CancerDirectory.com» Breast Cancer

Scanxiety . . . How Do You Deal?

Cathy Bueti — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 12:45:59 +0000

So one would think that after 9 years I would be used to followup visits and tests. I stupidly thought I would get to a point where I would be scanxiety free. In the beginning I went for visits every 3 months, then after 3 years I went every 6 months and then when at the 5 year mark I graduated to once a year. And that included an oncologist visit, breast surgeon visit and annual mammogram along with an annual breast MRI.

Three years ago I went through a scare involving a barbaric biopsy in the MRI machine which thankfully turned out to be benign. But my anxiety reached new heights. Then 2 years ago my father died of cancer and I feared for my own life even more. Its almost like the more time I have where I don’t have to go for that stuff makes it harder to go back.

I am sitting here wishing I didn’t have to go for my mammo in a few days. Tomorrow I will be going to Sloan for my checkup with the breast surgeon and then the mammo. I rescheduled this appointment back in March and had to wait all this time which is lunacy to me and yet I felt as if I committed a crime. Now I don’t want to go at all. Yes I know I am sounding like a whiny kid. I don’t want to think of my life in time to live between tests and appointments.

I need to create. I need to paint and sketch to help me with this fear. It always seems to help. So the next few days I will carve out time to do just that. Hoping it will quell some of my scanxiety. . .

What do you do to deal with scanxiety?

Cathy Bueti is the author of Breastless in the City. Visit her at cathybueti.com

Can Concord Grape Juice Help Maintain Breast Health?

nygal — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 19:03:14 +0000

This research is the latest to suggest that Concord grape juice may be of value in maintaining breast health by suppressing oxidative stress and inhibiting DNA damage to cells that can lead to the initiation of cancer, or in helping to slow the progression of breast cancer by slowing the multiplication of cancer cells. Diets high in natural antioxidants have been associated with a reduced the risk of some types of cancers, and Welch’s 100% Grape Juice made from Concord grapes is particularly high in anthocyanins, potent natural antioxidants that give the juice its characteristic deep purple color.

At the same time, drinking Concord grape juice can be good for the heart –
Read more about Concord grape juice and cancer and let us know what you think below.

Sex and the City 2 . . . Breast Cancer Survivors And Hormone Therapy? I Think Not!

Cathy Bueti — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 01:11:23 +0000

I am a HUGE fan of Sex and the City (SATC). So huge that the show was the inspiration for the title of my memoir Breastless in the City. I was pleased to see that the show addressed breast cancer through Samantha’s character during Season 6. As a young single woman going through it myself I thought they handled the topic well and portrayed a realistic view of issues such as hair loss and chemo induced menopause. I applauded them at the time.

Having said that I feel that they have let down breast cancer survivors, myself included, with Samantha’s menopause storyline in SATC 2. First let me say that I understand it is just a movie and should be fun BUT since they already addressed breast cancer in a show storyline I was disappointed that Hello! there was no mention of it in this movie. It was as if she had never had cancer. Samantha already went through menopause during her chemo and now she is going through it as a 52 year old woman like it was the first time. Every breast cancer survivor knows that hormone therapy is a no no. Most breast cancers are fed by estrogen mine included and that is why hormones are never recommended for us because it can increase the risk of breast cancer.

I wondered what the writers were thinking having Samantha slap on estrogen, other types of hormone creams, and patches to battle menopause symptoms. She became a walking advertisement for Suzanne Somers’ book on bioidentical hormone therapy. Not to mention that they could have at least addressed the life after cancer that so many of us deal with. It was as though Samantha’s life never changed. There were no checkups, scans, or emotional struggles related to her cancer experience. I really think that the writers missed an opportunity to bring to light the issues so many women with breast cancer face after the treatment is over.

I am only 40 years old but thanks to my chemo 9 years ago I have been in menopause for the past 2 years. Hot flashes galore, night sweats, crazy mood swings, and dare I admit it low libido. I deal with it. Some days not well but I deal none the less. Even on my most hot flashy days you will never see me slapping on hormone creams. . .

Did you see SATC 2? What are your thoughts on the movie? If you are a bc survivor what do you think of the Samantha and menopause storyline?

Cathy Bueti is the author of Breastless in the City. Visit her at cathybueti.com

Twin Titties . . . A New Low In Breast Cancer Fundraising

Cathy Bueti — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 21:01:07 +0000

When I heard about this I gasped. There is a bar in Minneapolis raising money for breast cancer by having women enter their boobs in a contest. I for one am not a big fan of the “T” word. I prefer “Boobs”not that a word change would have helped quell my disdane for this offensive breast cancer fundraiser. According to the Bootleggers Bar website the winner receives a Victoria’s Secret gift card (not too predictable) and a bar tab gift card to encourage more alcohol consumption cause that is oh so healthy. The winners will also have their “dual” posted in the bar no doubt for all the men to drool over. Could this be more disgusting? Oh, but wait. . . it must be ok because it is all in the name of breast cancer research.

And I thought that the KFC debacle and the Men For Women Now Campaign were bad enough. I think that the gawking men are the winners here. This is just more exploitation of women cleverly hidden under the guise of breast cancer fundraising. Because what man doesn’t want to help a good cause especially if it involves getting to see some boobs? I like to believe that most men are better than that . . .

Check out the complete article here on jezebel.com.

Have you heard about this? What do you think? Are you offended by this “fundraiser”? Do you find the “T” word offensive?

Cathy Bueti is the author of Breastless in the City. Visit her at cathybueti.com

Pink Nausea Hits Fast Food Market . . . KFC Teams Up With Komen To Save Some Boobs

Cathy Bueti — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 12:58:05 +0000

When I heard about Buckets for the Cure it turned my stomach much like fast food fried chicken would. What kind of a toxic combo is this anyway? Ummmm…..yes lets encourage people to consume fried chicken that is unhealthy in order to donate 50 cents to Komen and fight a disease linked to poor nutrition. Eat some fried chicken and save some boobs. Its just that easy! Please Komen be kidding me!

I think this is disgusting on many levels. I am sure that KFC will make tons more money than Komen will ever see. Yet another example of pink washing . As a breast cancer survivor I would much rather see people show their support by donating to an organization such as Breast Cancer Action whose Think Before You Pink Campaign brings much needed awareness to pink washing or to the Im Too Young For This! Cancer Foundation which is a great non profit supporting young adults with cancer.

Have you heard of this new campaign? What do you think? Will you buy a bucket to support breast cancer?

Cathy Bueti is the author of Breastless in the City. Visit her at cathybueti.com

Rescheduling My Annual Mammo. . . Why Does It Feel Like I Committed a Crime?

Cathy Bueti — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 20:23:37 +0000

As 2009 drew to a close my boob started to hurt. It happens like clockwork each year as my annual mammo draws near. It was scheduled for March 2. That and a followup visit with my breast surgeon.

In an effort to put myself first and explore new creative interests I came upon a flyer for a painting class at my local arts council. I have always wanted to learn to paint. I am a creative person. Being creative helps ground me and deal with fear. At times fear seems to be my daily companion. The painting class certainly peaked my interest. And then I saw the date of the first class. It was of course the date of my annual mammo. Now when I make these followup appointments it is 6 months ahead of time as I leave another appointment. Who knows where you will be in 6 months. I was pretty bummed. Then I had a thought. . . Why don’t I just reschedule? Seemed simple enough at the time. Until I called and found out that I would have to wait 6 months to get one. I have to say that I was shocked the wait was that long.

What did I do? Well, since it had been over 8 years of remission for me without missing one single followup test or appointment I decided to give myself a break so that I could take the art class. I figured that 6 months would not make or break me and the art would help heal me.

I have to say though that I felt as though I committed a crime. That I somehow broke the unspoken rules. I hate feeling this way. I can’t live my life in between medical appointments as if that is the only way I will feel ok. It is a hard habit to break. It is the fear that hangs over my head all the time. . .

Have you ever rescheduled a followup test? Ever felt guilty or scared about it? How do you handle your post cancer checkups?

Cathy Bueti is the author of Breastless in the City. Visit her at cathybueti.com

Vitamins Increasing Breast Cancer Risk . . . What’s Up With That?

Cathy Bueti — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 12:16:12 +0000

It can be dizzying trying to follow all the different studies regarding breast cancer. Like some of you I want to do all I can to prevent this horrible disease or at the very least reduce my risk factors. So I was a tad alarmed when I read about a recent study that came out about vitamins increasing the risk of breast cancer. The study was in women aged 49-83 but still. . . this just doesn’t make sense to me. It didn’t state which vitamin it was just “multivitamins”. I always take my daily dose of vitamin D as that has been known to help fight cancer. And I also take the B’s and C’s. So what is a girl to do? Or man for that matter?

As I live with the fear of recurrence floating over my head like a dark cloud I can’t help but try to improve my lifestyle and diet. Although I try hard not to become controlling and obsessive about it as I have written about before on this blog but information such as this makes my head spin. I makes me wonder. . . what are we doing wrong here?

Check out the full article “Multivitamins Linked To Cancer” and let me know what you think.

Do you take any vitamins? How do you handle all the info out there relating to your illness? Does it make you confused? How do you handle the “after cancer” life?

Cathy Bueti is the author of Breastless in the City. Visit her at cathybueti.com

Avoiding Breast Cancer With Lifestyle Choices. . . Is It Really That Simple??

Cathy Bueti — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 16:19:21 +0000

A new study was recently released about decreasing the incidence of breast cancer with changes in lifestyle specifically exercise and diet. If women lost weight and just exercised more they could decrease their chances of getting breast cancer. It cites that “25-30 percent of breast cancers could be avoided if women were thinner and exercised more. . . ” Fat cells excrete estrogen so I do understand that aspect of it as most breast cancers including mine are estrogen fed. Now while I understand the reasoning I cannot help but wonder. . . Is it that simple? Before my diagnosis I was exercising and I was not overweight. So apparently those two things did not help me avoid a diagnosis. I also was not a smoker nor did I drink which are other lifestyle choices that can increase risk. So where was my benefit?

I think about my grandma who ate whatever she wanted in moderation and lived to be 85 staying out of the hospital and away from doctors until the last year of her life. I think about how when she bought her meat it was not laden with antibiotics and her produce was not drenched in pesticides. That was during a time when cancer incidence was much lower than it is today.

Something I found particularly interesting in the article was this statement regarding genetics and cancer. . . “The genes have been there for thousands of years but if cancer rates are changing within a lifetime that doesn’t have much to do with genes.” The majority of breast cancer diagnosis’ are in women with no family history myself included. I think that what also needs to be explored is the environmental causes I noted above as well as emotional stress and its toll on the body. I am glad to hear there is much needed discussion as to the causes of breast cancer I would just like to see it have a wider view.

I don’t know about you but I sure would have like to have “avoided” my cancer diagnosis.

Check out “Up to a third of breast cancers could be avoided” by Maria Cheng

What did you think of this story? Do you think that lifestyle factors can increase risk of cancer? When stories like this come out does it make you want to blame yourself for your disease?

Cathy Bueti is the author of Breastless in the City. Visit her at cathybueti.com

Review: BreastCancer.org

admin — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 13:00:24 +0000

The Breast Cancer website at breastcancer.org is an excellent resource for women.

It is dedicated to providing reliable, complete, and up-to-date information about breast cancer. Their mission is to help women and their loved ones make sense of the complex medical and personal information about breast cancer so they can make the best decisions for their lives.

We found the topics related to risk and prevention and the role of genetics particularly helpful. There is also information about ovarian cancer.

They have also created an innovative dictionary tool to address the problem of understanding complex terms when facing critical decisions about their cancer treatment. This dictionary is a compilation of numerous complex breast cancer terms defined in plain English.

This informative site covers research and news and also features discussion boards chat rooms and stories of hope.

Please visit breastcancer.org and let us know what you think.

“Loving Our Bald Selves!”

BeauBeau — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 19:14:37 +0000

“If we can face life challenges feeling good about ourselves, we can often meet those challenges with more clarity, more determination, and more understanding. At no time is such love of self more important than when fighting cancer. Yet many women find their love of self becomes compromised by the emotions stirred when they find a bald, sick-looking person staring back at them in them mirror.”

The above is an excerpt of an article I wrote titled “Loving Our Bald Selves” that appears in Coping with Cancer magazine that is currently posted on Coping With Cancer’s website homepage. I am so grateful for the opportunity to share my message about the potential emotional upheaval experienced by women with medical hair loss and about the need for greater awareness and understanding of those emotions in the context of cancer treatment and support. I hope you will read the entire article, available at Coping Magazine’s web site, just below Meridith Baxter’s photo and her story about being a breast cancer survivor.

Please visit: Coping With Cancer and share your comments and opinions below with the CancerDirectory.com community.

Susan Beausang, Founder and President 4Women.com