I would like to recommend that you support a breast cancer advocacy group called Breast Cancer Action, a national organization founded in 1990 by a group of women who understood that together we can effect much change.
Breast Cancer Action was born (according to their website) “from a need for a grassroots organization with a unique understanding of the political, economic, and social context of breast cancer.”
BCA’s Mission Statement
“Breast Cancer Action carries the voices of people affected by breast cancer to inspire and compel the changes necessary to end the breast cancer epidemic.”
What I Love About Breast Cancer Action
Their strict contributions policy allows them to be an independent voice for women who are either at risk of breast cancer or are living with it. They do not take money from anyone who profits from or contributes to the breast cancer epidemic. I believe that’s important.
They advocate for more effective treatments for breast cancer (and less toxic – which is what I’m all about too).
They are committed to raising the public awareness of environmental exposures to harmful chemicals that put people at risk for breast cancer (one of my favorite topics as well).
They have a Think Before You Pink Campaign which you should find out about. It’s gotten so that I hate the month of October for all the pink ribbons everywhere and the companies who CLAIM to be supporting the fight against breast cancer but continue marketing their toxic chemical-laden body products and cosmetics to unsuspecting women. GRRR!
Most importantly, BCA is actively opposing gene patenting because the patents give one company the exclusive rights to all testing and research on BRCA genes. This monopoly effectively prevents anyone else from so much as examining the genes, and creates barriers to scientific research and medical care relating to breast and ovarian cancer.
Sign Up For Their Webinars
Yesterday I attended one of BCA’s webinars titled “Reducing Inequities in Breast Cancer – Why Experience Matters”. So they are also advocates for communities where inequalities exist in getting the proper treatment for breast cancer – whether due to language or cultural barriers, racial inequities, financial barriers, or geographical location).
This webinar was well presented and made me aware that just because we live in the United States, we are not all treated equally with regard to being able to get the proper information and treatment for breast cancer.
Please support Breast Cancer Action with your contributions.
If you’d like to stay connected, sign up for my free e-newsletters on the right, or “like” me on Facebook (MarnieClark.com) and I’ll do my utmost to keep you informed and empowered on your healing journey… and beyond.
breast cancer cells
I am a follower of Deepak Chopra on Twitter because I like his short little tweets and the wisdom they often contain. I don’t always agree with him (sometimes I don’t even understand his comment!) but when he tweets about cancer, I pay attention.
On August 21, 2012, Deepak Chopra’s website had an absorbing article titled “Cancer: A Preventable Disease is Creating a Revolution“. Check it out – interesting reading.
Someone went to a lot of time and trouble to set up the interviews with the experts (including Candace Pert, one of my favorite authors!), film them, and create the chapters of the video, some of which are interactive.
It really is a vastly informing little video. The chapters include brief discussions of cells, what normal cells look like, what cancer cells look like, how cancer spreads, types of cancer, staging and grading of cancer, risk factors, altered genes, symptoms of cancer, imaging, screening, treatments for cancer, and a discussion of cancer remission. There are also discussions of how body weight and exercise factor in, what to eat and not eat (which you can also get from my page titled Diet and Cancer), smoking and drinking and environmental hazards.
For someone who knows nothing about cancer, it’s a good place to start learning and to possibly accept the proposition that cancer can be preventable.
For those of us who have been through it, it might seem a little elementary, but the reason I decided to include this article on my blog today is because I really liked the way he ended his article with this statement: “You aren’t called on to become a cancer expert. But weighing all the evidence, it’s clear which way the wind is blowing. The likelihood that cancer is not enmeshed with lifestyle is diminishing year by year. Yes, cancer is immensely complicated, but everything you can do to support your body’s innate intelligence is a positive step in allowing that intelligence to block the cellular changes that create malignancy. A decade from now, I expect that we will tune in and find that this ray of hope has become even brighter.”
While I’m not a cancer expert either, I’ve spent years and years researching health and cancer, I’m a breast cancer survivor of 8 years, and I have a newsletter series that presents all of the most healing things I’ve come across in my years of research. Please sign up for my newsletters on the right and I will be honored to walk with you on your journey to regain your health.
In my last article, I promised to share some information about prophylactic mastectomy, which is the removal of a 
breast (or both) to reduce the risk of developing breast cancer.
My own personal opinion (which may or may not count with anyone) is that this is happening far too frequently these days. I don’t believe in the practice of fear-based medicine.
There are certain situations when you doctor may suggest prophylactic mastectomy.
The 7 Situations When Your Doctor May Offer Prophylactic Mastectomy:
- When you have a strong family history of breast cancer.
- When you have a personal history of breast cancer – the thinking here is that this your likelihood of developing a new cancer in the opposite breast than someone who has never had breast cancer.
- When you’ve tested positive for the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutations, which (some feel) increases the risk of breast cancer.
- When you have been diagnosed with lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS), which has been shown to increase the risk of developing invasive breast cancer.
- When you’ve had radiation therapy to the chest before age 30, which appears to increase the risk of breast cancer throughout your life.
- When you have widely spread breast microcalcifications (very tiny deposits of calcium in the breast tissue) sometimes this means cancer can be present, certainly not always.
- Some doctors are even recommending mastectomy for women withdense breasts. The thinking here is that it can be difficult for doctors to diagnose breast abnormalities which sometimes requires the removal of tissue samples to study under a microscope (biopsy). If this happens too many times, the scar tissue that is created can cause problems for mammography screening.
My Answers To Those 7 Situations
Using the above numbering system, I offer you the following opinion (and again I will remind you that this is simply my opinion, but I have years of mind-body research, cancer and natural medicine research behind me).
1. If your doctor recommends prophylactic mastectomy because you have a strong family history, get a new doctor. That is practicing fear-based medicine at its worst. I had a strong family history – both my mother and her mother died from breast cancer. And even though I did get it as well, I learned not to be afraid of it and to take my healing into my own hands. Read my article on The Biology of Belief.
2. If you have a personal history of breast cancer, it doesn’t mean that just because you got it in one breast, you will get it in the other. It’s not too late to change your life by taking some positive steps towards health and wellness. If you need more information about this, sign up for my newsletters on the right side of this page.
3. Ah, the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. Would you be interested in knowing that the ONE single company that tests for these genes (and charges thousands of dollars for doing so, thank you very much) is presently trying to take out a PATENT on the genes? Would they be doing this if there weren’t a lot of money involved here? Read my article on the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. Read the web page of Breast Cancer Action, an organization that opposes gene patenting.
4. If you have had LCIS then you might have an increased risk of developing invasive breast cancer. But as I said in paragraph 2, it’s not too late to change your prospects by being very proactive with body and mind.
5. If you have had radiation therapy before the age of 30 but you still have healthy breasts, there are things you can do to minimize whatever damage that might exist. Don’t undergo needless mastectomy if you have healthy breasts.
6. Microcalcifications in the breast do not mean that cancer is present. Again, there are things you can do to minimize any possible problems.
7. On Aug 20, 2012, in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, researchers reported that high breast density does not increase the risk of death among breast cancer patients. If you have dense breasts and your doctor recommends prophylactic mastectomy, get a new doctor.
Here’s what I recommend if you’re on the fence about prophylactic mastectomy. If you have healthy breasts, you have time to make your decision. Subscribe to my newsletter series because I’m all about being proactive with your health, both body and mind. I have lots of top quality information (the latest) in my newsletters, and they won’t cost you a thing.
Prophylactic Mastectomy: No Guarantee
Although prophylactic mastectomy is shown to greatly reduce your chances of developing breast cancer, it is not a guarantee. For one thing, it is almost impossible to remove all the breast tissue. Cancer can still develop in the tissue that is left on the chest wall or underarm area.
You know, the latest paleoanthropological research shows that cancer was virtually nonexistent before pollution and poor diet became the norm.
Science is still no closer to finding out what causes cancer because I think they’re looking in the wrong place. Cancer is a man-made disease. It’s going to require us getting VERY proactive with our food and nutrition, our environment, our body products, and our minds to rid ourselves of cancer.
Resources:
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/12/03/cancer-not-found-in-ancient-mummies-appears-to-be-recent-disease.aspx
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/04/13/at-least-onethird-of-breast-cancer-cases-are-avoidable.aspx
http://www.breastcancer.org/treatment/surgery/prophylactic_mast.jsp?gclid=CIyom-iliLICFeg-MgodklEAAg
http://ww5.komen.org/uploadedfiles/Content_Binaries/806-356.pdf
http://bcaction.org/our-take-on-breast-cancer/politics-of-breast-cancer/gene-patenting/
Sign up for my free e-newsletters on the right, or “like” me on Facebook (MarnieClark.com) and I’ll do my utmost to keep you informed and empowered on your healing journey… and beyond.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this blog is for informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for advice from your physician or other health care professional. You should not use the information on this site for diagnosis or treatment of any health problem and please be sure to consult your health care professional when making decisions about your health.
Photo courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net and marin
While I was doing my research for yesterday’s article, I came across an article concerning needless mastectomy, a matter of which I was blissfully unaware. Today I’m sharing that with you because you need to know.
Women are often enduring mastectomies for no good reason.
I’m not saying it’s always the case, but by the time you’ve finished this article, hopefully you’ll know the best reasons for having a mastectomy and when you should go after a second opinion.
Back on October 27th, Nicholas Regush of ABC News wrote “While we hear news almost daily of the need for women to have mammograms and to inspect their breasts for changes that could suggest breast cancer, the actual treatment for breast cancer that many women receive, especially poor ones, is often outrageously out-of-date, if not bordering on the criminal.” Here’s a link to the full article.
The article goes on to state, “In Texas, for example, a study of breast cancer treatment at one large urban hospital revealed that 84 percent of the women with early stage breast cancer had mastectomies and only 16 percent had lumpectomies. The women who lost their breasts were mostly poor.”
Mr Regush referenced an article written by Diana Zuckerman, President of the Washington, DC-based National Research Center for Women and Families. The article was published in the Journal of the American Medical Women’s Association. Despite much digging, I wasn’t able to get hold of a copy of that article, but I did discover that Ms Zuckerman has been extremely proactive with the Breast Cancer Public Education Campaign.
Because many women diagnosed with breast cancer do not have all the facts they need to get the treatment that is best for them, the National Research Center has been working to raise awareness of this issue.
Unnecessary Mastectomies
What I discovered from some of the online articles I read was that if a doctor was trained before 1981, his patient is much more likely to have a mastectomy. Apparently, old medical habits are hard to break.
Research is clear that lumpectomies are as safe as a mastectomy for most women with early stage disease.
Back in my grandmother’s day, nearly every woman who was diagnosed with breast cancer underwent mastectomy, often while under anesthesia for the biopsy itself with no participation in a discussion about treatment options. How fortunate we are that this is no longer the case.
However, tens of thousands of women with breast cancer are losing a breast (sometimes both) unnecessarily each year. Many women are getting their breasts removed for no good reason — meaning that such decisions are often not based on sound medical judgment but more on the basis of other factors such as her income (it’s cheaper to perform a mastectomy than lumpectomy followed by expensive radiation treatments), the training of her doctor, the age of her doctor, and where she lives. Sometimes it’s based purely on fear of the return of the disease.
There is absolutely no data that mastectomy (either single or bilateral) in a breast cancer patient improved survival rates or helped them live longer. It appears that many women are doing this in panic mode.
Mastectomy vs Lumpectomy
Presuming you have already found a breast lump and your doctor has told you it’s malignant, you will need to make the decision between a mastectomy and lumpectomy.
There’s a helpful article in www.breastcancer.org titled Mastectomy vs Lumpectomy. Please read the article, it references the deciding factors, advantages and disadvantages, and there’s no need for me to reiterate it here.
When Mastectomy Makes Sense
- If the tumor is big and, after the lumpectomy, very little breast tissue would remain
- If there are multiple tumors in more than one quadrant of the breast
- If you do not want to undergo radiation therapy after the surgery (and you don’t have to – I chose against radiation after my lumpectomy but I was very proactive in my health care and chose something else)
- If you believe you will have less anxiety about a recurrence of breast cancer with a mastectomy
There is an alarming trend of more and more women removing healthy breasts because they are panicked or in fear of breast cancer returning or migrating to the other breast. In some cases, doctors recommend prophylactic mastectomy, which is surgery that is performed to reduce your breast cancer risk. That is a whole, huge topic unto itself and the subject of my next article.
While I can’t tell you what to do, I do want you to be aware that YOU HAVE CHOICES. Please don’t choose mastectomy purely out of fear. Sign up for my newsletters (the bright colored box on the right) and let me help you through this process. I will share with you what I did, help you with your anxiety and walk with you through this journey.
Remember, the greatest enemy cancer has is a great functioning immune system.
Artwork courtesy of Zela/ rgbstock.com
I recently discovered that there are two new-ish therapies available as breast cancer treatments that were not available when I had breast cancer in 2004, known as brachytherapy and intra-operative radiation therapy, or IORT.
They are interesting, but do not come without risk and I thought you should know about them. This is likely to open up a can of worms, but here goes.
Brachytherapy
For women who do not need to undergo mastectomy, a lumpectomy is performed to remove a cancerous tumor. Brachytherapy involves the insertion of either a series of tubes or a catheter attached to a small balloon into the breast.
A radioactive source is then delivered to the surgical site, where it can kill off any remaining cancer cells within about 1 cm. After five days of treatment, the tubes or catheter can be removed. This allows doctors to irradiate the breast “from the inside out,” unlike the traditional method of applying radiation to the entire breast with an external beam.
Intra-Operative Radiation Therapy (IORT)
Intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT) is an intensive radiation treatment that is administered during surgery. IORT is used to treat cancers that are difficult to remove during surgery and there remains a concern that microscopic amounts of cancer may still be in situ. IORT allows direct radiation to the target area while sparing normal surrounding tissue.
According to the Mayo Clinic website: “IORT allows higher effective doses of radiation to be used compared to conventional radiation therapy. It’s not always possible to use very high doses during conventional radiation therapy, since sensitive organs could be nearby. IORT also allows doctors to temporarily move nearby organs or shield them from radiation exposure.”
They both sound good, right? Read on.
The Problem Is…
In theory, these two therapies seem like a good idea because doctors can basically deliver the whole radiation treatment at the time of surgery or just after, rather than requiring the patient to go back daily for 6-7 weeks.
The problem is that these two therapies still need extensive studies to be done to ensure their effectiveness! There is a complete lack of randomized trial data comparing the effectiveness of either of these therapies with standard whole-breast irradiation.
Randomized trials can take years, however, and how these treatments have managed to be put forward and offered without those trials is mind-boggling to me. There is one such trial underway sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, but it will be years before the results are known.
An Interesting Research Study
In the meantime, a group of researchers from the University of Texas, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and the University of Chicago decided to compare women who had already selected one option or the other to see how they were faring. They called it a retrospective population-based cohort study, which is not the “gold standard” of research studies, that being the randomized controlled study. But it was useful information anyway and the results of their research was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) and you can access that study here.
The research team used data compiled by Medicare, and they had a large patient population – 92,735 women treated for breast cancer between 2003 and 2007. The average age for these women was nearly 75, and they were tracked for an average of about 3 years following their radiation therapy.
One interesting thing is that the research showed very clearly the growing appeal of brachytherapy. In 2003, only 3.5% of women on Medicare chose this treatment, but by 2007 that figure had risen to 12.5%.
Here are the results. In the 5 years after receiving brachytherapy, 3.95% of these women went on to need a mastectomy, compared with only 2.18% of women who chose whole breast radiation. After controlling for various demographic and other factors, the researchers still found that women who had brachytherapy were 2.19 times more likely to have their breast removed.
Overall, the researchers calculated that “for every 56 women treated with breast brachytherapy, 1 woman was harmed with unnecessary mastectomy.”
There were also more post-operative complications for these women, including infections. In the first year after their lumpectomy, 28% of women in the brachytherapy group had a complication, compared with 17% of women who had their whole breast radiated.
There were also more complications from radiation. In the five years after their treatments began, 25% of women who got brachytherapy reported some sort of complication, versus 19% of women who got whole breast irradiation. These complications included breast pain, fat necrosis and rib fracture, according to the study.
It really isn’t too surprising. It’s radioactive material that is being inserted into the body, after all.
The good news is that most women survived their breast cancer no matter which type of radiation treatment they chose – 86-87% were still alive after 5 years.
My own personal opinion is that it’s all about quality of life. Give yourself the best chance you can to survive and enjoy your life. For me, that choice did not include radioactive material being inserted into me or blasted onto me from above. Here’s what I did instead.
If you’d like to stay connected, sign up for my free e-newsletters on the right, or “like” me on Facebook (MarnieClark.com) and I’ll do my utmost to keep you informed and empowered on your healing journey… and beyond.
The Paralysis of Analysis
When you are first diagnosed with any life-threatening disease, it is easy to be overwhelmed by all of the decisions you have to make.
Sometimes you might make the conscious decision NOT to make any more decisions until you have more information, or until you’ve talked to that friend who has been through it. Sometimes you feel absolutely frozen in fear and can’t make any decisions at all, what the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King termed “the paralysis of analysis”. Good turn of phrase!
Getting past that immobilization can sometimes be difficult. I would encourage you to do just that, however, because there is nothing worse than paralysis in the face of a threat. You must have a plan for dealing with the threat. You will notice, in the coming weeks and months, that as you face the fact of your diagnosis you begin to observe that life goes on, even with this threat hanging over you.
I have some recommendations on getting through the decision making time.
4 Ways to Help You Move Beyond the Paralysis
- If a lack of information or understanding about the path you need to take is holding you back, talk to your doctor. Talk to me. Discuss it with that friend who has been through breast cancer. Do some searches on the Internet, or have a friend do the searches for you. Don’t let lack of information hold you back – we live in the age of technology when information is in abundance.
- If fear is holding you back, talk to a therapist. Discussing your plight with a neutral party can often be extraordinarily helpful.
- If anxiety is keeping you from making the necessary decisions, and if you don’t know how to meditate, learn. There is nothing more calming, more grounding, and more helpful than meditation to calm anxiety. It will also help you with your treatments for the disease. Meditation will help you focus on the problem at hand and help you make your decision for the right reasons and when you are calm and thoughtful.
- Seek solitude. A long walk along the beach or a river often helps because the atmosphere surrounding places with water is full of negative ions, which help you feel better. It can help to clear your mind and put things in perspective.
Psychology Today offers us this tasty little bit of advice: “You can practice confident decision-making by remembering a simple dictum over and over: You cannot have certainty and you don’t need it. By accepting that no certainty exists and that you don’t need it, you’ll instead harness intuition and, by extension, confidence.”
Decisions are an inevitable part of being human. It requires the right attitude. Every problem, properly perceived, becomes an opportunity.
If you’d like to stay connected, sign up for my free e-newsletters on the right, or “like” me on Facebook (MarnieClark.com) and I’ll do my utmost to keep you informed and empowered on your healing journey… and beyond.
The Difference Between DCIS, LCIS, ILC, IBC, Paget’s Disease & Phyllodes Tumors
Some of my subscribers have voiced a little confusion in past weeks over the various types of breast cancer and exactly how they differ, prompting me to write this article and hopefully untangle that confusion.
The 8 Faces of Breast Cancer
Ductal Carcinoma In Situ (DCIS) is the most common type of non-invasive breast cancer. Ductal means that the cancer starts inside the milk ducts, carcinoma means any cancer that begins in the skin or other tissues (including breast tissue) that cover or line the internal organs, and “in situ” means “in its original place.” DCIS is considered “non-invasive” because it hasn’t spread beyond the milk duct into any of the surrounding breast tissue. DCIS is not considered to be life-threatening, however, having DCIS can increase the risk of developing an invasive breast cancer later on. Experts feel that when you have had DCIS, you can be at an increased risk for the cancer returning or for developing a new breast cancer than a person who has never had breast cancer. Studies indicate that most recurrences happen within 5-10 years after initial diagnosis (but this is certainly not always the case).
Invasive Ductal Carcinoma (IDC), sometimes referred to as infiltrating ductal carcinoma, is the most common type of breast cancer, comprising about 80% of all breast cancers. Invasive means that the cancer has “invaded” or spread to the surrounding breast tissues. Ductal is defined in the paragraph above, and carcinoma refers to any cancer that begins in the skin or other tissues that cover internal organs — such as breast tissue. All together, “invasive ductal carcinoma” refers to cancer that has broken through the wall of the milk duct and begun to invade the tissues of the breast. Over time, invasive ductal carcinoma can spread to the lymph nodes and possibly to other areas of the body. According to the American Cancer Society, about 2/3 of women are 55 or older when they are diagnosed with an invasive breast cancer, however, it can strike at any age. IDC also affects men.
There are 5 sub-types of IDC – tubular carcinoma, medullary carcinoma, mucinous carcinoma, papillary carcinoma and cribriform carcinoma. These all refer to a specific type of tumor and these further classifications help your oncologist decide on treatment. You can find out a lot more about these subtypes on www.breastcancer.org.
Invasive Lobular Carcinoma (ILC) is the second most common type of breast cancer after IDC. Invasive is defined above, lobular refers to cancer that has grown in the milk-producing lobules which empty out into the ducts that carry milk to the nipple. Carcinoma is defined above. All together, “invasive lobular carcinoma” refers to cancer that has broken through the wall of the lobule and begun to invade the tissues of the breast. Again – over time, ILC can spread to the lymph nodes and possibly to other areas of the body. According to the American Cancer Society, this type of breast cancer is more common as women age.
Lobular Carcinoma In Situ (LCIS) is when abnormal cells grow inside the lobules of the breast, but have not spread to any nearby tissue or beyond. With LCIS, the abnormal cells are still in place inside the lobules and have not invaded any other tissues. Experts feel that it is rare for LCIS to become invasive breast cancer, however, having LCIS increases the risk of invasive breast cancer, statistically speaking. Compared to women without LCIS, those with LCIS are 7-12 times more likely to develop invasive cancer in either breast. Studies show that women with LCIS “may” go on to develop ILC or IDC.
Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC) is a rare and more aggressive form of breast cancer. According to the National Cancer Institute, about 1-5% of all breast cancer cases in the USA are IBC. Inflammatory breast cancer generally starts with the reddening and swelling of the breast rather than a distinct lump. The alarming thing about IBC is that it tends to spread and grow quickly, with symptoms worsening within days or even hours. It is very important to recognize symptoms and seek treatment PROMPTLY. Although IBC is considered a serious diagnosis, keep in mind that treatments today are better at controlling the disease than they used to be. The average age at diagnosis for IBC in the USA is 57 for white women and 52 for African American women, and that’s about 5 years younger than the average ages at diagnosis for other forms of breast cancer. I’ve found an excellent resource for women with IBC. Go to http://eraceibc.com – they are wonderful over there and will provide you with extra support for your specific diagnosis.
Paget’s Disease is a rare form of breast cancer in which cancer cells collect in or around the nipple. The cancer usually affects the ducts of the nipple first (small milk-carrying tubes), then spreads to the nipple surface and the areola (the dark circle of skin around the nipple). The nipple and areola often become scaly, red, itchy, and irritated. According to the National Cancer Institute, Paget’s disease accounts for less than 5% of all breast cancer cases in the USA. It’s important to be aware of the symptoms because more than 97% of people with Paget’s disease also have cancer, either DCIS or invasive cancer, somewhere else in the breast. The unusual changes in the nipple and areola are often the first indication that breast cancer is present. Doctors aren’t quite sure how Paget’s develops. It is more common in women, but is sometimes found in men as well and usually develops after the age of 50.
Phyllodes Tumors – Prior to my doing research for this article, I have to admit I’d never even heard of this type of tumor. It’s a rare one and accounts for less than 1% of all breast cancers. A phyllodes tumor can be benign (harmless) or malignant (cancerous). This type of tumor is called a “sarcoma,” because it occurs in the connective tissue (stroma) of your breast, rather than in the tissue lining of ducts and lobes. Phyllodes tumors take their name from the Greek word phullon (leaf) because of their leaf-shaped growth pattern. This type of tumor will feel like a firm, smooth-sided, bumpy (not spiky) lump in your breast tissue and the skin over the tumor may become reddish and warm to the touch. This type of tumor seems to grow very fast – so much so that the lump can become bigger in a couple of weeks.
Male Breast Cancer – Breast cancer in men is rather rare, less than 1% of all breast cancers occur in men but no discussion of the types of breast cancer would be complete without mentioning this. In 1998 I lost a family friend to male breast cancer that was diagnosed too late (RIP, Bud). In 2011, about 2,140 men were diagnosed with male breast cancer. For men, the lifetime risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer is only about 1 in 1,000. For risk factors, symptoms, diagnosis of male breast cancer and treatment for male breast cancer go to www.breastcancer.org, an excellent resource.
A Good Visual For You
Someone clever has photographed a bunch of lemons and used them to illustrate things like lumps, a growing vein, nipple retraction – all things to be aware of in reference to breast changes. The photo is on Stumble Upon (click this link). I hope this information helps someone!
Sources:
http://www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/types/
http://breastcancer.about.com/od/types/p/phyllodes_sa.htm
http://www.eraseibc.com/ibc.html
http://ww5.komen.org/understandingbreastcancerguide.html
If you’d like to stay connected, sign up for my free e-newsletters on the right, or “like” me on Facebook (MarnieClark.com) and I’ll do my utmost to keep you informed and empowered on your healing journey… and beyond.
Being a massage therapist, I have used a great massage technique for years that will reduce surgical adhesions after breast reconstruction surgery, and I’m excited to be sharing that technique with you today.
Having had breast cancer myself in 2004, I chose to have the latissimus dorsi flap breast reconstruction surgery following upon my lumpectomy surgery because my surgeon found it necessary to remove quite a large chunk of my breast.
I began having some issues with tightness and soreness around the scar and, knowing that adhesions might be forming at the surgical site, I had my massage therapist perform this massage technique on me. I found it to be absolutely crucial to my well being, to my ability to move without pain and to reduce post-surgical adhesions, so I shot this video today to help you (with the help of my friend, Robin, who is the person on the massage table – thanks Robin!).
If you can get your spouse to watch the video and learn how to do it – or your massage therapist – or physical therapist – or friend, you will feel so much better for it.
I didn’t mention it in the video, but I only use therapeutic grade essential oils to do this procedure. They are much more effective and potent than the oils you can buy in the health food store. You can get them from me, just click on the “Useful Links” page of this site and scroll down to “Essential Oils”. If you have any questions at all about the technique, just contact me.
If you’d like to stay connected, sign up for my free e-newsletters on the right, or “like” me on Facebook (MarnieClark.com) and I’ll do my utmost to keep you informed and empowered on your healing journey… and beyond.
Photo courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net and imagerymajestic
Everywhere I go this week, I’m running into people that are stressed. And it’s only Monday!
For those of you who are stressed out, I put together this article today with some things that I hope will help.
There are some nice You Tube videos (links below) that will help you de-stress.
This first one features pressure points on your hands and collar bone that you can press to help relieve stress (they actually work): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPH0ihwVPkM&
Here’s one called How to Meditate in a Moment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6eFFCi12v8
Here’s an hour worth of “Ocean Chill-Out Music” guaranteed to bring the stress down a few notches (skip the ad): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fz8yTq0cqhg&feature=related
Here’s a great one called “How to Calm Down in 10 Seconds”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xI3sVuH7rms
I feel better already just doing the research and finding the videos. Hope it helps you too!
Remember to breathe. And smile. Everyone will wonder what you’re up to.
If you’d like to stay connected, sign up for my free e-newsletters on the right, or “like” me on Facebook (MarnieClark.com) and I’ll do my utmost to keep you informed and empowered on your healing journey… and beyond.
When a person is newly diagnosed with breast cancer, the last thing on our minds is whether or not we will have the right oncologist – someone who cares about us and understands what we’re going through.
Yet it is probably one of the most important things about your journey through breast cancer because this person is part of your healing team.
What exactly is an oncologist?
Breaking the word down, “onc” means bulk, mass, or tumor, and the suffix ”-logy”, means “study of”. A medical professional who studies cancer and practices oncology is an ”oncologist”.
I know so many women who have been complaining about their oncologist lately. There are good ones and bad ones, just as with any profession. As long as you are paying attention and observant, you’ll easily be able to pick whether you have one or the other.
Honestly, this is so important. If you don’t feel like your oncologist is giving you what you need, you have every right to “fire” them and find another. Remember – they work for YOU, not the other way around.
Here’s what to look for
Are they honest and open, easy to speak with? Do they look at you and meet your gaze?
Do they answer your questions using technical jargon you don’t understand? If so, you must tell them you don’t understand. Do they then take the time to rephrase the terminology so that you do understand?
Do they discuss your lab results with you and make sure you understand them?
Do they present you with options for treatment and explain each one carefully until you understand?
Do they keep their appointments with you? (keeping in mind that sometimes they will get delayed)
Do they return your phone calls within 24 hours?
Are their office staff pleasant to deal with and happy?
Are they open to allowing you to do some things your way?
If you have to answer “no” to any of those questions, it might be time to find yourself another oncologist.
By the way, I asked that last question because some oncologists seem to think they are deities. Their word is sacrosanct. They get mad when you take vitamins or try acupuncture to alleviate some of your side effects from cancer treatments. I would respectfully suggest that you don’t want someone like that.
You have the final say here. Having a good rapport with your oncologist is really important because they are part of your healing team. You must be comfortable with them and know that they are doing their absolute best for you. If you don’t feel that way, you have every right to find yourself another doctor!
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