While writing my blog articles, I do a lot of Internet surfing and I see a lot of different sites. My favorite blog lately is http://thesilverpen.com so I thought I’d share it with you today, especially since my latest blogs have been pretty heavy going.
Written by Hollye Jacobs, a fellow breast cancer survivor, Hollye describes her blog as being “a way for me to document the physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and oftentimes hilarious journey through, with, over and around breast cancer. One year later I’m still in recovery but now on a journey to find Silver Linings in all aspects of life.”
I love that – Silver Linings. A wonderful way to look at life.
Every time I head over to Hollye’s site, I’m in awe. It has an elegant feel to it – you might read an inspirational thought from Seneca, or a discussion of a book that she liked, or there could be something about gardening or stillness.
Today’s post is about Oscar de la Renta’s gardens in the Dominican Republic and there are some gorgeous photographs – the kind you can lose yourself in.
Head over there and take a look (you can use the link at the top of this page). Thank you, Hollye. Love your work and your words of wisdom. I even love the occasional “f bomb”.
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.
Here in America, if you are contemplating chemotherapy, you may or may not be offered the chemosensitivity test.
In Germany, chemosensitivity tests are routinely conducted in order to determine which chemotherapy drugs should be utilized for a specific cancer patient.
Because some tumors may resist certain chemotherapy treatments, some oncologists are choosing to test tumor cells in advance of treatment rather than prescribe a standard chemotherapy combination without knowing whether it would be effective for your particular tumor.
Tailor-Made Treatment
The tests, called chemotherapy sensitivity and resistance assays (CSRAs) are relatively new and are carried out for many types of cancer.
The CSRA is a laboratory test that is done on a single cell in a test tube (in vitro) or on a clump of tumor cells (in vivo), usually taken from a biopsy tissue sample. The test assesses how many cancer cells are killed by a particular drug, or by a combination of drugs, and how many cancer cells are unaffected by the treatment.
When your oncologist examines these test results, he/she can then treat you more effectively, knowing which chemo drugs your cells respond to. Two more added benefits are that you don’t lose any time being blasted with drugs that don’t work for you and you don’t have to be debilitated by the side effects of drugs that won’t kill your cancer.
There Are 5 Qualifying Factors
As of writing this article, I am aware of 5 qualifying factors before you will be considered for a chemosensitivity test.
- You have to find an oncologist that will order the test
- You need to be strong enough to undergo chemotherapy
- You need to have access to a lab or facility that does the assay
- You must have a solid or fluid tumor
- You must be willing to undergo a new biopsy to get a fresh tissue sample for testing
Insurance Companies and Clinical Trial Results – Two More Problems
Not all insurance companies will cover the cost of the chemosensitivity test, which as close as I could tell runs around $800. Aetna Insurance considers chemosensitivity assays “experimental and investigational because there is insufficient evidence that these assays influence management decisions such that clinical outcomes are improved.” I guess Germany doesn’t count.
It appears that independent clinical trials are still underway here in America and because of that this test is not standard, and it will not be offered to every patient until doctors are convinced of its accuracy and value.
It’s Just My Opinion, But…
If the chemosensitivity test assists oncologists to tailor make a chemo regimen that is going to be the most effective for our specific cancer, why wouldn’t the insurance companies pay for this? It could conceivably lead to less chemo treatments and a patient who is actually ALIVE at the end of the treatment regimen (as opposed to one who won’t be paying any more insurance premiums due to being 6 feet under!).
I think that if toxic chemotherapy is going to continue to be the standard of care (which many consider outdated and prehistoric) they need to step up the clinical trials and get these results back as quickly as they can so that ALL can be given these tests and ensure they have the best response rate to the chemotherapy drugs and the greatest chance at beating cancer.
Finally, take 7 minutes out of your busy day and watch this interesting You Tube video – Burton Goldberg interviews Professor Michael Geising, a German Molecular Oncologist from Munster, Germany. Dr Geising advises “only 15-20% of chemotherapies are successful. The other 80% not only don’t work, but 60% of them actually make the cancer more aggressive by allowing it to develop resistance mechanisms.”
Research strongly suggests that when patients receive the most effective treatment, matched to their cancer profile, they survive longer. Ask your oncologist about the chemosensitivity test. In fact, insist on it.
References:
http://www.aetna.com/cpb/medical/data/200_299/0245.html
http://breastcancer.about.com/od/newlydiagnosed/a/chemosensitive.htm
http://csn.cancer.org/node/237389
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Sugar – how we love it and how it wreaks havoc in our bodies and our immune system.
I was watching “60 Minutes” on Sunday night and watched their opening segment on sugar and its effects on our health.
If you missed it, click here to watch it. It’s a DON’T MISS episode.
DOES SUGAR FEED CANCER?
There is a lot of controversy between natural health practitioners and conventional medicine doctors as to whether sugar is or is not detrimental when you have cancer.
There are those that will tell you that every cell in the body requires glucose (sugar) for fuel and that sugar is NOT detrimental, but simply fuel for cells.
So, you’ve watched the 60 Minutes episode on sugar, you’ve seen that side of the argument. Here’s a more moderate approach offered to us by the website Caring 4 Cancer. I’ll let you decide for yourself (which is always the best way) whether sugar plays a role in cancer.
The fact is, high insulin levels (which occur as a result of having lots of sugar in your diet) are associated with a 283% increased risk of breast cancer.
Sugar also depresses your immune system by 50-90% for up to 5 hours after consumption.
Cancer cells act much differently than normal cells. Normal cells need oxygen. Cancer cells despise oxygen. In fact, oxygen therapy is a favorite among many of the alternative clinics I have researched.
You see, cancer metabolizes through a process of fermentation. If you know anything about making wine, you’ll know that fermentation requires sugar.
Most natural therapists recommend a specific sort of diet – juicing organic vegetables and fruits is one of the best because the juices contain living enzymes and vitamins which will help to kill the cancer cells. Cancer cells like cooked foods over raw because cooking destroys enzymes and heat sensitive vitamins.
If you need more information about juicing, see my page Diet and Cancer and my recent blog post about the benefits of juicing.
If you’d like my help while you’re going through breast cancer, 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
After watching my mother and grandmother go through breast cancer, reading more than 80 books and countless research articles on the subject and then going through it myself, I have long felt that breast cancer is caused by more than one thing.
So I was really interested to read a recent article in the Huffington Post entitled “Breast Cancer is 10 Different Diseases Landmark Study Finds“.
Landmark British Study
The study was carried out by researchers from the University of Cambridge, Cancer Research UK, the University of Columbia, Canada and a number of other institutions worldwide. It was funded by Cancer Research UK, the British Columbia Cancer Foundation and the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation and published in the scientific journal “Nature”.
The study examined variations in DNA in nearly 2,000 breast tumors in what was the largest such study of breast cancer tissue in the world, the culmination of decades of work.
The Familiar 4 Subgroups of Breast Cancer
The researchers decided that the term “breast cancer” should be an umbrella term for what appeared to them to be at least 10 quite different diseases. Up until now, breast cancer had been classified into four subgroups:
- Double positive cancers that had high levels of both estrogen and progesterone receptors on tumor cells
- Tumors that exhibit high levels of either ER or PR receptors
- Double negative cancers that had neither estrogen or progesterone receptors
- Tumors that exhibit high levels of HER2, a protein discovered in the 90′s that appears to drive breast cancer in some women
More Articles…
The Huffington Post article was rather disappointing to me because it did not list the other 6 new subgroups, leading me to search further afield.
Britain’s Daily Mail had the article as well and I got a few more tidbits of information:
- because further research was required, it would be 3-5 years before women with breast cancer would start reaping the benefits of more targeted treatments
- researchers were pleased because they were closer to their goal for women to receive tailor-made treatments specific to their particular type of breast cancer
- researchers hoped to speed up the search for more targeted therapy for triple negative breast cancer
The Daily Mail article said “The ‘exquisitely detailed’ analysis also revealed several new genes that drive the growth and spread of the disease. This opens the door for the development of drugs that counter their effects. Knowledge of the genetics of each type of the disease will also speed the development of drugs, allowing women to have treatments tailored to their tumor. A handful of such ‘wonder-drugs’, including Herceptin, are already in use.”
Still no mention of the other 6 subgroups.
Finally an Answer
I spent a few hours reading articles and finally found the very best one that described the 10 clusters or subgroups of breast cancer. Click here to read this terrific article, written by Henry Scowcroft of scienceblog.cancerresearchuk.org. It’s a long one, but worth reading. Scroll down the page to the paragraph titled “The ten clusters”. There’s no point in my describing the other 6 subgroups of breast cancer when he’s done such a beautiful job of it.
I loved the fact that the researchers were making it a priority to focus on the links between the immune system and cancer, something I’ve felt for a long time should be a primary focus when treating breast cancer.
I would also like to see research being done relating to how stress plays a part in the development of breast cancer. Nearly every single survivor I’ve spoken to has admitted to me that stress was a huge factor in their lives leading up to the discovery of their breast cancer. It was the same for me.
So – we’ll have to wait awhile for the results of this study and it won’t help the women going through breast cancer right now, but certainly future generations will reap the benefits.
One other question comes to mind – while I’m grateful to Britain’s researchers for doing this kind of work I do wonder why it’s so frequently British and Australian researchers that are making great strides in breast cancer. What the heck is going on in American research labs?
Resources:
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/04/19/breast-cancer-cancer-research-uk-disease-10-categories-dr-harpal-kumar_n_1436498.html?ref=uk#slide=831773
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2131616/Breast-cancer-treatment-British-study-classifies-disease-10-different-types.html
http://www.nhs.uk/news/2012/04april/Pages/breast-cancer-genetic-diversity-mapped.aspx
http://scienceblog.cancerresearchuk.org/2012/04/18/increasing-the-resolution-on-breast-cancer-the-metabric-study/
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If you are feeling that everything is unsettled right now – from your relationships to your health to your financial affairs – it’s not your imagination and you’re not alone.
Even the calmest of my healer friends is saying things are intense right now. I’ve gathered information from astrologists, one who works with angels, another who blogs about the metaphysical and all are in agreement – we’re having a shake-up.
I don’t confess to understand it – words like “the Moon in early Cancer completes a cardinal grand cross with Mars, Pluto and Uranus” mean absolutely nothing to me!
And I confess to being somewhat skeptical. It all sounds like a lot of mumbo jumbo to me. Still…
What is undeniable is that we ARE going through a major shift of some sort. My husband and I don’t argue much – after 36 years of marriage, we are pretty much in accord and know each other’s minds inside and out. But there have been some major arguments lately – loud, rip roaring arguments! Afterward I ask myself “where on earth did that come from???” – perhaps I should be asking “where in the cosmos did that come from?”.
We’re not the only ones, either. Friends, family, my blog subscribers – everyone seems to be noticing the “unsettledness” of their lives right now. Also feelings of being tired, even lethargic, of having lost focus, and feeling frustration are not unusual.
Today’s blog at http://planetwaves.net – the top astrology blog according to “Blogrank”, has this to say: “You might feel varying degrees of anticipation/pressure/frustration, something associated with the Cancer Moon picking up so many planets so different from itself; you might experience a sense of relief, vulnerability and a sense of newness — even confidence — as the week progresses.”
That’s good to know – there’s hope in sight… ?
Coping With Unsettled Times
With thoughts of my friends who are going through breast cancer right now AND dealing with these unsettled times, here are some suggestions for coping:
- Be aware of your feelings – if you’re feeling overwhelmed, meditation often helps. Take some time out for yourself.
- Try not to dwell on negative feelings – positive affirmations help immensely.
- Maintain a normal routine – there is a feeling of security in routine that helps you when you are dealing with unsettled times.
- Get out of your head – seeing a movie, listening to music, or reading a favorite book can help make you feel less gloomy.
- Take care of yourself – go get a massage, or indulge in some aromatherapy – both are very calming and centering to the nervous system.
- Do something positive to help others – contributing to the community helps us feel more in control and gets us focused on something else.
- Limit your television time – while it is important to stay informed, watching endless war coverage is likely to heighten your anxiety.
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.
Today’s favorite inspirational quote comes from Dr Bernie Siegel, whose knowledge and understanding of the capacity for humans to heal is truly remarkable.
In “Healers on Healing” Dr Siegel prefaces the comment below about telling his patients of the importance of living as if they were going to die at any moment.
I learned to live this way after my breast cancer diagnosis, and it seemed as important to me then as it does now, 8 years later. Once you’ve had cancer and faced your own mortality, the things that used to weigh you down don’t seem to matter so much anymore.
I learned that every single day is a treasured gift and I began looking for that special moment within each day (I call it my “TSM” – today’s special moment) and I keep a journal of them. I digress.
Favorite Inspirational Quote #6
Dr Siegel states: “Of course, there is always grief when we lose a loved one. But we must learn to take that pain and to love others with it. Consider those who have lived ninety, ninety-five, or one hundred years. They may have lost their spouses, their children, and many other loved ones. Yet after such terrible losses, people find the strength to go on, because they learn to love others. We cannot outlive everyone we love if we choose to keep loving new people. This is what survivors do: They roll the love on continuously. Thus healing, like love, becomes a never-ending process.”
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.
The Healing Power of the Kiss
I came across an interesting statistic today that fired up my imagination: I read that a kiss stimulates 34 muscles and lots of hormones and chemicals known as neurotransmitters.
So I decided to investigate. According to researcher Dr Andrew Scholey (wouldn’t you love to be a kiss researcher? what fun!) senior lecturer in psychology at Northumbria University, the reason kissing feels so nice is because of the disproportionately large area of the brain dedicated to lip and tongue movements. He stated that “Only finger or hand movements occupy as much brain space.”
Apparently, a multitude of changes is going on in our bodies when we kiss – here’s the breakdown.
The Electric Moment
The moment your lips meet is often described as electric, and apparently that’s exactly what it is. Studies using electrodes on people’s lips during a kiss showed electric currents flowing along the nerves from the brain to all of the 34 facial muscles. Hence, those tingly sensations!
A Flood of Hormones and Neurotransmitters
Kissing stimulates the primitive part of the brain involved in automated functions (the four Fs: feeding, fighting, flight and, um, mating). “As you kiss, signals received by nerve endings in the lips are sent to the limbic system, which releases hormones that tell the pituitary glands to produce gonadotrophin. This hormone attaches itself to the ovaries, causing the release of estrogen and testosterone, which increase sexual excitement,” says Dr Scholey.
Another hormone released at this point is oxytocin (which is also secreted during breastfeeding and orgasm, and promotes caring feelings towards your partner or baby – sometimes referred to as the “bonding” hormone).
Your growing excitement causes a rise in the hormones adrenaline and noradrenaline and adrenaline causes blood to switch from the stomach to the limbs, ready for fight or flight and turning off digestion. As your heart rate increases, blood rushes to the surface, making your body warmer and creating a rosy glow! It also causes your whole body to receive more oxygen than it does when you’re just standing around. At rest, your heart beats about 60 to 80 times a minute, but mid-kiss this accelerates to over 100 (unless of course you’re kissing your mother…).
As adrenaline increases, levels of the feel-good chemical serotonin fall – this keeps you focused and less likely to want to break off to go feed the cat. As serotonin drops, so do your inhibitions, making you more impulsive.
Once your kiss reaches its peak, your body is working overtime – it makes you feel nice by releasing the neurotransmitter dopamine into the brain, which intensifies your desire.
That light-headed feeling is from the release of endorphins, the brain’s natural opium-like substances. Endorphins produce the euphoria most people feel during a good kiss – they make us go all gooey. Do you ever wonder why you feel better after a long run, a good laugh or a great kiss? It comes from a release of endorphins.
So – wow! More oxygen (always a good thing), dopamine and endorphins that make you feel good. I think we should incorporate kissing into our healing plan – what do you think, girls?
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.
My lovely father
I just found out that Memorial Day started off as “Decoration Day”, which originated after the Civil War to commemorate fallen Union soldiers.
Regardless of your feelings about war and its horrors or the policy makers who promote them, this weekend is a time to honor the men and women who have put their blood, sweat and tears into keeping this country safe.
My father served in the Pacific in World War II and my grandfather served in the trenches of World War I. Both of them were very good men and neither of them much given to talking about their war experiences, except for just once. My dad once told me how music had saved his life and I’d like to share that story with you.
My dad was in the US Navy and while I don’t know which ship, he told me he had a friend in sick bay. Every afternoon, it was his routine to go and visit his sick friend and they’d sit and talk for awhile. On this one particular day, however, rather than going to sick bay, my dad was really itching to have some time with his guitar – a small one that he’d brought along with him on board. While he was sitting and quietly strumming his guitar, a Japanese kamikaze plane hit the side of the ship, killing and injuring just about everyone who was in the sick bay. If he’d been there, he would have died as well.
That story really made me think. What if he’d denied himself that little bit of time with his beloved guitar? That story still serves as a reminder to me – the biggest thing I took away from it is how precious our time is, how we really shouldn’t deny ourselves little pleasures, how listening to that inner voice serves us so well.
I never got the chance to say “Thanks” to my dad for his Navy service, but he probably wouldn’t have expected it. He was a great father, he died in 1996 in his 80′s. I still miss him. I still miss my grandfather too, another amazing man.
So to all of those service people I’d like to say a hearty thank you for all that you do. It doesn’t go unnoticed. We appreciate you.
Photo courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net and Idea go
I was so inspired by this lovely story – a portrait of a breast cancer survivor named Victoria Behm, who is a NYC artist. She was diagnosed at the age of 57 with the exact same kind of breast cancer I had.
She made an illustrated notebook of her nine-month journey through breast cancer treatment – see her whole story HERE, along with some of her amazing artwork. I loved this story because it brought such an element of personal triumph over her breast cancer diagnosis. I loved her artwork (some of it will make you laugh, especially slide 9) and I especially loved that she’s a survivor.
Enjoy the story and for those of you actively fighting this disease, remember the words of Winston Churchill:
“If you’re going through hell, KEEP GOING“!!!!!!
I send my love to everyone taking this journey right now. If you would like my help with getting through breast cancer in an inspiring and ultra-healthy way, please 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.
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