NEW Breast Cancer Support Group in Utah County... Sister Survivors

For anyone who still reads this blog (sorry about the lack of posting), here is the new blog for our breast cancer support group... Sister Survivors (it's what I've been working on instead of this blog):

SisterSurvivors

That blog is updated daily - Monday through Saturday. Here is the schedule...

Monday Memoirs - writing through cancer is very therapeutic. Each Monday we'll post a question for you to think and write about. So, grab a beautiful journal and a pretty pen, and let your thoughts spill out.

Tuesday Tidings - we all want to know the "latest" news on the breast cancer front. On Tuesdays, we'll post something about research and development, or things you can do to stay healthy, or even just suggestions for getting through treatment.

Wordless Wednesday - the posts on Wednesdays will be photos. What inspires you? A cancer patient's smile, a beautiful summer morning, a new nail polish color? We'll find a picture of something beautiful to look at, and give you a treat every Wednesday morning. Want to add to the fun? Email a photo to us at sistersurvivors@gmail.com

Thursday Thoughts - This will be a day for sharing our thoughts about cancer, strength, faith, sisterhood... anything that gets us thinking and will help others. We'd love to hear your thoughts about the post, so speak up in the comments section.

Friday Fare - This is our healthy recipe day - guest blogger, Shannon Stahura, will share a yummy recipe with us each week. Shannon does a lot of research to find the best, most healthy foods to use in these recipes.

Saturday Strength - Physical exercise is so important in reaching and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Exercise is also important in healing. Look for an exercise tip here each Saturday.

It is my hope that this blog will become a place where breast cancer survivors can come together, learn things, and discuss things. I'm hoping to figure out how to put a discussion feature on the blog soon.

The new survivor group is going well, I think. We've had two meetings so far. We've had about 31 survivors show up to these meetings. After all the hard work we've done to get this up and running, it's nice to see that it will be of some benefit to others. I love the other two survivors on the board - Bethanie Newby and Colette Harris. I hope you'll take a minute to visit the group's blog.

Have a great day.

NEW GOVERNMENT GUIDELINES ON BREAST HEALTH - WHAT A JOKE...

Unfortunately, this isn't a joke - it's real...

I am FURIOUS!!! I just watched a report on Fox news this morning about the "new government taskforce guidelines" for breast care. Here are the new guidelines:

1. Mammograms are NOT needed for healthy 40-49 year olds of average risk.
2. Women, ages 50-74, should get screened every 2 years, not annually.
3. Mammograms NOT needed for women ages 75 and up
4. Doctors should no longer teach breast self-exam

Can you believe this? Here is what the report said.

Alisyn, the reporter, interviewed Dr. Cynara Coomer, a surgeon and Professor of Cancer Surgery at Mt. Sinai. Dr. Coomer called this "a step backward". She said it was "very coincidental timing" and "motivation is about saving costs as opposed to worrying about over-diagnosing/treating women." She continued, "...shouldn't be worrying about saving money at the expense of women." She said that 40% of her practice is women under 50.

A few of the things they discussed...

Less testing translates to less treatment = some cancers will streak by.
For every 7-10 women who are being over-treated (mammograms), we are saving 1 woman's life - that's worth it. (I personally think it's worth it - what about you?)
Women who have breast cancer under the age of 50 tend to have much more aggressive tumors - the years are going to make a difference for these women.

Dr. Coomer said "This is rationing, and we need to be very concerned about it." "The 'Public Option' [in the new healthcare plan] will be using these federal guidelines as opposed to using the guidelines from the American Cancer Society. The American Cancer Society in not going along with these guidelines, and we can only hope that the private insurance companies don't follow suit."

Wow. I immediately emailed the newsroom - I want my voice heard. I don't know that my emailing Alisyn will make any difference at all, but I CANNOT be silent on this matter. Here is my email to Fox:

"Alisyn -

I just watched your report on the new government guidelines on breast cancer screening and I am FURIOUS!
I cannot believe that the guidelines that have been set by the American Cancer Society are being challenged - who better to set guidelines like these - the cancer society or government bureaucrats who know nothing about cancer?! These new guidelines are a joke -
NO mammograms needed for ages 40-49?! So, the women who are in their 40s don't really need screening, even though 100s of 1000s of women in that ages group are diagnosed every year?!
Mammograms for ages 50-74 only EVERY OTHER year?! Personally, 1 year for my cancer is a big deal, since mine was a fast growing cancer.
Mammograms NOT NEEDED for women over age 74 - ok. What?! So, only women between 50 and 74 even matter to the government?!
This one really confuses me: doctors should no longer teach breast self-exam? I don't understand - why? Maybe because during your self exam you might find something and then have to get a mammogram? Whatever. What they should really say is only women between the ages of 50 and 74 should do self exams - we don't want anyone else - younger or older women - finding anything that will make it so that we have to take care of them.

I'm 43 years old. The ONLY way my aggresive breast cancer was found was through a mammogram. If they wouldn't have found it last year, I've been assured that by the time I could actually feel the tumors, it would have been about 4-5 years later, and I would have been so far advanced, they wouldn't have been able to save me. And according to these guidelines, I shouldn't even do self exams, so if I followed those guidelines, I wouldn't have found the lumps - I just would have died.

My mammogram - that I got at age 42 - saved my life. SAVED MY LIFE - a life that, according to the government, doesn't really matter. I was low risk - I had no risk factors.

HOW DARE THEY?! How dare they make a decision like this that will affect so many womens' lives. I'm willing to bet that not one of the people on that task force has ever been touched by breast cancer, because if anyone had, they would be fighting like crazy to keep the American Cancer Society's guidelines. And when I say 'touched by breast cancer', I don't mean just women who have had it, I'm talking about their families and friends. They are changing not only the lives of 1000s of women, but their families' lives as well - my breast cancer had an impact on me, my husband, my 4 sons, my parents, my sister, my boss, my friends, my neighbors, etc.

Anyone who has even one active brain cell in their head should FIGHT LIKE HELL to get this changed. They should fight like hell to oppose the government health care plan too - this is only the first of many terrible things that will happen if we let this plan take hold."

I really hope that anyone who reads this post will forward the information on to all of the women they know - and try to get the word out about this.

LET YOUR VOICES BE HEARD - DO NOT SIT BY SILENTLY AND LET THE GOVERNMENT GAIN CONTROL OVER AN IMPORTANT ISSUE LIKE THIS.

Check out my other blog this week - featuring breast cancer survivors

Check out my blog, INCREDIBLE WOMEN, this week - we've gone PINK for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I'm featuring many of the nurses who helped me in the chemo unit during my treatments, and I'm also featuring many breast cancer survivors.

BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH

CHECK IT OUT... The month of October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. Try to do something during this month to help the fight. Here are 10 suggestions...

1. Find a local breast cancer walk and join it. On October 10th, there is a walk in Liberty Park in Salt Lake City that I'm going to try to go to. Why don't you join me??? http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/MakingStridesAgainstBreastCancer/MSABCFY10GreatWest?pg=entry&fr_id=19868 You can sign up as a team or as an individual walker. Don't forget to make a donation!

2. Do a self exam. Go to the self exam button on the sidebar of this blog. This will give you directions on how to do your self exam. On the 15th of every month, I do a post on this blog reminding you to do your self-exam. It's important.

3. Schedule your mammogram (once a year - October is a great time). There is a button on the sidebar of this blog that you can click once a day - this is easy to do and it provides a free mammogram to those women who can't afford it. Cool, huh? So visit each day to help out. If you'd like to go straight to The Breast Cancer Site where they do this, click here http://www.thebreastcancersite.com/clickToGive/home.faces?siteId=2&ThirdPartyClicks=BCS_linktous_120_01

4. Help a friend who is going through cancer. A few tips. Just offer your help - don't try to say "I know it must be hard", or "I know how you feel". Unless you've been in that exact spot, you'd don't know. So, just help. Bring dinner. Send flowers. Show up and do some laundry, or help clean. Send a note. Anything is appreciated. Believe me, there are days when you just can't even get out of bed, so any help is great. Call first. :-)

5. Donate money to help find a cure. Tina, over at Blogging For Boobs Bash, is raising money for breast cancer research - she will be featuring survivor stories on her blog all month. I'll be there at some point. Go and take a look. http://talkinwithteenie.blogspot.com/search/label/blogging%20for%20boobs%20breast%20bash She's doing lots of give-aways this month as well.

6. If you are a survivor, find someone to mentor - answer their questions, lend them your scarves and hats, etc. There are lots of online communities that you can join to share your story - one I belong to is Wellsphere. I'm in the Breast Cancer community there. Check it out... http://www.wellsphere.com/home.s

7. Be aware! Don't bury your head in the sand and hope breast cancer doesn't come your way. Some statistics:
An estimated 192,370 U.S. women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009- that's about 528 per day, 22 per hour - one woman every 3 minutes!
An estimated 40,170 women will die of breast cancer in 2009 - that's 110 per day!
The median age at breast cancer diagnosis in the United States was 61 years. This means that half the women diagnosed with breast cancer are under the age of 61 - I was 42.
An estimated 2.5 million women living in the United States have a history of breast cancer.
So take care of yourself and make sure the women in your life - mothers, sisters, friends, aunts, cousins - everyone - takes care of themselves.

8. Spread the word about breast cancer - talk to everyone. The internet is a powerful tool - use email, facebook, twitter, blogs - whatever you can think of to spread the word about the importance of early detection in breast cancer.

9. Know your family health history. This is something I need to work on. It changes all the time. You should be aware of the health problems (especially stuff like heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and cancer) of your siblings, parents, and grandparents. When you go to see a doctor, they'll want to know about your history and it really is important.

10. Keep "abreast" of Breast Cancer. Research for Breast Cancer is making huge strides. Gain some knowledge - read books, search the internet, etc. Become an expert. It could help you or someone you know!

Breast cancer SUCKS. You DO NOT want to find out how much. Believe me.

Take Care Everyone! Love you all. Thanks so much for helping me through this last year - you were all wonderful. MMMMWWWWWAAAAA!