Today, Senator Barack Obama made a statement in support and recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I’m pasting it here, for you, because I think you should read it (I’m going to put the points I want you to take note of in bold:

Today, I’m proud to add my voice in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. For me, the fight against cancer is deeply personal. My mother died of ovarian cancer in the prime of her life. And at a time when she should have been focused on getting well, she was lying in a hospital bed arguing with her insurance company because they refused to cover her treatment.

For millions of Americans, my mother’s story is all too familiar. That’s why, as President, I will make the fight against cancer an urgent national priority by doubling federal cancer research funding. What’s more, I’ll enact health care reform that guarantees affordable coverage for every American who wants it, and we’ll make sure that insurance companies can no longer discriminate against those who are sick and need care the most. Because screening saves lives, I’ll require coverage of essential preventive services like mammograms in all federally supported health plans. And because breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among African-American women and Latinas, we’ll come together to address the root causes of health disparities by promoting prevention, strengthening public health, and implementing patient navigation programs.

This year, more than 200,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer. Millions more will love someone who is. This month, as we rededicate ourselves to finding a cure, we must also dedicate ourselves to making sure that everyone who is diagnosed with cancer gets the care, treatment, and support they need. Now is the time to commit ourselves to waging a war against cancer as aggressive as the war cancer wages against us.

Now … I’m still on the fence about this election. I was all for the Obama/Biden ticket until McCain announced Palin as his running mate. So now, I’m not sure if I’m voting for Obama or McCain … But I like that Obama is acknowledging BCAM, for sure. What do you think?

(Image: Newscom)

Post from: Blisstree

Read Obama’s Statement About Breast Cancer Awareness Month

You’re not going to believe what I just read!

According to a new study by the not-for-profit National Women’s Health Resource Center (NWHRC), the nation’s leading source for women’s health information, women who are dissatisfied with their overall physical appearance are significantly less likely to be up to date with preventive screenings, such as mammography and breast self-exam.

Oh goodness … this worries me so much. Just another reason to believe that developing a positive body image is key to a woman’s health and wellness.

So this seems this is a good time to ask yourself a few questions, questions posed by a few blogging colleagues of mine in the past, that I thought I’d revisit here:

1. Do you feel good in your own skin?

2. Does the thought of seeing yourself nude strike fear in your heart?
3. Need a confidence boost?

Please love your body enough to go for preventative screenings and conduct breast self-exams. Please.

(Image: Newscom)

Post from: Blisstree

How your body image and breast health are related

I just read today’s New York Times article that explained the results of a Canadian research initiative:

Three weeks of radiation treatment work just as well as the usual course of five weeks or more for women with early-stage breast cancers.

After my first diagnosis and partial mastectomy, I was treated with the very typical seven weeks of daily radiation therapy. Limiting my treatment to three weeks? Well, that certainly would have greatly reduced the number of weeks I was down and out after that go ’round.

And for some people, a shorter duration might actually be a reason to go ahead with a treatment option they might otherwise skip.

Currently, about 20 to 30 percent of women in North American who need it skip it. And some women who could have lumpectomy plus radiation choose mastectomy instead, simply to avoid radiation, because they live too far from a clinic to travel back and forth for all the treatments.

Make sure you ask your doctors about this particular study if you are currently headed into radiation therapy.

(Image: Newscom)

Post from: Blisstree

Fewer Weeks of Radiation Optional for Early Stage Breast Cancers

Well, last week the FTC filed complaints against 11 companies also making fraudulent claims … here’s a quote from an ABC news article on the topic:

Those selling the purported cures — some made from laetrile, a natural substance found in apricots, peaches and almonds, as well as herbs, shark cartilage or mushroom extracts — are being accused of relying on deceptive advertising in what the FTC described as a “breathtaking” violation of the law.

They’re calling it blatant fraud.

Six of the 11 companies have settled; the other five are being sued by the FTC.

• Omega Supply

• Native Essence Herb Company
• Daniel Chapter One
• Gemtronics
• Herbs for Cancer

I just want to continue to urge my readers to stay wary of companies like these claiming they can ‘cure’ cancer … and always ask your doctors and/or medical professionals before taking anything you read about online or elsewhere.

Post from: Blisstree

The FTC Blows the Whistle on Fake Cancer Claims

We’re just a few short weeks away from Breast Cancer Awareness Month … and the news stories relating to breast cancer that I’m becoming privy to have increased exponentially. I thought it would be best to just do a few round-up posts for you to peruse … pick and choose what you like … and I’ll just keep ‘em coming your way!

First, you should know that a new website launched recently called Cancer101 and offers basics for the newly diagnosed … worth a look-see.

ABC News has been busy working for the cause: here’s a link to an essay by Marie Savard, MD offering 5 Tips to Get the Best Hospital Care. And, they recently featured a piece on Cancer Survivors recently that is worth checking out. (A woman named Ellen Rigby is a Stage IV breast cancer survivor and is profiled in that piece.)

In the blogging community … today, Marijke Durning, RN over at Help My Hurt wrote about how Massage Therapy May Help Cancer Pain. And Kristen King at Lively Woman recently reviewed the TH8 Hemp Hat by Tilley (MSRP $79) which looks like it’d be great for chemo patients!

Then there’s politics … seems McCain and Obama are really on the same side in the war on cancer. Check this Yahoo! News article out for more on that.

More to come … stay tuned. Tell me, if you wouldn’t mind, which pieces you like the best, by leaving a comment below!

Post from: Blisstree

Breast Cancer Awareness Month is Aproaching

Health.com is the web affiliate of Health Magazine; and this month, I was used as a source for an article written by Anne Krueger called “The Survivor Files: Amazing Women Share Their Breast Cancer Journeys.”

Here’s the paragraph on me:

Connecticut mother of three Karen Lynch, who writes for pinkribbonreview.com, appears to have survived breast cancer with her sense of humor intact. Through two bouts with the disease, a double mastectomy, and a TRAM flap reconstruction, she has blogged about everything from breast nicknames (she dubbed her perky reconstructed duo “Barbie breasts” because they have no nipples) to tricks for keeping cancer anxiety from rubbing off on your kids. Karen is frank about how her body image has evolved: “What matters is that I’m here. My body is just my body.”

Here’s a link to the article; the page you get to should look like this:

I’m so happy they used that quote of mine … it is one of the facets of survivorship that I am most proud of and it bears repeating:

“What matters is that I’m here. My body is just my body.”

Post from: Blisstree

My Quote in a Health.com Article

Written by Pamela Paul, in The New York Times Magazine last weekend.

I just got around to it today — and let me tell you, it was excellent. Here are a few highlights:

“The decisions you have to make when a woman has cancer are difficult enough,” Dr. Ann Partridge, an oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, says. “Throw in the fact that she’s pregnant, and now we have another party to think about, the fetus.”

I cannot imagine anything worse than having to think about the effect of your treatment on your unborn child. But is it common, you ask, that women are diagnosed with breast cancer while they’re pregnant? Here’s an answer for you:

Though still relatively rare (the rate of pregnancy-associated cancer is about 1 in 1,000 pregnancies), the incidence of pregnancy-associated breast cancer is considered to be on the rise.

Pamela Paul attributes this largely to the fact that women are having kids later in life … between 35 and 49 years of age … at an age when pregnancy and a breast cancer diagnosis are “most likely to collide.”

Ms. Paul also tells the stories of Lizette Irvin (pictured), Patty Murray and Anya Silver … all of whom were diagnosed with breast cancer during their pregnancies.

“What’s the next step?” she asked. Her oncologist said, “Honey, we start chemotherapy today.” Murray was stunned. She said she thought: “How is that possible? I can’t even take a Sudafed.”

Again … unimaginable to me.

This article is a must read!

Were any of you diagnosed when you were pregnant? Can any of you relate to this piece (or my reaction to it)? Let me know, please, in the comment section below.

(Image: Dan Winters; The New York Times)

Post from: Blisstree

Did You Read the article, “With Child, With Cancer”?

I’m not terribly interested in politics. I’m registered to vote as an independent — never aligning with a party because I haven’t wanted a political affiliation to skew my take on who the best person for the job is. I wasn’t even sure who Joe Biden was until Barack Obama named him as his running mate.

Here’s what I found out about Joe Biden (and his wife Jill) that has me tickled pink (in addition to the fact that he’s a Senator from Delaware):

• Senator Biden was honored as “A Pink Ribbon Crusader” by the Avon Foundation for his support of legislation critical to the breast cancer cause.
• Biden was awarded a “Profiles in Progress” award as a sponsor of the National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
• His wife, Jill Biden, is the president of The Biden Breast Health Initiative (BBHI) — an organization whose mission is “to empower young women through awareness and education to assume responsibility for their overall well-being with a strong emphasis on breast health.”
• Jill received the “Spouse’s Award” from the Cancer Research Foundation of America.

Watch this video … and tell me what you think. Is his advocacy and support for the cause reason enough for you to support this ticket come November?

(Image: Newscom)

Post from: Blisstree

Now THAT’S the ticket — Biden is for breast cancer causes

That’s the tagline on the home page for the Victory Project, founded by Mike Dewey, a site and an initiative designed to change the way we approach finding a cure for breast cancer. There’s some media buzz right now about Mr. Dewey … so I checked it out to get you the information.

Mike’s wife has breast cancer. Her sister, her aunt, her mother … all have been diagnosed with the disease. He has two beautiful daughters … and he has faced the reality that one or both of his beautiful daughters is almost certain to get breast cancer. That’s them, over there on the right … along with their brother (who is also at risk as a male and could certainly carry the gene down to his children).

Mike is motivated, as any husband and father would be, to do his part for the cure. Check out the video below — it clearly explains what Mike Dewey and the Victory Project are all about.

But to recap … according to Mike, he couldn’t sit across the breakfast table from his daughters and do nothing. First he thought maybe he could start a company and come up with a cure himself. Then he realized that wasn’t really possible … but his entrepreneurial spirit and background as a venture capitalist helped him realize he could come up with a new model for philanthropy and tap into the $300 billion Americans donate to charity each year.

So he started the Victory Project. And The Victory Project will award $1,000,000,000 to the first person that develops a cure for breast cancer. Check this out:

Here’s a link you might want to check out — it includes a video clip that appeared on their local (Austin, TX) news station.

If it is on your heart, donate or pledge to The Victory Project. To paraphrase Mike … to keep his daughters, and daughters everywhere, from getting this disease.

(Image: Mike Dewey)

Post from: Blisstree

Reward: $1,000,000,000 For The Cure

New Danish guidelines advising the population not to perform BSEs are supported by a review – to be released later today – of BSE studies previously conducted in Russia and China. The review, co-authored by Dr. Peter Gotzsche, suggests that breast self-exams do not reduce deaths from cancer and “cannot be recommended.”

I requested a copy of the review so I could investigate the issue for you. Here’s the deal:

The review was conducted by The Cochrane Collaboration. The conclusions are indeed as follows:

Data from two large trials do not suggest a beneficial effect of screening by breast self-examination but do suggest increased harm in terms of increased numbers of benign lesions identified and an increased number of biopsies performed. At present, screening by breast self-examination or physical examination cannot be recommended.

The problem seemed to be the high incidence of biopsies based on Breast Self Exam (BSE) that did not result in malignancies. My strong opinion is that a biopsy that gives a woman a clean bill of health is worth the cost of the procedure and the resulting anxiety if the alternative is an advanced stage breast cancer detection!

The author of the review (Dr. Peter Gøtzsche, director of the Nordic Cochrane Centre and Lecturer in medical science theory and ethics at Copenhagen University) did say in his report that “It would be wrong, however, to conclude that women need not be aware of any breast changes.” He stated these implications for research:

It is unlikely that additional trials investigating breast self-examination as a single general screening method would be worthwhile.

That makes a difference — it’s not recommended as a single general screening method (I’m not sure any one said BSE was being used as one though). Meanwhile, the ABC News Medical Unit reported on this story today. They presented both sides of the debate and included in their article the American Cancer Society most likely wouldn’t change their recommendation that BSE is an option for women starting in their 20s. I’d love for someone at the ACS to confirm or deny that opinion.

I’m with Dr. Weiss on this point:

“Early detection of breast cancer is crucial not only to the ‘survivorship’ of a patient, but to her quality of life while treating the cancer, and thereafter. For many patients, early detection could mean not having to lose a breast through mastectomy or not having to experience aggressive chemotherapy,” says Dr. Weiss.

Maybe, just maybe, a diagnosis spreads some light and sheds some clarity in this debate. Don’t you agree?

Post from: Blisstree

Controversial Findings About Breast Self Exam Explained