Drew Olanoff

Another amazing person in the fight against cancer – Drew Olanoff. Drew has a great voice. Make sure you check him out. What will you blame on Drew’s cancer? Blame Drew’s Cancer.

Life Beyond Treatment – by Kairol Rosenthal, Guest Blogger

I was diagnosed with cancer at 27.  After treatment, I ditched my hospital gown and hit the road.  Traveling from the Big Apple to the Bible Belt, I recorded one-on-one conversations with 25 young adult cancer survivors who confessed to me experiences they had never told anyone else.

I was surprised by how many patients said that the hardest part of their cancer experience was life after treatment.  Here’s a snippet of my conversation with Geoff Luttrell, a twenty-something survivor interviewed in my book Everything Changes: The Insider’s Guide to Cancer in Your 20s and 30s.

 “When you have cancer and you wake up every morning, man, you know what’s happening: chemo, scans, IVs, the whole protocol. Everything else just falls away. There’s no confusion. Life was perfectly clear on chemo. A lot of people recovering from cancer talk about trying to live life like there’s no tomorrow, but you have to work, you have to go grocery shopping, you can’t just walk around 24/7 thinking, I have to make the best of it because I could die in the next five minutes. It’s not realistic.”

Like Geoff, I wanted to be realistic about how to deal with the directionless fray my life had become after treatment.  Through my own trial and error, and while talking to other patients for my book Everything Changes, I learned some lessons that made the transition back into daily life just it a bit easier.

After treatment, be kind to yourself.  Take it slowly.  You don’t have to dive back into life where you left off.  In fact you can’t, because life has moved ahead since you were last in it.  Step slowly into your life, taking time to learn about what you want from other people and from yourself.    

The entire world will want to know how you’re doing. Create a standard yet honest reply – an elevator line, that will educate them about what you are facing, such as, “I’m glad that treatment is over, but it’s pretty common to feel fatigue for a while, so I’m still recovering.”

 When I traveled to Alabama, I met Tracy, a 37-year-old breast cancer patient who said, “Some people think that after an experience like cancer, if you are not smiling and doing cartwheels every day, then you’re just sitting around and feeling sorry for yourself. I am grateful to be alive, but I have good days and bad days just like I did before cancer. I also believe you can’t help yourself if you deny that you have suffered.”

 She’s right. Life after treatment is hard. Maybe you’re dealing with medical bills, adjusting to a missing a body part, or making sense of your work, love, or family life. Perhaps fear, anger, or sadness about your diagnosis or recurrence are smacking you in the face.  Don’t pretend that everything is fine if it is not.  Being real about how you feel helps relieve tension.  Don’t worry – you won’t get stuck here forever.  I’m living proof of this.

If you have gone through treatment, what was life like afterwards?  What was the biggest challenge you faced and how did you deal with it?  Are you surprised that so many people said life after treatment was the hardest part of cancer?

 For candid stories, practical tips, and expert advice on 20 and 30-something cancer, check out my book Everything Changes: The Insider’s Guide to Cancer in Your 20s and 30s. Visit my blog http://everythingchangesbook.com/

 

Kairol Rosenthal is a healthcare blogger and patient advocate working with national cancer organizations including Gilda’s Club, Planet Cancer, and I’m Too Young For This. She lectures on healthcare issues at Columbia College and is co-host of The Stupid Cancer Show.

Kairol has been interviewed as a cancer expert for The New York Times and Harpers’ Bazaar. Her essays have been produced by National Public Radio and appear in Help Me Live: Twenty Things People with Cancer Want You To Know.  Everything Changes: The Insider’s Guide To Cancer In Your 20s and 30s is the culmination of her five years of research with patients and health care professionals in the young adult cancer community.

 

TO ORDER KAIROL’S BOOK  CLICK HERE

“Voices of Survivors”

In the world of cancer you can come across many an inspirational story. Several of the people I highlight are individuals who humble me greatly. I am fortunate to call many of them “friend.”

Lynn Lane is an incredibly talented individual who is the founder of “Voices of Survivors”, an organization dedicated helping ‘Survivors’ share their ‘voice’. He is a ROCKSTAR extraordinaire who shares the stories of the most amazing cancer survivors.

Take a look at the work that has been done with Voices of Survivors. I know you will be in awe. Spread the word about the organization and let Lynn know how much you enjoy the work he is doing.

Preston Loyd

Last month little Preston Loyd was critically injured in a lawnmower accident. Through this long and arduous battle to recover and heal, this little boy has led hundreds of thousands of people to pray for his healing. Today they will be removing the vent, and beginning to wake Preston.

I’ve put myself in his parents shoes countless times. I can only imagine the pain and suffering they have endured. Please pray that Preston will wake, recover, and be restored!

Isaiah 11:6

The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/prestonloyd

New Protein Discovered

Researchers in Heidelberg discover new protein that is suppressed in particularly aggressive cancer cell.

If cancer cells lack a certain protein, it could be much easier for them to penetrate healthy body tissue, the first step towards forming metastases. Scientists at the Pharmacology Institute of the University of Heidelberg have discovered the previously unknown cell signal factor SCAI (suppressor of cancer cell invasion), which inhibits the movement and spread of tumor cells in laboratory tests. When the factor’s functioning was disrupted, the cancer cells moved much more effectively in what are known as three-dimensional matrix systems, which imitate some of the tissue properties of the human body.

“The protein is apparently suppressed in many types of tumors, e.g. breast, lung, or thyroid,” explains Dr. Robert Grosse, head of the Emmy Noether Junior Research Group funded by the German Research Association (DFG) at the Pharmacology Institute. The new factor could be an interesting starting point for research into new mechanisms for fighting cancer. The research team’s results have now been published online in the prestigious international journal Nature Cell Biology.

Focus on particularly aggressive cancers

Tumor cells are extremely mobile and “adept” at penetrating healthy tissue to form metastases. They adapt to the consistency of the respective tissue by changing their shapes constantly and attach flexibly to surrounding tissues during movement with the help of special surface structures (receptors).

One of these receptors is what is known as b1-integrin, which is frequently formed in many tumors such as metastasizing breast cancer. “The cell signal factor SCAI controls the formation and function of b1-integrin,” says Dr. Robert Grosse. “If there is too little SCAI in tumor cells, then b1-integrin is overactive, so to speak. The cell can change more rapidly to a more aggressive form and penetrate surrounding tissue, a crucial step toward increased spreading of the tumor and the possible formation of metastases.”

In their recently published study, the Heidelberg researchers examined cells from skin cancer (melanoma) and breast cancer. In other projects, Dr. Robert Grosse’s team would like to study the function of the signal factor SCAI more closely in an animal model. “If the function of SCAI is confirmed to be decisive in the formation of especially aggressive tumor cells, this could be a promising starting point for developing new diagnostic methods or medication,” says the pharmacologist. It could also be possible to develop an agent that prevents the genetic suppression of the signal factor in cancer cells. But first the researchers need to better understand how the signal factor itself is regulated in the cell. 

ScienceDaily (Apr. 11, 2009)

Bakerella

Ok, I know this has nothing to do with cancer. I simply had to share this blog. I bet she could make a mean pink ribbon, or an awesome yellow armband! My little one and I are making cupcakes this whole week for spring break and I stumbled on Bakerella’s blog. Mine will certainly be pale in comparison.

From Bakerella's Blog (WOW).

Jamie Lindsay – LivingSTRONG

Please check out this amazing video  about a great guy, Jamie Lindsay. He is such a blessing to so many. ORANGE ROCKS LIVESTRONG!!!!!!!!!

Test Stress

When you are in the world of cancer you become used to tests and going to the doctor. Whether you are diagnosed, or high risk it becomes a way of life. You have scans…all that wonderful contrast stuff…you wait (and wait and wait). Many times it leads to more tests and more waiting which equals more stress. The other week there was a report published in the NY Times  about the stress of waiting on biopsy results. It happened to be the same week I was waiting. The study states “Waiting days for the results of a breast biopsy appears to affect stress hormone levels just as much as finding out you have cancer.”  I wanted to comment on the NY Times article with a simple duh!

My recent tests happened to be the very first time I had a full blown anxiety attack after results etc…Needless to say I had a very stressful week waiting on answers, and to compound everything other details of life were spinning out of control that same week. Finally I head in to the doctor’s office for answers – answers to calcifications, a funny area that can be felt though not seen in traditional films – basically answers to what may come next. The nurses kept looking at me and the docotr nodded as I walked into the room. Typically they are lively and chatty. It is funny how every little change in behavior can make you worry. They were, as I learned later, having a very tough/busy day. Though I have no malignancy at the time (thank GOD) I have the propensity to hear those words. I have been given options to limit my chances  – essentially I have things to think about right now.

My normal routine resumed as planned.  It was funny how my mom noticed the stress building up in me more than I did myself. It all came rushing over me in the next 48 hours.  As I was making coffee I suddenly felt my heart beating out of control and I had trouble catching my breath. I quit talking and sat down to breathe slowly and deeply. Quickly I was back to normal, yet not without realization that I had an anxiety attack. It was strange to me that it all came after instead of during.  Another statement in the NY Time article “the stress and anxiety of waiting also affects the quality of life of a woman and her family and her ability to function well at work.” Duh!

Article By Noted Breast Surgeon on HRT

The article below was written by Dr. Kathleen Ruddy, Founder and President of the Breast Health and Healing
Foundation, is a breast cancer surgeon who is dedicated to finding the
causes of breast cancer and using that knowledge to prevent the disease. You
can find further details at http://www.BreastHealthandHealing.com/.

I am reprinting with her permission.

The Moral Hazard of Hormone Replacement Therapy

In the midst of the recent tsunami of financial catastrophes the question of
“moral hazard” has been raised to describe how the banks, which have made
very wrong investment decisions, have been insulated from their harmful
consequences by government bailouts and rescue packages.

Not allowing banks to fail as a consequence of their own idiotic mistakes
insulates them from the negative feedback that might better correct their
behavior in the future.

So how does the moral hazard of rescuing bad banks apply to HRT?  Just this:
that the separation between action and consequences, particularly if the
consequences are delayed for years and occur somewhat randomly, and the
“rescue” from consequences are the hallmarks of moral hazard, and they apply
to medicine as well as banking.

There is no longer any argument among scientists about whether HRT is
associated with an increased risk of cancer:  it is.  If HRT contains only
estrogen, then there is an increased risk for uterine cancer.  If HRT
contains progesterone, then there is an increased risk for breast cancer.

Furthermore, all types of HRT are associated with an increased risk for
stroke and blood clots.  This is not a matter of how the hormones are made
(from natural or synthetic products) but rather what they do.  And what they
do to the post-menopausal female is “unnatural” in the context of an
otherwise naturally aging body.

We know that there is an increased risk of breast cancer in the group of
women who use HRT, but we do not know exactly which of these women will get
the cancer. It is important to understand that we only know the statistics
for the group; we do not know precisely who will get the disease, and
whether or not the hormones are responsible for it.

The moral and medical hazard associated with HRT is enlarged by the
healthcare system “safety net”  – the treatments that are available once one
of the complications of HRT occurs.  Today early treatment of breast cancer
produces excellent survival statistics for most patients, but it is
impossible to say exactly who will live and who will die of breast cancer
because statistics apply to a group, not to an individual patient.

The recent discussion of HRT offered by Oprah Winfrey in her magazine and on
her TV show presents both sides of the argument about HRT, but does little
to settle the question.  In the end women are advised to “talk to their
doctor.”  As a woman, and as a breast cancer surgeon, I am afraid that
millions of women will come away from Oprah’s show with the impression that
HRT may not be so risky after all.  I disagree.  HRT is risky; the problem
is we cannot say exactly for whom it is risky.  Do you want to take the risk
that the bell tolls for you?

You say you cannot sleep at night. How much more sleep do you think you will
lose if you are told you have breast cancer?  How much sleep will you loose
worrying about how to pay for all of your treatments? How much sleep do you
think you will loose if you have to undergo surgery, and possibly loose your
breast, as part of your treatment?  How much sleep will you loose thinking
that you might not have gotten breast cancer if you had not taken the
hormones in the first place?

You say you have night sweats and hot flashes.  How much more uncomfortable
do you think you will be if you have to have chemotherapy for four to six
months?  How much worse are the side effects of chemotherapy compared to the
symptoms of menopause?

You say you feel emotionally labile.  How nerve-racking do you think it is
to be worried about every twinge and pain and change in your body, dreading
that your cancer has returned? How traumatic do you think it is to loose
your hair just as you are recovering from surgery on your breast, the beacon
of female sexuality?  How chronically afraid do you think you might be
wondering if you will live, while you watch so many other women die?

Menopausal symptoms do not last forever.  Certainly they are challenging,
but they can be managed with diet, exercise and emotional support.  And bone
loss can be managed with medications that have a lower risk profile compared
with HRT.  You will recover from menopause, and when you do you will no
longer be subjected to the slings and arrows of outrageous hormones.  No
statistic can ever tell you if you will be the one to survive a breast
cancer, or whether you will be the one to die.  Think hard about the moral
and medical hazards of HRT before you commit yourself to an uncertain
future, one that you might regret.

© 2009, Dr. Kathleen Ruddy.  All rights reserved.  Reprints welcomed so long
as article and by-line are not edited and all links are made live.

Welcome Home Blog

Through a series of life events…not to metion one massive computer crash…I am back. My blog has been a huge part of my life and it was like being away from an old friend. I have must to say and much to post so stay tuned.

XOXO

Sally