to say the least. I hope you’ll tune in.

We interviewed Kim on October 31st and she shared several nutritional tips for breast cancer survivors – from drink green tea to eat more fish – and I really found her insight invaluable.

I don’t know about you, but I worry about what I ingest. Some days I get downright paranoid – are the foods I consume cancer-causing? Am I doing enough to make sure my kids never get cancer? Have I done enough to make sure I never get it again?

We’re trying to change our ways here in the Lynch household, but it isn’t easy. We’ve been slow to adopt some of the changes I know we should make. We’re buying more organic foods, choosing more whole foods … but are the baby steps we’ve taken enough to make a life-saving difference?

I guess this is a topic I’m meant to be exploring because it keeps coming up in my life.

So if you’re free at 1:00 ET tomorrow – Wednesday, November 28 – give Inspire! a listen.

cancer, breast cancer, nutrition, Inspire!, wellness, blog talk radio, Internet radio

Not long after I posted that last post on giving thanks this Thanksgiving I came across this Washington Post article on the health benefits of giving thanks.

Seems feelings of gratitude increase well-being and decrease materialism (and this time of year we all could use a decrease of our materialism, don’t you think?).

Anyway, I don’t want to paraphrase the piece, that’s not my thing. The best thing to do is check it out for yourself. But, if you don’t want to click the above link, here’s the final word: “Be grateful for what you’ve got and appreciative of what you see around you.”

cancer, breast cancer, gratitude, thanksgiving