Beth Griffith, a "sister-in-healing," publishes a twice-monthly eZine which she uses to communicate relevant information happening now in the breast cancer community. She amazes me every time I find her eZine in my in-box! She provides such interesting information and is always so supportive of her "sisters!" This eZine is my way of sharing, offering acknowledgement, showing support, and relaying relevant information regarding the breast cancer community. If you have something you would like to submit for a future edition; or any thoughts you have relating to breast cancer and life, please feel free to write me anytime. Please forward this newsletter to anyone you believe may want to hear this message.
Beth Griffith, Publisher
Breast Cancer Survivor
Journal Entry: Being A New Mom with Breast Cancer by Wendy Williamson Nielsen
I had just started getting into the groove of being a new mom. Audrey and I had our routines down, she was sleeping through the night and we were making great new friends with other moms and their little ones. A difficult learning curve but I was rejoicing at how far I had come since she was born.
I was beginning to wean Audrey from the breast when I noticed a suspicious lump on my left side. I Googled “lumpy breasts and breastfeeding” and found several articles suggesting that some lumpiness was normal with breastfeeding. I was still bothered by this rock hard mass and called my doctor’s nurse. She went through a list of questions to rule out an infection and thought it was best to come in for an exam. And so I did. I was 33 years old, a new mom with a nine-month-old baby, and I had breast cancer.
I was told treatment would “only” take six months. I was devastated at the thought of losing six precious months with my baby. She could take her first steps or say her first words during those six months and I would miss it because I would be sick in bed. Or so I thought.
We hired a nanny to come three days a week to help with Audrey. I struggled with turning over my day-to-day parental responsibilities to someone else. I was a stay-at-home-mom and here was someone I hardly knew feeding, changing, and entertaining my daughter. Additionally, I started to feel a lot of resentment building when I would see random new moms and their babies. I’d think “one in eight, lady, one in eight” referring to the most recent breast cancer statistics. I would seethe and wonder why me and not them.
I sought out professional therapy to help deal with the guilt and resentment I was feeling. We discussed how I spent my time prior to being diagnosed. We evaluated my values coming up with my top three: health, family, security. I found that what I thought were priorities did not align with my values. It was a hard lesson to learn. I still struggle and have to ask myself “does this align with my values” when I’m caught up doing something instead of spending precious time with my girl. I’m also still working on the resentment issue. I have to believe there is a reason why it was me and not someone else.
Chemo and radiation were indeed difficult but I wasn’t sick in bed as I thought I would be. I did get to see Audrey take her first steps, open her first Christmas present, celebrate her first birthday, and say her first words (of course, it was “daddy”)! I’ve become so thankful for each day and perhaps that is the reason why it was me and not someone else.
SUPPORT OUR SISTERS-IN-HEALING We send you our love, support, and know that your strength and courage will get you through.
DID YOU KNOW?
The AVON two-day Walk for Breast Cancer is this weekend! We’ll be cheering you along!
Susan G. Komen Race in Newport Beach will be held September 27th. Vision: A World Without Breast Cancer. 75% of funds raised stay in Orange County to fund screening, treatment and education programs – including mammograms. 25% goes directly to the Komen Award and Research Grant Program to fund global grants to discover the cures.
New Team Added:
Team Ron-Ron Ronnie Rayburn’s sister has started team Ron-Ron in honor of Ronnie (Ronnie is currently going through radiation treatment and doing great!) If you are still looking to donate or want to join this team, please go to the following link:
CHECK OUT THIS BOOK:
The Cancer-Fighting Kitchen: Nourishing, Big-Flavor Recipes for Cancer Treatment and Recovery
As the executive chef-in-residence at one of the country's leading cancer wellness centers, Rebecca Katz knows that cancer patients and their caretakers want science-based recipes that are tasty, healthful, and easy to prepare. This book features whole-foods and big-flavor recipes designed to ease symptoms along with customized menu plans specially formulated for all treatment phases, cancer types, side effects, and flavor preferences. THE CANCER-FIGHTING KITCHEN includes full nutritional analysis for each recipe and notes that teach readers how to build a culinary cancer-fighting pharmacy.
Here’s a link to the full review on Amazon.com AND a 3 minute video where the author discusses her book:
http://www.amazon.com/Cancer-Fighting-Kitchen-Nourishing-Big-Flavor-Treatment/dp/1587613441
IN THE NEWS
Preoperative MRI in Newly Diagnosed Breast Cancer Shows Little Benefit
Preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in breast cancer leads to more extensive surgery without evidence of improvement in surgical outcomes or long-term prognosis, according to the results of a study published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.
Preoperative MRI is increasingly being used in women with early-stage breast cancer who are undergoing breast-conserving surgery (lumpectomy) in order to detect additional areas of disease that may need to be removed but weren’t detectable with conventional imaging. The use of preoperative MRI is based on the assumption that it improves surgical planning, reduces follow-up surgery, and reduces the risk of local recurrence. However, this study indicates the MRI actually changes surgical management to more radical surgery.
Researchers from the University of Sydney, Australia, and the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center performed a meta-analysis of more than 20 studies evaluating the impact of MRI on detection and surgical treatment in women with early-stage breast cancer. They found significant variability in the detection of additional areas of cancer, with MRI-only detection varying between 1% and 28% for cancers with more than one tumor and 2% and 15% for cancers with more than one tumor that have formed separately from one another.
Furthermore, the review indicated that women who underwent preoperative MRI were more likely to have a wider excision or mastectomy instead of the initially planned lumpectomy, yet this more extensive surgery did not necessarily lead to better surgical outcomes.
The researchers concluded that more research is needed—in the form of randomized, controlled trials—to evaluate preoperative MRI in breast cancer patients. In the meantime they conclude that MRI causes false-positives and unnecessary surgery and does not appear to reduce re-excision rates. They assert that preoperative MRI may actually do more harm than good.
Reference: Houssami N, Yayes DF. Review of preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in breast cancer: Should MRI be performed in all women with newly diagnosed, early stage breast cancer? CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians [early online publication]. August 13, 2009.
Digital Mammography Finds More Breast Cancers
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The switch from film mammography to digital mammography has led to an increase in breast cancer detection rates, researchers from California report.
According to Drs. Fred S. Vernacchia and Zachary G. Pena, of the San Luis Diagnostic Center, San Luis Obispo, up to 70 percent of screening facilities in the US are still using film-screen mammography.
Based on their experience, Vernacchia said, "I would certainly encourage patients...to look for facilities that have digital technology."
Conventional mammography involves the creation of a breast image directly onto film. With digital mammography, by contrast, an electronic image is taken and stored in a computer. The display characteristics of the image can then be manipulated and the radiologist can use software to help detect breast abnormalities.
Vernacchia and Pena analyzed data on 4838 mammography screenings done in the year before they converted to digital mammography and on more than 21,500 screenings done over the subsequent 3 years.
They found that there was a significant increase in the number of breast cancers detected following the switch from film-screen to digital mammography.
The number of cancers detected prior to the switch averaged between 4.1 to 4.5 cancers per 1,000 women imaged. Following the switch, the cancer detection rate increased to 7.9 cancers per 1,000 women imaged and has remained high.
"It is clear, at least to me," Vernacchia told Reuters Health, "that there exists a clinical superiority of digital over film-screen mammography."
"I am hoping," he concluded, "that as more facilities convert from film-screen to digital, they will share their results with the rest of the medical community."
Source: American Journal of Roentgenology, August 2009
INSPIRATION CORNER:
How to Become More of an Optimist
Optimism is measured by your explanatory style, or how you define events. If you can learn to define positive events as being a) because of something you did, b) a sign of more good things to come and c) evidence that good things will happen in other areas of your life, you’re halfway there. If you can also think of negative events as a) not your fault, and b) isolated occurrences that have no bearing on future events or other areas of your life, you’re the rest of the way there!
Here's How:
1. When something positive happens in your life, stop to analyze your thought process for a moment. Are you giving yourself due credit for making it happen? Think of all the strengths you possess and ways you contributed, both directly and indirectly, to make this event occur.
2. Think of other areas of your life that could be affected by this good event. Also, think of how the strengths you possess that caused this good thing to happen can also cause other positive events in your life.
3. When negative events occur, think of the extenuating circumstances that could have contributed to this happening. Were you somewhat sleep deprived? What outside circumstances contributed to your failure? Keep in mind that this isn’t necessarily a reflection of personal weakness.
4. Also remember that you’ll have opportunities to do better next time.
Tips:
1. The key to optimism is to maximize your successes and minimize your failures.
2. It’s beneficial to look honestly at your shortcomings so you can work on them, but focusing on your strengths can never hurt.
3. Keep in mind that the more you practice challenging your thought patterns, the more automatic it'll become. Don't expect major changes in thinking right away, but do expect them to become ingrained over time.
4. Always remember that virtually any failure can be a learning experience, and an important step toward your next success!
5. Practice positive affirmations. They really work!
What You Need:
· A willingness to examine your thoughts.
· A few extra minutes to consistently reexamine your thought patterns.
Beth Griffith, CPCC, ACC | Personal and Relationship Coach |949.249.1036|fax: 949.266.5873 | www.bethgriffith.com | bgriff@cox.net