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Sunday Seven: Seven survivor spotlight similarities
It's day 15 in this Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the survivors spotlighted on this site are stacking up. Yet we've only just scratched the surface of breast cancer survivor stories. And by the end of October, we will have only featured a very small sample of survivors everywhere. There are countless others with their own powerful stories. It's sad there are so many stories shaped by breast cancer. It's empowering too -- because breast cancer survivors are a passionate bunch. They are passionate in their fights, passionate in their beliefs, passionate in their willingness to help others. A passionate bunch of survivors can be found here on The Cancer Blog. They are all women, of various ages, with various backgrounds, defined by different experiences. They are also quite the same -- for they have all been touched by breast cancer. And their words of wisdom are strikingly similar, despite the contrast in characteristics that define these women and their very individual battles with breast cancer. Here are ...
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Survivor Spotlight: assertive cancer patient Jeanne Sather
Journalist, teacher, mother and eight-year breast cancer survivor Jeanne Sather is a self-described outspoken advocate for the cancer patient's point of view. A vegetarian since the age of 16 and fairly active, she does not have any of the known risk factors for breast cancer. After an all-clear mammogram at the age of 40, she was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 43. In an ironic twist of employment fate, the very job she was hired to do in chronicling her life online as a breast cancer patient, may have led to her firing because of the flexible work schedule breast cancer treatment required. With a sharp clarity and well-earned perspective, Sather is The Assertive Cancer Patient. To our good fortune here at The Cancer Blog, she has agreed to take part in our Survivor Spotlight series featuring interviews with breast cancer survivors. ...
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Survivor Spotlight: interviews with breast cancer survivors
When diagnosed with breast cancer, it feels as if, for the first time, your life has acquired an expiration date. Blurry and unreadable, still it is there, stamped on your consciousness. The surgeon is telling you what he needs to take away, the plastic surgeon is telling you what he can give you back. The oncologist is telling you about treatments and survival statistics. The radiologist is telling you about treatment and survival statistics. The counselor is there if you want to talk. Statistics are good but limited in what they can predict with accuracy. What works beyond statistics? Why does a woman diagnosed with breast cancer -- who statistically fits into the group of women predicted to be surviving breast cancer ten years later -- does not make it that long; and the woman diagnosed with breast cancer -- who statistically fits into the group of women who have perhaps a year or less to live -- is still surviving breast cancer ten years later. Some of the answers might be found woven within the real ...
Survivor Spotlight: Brave Jennifer continues to fight Hodgkin's
Jennifer Willey is a pretty 28-year old with a twinkle in her eye and a love of shopping and dancing. She's a much-loved daughter, friend and mum to an adorable potbellied pig named Willa. She's also embedded in a battle with Hodgkin's disease -- a battle she's been fighting since she was diagnosed in 2005. I found Jennifer's website through Alese Coco's Fight 2 Win site, and though Alese has tragically lost her battle, Jennifer is still fighting just as valiantly, and is just as determined that she will conquer cancer. I've never met her in person, but Jennifer has truly inspired me with her graciousness and her spirit. She is a survivor. Unfortunately, Jennifer was not able to compile her thoughts for the Survivor Spotlight feature, as she's recently been admitted to the hospital. The answers below are snippets from her website: On finding out she had cancer: The year of 2004 came and went by so quickly. I was working full-time in human resources, was planning my wedding, and around two hours a day was ...
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Cancer survivors fashion fun approach to fundraising
I will be a cancer survivor for the rest of my life. I don't think my modeling career will have that kind of longevity, though. I gave it a try -- I am not sure how I was convinced to participate as a model in a fashion show when my personality is so not conducive to strutting on a runway -- and I think I will retire after my short stint in the spotlight. The spotlight was my biggest problem really. When I walked out on stage -- two times -- I was blinded by bright lights shining in my eyes and was somewhat paralyzed by the total darkness I saw in the audience of about 700 people who came to watch me and 84 other cancer survivors this past March in the Cure by Design fashion show, sponsored by my local American Cancer Society office. I heard clapping and shouting and cheering but could not see anything in front of me. I had no sense of where my family members sat in the crowd and felt disoriented and confused. It didn't help that I had to follow arrows that were taped on the stage -- reminders of the path I ...
Known for her celebrity, known for cancer fundraising
Most of us know her as Elyse Keaton on the long-time ago sitcom Family Ties. Many also know her from the variety of characters she has portrayed on television specials and movies. And Meredith Baxter is also known for her support of breast cancer research -- something not so apparent or obvious but just as significant in the scope of her life in the spotlight. Like many issues she speaks out on -- women's rights, gun control, state legislative matters -- breast cancer is an issue about which she is passionate. She has appeared at Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walks and presented gifts to the cause of breast cancer research and has starred in the 1994 television movie My Breast -- about a woman who successfully battles breast cancer. And she also has her own Meredith Baxter Foundation for Breast Cancer Research which began when she donated $10,000 to the University of Minnesota Cancer Center where her foundation was started. Much of the funding for this foundation comes from Baxter herself via the ...
Awareness month reason for breast cancer reminders
There is a lot of breast cancer awareness out there. Some believe it's too much. Some say it's overboard. Some wish breast cancer could share some of the spotlight with all the other cancers -- those struggling for a little more funding, a little more research, a little more air time. Is it possible there could be more awareness for the disease that corners the market on all things pink? Yes. It's possible. And it's necessary too. As long as women are dying of breast cancer -- in 2006, breast cancer will kill about 40,000 women in the United States -- there is cause for more awareness. And each October -- Breast Cancer Awareness Month -- breast cancer information bombards us all. Annoying as it may seem, the reminders that flow from breast cancer campaigns are truly critical. Reminders about self exams and mammograms and early detection and risk factors and new developments can save lives. They do save lives. And while we should all hope other cancers -- that are just as serious, just as widespread, just as ...
Survivor Spotlight: Claire ... "I don't think of myself as a cancer survivor"
I have known my friend Claire for years (she asked that her last name not be used). So, I remember the shock I felt three years ago when I found out that she had breast cancer. Malignant breast cancer, we whispered to ourselves. Claire had been teaching English for Dole Fruit in Honduras. She came home that summer, and she never went back, even though she had another year left in her contract. Even though we have talked about her experiences over the years, we had never done so formally before she agreed to talk to me for this Survivor Spotlight. She came over and I poured her coffee (black) and we went out back to my studio/office to chat. How did you find out you had breast cancer? I went in for a routine mammogram. I had been having mammograms for about the past ten years or so. But I missed the previous year! So, after I found out that I had cancer, I was mortified that I had forgotten the previous year. But actually, I had a benign cyst years earlier, when I was younger and hadn't gone through as much. ...
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Survivor Spotlight: Lisa living with breast cancer for nine years says "Its my life, and I don't know any other"
Lisa was only 27 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She agreed to do a Survivor Spotlight. I was thrilled because she is a long term survivor of metastatic breast cancer. We need to hear more positive stories about women living with mets, instead of sticking our head in the sand and just listening to all the hype on television about how breast cancer is so easily cured.
What about the women who can't just go on with their normal lives because they have been diagnosed with a recurrence? -- a disease that will probably keep them on some sort of treatment for the rest of their lives. It would be better if the treatments had no side effects but we know that is not the case for many of the treatments available. Lisa has had many challenges in the last nine years. Here is her story.
How did you find out you had breast cancer?
I was doing regular monthly self exams and found a pea-sized lump in my right breast. I was only 27, but I took it seriously. I went to a doctor and she sent me for a mammogram. ...
Sunday Seven: Salute to seven TIME magazine issues
TIME magazine has faithfully followed the issues defining cancer. The topic has made the covers of many issues, and it receives plentiful press on the pages in between. Stories spotlight an array of different cancers, address research and new developments, and offer personal glimpses into the lives of both everyday survivors and those with celebrity status. A look into the archives of TIME magazine -- seven specific issues -- illustrates a proven commitment to the cancer cause. And it proves the mystery of cancer is much the same today as it was many years ago. ...
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Food porn for breast cancer
At our sister site Slashfood, we often spotlight gorgeous creations prepared by ourselves and legions of other food bloggers under the category of "food porn" -- a voyeuristic look at the culinary arts. It didn't escape my attention then, when one of my favorite fellow foodies Béa at La Tartine Gourmande prepared this beautiful pink dish of Quinoa Beet Verrine, designed to help raise breast cancer awareness. She has been gracious enough to allow me to repost it here, and I'm hoping that it inspires you (like it has me) to help spread the word. On that note, if any of you are gastronomically-inclined and would like to prepare your own "pink food" creation -- anything from pink cream cheese on a bagel to an entire fuchsia dinner -- post it on your blog and send us the link. We will spotlight the entries in a future post in hopes of continuing to raise awareness of breast cancer. ...
Thought for the Day: Britney's bald explanation
Britney Spears, fresh out of rehab and back in the spotlight, is explaining why she publicly shaved her head back in February, following a rampage of bizarre behavior. Think about this: A friend of Spears says the pop star shaved her head as a tribute to her aunt who died from cancer. The pal states Spears was definitely suffering from postpartum depression at the time and the bold hair maneuver was an act of solidarity. "Britney's aunt had just died of cancer," says this friend. "She was feeling very guilty because she hadn't been there with her, she was overwhelmingly depressed and she shaved her head in solidarity." ...
Alese has sadly lost her fight with Hodgkins disease
I did a post about Alese back in March titled Survival Spotlight: Alese Coco is fighting 2 win. I read on her website today that she passed away on Monday May 7, 2007.
This is what I read on her website.
It is with shattered hearts we announce that Alese died Monday May 7th at 1:20 p.m. Mentally and emotionally, Alese's attitude to the end remained Fight 2 Win. However, her body could no longer carry on the fight and she succumbed due to respiratory complications. She will be greatly missed and there is a collective ache and void left in the hearts of the many people who loved her and were encouraged by her.
What a beautiful young girl she will be forever.
...
Gossip columnist Claudia Cohen dies of ovarian cancer
High-profile television and newspaper gosspip columnist Claudia Cohen, most recently a regular correspondent covering entertainment for the syndicated talk show Live With Regis and Kelly, died Friday of ovarian cancer. She was 56. Known for her aggressive pursuit of celebrity news and her public divorce from billionaire businessman Ronald O. Perelman, Cohen first hit the spotlight in the late 1970s as a reporter and editor for Page Six of The New York Post. She went on to write a gossip column titled I, Claudia for The Daily News of New York, report for Live with Regis and Kathie Lee, and dish celebrity dirt for ABC's The Morning Show.
Cohen is survived by her parents, a brother, and a daughter. ...
Thought for the Day: Talking about it
This week was my turn to cover our Survivor Spotlight feature. I perhaps naively thought that I would have no trouble finding a survivor to talk to because there are so many survivors out there and it seemed that most of them were more than happy to tell their story in the hopes of helping others. But many of the women did not feel comfortable talking about it -- mainly because they didn't want to dredge up the past, to think about a time in their life that was difficult and trying, especially with a stranger. Their hesitance is understandable, but also came as a surprise to me because I assumed that most people who had bravely stared death in the face and won would make it their mission to inspire others. ...
