May 4, 2005 - The Mammogram That Changed My Life

This is a blog post I created on May 4, 2009 on my Everyday Possibilities blog and felt it would also be helpful to post it here.

Four years ago today I had the mammogram that changed my life. A routine mammogram as part of my overall physical. The doctor had done a thorough (and I do mean thorough) manual examination and felt nothing but as it had been two years since my last mammogram she wrote me a referral. I was blessed at my age to be having regular mammograms...they aren't "the norm" in Ontario until age 50. In my 30s I had felt a lump (turned out to be a cyst) and had it checked with a mammogram which became my baseline. The fact that my maternal grandmother had died of metastasized breast cancer factored into my continuing to be checked on a regular basis.

I had a busy day May 4, 2005 with a job interview at 11:00 a.m. but when I had called to make the appointment for the mammogram, the only time available was 8:00 a.m. that day or I would have had to wait another month. Providence? Divine intervention? I took the appointment without hesitating. Instinct maybe more than anything because I had learned many years ago to listen when that little voice in my head tells me to do something. Your body always has a way of communicating with you.

I spent the day running between appointments and when I reached home to have a cup of tea, I had just sat down when the phone rang. It was 3:00 p.m. There are some details you just never forget. It was my family doctor (actually it was a wonderful young woman who was filling in for my own doctor who was on a maternity leave) telling me there were some concerns with the mammogram and we'd need to do further exams. It appeared that there were microcalcifications on the right breast.

My stomach dropped to the floor and my hand was shaking as I replaced the receiver on the phone. And I knew. I am not a negative person. I'm not a pessimist. But I knew that those microcalcifications were cancer. Was it something in the tone of the doctor's voice? Or the urgency of re-testing and then an appointment with a surgeon? Again, I think it was everything hitting me at once and that "knowing" of me listening to my body and accepting the fact. I kept an open mind during the testing the the two biopsies. The day I met with the surgeon and was told that indeed I did have breast cancer...IDC (Infiltrating Ductal Carcinoma) I was already prepared for what was ahead of me, and everyone else who was part of my world.

It is traditional to mark the anniversaries of survivorship by the date of the last treatment. For me that would be May 2007 when I had completed chemotherapy, radiation and herceptin. However I have never been one to hold completely with tradition. The anniversary I follow is the day I had the mammogram. That was the beginning of my survivorship.

It changed my life in so many ways. Oh yes, cancer is a tenacious, aggressive beast. Once it "marks" you it haunts you for the rest of your life. But there is so much more to life than just having to deal with cancer which I always spell with a small "c". I would never give it a capital - would give it much too much importance. It deserves no respect.

And yet. Through all of the tests and treatments, with all that I put my body through both physically, psychologically and emotionally I don't dwell on the negative aspects. I still say to this day that it was the best thing that ever happened to me.

I rediscovered my faith, I realized that I have always been a spiritual person and my spirit grew and expanded as I allowed myself to live within it. I was reminded daily of the important values in life and I rediscovered joy and beauty. I learned to live each day just as it is, for all that is and all that it can be.

I give thanks every single day for every blessing in my life. And every May 4th I will continue to celebrate the mammogram that saved my life in every.single.way.

New Balance - Running on Hope

An email I received today which may be of interest to others.

My name is Elisa Garcia-Rey and I work with New Balance on their breast cancer awareness campaigns. I wanted to share a description of our current campaign in the hopes that you might find it relevant to yourself and your loyal readers. New Balance is currently celebrating their 20-year partnership with Susan G. Komen for the Cure with a special documentary that will feature the real life story of a participant in the Komen Race for the Cure. To select the featured runner/survivor, we are asking for people to share their story with us as part of our "Running on Hope" contest. The person who is selected will be invited to Washington, D.C. for the Global Race for the Cure® on June 6, 2009 where they will be featured in New Balance's documentary about our history of supporting the cause. Entrants can share what running in the Race for the Cure® means to them in a 1-minute video that they can upload at

www.newblance.com/runningonhope.

One winner will be chosen from among these entries. We hope that this contest will allow people the chance to inspire others in the same way that they inspire us, and that you’ll be able to share this with others in your extended community. Thanks so much for your time and consideration.

Kris Carr's Crazy Sexy Life Web Ring

I was reading Cathy Bueti's blog (find the link on my sidebar) and she was talking about Kris Carr's new web ring, Crazy Sexy Life...a spin off from her Crazy Sexy Cancer.

This is open to anyone who has had cancer and would like to connect with others. There is no cost to join. The site includes forums, groups and discussions. You set up your own page within the site where you can blog and share your journey with others who will "get" you as only other survivors can.

Definitely worth checking out!

Become a Pink Artist

If you are artistically inclined, and even if you are not, this is a very inspiring project undertaken by Monica Magness of Girl Gone Thread Wild. I posted this the other day on my Esprit * d'Art blog, but want it seen here on my breast cancer blog.












My latest project will be taking part in the Pink Artist initiative that Monica at Girl Gone Thread Wild has created.

I know that many of you are participating in this wonderful charity event, and as a breast cancer survivor I am absolutely thrilled that Monica has undertaken this. More than that, I simply must participate. I wish I had realized what this was all about sooner, or I'd have been spreading the word sooner.

If you are an artist and have not already committed to this project, I urge you to check out Monica's site and sign up to participate in this wonderful event.

To quote Monica:

"the pink artist"
is a community of artists joining together
to create one joint art doll to benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
When doll is complete, it will be mailed in to Art Doll Quarterly™
before finally being auctioned off on eBay at a later date.

ALL PROCEEDS WILL DIRECTLY BENEFIT CHARITY.


Spread the word!
If you are a quilter, mixed-media artist, polymer clay artist,
painter, doodler, felting guru, pastel artist, doll artist, beader, collage artist,
abstract artist,stitching queen, yarn goddess, paper artist, rubber stamper,
photographer, digital junky, rusted ART connoisseur, crayon/marker
enthusiast, journal-ER, poet... you get the idea,
We need YOUR participation!

Create:
one 2x2 inch square with a cloth base using your chosen medium
in ANY way you feel inspired to do so for this project

Schick Quattro Booby Wall

While I am not posting here on a regular basis as I have said, I do want to mention the Schick Quattro Booby Wall. Back in November 2007 I posted about this "Wall", having bared all for a photograph to be put on the wall. The wall wasn't being posted on line until January. I had completely forgotten about this until receiving an email from my cousin Heather today, saying that she had "seen" me on the wall. And yes, it's up and running and yes, I'm there (near the end).

I am so pleased to see the number of women who are prepared to post themselves on this wall in support of breast cancer screening and awareness. What I would like to have seen (and hope to) is more women of colour participating in this. Breast cancer affects women of colour in a way that it does not caucasian women and the awareness needs to be stressed. That said, I think from having spoken with a survivor of colour the day I did this photo, she was not comfortable sharing her story with the world. And this may be a cultural difference in upbringing and philosophy.

Regardless, please check out the BoobyWall and if you are so inclinced, post your photo on the site.

For those who are still interested in hearing my voice as I continue my journey through life, I can be found at

Everyday Possibilities

The Middle Place

Although I have moved on from daily discussing breast cancer and what it means in the world, I do wish to share this.

And as uncanny as this is, I was preparing my thoughts to do this when I read my friend Beth's blog today and we are discussing the same subject, or rather, the same book.

A few weeks ago I was sent a complimentary copy of a book written by Kelly Corrigan. It is a memoir entitled "The Middle Place".

Perhaps from the cover of this book I was already in the "I don't think so" corner. It says:

The Middle Place is about calling home. Instinctively. Even when all the paperwork--a marriage license, a notarized deed, two birth certificates, and seven years of tax returns--clearly indicates you're an adult, but all the same, there you are, clutching the phone and thanking God that you're still somebody's daughter.

As a breast cancer thriver, I love to read books about the journey. I want to know how others coped, what they experienced, what they discovered.

I've had this book for over 2 weeks and I'm only at Chapter 20 and last night while reading 2 pages decided I can't even finish it.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the writing or the memoir. The writing is easy to read but this woman's story is not my story and therefore I cannot relate. I'm definitely not enjoying it.

What it has made me feel is lost. I envy people who experience cancer who have parents they can run home to for reinforcement, for strength, for protection of their love. I had no parents, no siblings. I had the love of my family -- husband, children. I had friends and acquaintances I barely knew who came out of the woodwork with love...who became more to me than what family might have been.

If I say my feelings about the author were those of a spoiled young woman (even from the stories she told of her past and her youth), that stood out for me more than the lessons of strength that she learned from her father.

I think we all have strength. We are born to be strong. It is the challenges of our lives that show us how strong we are and how our strength intensifies and carries us through these challenges.

This is as always my opinion.

Hope With Genetic Research In the Spread of Breast Cancer

Scientists find key factor in breast cancer spread

Jan 09, 2008 05:17 PM
Julie Steenhuysen
Reuters

CHICAGO – By restoring tiny bits of genetic material missing from breast tumours in mice, U.S. researchers said today they were able to block the cancer's ability to spread.

The finding will help doctors make better treatment decisions and may give rise to a new way of halting the advance of breast cancer, said Dr. Sohail Tavazoie, an oncologist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York.

"What's most important to us as cancer doctors is the concern that the cancer is going to come back," said Tavazoie, whose study appears in the journal Nature.

Tavazoie said the research will give doctors a better way to determine if a particular breast cancer tumour will spread and also add to the list of possible targets that could be used to make drugs that block genes that make cancers spread.

And down the road, it may lead to new therapies that restore the missing molecules that keep cancer tumours in check.

Cancer spreads when bits the primary tumour break off and attack other organs. This process, known as metastasis, is what makes cancer so deadly.

Tavazoie, working in the lab of Joan Massague, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute researcher, set out to isolate the process that causes aggressive tumours to spread.

They found bits of genetic material called ribonucleic acid or RNA that suppress the spread of breast cancer to the lungs and bone. When they put those molecules back into breast cancer tumours in mice, the tumours lost their ability to spread.

Tavazoie said these small pieces of RNA known as microRNAs work by directing the activity of genes, much like the conductor of an orchestra.

They found that in certain aggressive cancers, some of these microRNAs are missing, allowing the aggressive spread of the cancer. When they restored these microRNAs to human breast cancers in laboratory mice, the cancer stopped spreading.

The researchers also found these same microRNAs were missing from human breast cancer cells taken from women whose tumours had spread.

"We think these microRNAs will help us to know if this is an aggressive tumour or not," Tavazoie said in a telephone interview.

"If it is, we will need to treat this woman with very aggressive therapy and we will need to be diligent about watching it," he said, adding that it may help doctors decide whether some women with less aggressive tumours can skip chemotherapy.

Tavazoie's team also looked to see which genes were causing all of the trouble when the microRNAs went missing. They found an especially strong association between the loss of miR-335 and cancer relapse. When this microRNA was absent, they found strong activity in a set of six genes.

Two of the genes, SOX4 and TNC, were already known to play a role in cell migration. When the researchers suppressed the activity of these genes, they reduced the cancer's ability to spread.