October 19 - Some Stats

Because I'm on a role, and someone asked me the other day why we make such a big deal about breast cancer:

• About 1 in 8 women in the United States (12%) will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime.
• In 2010, an estimated 207,090 new cases of invasive breast cancer were expected to be diagnosed in women in the U.S., along with 54,010 new cases of non-invasive (in situ) breast cancer.
• About 1,970 new cases of invasive breast cancer were expected to be diagnosed in men in 2010. Less than 1% of all new breast cancer cases occur in men.
• About 39,840 women in the U.S. were expected to die in 2010 from breast cancer, though death rates have been decreasing since 1990. These decreases are thought to be the result of treatment advances, earlier detection through screening, and increased awareness.
• Besides skin cancer, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among U.S. women. More than 1 in 4 cancers in women (about 28%) are breast cancer.
• In 2010, there were more than 2.5 million breast cancer survivors in the U.S.
• About 70-80% of breast cancers occur in women who have no family history of breast cancer. These occur due to genetic abnormalities that happen as a result of the aging process and life in general, rather than inherited mutations.

Add a vociferous advocacy group, a signature fun color (PINK!), and a TON of fundraising = progress toward a cure! Cancer is NOT sexy, but healthy breasts are, so it's a pretty easy sell.

October 12 - More Cancer Stuff (& why I'm a bad wife)

Last Thursday, my charming husband and I attended the Breast Cancer Survivors' Luncheon in Mishawaka, sponsored by Susan G. Komen for the Cure of Northern Indiana. There's still something weird about sitting in a room packed full of white haired or bald older ladies eating dry chicken and cheering each other on for just being alive. I mean it's cool, but kinda uncomfortable too.

My favorite part was listening to the keynote speaker, Dr. Sharon Stack, from the Mike and Josie Harper Cancer Research Institute. She is a professor at Notre Dame and the Science Director at the newly formed Cancer Research Institute, a collaboration between Notre Dame and Indiana University on the latest cancer studies. Her description of the scientific process and some of the work in progress was intriguing and hopeful.

Prize drawings and promotions rounded out the dinner, but I had to leave early to return to work. A few minutes after leaving, Dale texted me to say I won the centerpiece mums. Yippee! I rarely win anything, so I got all excited. Then I read the full text: and he gave them away. Instant selfish grumpiness. I didn't respond.

When he got home, he asked if I got the text and wasn't that cool of him. I turned all sarcastic and bitter. "Oh sure. It's not as if I like flowers or anything. Especially perennial ones that are perfect this time of year." About an hour later, I ran upstairs to put kids to bed and found this waiting in our bathroom:
I am a horrible person. Dale just grinned.

I am a self-centered survivor who is lucky enough to be alive and married to a kind, generous, thoughtful man. That is worth celebrating!

October - Breast Cancer Awareness

It's October already! (My favorite time of year, having nothing to do with pink.) In honor of what started this blog in the first place about 4 years ago, I thought I should mention National Breast Cancer Awareness month.

I'm quietly passionate about this cause. I suppose this is understandable since I've walked a bit of the road, but now it's more about what I see in others. I freakin' HATE cancer! I have two patients right now that should be living lovely, productive lives but are completely bowled over by the daily ravages of this wretched, metastatic disease. I ache for them and their families and soooo wish the disease had been caught sooner.

So. Self-checks are not a joke, no matter how many guys-who-think-they're-hilarious wear suggestive t-shirts. And self-checks for men matter too, 'cause I personally know two males in this area who have been diagnosed in the last year.

Beyond self-care, here's something everyone can do to easily support the cause: click on the Breast Cancer Site link to fund mammograms for others. Each day you can click the box. I'm a facebook fan, so when I see the name come up on my news feed, two clicks completes the job.

Here's to hoping this note finds you all happy & healthy, but willing to check - just in case. Find out more details here.