Faith is necessary


I had a momentary crisis of faith this morning. I received a message that one of my pink-ribbon sisters found out that her breast cancer has returned for a third time. That news shook me deeply. After the fear subsided, the anger took over and once again I had to really stare into the mirror and adjust my faith.

Renewing my faith is a regular process. I lost my composure earlier today. Sometimes it is tough to remember that my blessing isn't another person's curse. They too have their blessings to be grateful for and thankful of.

I do not know what causes breast cancer. I do not know if something in our environment, our food supply, or something else is contributing to these high incidences of cancer. I do know that until a cure is found, I will continue to ring the alarm that we all need to do what we can to live our best lives to maintain our breast health.

  1. Eat well -- eat fewer processed foods and more fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Enjoy organic meats and drink lots of water.
  2. Move your body -- exercise daily makes you feel better, helps to clear your mind, helps to settle your stress and helps with your weight.
  3. Lose weight -- if you're overweight, even a minimal loss of 10 pounds can help you fight breast cancer.
  4. Give yourself regular BSE's -- regularly examining your own breasts goes a long way to helping your breast health. Know what your breasts feel like, be on the alert for things that feel differently.
  5. Get your mammograms regularly -- if there is a history of breast cancer in your family, tell your doctor. Regular mammograms help to catch breast cancer in its earliest stages which makes it more treatable and more curable.
  6. Know that if you do have breast cancer you can still have a wonderful life -- I am a witness that life after breast cancer does exist. A diagnosis of breast cancer does not have to be a death sentence. If you're single, you can still date. You can still be fun. You can still follow your dreams.

You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face.  ~Eleanor Roosevelt

Half of American Adults May Have Pre-Existing Conditions Putting Them At Risk For Rejection by Health Insurers

Half of American Adults May Have Pre-Existing Conditions Putting Them At Risk For Rejection by Health Insurers


from Department of Health and Human Services

January 18 ,2011

Up to 129 million adults under age 65 have some medical condition which would put them at risk for being denied coverage by American health insurers, according to a U.S. government study. The conditions, ranging from cancer to chronic illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes, or asthma, would trigger rejection or much higher prices in the individual health insurance market.

An invitation to guest blog on "My Fabulous B**bies"



New year, new me... new blog. :)

This year, I'd like to present my blog and the breast cancer journey in a new way. I am opening up my blog for guest posts from people who would like to speak about breast cancer (or fabulous boobies) and its affect on the world.

If you're interested... send me an email (send it directly to fabulous.boobies AT gmail.com) and let me know what you'd like to write about.


Specifics:
-250 words (can be a little more or a little less depending on the piece)
-answers the questions: how does/did breast cancer impact your life? what do you do to make sure that your boobies (or the boobies of people you love) stay fabulous?
-no profanity.
-images will need to be approved before posting.
-all submissions can be cross-posted to your own blog
-all submissions will be subject to review/editing before posting
-you decide the tone -- can be funny, sad, reflective, etc. totally up to you.


That's it!! I'm excited to see what other people may want to share with the breast cancer community. Nearly a quarter of a million people are diagnosed with breast cancer every year. The impact on the world is major. I want to raise up a chorus of voices -- not just survivors either -- to discuss this disease and its effects on the entire world. I want to hear from mothers, fathers, children, friends, co-workers, health workers, employers, financial gurus, nutritionists, etc. ... anyone who has something to say.

~Nic

MOTIVATION: a cancer survivor turned marathoner


The following article from Runner's World just brightened my day. I may not be ready for a marathon (yet), but its good to know that its possible. One step, then another step, then another step... until you reach the goal.


RW Challenger of the Week: Rob Wilkinson


Just a year and a half ago, radiation and chemotherapy treatments for tonsil cancer had left Rob Wilkinson so weak he could barely walk the stairs to his apartment. He even had to drive the 200 yards between his home and his office. “Any exertion would have required me to take an extensive nap,” he says.

Though he was never a runner before—for most of his life, he’d only run when he had to—after being declared cancer free in November 2009, Rob started running to rebuild his body from the ravages of chemotherapy and radiation. And somewhere along the way, he fell in love with it. He decided to spend his first year of being cancer-free by running the 2010 Richmond Marathon.

“I’m celebrating my life!” says Wilkinson. “Every run I do now is a celebration of my health, something I definitely took for granted before I was diagnosed and don’t intend on losing sight of again.”

He trained hard for the race, despite the lingering side effects from radiation and chemotherapy that he still experiences—dry mouth, tinnittus (ringing in the ears), and numbness in his feet.

At the Richmond Marathon he wore a shirt with the names of 30 people who had lost their battles with cancer, including his mother and four friends. His younger brother beat non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in the ’90s.

“I knew my body was going to give me 26.2 miles of reasons not to finish the challenge, but those 30 names on my shirt helped me see this through to the finish," he says. "Cancer in all its forms is a horrible disease, and I hope I’m able to help raise awareness for all those that have to endure it and their loved ones."

Rob crossed the line in 5:06, despite battling a screaming hip and headwinds on the Lee Bridge.

"I didn’t think it was possible to hurt that much," he says, "yet feel so incredibly good.

Name: Rob Wilkinson

Age: 41

Hometown: Fredericksburg, Virginia

Family: Fiancé, Tracie; stepchildren Kyle 19, Ericka 17, Grace 7, Lucy 6, Abbie 6

Occupation: Safety Engineer supporting the United States Marine Corps

RW Challenge Goal: Finish the 2010 Richmond Marathon

What was the race like for you? The race itself was very much like the treatments I endured; I went in with a positive attitude and believed that I would make it through. Along the way it hurt and at times tried to bring me to my knees, but I kept pushing through all the pain. After I completed my last cancer treatment, the nurses walked me over to a victory bell and had me ring it; I felt the same emotions then as I did when I crossed the finish line at Richmond. For the previous eight months, I had thought about what it would feel like striding to the finish line. What I imagined didn’t even come close to the elation of seeing the finish line and then crossing over it. The flood of tears came as it finally sunk in that I had actually completed a marathon; the same person that had to be fed by a tube 18 months prior and couldn’t walk 100 yards without needing to stop and rest had just run 26.2 miles!

How has the experience of finishing a marathon changed you? It may sound like a cliché, but it has made me feel that I really can do anything that I set my mind to.

What is your next running goal? I recently wrote my running goals down for 2011 and most of them are time-based for different race distances. I do want to do another marathon, but I haven’t picked the race yet—perhaps in my old hometown of Philly with the Runner’s World Challenge again?

What is your favorite piece of gear? I love my Garmin 405CX! I was getting bored of running the same loop over and over again because I knew the distance. I love the freedom it provides to just head out and mentally flip a coin every time I come to an intersection. The only downside to it is that I have ended up on some roads that I had no business running on!

What is your idea of a rave run? I can’t count the amount of times I visited Disney World as a kid and an adult. I have to do Disney as a runner! I can’t think of anything better than running through the Magic Kingdom and Epcot!

What is the biggest challenge to getting out the door, and how do you get over it? My life has changed so much in the past year, both personally and professionally, that my free time is limited. I just have to occasionally force myself to come home, throw on the shoes and just go. Additionally, I’m lucky that my fiancé is a new runner and she has been helping to kick my butt in gear when my motivation has been waning.

What advice would you give to a first-timer? Figure out how to stay motivated and continually use it to keep running. My initial motivation was to build myself up from what the cancer treatments did to my body. Now I find my motivation in training for a specific race or distance, as well as trying to influence others to give running a try. I’m proud of the fact that I have personally motivated a friend to start running. Nonrunners just don’t understand how supportive we are to each other, the bulk of us are never going to be an elite and are really just competing against ourselves. I think they would be surprised to see how often we reach out to total strangers to give encouragement during a difficult section of a race or to congratulate a good effort.


Four Reasons To Avoid High Fructose Corn Syrup


This is a reprint of a YahooNews story. Great information.

Four reasons to avoid high fructose corn syrup


By Sara Novak, Planet Green



By now, you've more than likely seen one of the ads put out by the Corn Refiners Association. The ads tell the story of a "natural" sweetener made from corn. They go on to insinuate that high fructose corn syrup has been unfairly portrayed and that this truly American ingredient is fine in moderation.


Lloyd wrote about this massive $30 million ad campaign last year. The campaign claims that high fructose corn syrup has the "same natural sweeteners as table sugar and honey." Since then, the association has released a number of ads with the same message.

But when push comes to shove, what are the facts about high fructose corn syrup? How is it made? Is it healthy in moderation to the body and the planet? Here are the facts, so that the next time you're asked, you can confidently dispel any high fructose corn syrup rumors.



1. The process of making high fructose corn syrup is pretty weird



First of all, there's nothing natural about high fructose corn syrup, and it most certainly does not exist in nature.



The process starts off with corn kernels, yes, but then that corn is spun at a high velocity and combined with three other enzymes: alpha-amylase, glucoamylase, and xylose isomerase, so that it forms a thick syrup that's way sweeter than sugar and super cheap to produce.



That's why it's poured into a huge majority of mass pproduced processed foods.
2. High fructose corn syrup does weird stuff to your body

While the commercials claim that it's fine in moderation, the truth is that the whole problem with high fructose corn syrup in the first place, is that moderation is seemingly impossible.



The syrup interferes with the body's metabolism so that a person can't stop eating. It's truly hard to control cravings because high fructose corn syrup slows down the secretion of leptin in the body. Leptin is a crucial hormone in the body that tells you that you're full and to stop eating. That's why it's so closely associated with obesity in this country. It's like an addictive drug.


3. There might be mercury in your corn syrup

And what about the rumors of mercury being found in corn syrup?

I wrote last year that according to MSNBC in one study, published in the Journal of Environmental Health, former Food and Drug Administration scientist Renee Dufault and colleagues tested 20 samples of high fructose corn syrup and found detectable mercury in nine of the 20 samples.

"We went and looked at supermarket samples where high fructose corn syrup was the first or second ingredient on the label," Dr. David Wallinga, a food safety researcher and activist at the nonprofit Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy said. These 55 different foods included barbecue sauce, jam, yogurt, and chocolate syrup. "We found about one out of three had mercury above the detection limit," Wallinga said.

4. The environmental impact of high fructose corn syrup is huge

Most corn is grown as a monoculture, meaning that the land is used solely for corn, not rotated among crops. Large monocultures, which are usually genetically modified, can be riddled with pests.

As a result, monocultures are often dressed with a toxic cocktail of pesticides so that they can survive. Monocultures can deplete the nutrients in soil and lead to erosion.

In addition, the pesticides used to grow them pollute our soil and ground water.


Our advice: Skip the high fructose corn syrup

Luckily, we have a lot more options when it comes to avoiding this frightening ingredient. The Corn Refiners Association wouldn't spend $30 million on advertisements if they didn't feel threatened and that's because more and more alternatives are becoming available.


Read labels on every processed food that you buy. Stores like Whole Foods and Earth Fare carry tons of foods without it.

Make your own snack foods



Also consider making your own snack foods instead of buying the prepackaged variety. This way you can control your ingredients and use safer sweeteners. You can also save some major dough and reduce the amount of packaging that your family throws away.


Weight loss: my BMI... made me sigh

Since its the start of a new year, I've decided (like many other folks) to take this time and focus my energy on doing better for Nicole. I didn't exactly make any resolutions for the new year, but I did decide to stop procrastinating about doing things that I know I need to do. Like focusing on my weight and my food intake.

I was a chunky butt when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Yep, I'll admit it. But, I was still cute (at least to myself and my then-boyfriend) so it didn't stress me too much. I was bigger than I felt comfortable with but I was okay. When I began chemotherapy, I had to be weighed. Actually I had to weigh-in everytime I went to the hospital for any treatment. I hated it at first, but after awhile I didn't think about it one way or another.

The first weigh-in blew my mind. I weighed -- gasp -- 218 pounds. *blink, blink*  Although I'm reasonably tall (5'9") that's still a LOT of weight for my frame. I was mortified. I guess eating curry and white rice 5 times a week is bad for your diet. (laughs) I'm sure that the rum punches did not help.

Well, luckily my oncologist was kind to me and didn't call me a fatty to my face. What he did say though was that at my weight, the loss from the chemo probably wouldn't be as drastic as for some other patients who were smaller. And he was right. As the pounds fell off during the four months of chemotherapy, I still looked reasonably healthy to other people. I looked sickly to myself and to my family but the weight loss wasn't that noticeable (I think) to other folks.

At the end of the first part of my chemotherapy, I was down to 170 or so. Maybe a little less. Now, this may sound crazy but I liked that size on me. It looked okay -- well, minus the crazy skin discolorations and sallow pallor and no body hair.

Fast forward two years and I've gained a good portion of that weight back. I am still too sedentary (scared I'm going to fall and hurt myself). I can also thank my medication and the fact that my treatment pushed me into menopause. However, with all that taken into consideration, I am now just at 199 pounds. I'm grateful for that one pound that keeps me from 200 pounds (yeah, I'm vain) and really grateful that I'm tall and can sort of disguise my thickness but its a new year and time for a new focus. I decided to actively work on losing weight and being more diligent about what I eat and regularly detoxing myself.

Alright... so based on my recent history, I figured that a goal of 175 would be great. Not too much to lose and I could move slowly towards reaching that goal. Imagine my surprise when I pulled up a trusty BMI (body mass index) chart to see where I fell on that scale.

OBESE. *wow*

Well, depending on which scale you look at I'm either "overweight" or "obese". Ain't neither one of those sexy. At. All. I started looking at pictures that I've taken over the past couple of years -- after I did my radiation treatment and my surgeries -- and I look a bloated and uncomfortable mess. Puffy face, strange lopsidedness. Just bleah. It hit me that I've been internalizing the comments from friends and family who have told me that I looked great without measuring what "great" really meant. It meant, great for a girl who has been going through cancer treatment for two years. But in the grand scheme of things... my great was a little uh... less than stellar. *shrug*

Here's the kicker... my goal weight of 175 pounds (I do like being a curvy girl) is still too big. I'm still too high on the BMI scale. So I've had to adjust my goal weight down to 160 pounds. And I may have to adjust more to be truly clear of the obese label.

Yikes! That's far away from where I am right now.  I decided to fully disclose where I am starting from and where I'm heading to so that I can be accountable for whatever progress I do or don't make. I don't have a particular time frame to hit this mark. I just know that I have to get there and I have begun my work on making it.

*sigh*

I am one of those people who just doesn't like exercise. I've always been a clumsy kid. I trip over my own shadow while walking in my barefeet on carpet. (laughs) Real talk. Soooo... trying to run and catch a ball or throw a ball at the same time, not gonna happen partner. It just won't. And trying to outrun or out-swim someone else... yeah, that's not likely to happen either. Competitive sports do nothing to inspire or motivate me. Vanity however, and now knowing that it will help reduce my chances of dealing with this doggone breast cancer again, is a big motivation for the kid.

Another big motivation for me is my family. Genetics and bad eating habits are not on my side. Food is an important part of my life. I like to eat. I like to eat fried foods and sweets (cakes, pies, cookies, tarts, etc.). I enjoy a nice tall glass of sweet ice tea. Or lemonade. All sorts of bad for you food that make good memories when enjoyed with people that you like being with. But, when you start going to more and more funerals of people you love and have grown up with, it starts to hit you that its really not a game.

Diabetes and hypertension and heart disease and cancer run rampantly up and down my family tree. Obesity is not foreign to me. Morbid obesity isn't unusual. I watched one cousin struggle and struggle with a food addiction that she simply could not shake. Diabetes and its complications eventually took her away from us. Obesity issues took one brother before her and a sister after her. I think about all of them often. And my heart aches. And so on... I could name family member after family member... but the stories just aren't that different.

I've received another chance to get it right now that I've been rendered cancer-free. I can't waste it. I am not addicted to food nor alcohol. I'm just greedy and undisciplined. These are things I know about myself. How I'm fixing it is by learning all that I can about food, nutrition and being more aware about what I eat and what is in the food I consume. I am more aware of how I drink my calories and I try to combat that in different ways.

One thing that I do have to be cautious of is my lymphedema. It will (and has) flared up with the increase in activity. I know that its risky to do a lot of exercise because of it but I am willing to risk it in order to gain a health advantage in other areas. Hopefully it will be a good calculated risk and I won't end up making a mess of things. Realistically, there are emerging reports saying that working out with weights may not be as bad for lymphedema sufferers as originally thought. That gives me hope.

So... that's my story. I'm a chunky girl who wants to bring out her inner sex kitten. Well, let me rephrase that. I'm a chunky girl who wants her exterior to match the way she feels on the inside. How's that??

Be grateful


I've been looking for the motivation to get up and get moving. The last few weeks of 2010 left me depressed and saddened. As I reviewed the year, I remembered how much loss I had experienced and I cried and moped about it. I took my time to review the lives of my loved ones who passed away... and to remember the pink ribbon sisters who had lost their fight against breast cancer. All of that grief and mourning weighed my heart and my spirit down something serious.

But what really got me was thinking about why all of these folks died. Especially my relatives. Like many black Americans, I have a family history of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer, and other diseases. Many of these ailments can be either cured or deeply curtailed with some effort -- namely, exercise, dietary changes and limiting (or eliminating) alcohol and tobacco consumption.

As a breast cancer survivor, I know that my chances for recurrence are reduced if I control my weight, watch my diet and reduce my drinking. I know this.

I know this.

And yet... I haven't made enough progress in any of these areas. I'll change for a few days... and then drift right back into my comfort zone. Knowing this about myself makes me sad because its not like I have a death wish. I don't want to go back to chemo and surgeries and fear and not knowing... I don't. But, it is like there is a big ol' wall in front of me that I simply don't have the energy to climb over.

So, what's a girl to do when she knows that she knows better and isn't living up to her full potential? She digs deep and finds ways to inspire herself. And then she prays that a sign comes along that gives her the courage to step out of being comfortable and into being fully alive.

How did I inspire myself? I re-read a book that has always provided the push that I need to get out of my comfort zone and find a way to do something new. "Who Moved My Cheese" is a really short little book. Less than 100 pages total and the actual story is only 50 short pages (less if you don't count the pages with the pictures). It is a short parable on learning how to deal with change in your life. I've read it many times... and I knew that it was just the push I needed to get some motivation.

It was.

And here is where serendipity steps in. I was reading this wonderful book about change on the subway the other day. As I was strutting down the platform, I passed a really handsome guy. Chocolate skin, nice smile... long legs... *nodding head*  Indeed, he was a cutie. I smiled, and kept walking on by. He smiled back and that was that.
So I thought. My train pulled up a few moments later and I looked back wondering whether he would be on the same train.

Turned out that he was. I passed him again as I looked for an empty seat. Again, he smiled and I smiled. I slid into my seat and pulled out my trusty book on change.

All good right? Well... this gentleman decided that smiling was insufficent and he came up to where I was sitting and introduced himself. Smile was much better up close. He was personable and confident. It was nice.

And he was in a wheelchair.

I gave him my number and long story short... one conversation with this guy put the final click in the paradigm shift that I needed.

This guy has been paralyzed from the waist down for about 20 years. He was shot when he was a teenager. I didn't ask for details about the event. But I was fascinated by his attitude. He approached me, not cautiously or with any trepidation, but boldly and with a ton of confidence. He spoke to me like a guy who typically gets what he wants. It was slightly intoxicating. To look at him, I would have expected him to be more afraid of life. He was far from it.

So during our converation -- which in and of itself was amazing because I only talk on the phone to a handful of people and even then, its not frequently -- he told me that he works out every day.

Wait, what?

He works out everyday. He lives alone and goes out to clubs and such all the time. (laughs) He fully lives every moment of his life. He told me that he planned to walk again and that he had regained the feeling in one leg and was working on the other leg. When I mentioned that I needed to work out, needed to lose just a few pounds and get myself in shape. He said... then walk.

I keep laughing because he was so dead serious. A man who cannot walk, told me to basically stop wasting time and move my legs as long and as far as I can every day. And it was just what I needed to hear when I was most receptive to hearing it.

So... while my insomnia still gives me fits... when I found myself awake at 4am this morning... guess what I did?

I walked.

(laughs) 



PS. There is an old gospel song by Walter Hawkins called "Be grateful". It is a great song and it brings me an amazing level of peace and joy. Part of the lyrics say...

be grateful
because there's always somebody worse off than you
be grateful
because there's somebody who wants to be in your shoes

So... once again, I am grateful. Life is constantly changing and constantly teaching me something new -- usually about myself.

Thoughts for today:  Who moved my cheese? and Be grateful.


Lyrics | Walter Hawkins lyrics - Be Grateful lyrics

Can’t Afford Lymphedema Sleeves?

I have a cross-post from Toddler Planet which is a blog written by another breast cancer survivor (who happens to also be a rocket scientist I believe). Great blog by the way... but she posted some great information and I wanted to share it here in hopes that it will help a reader (or the friend or family member of a reader) with one of the many expenses that survivors have.

I suffer from lymphedema. I've complained a few times here about how much I hate this side effect of my mastectomy and how much the sleeves (which are absolutely necessary) put a crimp in my financial side. Well, there are some angels out here who are providing sleeves for free in honor of their loved ones who battled breast cancer. The details are in Susan's post below. Please take a moment to read about this wonderful opportunity and feel free to pass it along. Every little bit helps. Believe me.

P.S. I currently have three sleeves by LympheDIVAS and they are fantastic. Quite nice, very attractive too.

-----------------------------
Are you or do you know a breast cancer survivor? Please read today’s post and pass it on. If you can’t afford to purchase a lymphedema sleeve, gauntlet, and/or glove, and you can’t manage your post-mastectomy swelling, Crickett’s Answer and LympheDIVAs want to help.
Today, I am pleased to announce a NEW opportunity for breast cancer survivors who have had a mastectomy and/or axillary dissection of the lymph nodes due to breast cancer and have swelling of one or both arms but cannot afford the $200-$500+ cost for two sets of the compression sleeves and gauntlets that survivors with lymphedema must wear every day to keep the swelling in check.

Although lymphedema sleeves are medically necessary, they are not covered by Medicare OR most insurance plans under current law, and thousands of survivors go without the sleeves, needlessly suffering congestion, swelling, and pain that interferes with their normal activities.

Crickett’s Answer, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization founded in memory of Crickett Julius, has just joined forces with  LympheDIVAs to help other breast cancer survivors who fight not just the beast that is breast cancer but also the fallout of side effects that includes lymphedema, which may limit survivors’ activities. By working together, they are now able to provide needed lymphedema sleeves and gauntlets to women who need them but cannot afford them out-of-pocket or convince their insurance companies to pay for them. They do this in honor and memory of their loved ones.

Crickett JuliusCrickett Julius survived breast cancer only four months, but her mother and cousin are dedicated to helping other women enjoy their life post-diagnosis through Crickett’s Answer, a 501(c)3 organization that provides wigs, mastectomy products, oncology/mastectomy/ lymphedema massage, facials, and other pampering services as a way to help women feel feminine and beautiful after losing their hair and/or breasts.

Rachel TroxellLympheDIVAs was founded by Rachel Troxell  and Robin Miller, friends and breast cancer survivors who wanted to create a more elegant and comfortable compression sleeve. Rachel continued to build the company during her later recurrence. Even though she died two years ago, at the age of 37, her father, mother, and brother continue to grow the company in her honor and in the hope that LympheDIVAs’ compression apparel will continue to inspire breast cancer survivors everywhere to feel as beautiful, strong, and confident as Rachel was.

To ask for help, please download and complete the forms at Crickett’s Answer, writing in “lymphedema sleeve and gauntlet” on page 2 of the application.

To help someone else, please copy and paste this post on your blog or email it to a friend (or your local cancer center!).

To donate, go here. http://crickettsanswer.startlogic.com/id8.html
To help change the law so that this medical garment is covered by cancer survivors’ insurance, stay tuned for more about the Lymphedema Treatment Act  when it is reintroduced in the 2011 Congress.
Because of these women, these three thirty-something women who didn’t ask to get breast cancer, and the men and women who love them, there is now help for women who can’t afford lymphedema sleeves, a medically necessary garment not typically covered by insurance. Their legacy lives on.

Note: Cancer patients who are members of the National Lymphedema Network and who are treated by an NLN therapist can also apply to the NLN garment fund, set up in honor of Marilyn Westerbrook.


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