BREAST CANCER RESEARCH RIGHT NOW! 16 – “Survey Reveals that Most Women Have an Inaccurate Perception of Their Breast Cancer Risk”

From the first moment my wife discovered she had breast cancer, there was a deafening silence from the men I know. Even ones whose wives, mothers or girlfriends had breast cancer seemed to have received a gag order from some Central Cancer Command and did little more than mumble about the experience. Not one to shut up for any known reason, I started this blog…

Every month, I’ll be highlighting breast cancer research that is going on RIGHT NOW! Harvested from different websites, journals and podcasts, I’ll translate them into understandable English and share them with you. Today: http://www.asco.org/sites/www.asco.org/files/bcs_13_research_release_-_letterhead.pdf

While it seems “impossible” that women today – and the men who love them – would be unaware of breast cancer, its challenges, and its dangers, a survey done of 10,000 New York women showed that less than HALF of them have ever even discussed breast cancer with their doctor.

The statistics for breast cancer in 2013:

1. About 232,340 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in women.
2. About 64,640 new cases of carcinoma in situ (CIS) will be diagnosed (CIS is non-invasive and is the earliest form of breast cancer).
3. About 39,620 women will die from breast cancer
4. Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women, exceeded only by lung cancer.
5. The chance that breast cancer will be responsible for a woman's death is about 1 in 36 (about 3%).
6. There are more than 2.8 million breast cancer survivors in the United States. (This includes women still being treated and those who have completed treatment.)

As I am NOT a woman with breast cancer, though married to one of the 2.8 million survivors (three years in March 2014!), I cannot say for certainty why this is.

The Susan B. Kommen Foundation, The American Cancer Society – the biggest names I can think of – are certainly not slacking in their mission.

The women my wife has met who have dealt with breast cancer have ALL been willing to share their lives with her. She has returned the favor to women who have come to her.

So why do so relatively few women talk to their doctors?

My GUESS is fear. Humans are peculiar beings. How many times have you named a fear only to have someone “shush” you because naming the fear might cause it to happen? As if saying, “They might die.” will be the cause of someone’s early demise!

My wife, daughter and I are watching the entire series of MASH episodes. It’s taken us a couple of years, but we’ve reached season 11, disk 2. Last night we watched “UN, the Night, and the Music”. As is the formula for MASH, there’s a humorous storyline (Houlihan falling for a Swedish UN doctor) and a serious storyline (BJ is forced to remove a gangrenous leg of a young soldier). In the second story, BJ mentally beats himself up after finding out the young soldier has a wife and baby daughter at home in the States – just like him. There’s every reason to believe that they will have to remove the man’s leg, but BJ out-and-out refuses to even speak of the possibility – as if saying it will make it happen.

But it’s the infection that takes the leg, despite everyone NOT saying anything about it.

Breast cancer will happen because it’s an insidious, sneaky, and invisible disease; not because a woman asks her doctor about it.

Those of us who love someone who has survived breast cancer; or someone who has loved some who has not survived – need to continue to talk and encourage friends, relatives, and anyone else we know well. Clearly the ad campaigns aren’t working.

Perhaps what’s needed to change these numbers is the PERSONAL TOUCH?

Resources: http://www.cancer.org/cancer/breastcancer/detailedguide/breast-cancer-key-statistics

Image: http://www.ifimages.com/photos/QimCWY32daV9gSUMJs6arLthqUE/author-773/Woman-touching-virtual-interface-window.jpg

Round Four: Random Thoughts On Breast Cancer, Reconstructive Surgery, Lymphedema, Pain, Work, Suffering, and Joy

From the first moment my wife discovered she had breast cancer, there was a deafening silence from the men I know. Even ones whose wives, mothers or girlfriends had breast cancer seemed to have received a gag order from some Central Cancer Command and did little more than mumble about the experience. Not one to shut up for any known reason, I started this blog…

Random, huh?

Whew! Talk about random! Why would thoughts of death intrude on this holy time of year when we celebrate Santa Claus, children, “Ho, ho, ho!”, RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER…

Oh, and the Birth of the Christ Child.

I think about how Target and Walmart and Kay Jewelers and Marshall’s have coopted the season. And Christians fight back with pictures of Santa kneeling at the Manger.

My wife and daughter and I watched one of our season’s favorites the other night, Joyeux Noël (a 2005 French film about the World War I Christmas truce of December 1914, depicted through the eyes of French, Scottish and German soldiers…written and directed by Christian Carion…screened out of competition at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival…nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 78th Academy Awards. The film was one of Ian Richardson's last appearances before his death on 9 February 2007.)

The one Christian Holy Day Wall Street has never been able to coopt is Easter, because Easter is secularly speaking, about a gruesome, governmental execution. For Christians it’s about sacrifice and Resurrection – much like the film, Joyeux Noël.

Much like life in the shadow of death that breast cancer brings everyone who experiences it, loves someone who experiences it, works with those who experience it.

This holiday season is somewhat sober for me for many reasons. Yet somehow that has created in me a deeper appreciation for the joy of this same season – a profound thankfulness for many, many things. This thankfulness isn’t like the Christmas play in MERRY CHRISTMAS, CHARLIE BROWN! Rather it’s like the thankfulness of Linus’ recitation of Luke 2: 1-14 – calm, peaceful, fully aware of what he is saying.

May your Holy Day Season be the same.

Image: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2080/2146696283_afc861ff00_o.jpg

BREAST CANCER WISDOM 7: From Others and From Life Here…

From the first moment my wife discovered she had breast cancer, there was a deafening silence from the men I know. Even ones whose wives, mothers or girlfriends had breast cancer seemed to have received a gag order from some Central Cancer Command and did little more than mumble about the experience. Not one to shut up for any known reason, I started this blog…

Simple one today – http://www.healthline.com/health-slideshow/breast-cancer-tattoos#promoSlide

As a high school counselor and a teacher for 33 years, I’ve seen fads come and I’ve seen them go. Usually they fade away and no one pays any attention to them after they’re gone.

Tats are different. Tats are forever.

My daughter got a tat!

Anyway, tats seem to be here to stay; in vogue for now; for those who get one, they are FOREVER.

There are few things I can imagine getting tattooed for. There are few things that are really worth remembering. I never recommend getting a bf/gf’s name tattooed. Nor a favorite band. Those things pass away either literally or figuratively. Commemorations are OK – my uncle had a Navy tat commemorating his service in WWII. I can’t imagine that there are a whole bunch of tattoos from Vietnam.

But tattoos in support of breast cancer survivors seem to be something that will be around; like God and Bible verses; like “faith, hope, and love” – while the person may not be around forever, the concept will.

So here’s my inspiration this week. This also has the advantage of covering a broader base of Humanity than usual, with a mother-daughter Native American tattoo…

Enjoy and be inspired!

Image: http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/bf/d9/ed/bfd9edeeb56c8a66c682a12a998054d8.jpg

INTERNET DOWN SINCE THURSDAY!!!!!

Our INTERNET is LITERALLY broken. We don't need a "new router" or a "new modem". The actual, facutal DSL physical connection is broken and won't be fixed until Tuesday (at the earliest).

I will resume posting THEN...Tuesday, December 10, 2013, probably evening (if all works out well).

Guy

A Fantastic Cancer Voyage Chapter 2 IV

From the first moment my wife discovered she had breast cancer, there was a deafening silence from the men I know. Even ones whose wives, mothers or girlfriends had breast cancer seemed to have received a gag order from some Central Cancer Command and did little more than mumble about the experience. Not one to shut up for any known reason, I started this blog…

 

One of my fondest memories as a kid is watching the movie FANTASTIC VOYAGE. In it, a group of scientists and their ultra-futuristic laser-packing “submarine” are reduced to cell size and injected into the blood vessels of a world diplomat in order to destroy a blood clot in his brain.

 

What would a FANTASTIC VOYAGE: Breast Cancer look like? I’m going to write a novel here, short chapter by short chapter and I’m going to include the latest research and I’m going to imagine the entire story here for your delectation. If you want to start at the beginning, look left. Scroll down to LABELS. The first one is “A Fantastic Cancer Voyage”. Click on it. Scroll to the bottom and you will find episode on. Let me know what you think after you’ve read the whole thing!

 

Once the invitations and responses had come – word had gotten around about what she was doing – far more quickly than she’d expected, Dr. Olubunmi Nwagbara simply gone home.

 

Ohloo, as she insisted her friends call her, took the late maglev out of Rochester and the deep orbital well that was the Mayo Clinic, escaping thirty kilometers east to the small town of St. Charles. From there, she took her usual electric rental Mini Cooper north to the edge of Whitewater State Park in Elba Township. She owned a forty hectare organic produce hobby farm. She worked it during rare vacations and some weekends, but hired a tiny staff of three to tend to everyday operations, upkeep, housekeep, laundry, and meals. The two men were older, experienced and had been born in Nigeria in a village that spoke the same language she’d been born into – Efik. Her house help had shown up abused and nearly incoherent in the ER one night when Ohloo had been doing her residency.

 

During the Unsettled Twenties, social services had been overwhelmed and helpless, unable to give Diandra Kolchak a place to live. Ohloo had opened her apartment temporarily – and their friendship had been born.

 

Pulling up in the Cooper as it left the intense darkness surrounding the farm, she drove the curving asphalt. That hadn’t been her idea. The previous owner had done it. At least she’d had the concrete lions at the foot of the drive removed. She stopped on the cobbled courtyard.

 

Peter Usoro met her and took over. “Thank you, Sir,” she said. He smiled faintly, amused that she called him by the honorific. But that was how she had been raised. She went in. Di met her, took her coat and said, “There’s supper in the kitchen.”

 

“Thanks,” Ohloo said, lowering the imaginary personal shield she raised whenever she went into work. She sat on a stool and hooked her foot around a leg. “Local news,” she said. The small kitchen computer screen came to life, scrolling grain and pork futures, talking about seed and field treatments for the coming spring as well as announcing the latest bumper crop or famine.

 

After a while she realized that she was being watched. She turned and Di dipped a bit and said, “There’s someone here who’s been waiting to see you all day, Doctor.”

 

Scowling, she said, “They have the proper clearances?”

 

Di looked offended, returning the dark scowl. She stood with her hands hovering around her waist. She’d been trained in self-defense and body-guarding. She knew what she was doing and handled the household security quite well. Ohloo said, “Sorry, Di. Who is it?”

 

She knew the voice that spoke from the hallway leading to the guest suite and grinned as she turned.

 

The Prime Minister of Nigeria stepped into the kitchen light as Ohloo said, “Ediye!”

He opened his arms and she stepped into them as he said, “Daughter. I’ve missed you.” She hugged him and then he pushed her gently back, holding her at arm’s length. “You’ve been busy.”

 

She laughed, “So what else is new? I’ve been busy since before I was born.” Her mirth faded by a look in his eyes. She said, “What’s wrong?”

 

He shrugged, “Nothing that we can’t talk about later. I’m hungry.”

 

She stiffened. The least favorite of his many words from his mouth still had the power to make her feel both angry and ashamed. She called over her shoulder, “Diandra!”

 

His brows rose as he said, “Did your mother not teach you to cook?”

 

She pursed her lips and said, “As a matter of fact, no, Father. Mother did not teach me to cook. Cook did.”

 

“I don’t remember that...”

 

Ohloo clamped her jaw shut. She would not get into an argument. Instead she said, “We’re about to undertake a mission that might change the way Humanity looks at its world!”

 

His eyes darkened and he said, “That is the very reason I’ve flown here. To get you to stop.”

Image: http://medgadget.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/11/Fantastic-Voyage-200x290.jpg

The Reconstruction Era – Part 8

From the first moment my wife discovered she had breast cancer, there was a deafening silence from the men I know. Even ones whose wives, mothers or girlfriends had breast cancer seemed to have received a gag order from some Central Cancer Command and did little more than mumble about the experience. Not one to shut up for any known reason, I started this blog…

“It appears that the next event is breast reconstruction!”

It’s strange because there’s not much to add here...

After the last surgery, life has been calm: we’re managing lymphedema (my wife does the sleeve, wrapping, and watching carefully in order to NOT injure the arm or hand – I do nightly massage to move fluid away from the arm and back and push it into the groin-area lymph nodes to be recirculated); she is taking care of the skin over the new implants; she is contemplating the final stages of reconstruction which are cosmetic – adding a “nipple” to each boob and getting an aureole tattooed on each.

As to that tattooing – the initial mention of it set me off into a spate of giggles. Not intentionally, mind you, but as my daughter has a tattoo on her arm and when she was younger, she asked if I’d accompany her to a certified tattoo parlor in an upscale neighborhood of the city we live in (where I felt like a forklift driver in a Williams-Sonoma Store) – I naturally thought of her and my daughter going into this establishment and inquiring after an aureole tattoo...

So, I’d best check the REALITY of this out. Here. Where I can apologize in public for my ridiculous vision.

Once the surgery to place the implants heals, there are two possible final steps. The site below has this to say, “Chances are, you have probably spent the last few months getting used to nipple-less or ‘Barbie’ breasts.” (Note: I was glad to see that I’m not the only one approaching this with a teeny bit of humor…)

The first choice here is of course, even whether to have the reconstruction of the nipple done at all. There’s no NEED to do it, but “For many women, this is the final step after a long journey.”

The second choice involves no surgery at all, but simply tattooing a realistic APPEARING nipple in place of a skin “tuck”. Tattoo artists are very proud of their work and finding an artist typically begins with your hospital. However, there are individuals who work out of their normal tattoo studios (http://vinniemyers.com/section/105672_Nipple_Areola_Tattooing.html) as well as working through hospitals and clinics.

The third choice is to have a surgeon make a pair of cuts into the skin surrounding the central spot then stitch them together. Once the cuts heal, the end result is a mound of living tissue, what is referred to as a “nipple mound”. Other methods are discussed below including skin grafts and a fat (or dermis) transplant or using the same substance used to create the implant supports to create a natural-looking nipple.

If the second or third choice is taken, an aureole can be created either from other skin grafts or using a tattoo artist to create the effect of the darker skin around the nipple.

This is the next step in the process and I’ll let you know the effects of the final decision!

Resource: http://www.breastreconstruction.org/SecondaryProcedures/NippleAreolaTattoo.html

Image: http://www.breastreconstructionprocess.com/myImages/nippleAreola.jpg

Round Three: Random Thoughts On Breast Cancer, Reconstructive Surgery, Lymphedema, Pain, Work, Suffering, and Joy

Two years ago – three this March 2014 – I would not have been able to imagine that anything could have possibly diverted my mind from thoughts of the breast cancer in my wife. Yet the diagnosis is past, the surgery is past, the chemotherapy is past, the hair growth is past, the reconstruction is mostly past…and now there are DAYS I don’t think about breast cancer.

Of course, cancer itself if never far away. The child of a colleague of mine was recently diagnosed with leukemia…and now from afar, I can see the horror and terror of the impending campaign against cancer all over again.

Yet, I have found progress and some amount of joy recently. Talking to an old friend of mine, we were catching up on the recent experiences of our wives, both of whom were diagnosed with breast cancer – my wife’s journey I’ve written  about here. He is a more private man and aside from telling his group of online friends about the diagnosis and some of the steps of the treatment, he really didn’t say much.

Until my wife was diagnosed as well. That commonality of dismay drew us together after years and while I don’t often see him, I feel a deep and abiding connection with him and know that our lives intertwined in a startling and unexpected way.

So I discovered that other things can now distract me. I’ve grown roots that I’d never needed before, and discovered a new strength I never knew I had. That I never knew was possible – it was a forged kind of strength. You know the kind if you’ve seen the LORD OF THE RINGS movies. It was the kind of strength that came from the reforging of something that was broken – Narsil – and then remade into a stronger, sleeker, more powerful weapon, the new sword, Andúril.

It accomplished great things once, that is, it stopped the dark lord, Sauron and nearly destroyed him. It was remade to accomplish greater things still and when Sauron once again attempted to take over Middle Earth, Andúril not only assured his defeat, it ushered in a New Age.

It appears to me that the New Age has not arrived. The health of my parents is deteriorating and my son left for 5 years of service in the Army.

It appears that while I may have been reforged in the fires of my wife’s struggle through breast cancer, I will be tempered by new fires – and perhaps pass through to be part of greater things.

Just in case you were wondering – this is called ramblings for a reason…

Image: http://img-nex.theonering.net/images/scrapbook/orig/7869_orig.jpg

Late post

I'll be posting late as my son is leaving for the Army in a few hours...

BREAST CANCER RESEARCH RIGHT NOW! 15 – A REAL Fantastic Cancer Voyage

From the first moment my wife discovered she had breast cancer, there was a deafening silence from the men I know. Even ones whose wives, mothers or girlfriends had breast cancer seemed to have received a gag order from some Central Cancer Command and did little more than mumble about the experience. Not one to shut up for any known reason, I started this blog…

Every month, I’ll be highlighting breast cancer research that is going on RIGHT NOW! Harvested from different websites, journals and podcasts, I’ll translate them into understandable English and share them with you. Today: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/268267.php

“Nanotechnology is all about making things that are less that 100 nanometers [a nanometer is 1/1,000,000,000 (one BILLIONTH) of a meter!] in size.  That is pretty small, we are talking about atomic sized stuff.”

That’s like…STAR TREK stuff, right? “Beam me up, Scotty!” That kind of stuff?

Well now that you mention it, we DO live in the second decade of the 21^st Century. Amazing things are happening. Why not being able to design atom-sized molecules to fight breast cancer!

Why bother – won’t chemo take care of most of the metastatic cells? The answer is “yes, but”. Not nice to hear, but true.

“‘When a patient is diagnosed with cancer, he or she undergoes surgery to remove the primary tumor, then undergoes chemotherapy to kill any residual disease, including distant micro-metastases,’ [Dr.  Efstathios] Karathanasis said...‘Chemotherapy drugs are very potent, but because they are randomly dispersed throughout the body in traditional chemotherapy, they aren't effective with the aggressive forms of cancer,’ he continued. ‘You have to give the patient so much of the drug that it would kill the patient before killing those micro-metastases...But delivering the killer drug only to micro-metastases is a challenge. They are hidden among healthy cells in such small numbers they don't make a blip on today's imaging screens.’”

While this project is ONLY IN THE FIRST STAGES OF ANIMAL TESTING, it holds a huge amount of promise. If the hope that has been placed in this therapy actually pans out, it would mean that lost hair, weakened immune systems, damage to the heart muscle and other debilitating side-effects would vanish and the chemo drugs would not only be more effective, they would also be cheaper.

Perhaps you’ve been reading my “novel-in-progress”, FANTASTIC CANCER VOYAGE. In it, I’ve postulated something that resembles this nanotech attack on cancer.

Based on the article, this is what would happen: nanotechs would create chains of atoms that would be attracted to the surface of cancer cells. Becoming cancerous changes the surface. Cells stop communicating with each other and don’t “know” when to stop growing, so the chains are attracted to these differences. The chains would link to the cancer cell and attached to the chain would be a ball of chemical. Once attached to a cancer cell, the ball would shatter at an electrical signal and deliver the chemical directly to the cancer cell – ONLY killing that cell.

This is further in the future than today – but it’s out there. And it’s coming. And it might just be a treatment for our daughters, our granddaughters…and certainly for our great-granddaughters!

Resources: http://www.nanooze.org/main/Nanooze/Zoom/Zoom.html, http://njms.rutgers.edu/gsbs/olc/molonc/prot/2012/MolOncolCanMemMet2012BW.pdf

Image: http://www.cancerworld.org/cancerworld/images/image/CW55/Nanoparticles%20attack%20cancer%20cells.jpg

Metastatic Breast Cancer: Skin Cancer (aka Melanoma)

From the first moment my wife discovered she had breast cancer, there was a deafening silence from the men I know. Even ones whose wives, mothers or girlfriends had breast cancer seemed to have received a gag order from some Central Cancer Command and did little more than mumble about the experience. Not one to shut up for any known reason, I started this blog…

“Where’d this come from?”

Well, see, my brother, sister, and sister-in-law were all diagnosed with skin cancer and successfully treated. As well, an old friend and teaching colleague of mine was recently diagnosed and treated for skin cancer. (The worst part there was that he’d posted a picture of the excision on FaceBook and many (if not all) of US teased him about bonking his head, etc. Thoroughly stung when he later announced that it was a cancerous spot removed, I apologized both on his timeline and to him in person. NOT that I “should have known”, even so...)

Lately, I’ve had these dry, red patches on my face and while using lotion makes them fade, I have (duh) been wondering if they were signs of skin cancer. That led – at least in my mind – to wondering if there was any connection between breast cancer and skin cancer.

Not surprisingly, there is: “Since breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed non-cutaneous (non-skin) cancer among women in the United States, it is not surprising that many individuals with breast cancer will develop melanoma (the deadliest form of skin cancer) and vice versa...recent studies exploring how often individual patients develop both cancers suggest that it [is] more than just coincidence: A recent study by Murphy, et al, for example, found that patients with either breast cancer or melanoma were almost four times more likely to develop the other malignancy than probability would lead researchers to expect. Specific causes linking the diseases may be in play, and genetic or environmental factors may also contribute. On the other hand, the association may at least partly result from more rigorous detection – in other words, a detection bias. This occurs when health care providers who carefully monitor cancer patients detect a second cancer that might otherwise have been missed.”

Also: “Sometimes cancer cells can start growing in the skin. This is not the same as having skin cancer, melanoma, or cutaneous T cell lymphoma (a type of lymphoma that affects the skin). The secondary cancer may start to grow on or near an operation scar where the primary cancer was removed. Or sometimes secondary skin cancers can grow in other parts of the body.

A secondary skin cancer looks like a pink or red raised lump (a bit like a boil). Skin nodules can be treated. It is important to tell your doctor if you think you have one, because if it is not treated, it may become ulcerated [has a ‘cauliflower’ look to it; also it can be weeping].”

So it appears that breast cancer CAN spread to the skin – yet it doesn’t seem to be a common occurrence. I had a bit of trouble even finding places where the two kinds of cancers were linked. That doesn’t make it comforting – just one less-likely thing to worry about.

Resources: http://www.skincancer.org/skin-cancer-information/melanoma/breast-cancer-melanoma-link, http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/cancer-help/about-cancer/what-is-cancer/grow/where-a-cancer-spreads

Image: http://images.medicinenet.com/images/centers/promo/slideshow-skin-cancer.jpg

BREAST CANCER WISDOM 6: From Others and From Life Here…

From the first moment my wife discovered she had breast cancer, there was a deafening silence from the men I know. Even ones whose wives, mothers or girlfriends had breast cancer seemed to have received a gag order from some Central Cancer Command and did little more than mumble about the experience. Not one to shut up for any known reason, I started this blog…

I look for inspiration from many places – my wife, my kids, my parents, my brothers and sisters and in-laws and nephews and nieces and students – lots of places. I frequently find it.

What I don’t often find is inspiration with multiple layers.

My inspiration today comes in the life of a man who was diagnosed with breast cancer late in a life that was full of inspiration.

Very briefly and in his own words: “Mr. EDWARD BROOKE (Former Republican Senator, Massachusetts): I'm doing well. Thank you for asking. I did have breast cancer. They removed one of my breasts and took tissue from the other. They also removed about 13 lymph nodes and so far I'm doing well. And I've been working with the Cohen Foundation and Why Me Foundation to get the word out to men that if you have breast tissue, you can have breast cancer.”

In addition to an amazingly active political life and being showered with awards, former-senator Brooke is a strong, masculine beacon for guys who need to talk about breast cancer (that statement remind you of anything?)

He said, “‘I want to produce some male breast cancer awareness on a national level,’ Brooke explains. ‘I'm a very private person, but if I have to give up my privacy to save a life, then I am willing to do that. Because if you have breast tissue, you can get breast cancer. Don't forget that.’”

Inspiring. Powerful. Very much “a man” (complete with a tawdry, very Washingtonesque um…relationship life; he has come out later in life as an advocate for breast cancer awareness.

If you read my other website, you’ll know that most of my reading lies along the lines of science fiction, young adult novels, fantasy, and the occasional mystery. I will be adding to my list Edward Brooke’s 2006 biography, Bridging The Divide: My Life (http://www.amazon.com/Bridging-Divide-Professor-Edward-Brooke/dp/product-description/0813539056). I’ll let you know if I get inspired!

Resources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Brooke, http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10080320, http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/health/spotlighthealth/2003-06-24-brooke_x.htm,

Image: http://www.bet.com/news/politics/2012/11/08/this-day-in-black-history-nov-8-1966/_jcr_content/featuredMedia/newsitemimage.newsimage.dimg/081011-National-Prominent-Members-of-Alph-Phi-Edward-w-brooke.jpg

A Fantastic Cancer Voyage Chapter 2 III

From the first moment my wife discovered she had breast cancer, there was a deafening silence from the men I know. Even ones whose wives, mothers or girlfriends had breast cancer seemed to have received a gag order from some Central Cancer Command and did little more than mumble about the experience. Not one to shut up for any known reason, I started this blog…

One of my fondest memories as a kid is watching the movie FANTASTIC VOYAGE. In it, a group of scientists and their ultra-futuristic laser-packing “submarine” are reduced to cell size and injected into the blood vessels of a world diplomat in order to destroy a blood clot in his brain.

What would a FANTASTIC VOYAGE: Breast Cancer look like? I’m going to write a novel here, short chapter by short chapter and I’m going to include the latest research and I’m going to imagine the entire story here for your delectation. If you want to start at the beginning, look left. Scroll down to LABELS. The first one is “A Fantastic Cancer Voyage”. Click on it. Scroll to the bottom and you will find episode on. Let me know what you think after you’ve read the whole thing!

Dr. Olubunmi Nwagbara studied the Reverend Dr. Isamar Noor then said, “I hope so, Reverend. I hope that you’ll be praying to your God that everything will be different after the surgery.”

He nodded and held up his tablet computer, saying, “It’s on my list of things to be praying for.”

She grunted and couldn’t help but smile a bit. Then she nodded and said, “Get out of here. You can join the rapidly growing crowd that will be inside the sub.”

He bowed from the waist after standing – an amazingly accurate and honorable Japanese gesture – and left her office. She stared after him for fifteen seconds, then got back to work. She paused with her requisition list, then made up another list: Herself, Hirini Kenana, Reverend Dr. Isamar Noor. She pursed her lips. The team was decidedly in the opposition’s favor. Not that either of the men would oppose her, but she didn’t like the balance of the group she’d be sliding through the depths of Kim Lin Anzan’s bloodstream and breasts with. In fact, the more she thought about it, the less satisfied she was that so far herself and a couple of men would be the primary passengers on a mission to destroy breast cancer.

She leaned back in her desk chair and stared out at the sleet still whipping the Thirtieth Floor windows. She wasn’t here often, but reserved the place for entertaining important donors, reporters and other politicians. She lifted her tablet computer from the desk, put her feet up and tapped the screen, projecting a list of men and women who’d assisted in experimental picosub surgery in the past. Some of them wouldn’t be able to stand the presence of a religious man – those she eliminated right away. For all his philosophical yammering, the Dr. Reverend made a good foil to Kim Lin Anzan’s Catholic-Buddhist-Hindu-Daoist world view. But she needed someone who would be both tolerant of religion and invested in nanomedicine.

Tough combo because the relative invisibility of the machinery and the electroencephalogram connection made it seem like magic. The right couldn’t tolerate the a-religion of it; the left couldn’t tolerate spiritualization of anything.

Three images finally fell out of the crowd: Dr. Mackenzie Phan,  Machig Rabten, P.A., and Dr. Yameri Niazi. All three were oncology experts, Mac and Machig in breast cancer, Yameri in metastatic breast cancer.

She kept Yameri after only a moment’s thought. There was a good chance they’d meet metastatic cancers on their fantastic voyage through Kim Lin’s body.  She’d need someone capable of both identifying the cancer and devising a way to deal with it. She kept the other two as well, though. Mac was a master at theory, Machig at application.

Besides, it would keep the men in check: four to two.

He intercom tweedled. She activated it from her tablet and said, “What can I do for you Alex?”

Her boss’ image hovered over her tablet for a moment as he looked at her. He scowled for a moment. He opened his mouth then shut it. She frowned and said, “What?”

“I’m coming with you.”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

“You know what I mean.”

“You’re going to add your consciousness to the crowd I already have in the sub.”

“What crowd?” She ticked off the names and he nodded, saying, “Good. You’ll need someone who has politics on the brain amidst all you squints.”

“‘Squints’?”

“Term from my favorite show as a kid – ‘Bones’. It’s what the FBI guy called all your microscope guys – it’s what you always do when you’re looking at your clues. You squint.”

She smiled, nodded, and said, “Perfect. Welcome to the team. The membership is now closed.”

He drew a hand over his forehead and said, “Whew. Now that I took care of that, you can get on to the real work.” He disappeared.

She said to the air, “Politics IS the real work, sweetie, the rest is science and that’s the easy part.”

Image: http://medgadget.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/11/Fantastic-Voyage-200x290.jpg

The Reconstruction Era – Part 7b

From the first moment my wife discovered she had breast cancer, there was a deafening silence from the men I know. Even ones whose wives, mothers or girlfriends had breast cancer seemed to have received a gag order from some Central Cancer Command and did little more than mumble about the experience. Not one to shut up for any known reason, I started this blog…

“It appears that the next event is breast reconstruction!”

And so, now it IS Wednesday night; calm has settled over the house after a bit of a tense morning and an afternoon of delay and waiting. Those are all “normal” things that go with regular surgeries of any kind whether expected or unexpected.

This one was expected, in fact, this one was the culmination of a long, dark night of my soul. Even as I write this, the doctor is on the phone talking with my wife. Both my wife and daughter have headaches from an afternoon spent in the hospital, but those are fading as the rest of the day progresses toward sunset…

The surgery itself was anticlimactic, as I said earlier. The initial incisions done for the double mastectomy (http://breastcancerreaper.blogspot.com/2011/04/observations-of-breast-cancer-husband.html) provided the entry into the skin over the chest cavity. The plastic surgeon placed hollow, plastic expanders underneath and added cartilage to act as supports for the saline or silicone implants. Over a period of four months, saline injections stretched the skin and made it grow.

Today the expanders were removed and the implants 

settled into their new homes.

While we were waiting, I shared with my daughter my perceptions of this day and the one two years and seven months ago. On that day, me, my son, daughter and wife were surrounded by friends and family; all were anxious, all were warm and caring, all were THERE for us. There was food, laughter, talk, walks, lots of hugs and lots and lots of phone calls.

There was also a lot of terror prowling inside of me. There was anger. There was loathing – both of self and disease. There were hours and hours and hours spent wondering what was next; what the end result would be; how much pain my wife would suffer over the coming days, months, and years. There was a specter over that day casting a shadow long and far ahead. We were going into a place where we knew nothing, could expect nothing, and could only tread with trembling limbs and faint hearts. The end of that day, we fell into bed exhausted, forced to leave my wife to the darkness of night, in the care of strangers, and with only the faint blip of a heart monitor for a companion.

Today, we were cavalier in our attendance on the surgery. The shadow was now behind us rather than before us and as rugged as the trip was, as full of unexpected pits and falls, as terrifying as it was…this day was nothing like that.

We laughed. Joked. Chatted with people online and on the phone. Marveled at technology. Chatted amiably with nurses and doctors alike. Contemplated Diet Cokes and lunches and supper…and all the things that were normal before cancer.

We have, I think, reached The New Normal and now we live there.

As we sat down to lunch while my wife underwent surgery and recovery, my daughter said, “I like this hospital a whole lot more than all the other ones.”

I replied, “And we’ve seen way more than I ever wanted to see, too, haven’t we?”

We agreed and fell into a companionable silence, waiting and eating an (unintentional) abundance of deserts. Once we were done, we headed back to the waiting room. It seemed like moments and the doctor was out, telling us that my wife was in recovery and that she’d been able to…well, the intimate details are a bit TOO intimate, but suffice it to say that the end result was GOOD.

Truth to tell, if anyone had told me that the whole horror of breast cancer would have reached this point 32 months after that horrific day of the diagnosis, I would have been unable to believe it. Knowing full well that not all cancer diagnoses have this same ending and grieving that not everyone can experience this peace, I am here, waiting to listen if you need to talk, thankful for everyone who reads this blog, and willing to continue, because GUY’S GOTTA TALK – ABOUT BREAST CANCER…

Image: http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2672/4208633365_bb7ebf7684_z.jpg

The Reconstruction Era – Part 7a

From the first moment my wife discovered she had breast cancer, there was a deafening silence from the men I know. Even ones whose wives, mothers or girlfriends had breast cancer seemed to have received a gag order from some Central Cancer Command and did little more than mumble about the experience. Not one to shut up for any known reason, I started this blog…

“It appears that the next event is breast reconstruction!”

After the leaky expander (http://breastcancerreaper.blogspot.com/2013/09/round-two-random-thoughts-on-breast.html), the doctor decided that she would move up the surgery to replace the expanders with gel implants.

That will be on Wednesday, four days hence.

Unlike the first surgery which was an horrendous, frightening, painful, and nightmarish experience; this seems much calmer. While still immensely painful for my wife, I feel no compulsion to gather forces around us in order to marshall support. My daughter and I will be there that day and will keep the world apprised of events, but it seems so…anticlimactic. My wife goes in for surgery in the morning, that night we’ll bring her home.

So I’m going to postpone writing about the surgery until it’s done and post on Wednesday night.

Until then, we would of course covet your prayers. As with ANY major surgery, there are always small risks. We’d appreciate spiritual support in that way.

So, until Wednesday, I bid you adieu.

Image: http://cache1.asset-cache.net/gc/83637813-people-in-waiting-area-of-hospital-with-gettyimages.jpg?v=1&c=IWSAsset&k=2&d=ZjZVikVJYWW3m4qRiBY%2FrHTGKVbp%2B6aB40ge7oBHg62UOW2SqBPBz%2FJ4sNWFa3f4

BREAST CANCER RESEARCH RIGHT NOW! 14 The Best From 2013…So Far!

From the first moment my wife discovered she had breast cancer, there was a deafening silence from the men I know. Even ones whose wives, mothers or girlfriends had breast cancer seemed to have received a gag order from some Central Cancer Command and did little more than mumble about the experience. Not one to shut up for any known reason, I started this blog…

Every month, I’ll be highlighting breast cancer research that is going on RIGHT NOW! Harvested from different websites, journals and podcasts, I’ll translate them into understandable English and share them with you. Today: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/01/breast-cancer-2013-breakthroughs-research_n_3996306.html

Even though 2013 isn’t over – though the car makers started advertising for the 2014s in March – we’ve got here in the HuffPost, a quick overview of the breakthroughs the fight against breast cancer has experienced over the past 10 months.

Positive reading for ANYONE who wants a shot of hope.

I don’t want to downplay this whiff of positive news – I want to point out that while lots of work is being done on treatment, especially of the deadliest forms of breast cancer, we’re still not-so-great on the prevention.

Certainly earlier, safer, and more accurate mammograms are a strong step in that direction. But only ONE of the ten deals with diet and one deals with exercise (based on research done here in my home state, no less!) I’ve touched on exercise here: http://breastcancerreaper.blogspot.com/2012/06/putting-it-all-together-exercise-isnt.html and from March 13 to May 26 in 2012 I did a series on exercise and breast cancer – but not on diet.

Maybe the reason I haven’t gone into diet too much is because there’s SO MUCH HYPE. Maybe I stay away from diet because there’s not enough there that is really, truly QUANTIFIABLE. In other words, where are the numbers? When you tell me that drinking the juice of the acai berry (the source of most of those “This one WEIRD FACT/DRINK/FOOD…” advertising with the shrinking waistline and growing muscles you always see on the side of your research page) will do whatever, I need to see tests that support that.

Another thing you see with the diet approach to cancer prevention is railing against “artificial sweeteners” and food additives.

While I’m absolutely certain that things that we eat and breathe and drink can kill us, you rarely see anywhere near this data that nicotine, tar, chlorine, and every one of the atoms that make up EVERYTHING WE COME INTO CONTACT WITH occurs...uh...in nature. Otherwise we wouldn’t come into contact with it.

Nutrasweet, sodium cyclamate, acetaminophen, even DDT is made up of atoms that occur in nature. Humans lack the skill of manipulating the universe deftly enough to make atoms from nothing – that power is reserved for Mother Nature or God. The things that receive the most abuse as being “man-made” flatters only Humanity. More correctly, the compounds above are assembled by Humans – and not even assembled in their entirety from loose matter.

The one slammed most often, Nutrasweet, has the chemical formula C₁₄H₁₈N₂O₅  (please note that all of these atoms are found in nature and are the major components of the class of molecules we call carbohydrates and proteins) and is assembled from amino acids (for the geeks out there, the amino acids are L-phenylalanine and L-aspartate. The “L” stands for “levorotated”. Nothing more sinister than the way the molecule is built…

At any rate, the upshot is that I’m going to do a series of blogs now that deal with breast cancer prevention as it intersects the world of what we eat. My suspicion is that instead of blaming chemicals we firmly believe are made by Humans and ipso facto, they are EVIL AND GIVE US CANCER, we might examine the OVEReating paradigm and how Humans were created/evolved to eat certain kinds of things and we now overeat the kinds of things we evolved/were created to eat – and then look at what kind of impact those things have on not only Human life, but on breast cancer prevention.

So…enough for now. See you later!

Image: http://blindgossip.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/man-eating-hamburger-2-300x225.jpg

Round Two: Random Thoughts On Breast Cancer, Reconstructive Surgery, Lymphedema, Pain, Work, Suffering, and Joy

So we had to return to the plastic surgeon this week because one of the expanders DEFLATED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Daughter noticed first and commented that my wife’s chest looked…wrong somehow. This was after my wife had called to make an appointment for another fill even though the lymphedema around the left boob was still there. Not as bad as at first, but not completely under control. This time around also included FB exchange with my sister – who works at a clinic where lymphedema is CURED.

Apparently there’s no such thing up here in the city we live in. Lymphedema is just something you “live with”. So why can they cure it in a city that is world-renowned for its medical establishment but not here, the home of a premier research university? Is it sheer hubris of the doctors here that they can’t cure it and tell their patients they have to suffer? Is it mindless greed, an attempt by the medical establishment to milk a cash cow until it’s dry (a particularly apropos image in this case)? What? My wife has discussed moving her clinic to that city some 150 miles away if that’s what it takes to get treatment!

At any rate, our discovery of the whole process of the placing and filling the expanders has been piecemeal at best, so I thought I’d present what we NOW know, several months later…

The expanders are tough plastic devices – I can’t say “bags” any more – because they are nowhere NEAR that simple! Checking around, I wasn’t able to find any cross-sections showing HOW the thing is built, but I did find this description on the GOOGLE patent page:

Self-sealing tissue expander and method/US 5066303 A/Abstract

“The self-sealing tissue expander includes inner and outer layers of relatively nonflowable material and a median layer of flowable material, The median layer of flowable material which can include one or more sublayers of flowable material is under a predetermined compression imposed by the inner and outer layers due to a prestressing of the tissue expander shell during formation of the tissue expander. The self-sealing shell seals an opening in the shell wall following removal of an infusion needle. In all embodiments of the invention a needle stop member is provided to prevent the needle that accesses the fluid chamber from passing outwardly of the tissue expander. The need for a septum, a fluid conduit or a special fluid entry opening in the tissue expander shell is thus optional. The shell can also be made relatively more stretchable in some areas than in other areas.”

It was accompanied by this diagram:

http://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/pages/US5066303-1.png

This made a bit more sense – if you count the dashed lines as layer of the expander. It would also explain how the doctor said she would just fill another chamber of the expander.

At any rate, that’s what we learned today. Hope it’s helpful!

Image: http://cdn.medgadget.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/AirXpanders-implant.jpg

BREAST CANCER WISDOM 5: From Others and From Life Here…

From the first moment my wife discovered she had breast cancer, there was a deafening silence from the men I know. Even ones whose wives, mothers or girlfriends had breast cancer seemed to have received a gag order from some Central Cancer Command and did little more than mumble about the experience. Not one to shut up for any known reason, I started this blog…

OK – I’m not going to rant today on the dearth of breast cancer husband/partner sites.

Today I’m going to rant about celebrity breast cancer and the dearth of breast cancer inspiration from women in poverty.

I’m sure I don’t have to reiterate the recent spate of celebrity women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer mutations or have had breast cancer surgery. Their health care is guaranteed and none of them need concern themselves with who will be paying for their prescribed regimen.

But others live beneath a darker shadow and celebration is harder to find. Women like, “...Juanita, a victim of missed opportunities for cancer control. Despite having an obvious breast tumor—and cancer treatment coverage through the Mexican health care system—Juanita did not seek treatment until the cancer had grown so much that she could not use her arm properly...” are much easier to find. (You can read more on this here: http://nihrecord.od.nih.gov/newsletters/2011/09_30_2011/story2.htm)

Even so, as these essays are intended to inspire, I thought I’d include some of the best stories here.

The Hospital Corporation of America (known now as HCA) has taken an active role in helping its employees. While anyone experiencing medical challenges and crises can apply for a grant, I wanted to focus specifically on what we are doing to help those who live in poverty – and even more tellingly – and those who have jobs and STILL can’t make ends meet.

“In 2007, I found out I had breast cancer. I had surgery and had to go through chemo and radiation treatments. As a result, I exhausted all of my PTO and EIB. The chemo treatments affected me, so I was out a whole week after each treatment. I didn’t know how I was going to pay my rent and pay my bills. My supervisor suggested the HCA Hope Fund. I didn’t know anything about it, but I filled out the application and a check came in the mail. It really helped ease some of the worry over how I was going to pay my bills. The second time I applied to the HCA Hope Fund was just last year. My youngest son passed away and the HCA Hope Fund came through for me again so I was able have him cremated. The HCA Hope Fund has been there for me in two critical points of my life. I don’t know what I would’ve done without the extra help.”

Of course, one of the strongest supporters of financially strapped women who suffer from breast cancer is the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Recently, they gave to a local organization called Angel Foundation. A beneficiary of their funds: “Maggie, 47, has been diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer. A single mom of two teenage boys, Maggie holds down two jobs to make ends meet. However, in one job, she is self-employed and pay fluctuates, making her income uncertain. She has tried her best to continue working through cancer treatment, but this is not always possible given the side effects. Angel Foundation was able to provide her with $600 to help her support her family while continuing her cancer treatment.”

For more inspiration from this organization, go here: http://www.mnangel.org/donate/celebratingamilestone

Resources: http://nihrecord.od.nih.gov/newsletters/2011/09_30_2011/story2.htm

Image: http://www.mnangel.org/cmsimage/955/wide

A Fantastic Cancer Voyage Chapter 2 II

From the first moment my wife discovered she had breast cancer, there was a deafening silence from the men I know. Even ones whose wives, mothers or girlfriends had breast cancer seemed to have received a gag order from some Central Cancer Command and did little more than mumble about the experience. Not one to shut up for any known reason, I started this blog…

One of my fondest memories as a kid is watching the movie FANTASTIC VOYAGE. In it, a group of scientists and their ultra-futuristic laser-packing “submarine” are reduced to cell size and injected into the blood vessels of a world diplomat in order to destroy a blood clot in his brain.

What would a FANTASTIC VOYAGE: Breast Cancer look like? I’m going to write a novel here, short chapter by short chapter and I’m going to include the latest research and I’m going to imagine the entire story here for your delectation. If you want to start at the beginning, look left. Scroll down to LABELS. The first one is “A Fantastic Cancer Voyage”. Click on it. Scroll to the bottom and you will find episode on. Let me know what you think after you’ve read the whole thing!

Chapter 2, ii

Doctor Reverend Isamar Noor, also known as The Crackpot because of he actually had religious views regarding faith and science, said, “It may surprise you Dr. Olubunmi that I’m here because I want to be a part of your team.”

“All of the positions have been filled. Thank you for your time,” she said automatically.

“You don’t know what position I’m applying for.”

“Court jester?” she asked. She instantly regretted the words. She made her screen transparent and said, “I’m sorry. That was uncalled for. Please accept my apology.”

“Considering my usual stance on technology, Humanity, and spirituality, I suppose I had that coming.” He made a face that could only be described as “sour”.

“You’ve been known to negatively address certain life-advancing technologies in the past.” She sniffed, “Though I suppose I should also admit that you’re neither alone, nor do you represent the farthest edges of the political spectrum I’ve had to deal with.”

“Others express some hesitation about using the pico submarine technology to save the life of a world leader?”

Ohloo looked up at him, shutting down her virtual screen. “You admit that Kim Lin Ghandi is a world leader?”

Isamar looked uncomfortable for a moment, then shrugged and said, “I cannot deny that she leads the world, however absurd I find her personal philosophy, she is a powerful and persuasive woman. India and China would almost certainly have been at war by now if it hadn’t been for her continual efforts to bring them to the table to talk and on occasion to interpose herself between their nuclear arsenals.”

Ohloo studied the older man and said, “I don’t find your personal philosophy absurd, Reverend Noor. I just find your methods of presenting unpalatable.”

He nodded then bowed in prayer then said, “I am like you in that way, Dr. Olubunmi.”

“Me? In what possible way are alike?”

He paused some time before he finally said, “While I don’t think anyone, anywhere doubts your sincerity in desiring to save the life of this influential woman, it’s been rumored that you’ve brought pressure to bear on any number of people. I’ve even heard that once one of your supervisors – Alex Benton, I believe was his name – tried to block you from using your picosubmarine to perform a controversial procedure. When he refused to grant permission, you turned around and left the hospital. I believe the story was that you were still wearing your scrubs and a surgical mask.”

Ohloo opened her mouth to deny the accusation then closed it. She glared at the Reverend Noor and finally said, “I was not wearing a surgical mask when I walked out the door. That was hanging from a doorknob in the lobby.” She studied the man again then asked, “You’re saying that despite our unorthodox methods, we get results?” He inclined his head. She remained silent, listening to the sleet trying to gouge the glass of her Mayo Clinic office. “What position do you want?”

“Official clergy and observer.”

She pursed her lips again then said, “Done. Now get out of here so I can get some work done. Our first team meeting will be tomorrow morning, oh seven hundred. Be here and have an itinerary for the day finished for my approval. Fifteen minute intervals will do. The surgery – from prep to debriefing – should take forty-one hours.”

“Will I be linked in to the sub?”

Ohloo threw her arms in the air, “What’s so enticing about laying on a table and watching an elaborate video game?”

Dr. Noor stared at her until she finally met his gaze. He said in a low voice, “Because history is going to be altered dramatically.”

Image: http://medgadget.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/11/Fantastic-Voyage-200x290.jpg