http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3XcId2Gaio
Maintaining the health of the lymphatic system following cancer treatment is one way to reduce the risk of lymphedema. Jeannette Zucker, a physical therapist and lymphedema specialist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, discusses how diet plays an important role in the prevention of lymphedema.
We are now "Susan At Antonino Salon" specializing in Human Hair, Human Hair/Synthetic Blend and Synthetic wigs. I am an Oncology Nurse and Breast Cancer Survivor offering products for women undergoing Chemotherapy and Radiation Treatment since 1994. “The Fit of Custom Made. The Value of Custom Tailored.” CALL or TEXT 248-544-4287 for your FREE consultation on Monday and Tuesday from 10 AM to 4 PM. We are located within Antonino Salon, 191 Townsend, Birmingham, MI 48009.
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Bigger Than Cancer
Fellow blogger Nancy Stordahl (Nancy’s Point) left a comment on an earlier post that got me thinking. She said, “…we are all linked by so much more than cancer.”
She is so very right. Cancer is what led us to one another, to the #bcsm, the breast cancer blogosphere and twitterverse in which we write and debate and argue and learn, to one another as sources of strength among those who understand this journey in ways that loved ones often do not.
Community is shared moments…
On February 6, 2012 we lost both Rachel and Susan. For some, those of us who knew them personally, or had off-line relationships with them, the loss was deeper than for others. But whether we knew these women, heard of them, learned from them…their deaths reverberated around the world, as we came together to mourn and remember.
That same week we watched together as the venerable Susan G. Komen for the Cure began to unravel. We knew it was coming. We had watched and warned as Komen abandoned its “promise” to find a cure in favor of building a brand. Despite deep animosity for Komen, not one of us was cheered by this. Komen’ s deep pockets have the power to change the face of breast cancer. Our hope for an end to breast cancer hinges on the harnessing and maximizing focused resources on the most promising of research areas. Cooperation and collaboration, not division and derision.
Community is a coming together…
Another hallmark of this incredible community is its openness. All are welcome. Truly. We are a global community of survivors, caregivers and healers. We are seek to be open-minded and understanding, filled with love and respect. While many of us come and go, based on the demands of otherwise busy lives, many of us continue to seek solace and support here.
Community is a shared future…
At the heart of this community likes our deep desire to see an end to this disease. For ourselves, our sisters and mothers, our daughters and theirs… We arrive without egos, each journey as right as the next, grateful to be alive (even when it’s n awful day) and hoping to be here the day we find a “cure.”
A community, after all, is more than a group of people with common threads, but rather a group of people who cast their lot together. What keeps us together, what forms this community, is so much bigger, stronger than cancer…it is each other.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2011
Guest Article - Benefits of Fitness on Cancer Survival
Being diagnosed with cancer can be devastating to one’s emotions and, obviously, one’s general outlook on life. For many, cancer is still perceived to be a terminal illness, which leads to death in a matter of years or even months.
However, thanks to modern medicine, cancer is now often curable if detected early. Even in cases where the cancer has progressed, patients can still hope to add to their life expectancy with proper treatment and a healthy lifestyle.
Importance of Staying Fit as a Cancer Patient
A common misconception is that being physically active when one has been diagnosed with cancer will aggravate the illness. A cancer patient often lacks energy, but recent evidence shows that any physical activity that he or she can manage can be beneficial.
For example, a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that stamina gained from regular exercise can actually lower the risk of death from breast cancer. In the study, women with breast cancer who walked at least three hours a week dramatically dropped their mortality risk by as much as 50%.
Dr. Michelle Holmes of the Harvard Medical School, a lead investigator of the study, suggested that physical activity might lower hormone levels, which suppresses the growth and spread of cancer. Also, because breast cancer often leads to insulin resistance, exercise is beneficial by controlling both blood sugar levels and weight, which improves patient outcomes.
Former tennis superstar Martina Navratilova affirms that being in condition helped her deal with her cancer. Instead of moping over her cancer diagnosis, she chose to stand up to it and stay active as though the cancer was not there. While she felt the toll of cancer and was more easily fatigued, her fitness routines during her radiation therapy helped her maintain her stamina and positive mindset.
Some Caveats about Fitness Routines for Cancer Patients
One cautionary note is that cancer patients need to be aware of their physical limits and should practice moderation in their exercise routines. Over-vigorous and prolonged exercising could excessively strain the body instead of strengthen it, making it more vulnerable to cancer complications. Consequently, the proper amount of exercise should be one of the topics to discuss with your physician.
Another special case when considering a fitness regiment ismesothelioma, which weakens the lining of the chest and causes shortness of breath. These conditions can worsen through exercise. Moreover, some forms of conventional mesothelioma treatment, such as chemotherapy, can cause extreme fatigue. Consequently, medical practitioners advise that mesothelioma patients start out with low impact exercises, such as walking, light weightlifting, or yoga.
Some symptoms for cancer patients to watch out for during exercise are nausea, vertigo, headache, pain, numbness, blurred vision or weakness during exercise. If experienced, these should be brought up with a physician.
While cancer is obviously a serious condition, it is by no means a death sentence. Modern medical treatment together with maintaining physical fitness can help cancer patients survive the disease and thrive both mentally and physically.
By: David Haas
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Have you been diagnosed with cancer?
We understand how overwhelming a cancer diagnosis can be. Navigating Cancer will help you take control of your journey by bringing together powerful tools, relevant cancer resources, and a supportive community — all free and easy to use.
Powerful Organizational Tools
Navigating Cancer has developed powerful, easy to use tools for cancer survivors to help you manage your recovery and obtain the best care:
"Navigating Cancer is a great resource for patients. The tracking tools and reporting functions allow us to understand patient experiences so we can provide the best care" — Linda Bosserman, MD, FACP, President, Wilshire Oncology Medical Group
| Make the most of your doctor visits |
Prepare for Doctor Visit Guide – Take our step-by-step questionnaire to summarize the details of how you've been feeling and what medications you've taken. Think about and record key questions you want to discuss.
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Medical Reports & Forms Complete and save common medical forms on Navigating Cancer's secure platform.
"I had time to think at home and not be rushed at office thinking of answers. My kids went to bed, I went on line-EASY!!" – Navigating Cancer user
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| Get organized, plan your recovery |
Medical Records Organizer Use Navigating Cancer to help organize your cancer journey and keep track of your treatments and medications.
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Daily Health Journal Quickly capture how you're feeling, and what side-effects you're experiencing related to your treatment. Regular entries help your health care team identify patterns and troubleshoot issues.
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Navigating Cancer brings together the most helpful information, patient education materials and latest research from trusted resources including the National Cancer Institute and non-profit advocacy groups.
Explore articles related to your diagnosis including symptoms, testing and treatment options. We also offer information reviewed and approved by the FDA for over 150 chemotherapy drugs and regimens and their common side effects.
Create a free account on Navigating Cancer and we will help guide you on your cancer journey with recommended resources based on your specific diagnosis.
23 Best Breast Cancer Blogs of 2012
As many as 12% of women will develop invasive breast cancer during their lifetime. This terrible statistic – about 1 in 8 – has affected more than just the numbers spouted on websites. It has affected the lives of women everywhere.
The brave women and families in the blogs listed here are dedicated to sharing their personal journeys with readers so that no one else has to feel like a statistic. Read about their first minutes coping with the diagnosis, the true impact of chemotherapy, the triumph of recovery, and the pain of relapse. Then cheer them on to the cancer-free finish line.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Don't Let Fear Derail Follow-Up
For anyone who is a cancer survivor or has had any kind of medical crisis, once the crisis has passed, it’s so easy to not want to go “back there.”
The idea of going back and smelling that hospital smell, confronting unpleasant memories, or dealing with the accompanying anxiety is just not at all appealing. After all, we are fine now, right?
As a bone marrow transplant survivor, I have avoided mammograms for years because I was so afraid that one little spot on that film would send me back to “Chemoland”, a place I never want to return.
I tried to convince myself that mammograms were dangerous for me because I had already reached my lifetime limit of radiation. Hmmm, as if letting a breast malignancy go would be safe?
I had also not followed up with an MRI for some brain lesions that were discovered a few years ago not wanting to be thrust into the medical system once again.
Encouraged by a friend, I set up appointments to get checked out from stem to stern. I was anxious as hell, especially waiting for all the results to roll in.
With each result that trickled in, I could breathe a bit more easily. I did receive a call back for more images on my mammogram, which left me sleepless, but turned out to be nothing.
It’s been a week now since I received all of my good news, but here’s the thing. I was carrying around a lot of unconscious worry (and some conscious) that was eroding my health in the form of insomnia and anxiety. I feel so much lighter and had not realized how much all of this avoidance was affecting me.
It is a gargantuan act of self- care to follow up, as scary as it may be. I spend so much time preaching about taking care of oneself and had not inserted this crucial missing piece.
We have all hear the phrase, feel the fear, and do it anyway” and this aptly applies to taking charge of your healthcare, so get out your calendar and make those appointments. Your body, mind, and spirit will thank you.
Published August 1, 2012 at 2:00 PM
Saturday, August 4, 2012
My Semicolon Life: It's not just your cancer
When USA TODAY's Nashville music critic Brian Mansfield was diagnosed with colon cancer at age 48, he figured that a lifetime of Southern-fried foods, extra-large sodas and stress eating on deadline had brought it on. Turned out he had a genetic syndrome that gave him an 80% chance of developing colon cancer. He'll chronicle his life with the disease — and with only a small part of his colon — in a series of weekly installments.
Brian Mansfield
USA TODAY reporter Brian Mansfield and his family. Clockwise, from top: Brian Mansfield, Nick Mansfield, Annalise Mansfield, Gracelyn Mansfield, Zac Mansfield. Nancy Mansfield is in the center.
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When I received my colon-cancer diagnosis in June, my surgeon wanted to test me for Lynch syndrome. A genetic disorder that's the most common cause of inherited colorectal cancer, Lynch syndrome accounts for about 4,200 new cases of colorectal cancer each year, or between 2% and 5% of all cases. The patients who carry it, however, often look an awful lot like me, people in their mid- to late 40s.
STORY: Last week's 'My Semicolon Life'
MORE: Follow Brian on Twitter
MORE: 'Music that makes me want to live' playlist on Spotify
Determining whether or not I had Lynch would affect the course of my treatment. If I didn't have it, my surgeon would remove the tumor and several inches of colon to either side. If I tested positive, on the other hand, the likelihood of new tumors was so high that he would want to take out more. On the theory that the less colon I had, the less place there'd be for a tumor to recur, he would remove all but the last couple feet of my colon and rectum, just enough to keep me from needing a colostomy bag. Because of Lynch's hereditary nature, a positive result also would have a big impact on my family.
It wasn't a cheap test, my doctor said, about $4,000, and my insurance might or might not cover the cost (it did). Since nobody in my immediate family had ever had colon cancer, I figured the test would come back negative. Still, better to err on the side of caution now than have to undergo a second surgery because I wanted to do some cost-cutting.
Three months ago, I'd never heard of Lynch syndrome. But that didn't stop me from having it.
Now I know more about it than I wish I did. The syndrome — named after Henry Lynch, a geneticist who has done groundbreaking research on hereditary cancer at Nebraska's Creighton University — put me at an elevated risk for developing colon cancer. It's also called HNPCC, or hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer, but, to quote Leslie Nielsen in Airplane!, "that's not important right now."
What is important is that as many as 800,000 people in the USA may have this disorder. According to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as many as 98% of them may be undiagnosed, as unaware of their condition as I was.
Lynch syndrome is a defect in one of the mismatch repair genes, which correct errors during DNA replication. It's like using a broken photocopier with no quality control, endlessly churning out flawed copies. Stack those flawed copies high enough, and they turn into a tumor like the one removed from my abdomen last month.
That tumor's gone, but my copier's still broken. There's a 50/50 chance a new tumor will crop up some time in the next 15 years, if not in my colon, then maybe in my stomach. Or my small intestine, my urinary tract, or even my brain.
In general, Lynch syndrome carriers have an 80% chance of getting colorectal cancer during their lifetime. For women, that percentage is slightly lower, but their chances of getting endometrial cancer run as high as 60%. My particular variety of Lynch (there are several) comes with a slightly lower risk of colorectal cancers (fat lot of good it did me) but a much higher risk of gynecological cancers for women.
Though Lynch plays a part in only a small percentage of colon cancers, it's more likely in cases where the patient is under 50. When there's no immediate family history — as was the case with me — the likelihood of Lynch rises to 7%, according to my surgeon. Factor in a family member with colon cancer, and the chance that Lynch is involved goes up to about 30%.
Linda Bruzzone, founder of Lynch Syndrome International, was diagnosed with Stage 3 colon cancer in 2007 at age 55. Her brother, sister, father and an aunt all had Lynch-related cancers. She founded LSI in 2009 when "we couldn't find anybody alive with the Lynch syndrome gene," she says.
That all changed when the organization went online. "Things went absolutely berserk," Bruzzone says. Now, in addition to the website, LSI maintains a Facebook page, and Bruzzone describes the culture of Lynch-cancer survivors and previvors that gathers there as a hopeful one.
My family already has benefited from our new knowledge. My father, who almost certainly passed this trait to me, had never had a colonoscopy, even though he's 74. Since my diagnosis, he and my younger sister have both had their first colonscopies, and both had polyps removed. Left alone, those polyps could have turned cancerous within a couple years. (Polyps in people with Lynch tend to turn into cancer on a faster basis, my surgeon says.)
What signs might indicate Lynch syndrome in your family? Check your family medical history for three relatives with colorectal or gynecological cancers, especially if any of them were younger than 50 when they were diagnosed. The cases should span successive generations and also include at least one first-generation relative (a parent, sibling or child).
That last detail was the one that tripped me up. My paternal grandmother's extended family had cancer all through it, but she'd had a hysterectomy in her 50s, thereby removing her most at-risk organs. My father was an only child. Since he and my sister had never had colonscopies, even if they had had cancer, none of us would have known.
At some point, my wife and I will get tests on our four kids, the oldest of whom turns 21 next month. Each has a 50/50 chance of carrying the gene. The ones that do probably will have colonoscopies every couple of years starting in their early 20s. Endoscopies, to check for cancer in the upper gastrointestinal tract, will start around 30. The girls also will be screened regularly for gynecological cancers, most likely using a combination of ultrasounds and biopsies. Barring a major medical advance, their doctors may recommend preemptive hysterectomies when they reach their 30s.
There's a pretty good chance I'll be around to watch them go through all that, and listen as they blame me for it. My heart will ache for them every time, but I'll happily take the grousing about colonoscopy prep, or even a life-altering surgery, to keep them from having to hear the words "We found cancer." I may have bought my father a few extra years; maybe my situation can buy my kids a whole lot more.
It's like Bruzzone told me: "The difference in our generation and the previous one is that we're surviving."
Music that makes me want to live
Cancer has changed the way I hear music, more than any other life event except my marriage. Songs I once appreciated only on a surface level now strike deep at the core of my soul. Some inspire me; some terrify me. Others that I might have liked before, I've got no use for now. I've also got more time to listen, whether it's during my morning exercise time or while lying in a hospital bed. These songs form part of the soundtrack to my cancer story.
1. Stories to Tell, Dave Barnes
2. Lifetime, Emeli Sandé
3. Don't Let Me Fall, The Bluefields
4. If You Ever Get Lonely, Love and Theft
5. From There to Back Again/Pacific Coast Highway/Summer's Gone, The Beach Boys
Next: Words and help that really helped
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As we approach the holidays here, I am often reminded how grateful I am to continue my work here at Antoninos. In a recent anniversary cel...
