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Posts with tag dark
Posted Aug 26th 2007 8:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Environment, Diets, Stress Reduction, Obesity, Sunday Seven
I promised two weeks ago when I wrote
Sunday Seven: Seven ways to fine-tune your health that I'd be back to offer seven more grand ideas for optimizing your physical and emotional well-being. Here I am, with a mini-list of suggestions I gathered a while back from a
newspaper article. If you don't already practice these strategies, then why not give them a try.
Eat breakfastIt's the most important meal of the day -- really. A breakfast high in complex carbohydrates and protein creates energy. Energy kick-starts metabolism and helps our bodies burn fat. We all know what fat does. It weighs us down and contributes to all kinds of health problems.
Get your sleepSleep restores our bodies. Sleep-deprived folks secrete more leptin, a protein hormone that increases appetite. Larger appetites increase food consumption. Increased food consumption spikes the risk of obesity. And so on. You know the drill.
Continue reading Sunday Seven: Seven more ways to fine-tune your health
Posted Aug 8th 2007 7:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Chemotherapy, Cancer Survivors
My hair is changing -- again. It started out perfectly straight, blond, and shoulder length. Then it came tumbling out, thanks to the chemotherapy drugs adriamycin and cytoxan. Four months later, it was back -- curly, dark, and way too short for my liking.
Over the past two years, I've grown to enjoy my hair. The longer it gets, the less curl it keeps. I like it this way. The color has grown on me too. When I look back at photos of my lighter locks, I think dark suits me better. Why do I get the feeling, though, that my hair won't be dark for long?
I still think of my hair as dark, I guess because it was once so very blond and it is so very not blond at the moment -- in my opinion anyway.
Continue reading Shades of cancer
Posted Jul 26th 2007 9:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Breast Cancer, Diets, Vitamins and nutrients
Vitamin D is one of the latest, greatest hot cancer topics. Why? Well, it seems many of us women are vitamin D deficient. Such a deficiency might be linked to breast cancer risk so it's in our best interest to make sure we get a healthy dose of this vitamin. It's not as easy as adhering to the Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) guidelines, though. Follow them and you'll still come up short -- the Food and Nutrition Board, responsible for setting the DRIs, have not yet updated guidelines in light of cancer concerns. So what's a girl to do?
For starters, we need to understand that for overall health benefits, 1,000 IU (International Units) per day are necessary. The outdated DRI recommends 200 to 600 IU. This is based on preventing only bone diseases like rickets. Second, keep in mind it's safe to take up to 10,000 IU each day. Third, up your intake of this important vitamin. Here's how:
Fatty fish is the best source of vitamin D. But watch out for high mercury levels. Fortified milk is also good. It has 100 IU of vitamin D per eight-ounce serving, but cow's milk been linked to breast cancer risk as well.
Continue reading On the hunt for vitamin D
Posted May 16th 2007 8:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Skin Cancer, Cancer by the Numbers
We're still basking in the hot sun, bronzing our bodies in tanning beds, and playing outdoors without slathering on the sunscreen. What will it take, I wonder, for our society to catch on, to take real steps toward preventing skin cancer?
It seems education isn't enough. Most of us know by now all it takes is one bad sunburn to increase our risk of skin cancer, yet we continue to collect burn after burn after burn. Perhaps like all habit-forming behaviors -- think smoking -- it takes something tragic in our lives to inspire change. When someone we know gets lung cancer after a lifetime of smoking or someone we know develops melanoma after years of sunbathing, maybe we get the hint. Maybe
Now, I know you don't personally know this young woman -- she calls herself
Miss Melanoma -- but I suggest you read her
story. And I recommend you take what happened to her -- she lost part of her foot to melanoma and is currently battling a spread of the disease -- and allow it to really sink in, allow it to motivate you to take cover from the sun, before something like this happens to you. Because it can.
Continue reading Cancer by the Numbers: Melanoma
Posted Mar 22nd 2007 11:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Skin Cancer, Cancer Survivors
This comment just arrived in response to yesterday's post
Headed for melanoma, and it's just too raw and powerful to leave buried in the comment section of the site.
So here it is, word for word -- a chilling and empowering message from a 37-year-old mom of two living with a disease that is downright deadly.
I have melanoma. I was diagnosed last August and have had 6 surgeries in 6 months.
I have lost 4 members in my melanoma support group. I go to Jaime's funeral tomorrow afternoon. She was 29 years old. Heather was 37 when she died on March 2, 2007. The midwife noticed a suspicious mole on her leg during the birth of her 4th child. She died 23 months later. Jan was a mother of 5 ages 9 to 19, she passed away on February 8, 2007. Ceri was only 20 years old when melanoma claimed her life on January 14, 2007.
I always thought skin cancer had to be HUGE, ugly, and hard to ignore. I didn't know it could be small, have no symptoms, and KILL you.
Melanoma incidence is increasing faster than any other cancer. According to statistics found on the American Cancer Society's website (www.cancer.org), the prognosis for someone diagnosed with melanoma is worse, stage for stage, than someone with breast cancer.
Getting more than 3 blistering sunburns during childhood doubles your risk. Sunbed use increases ones risk. Having fair skin and light eyes also puts you at a higher than average risk, but having dark skin does not make you immune. Bob Marley died from Melanoma in 1981.
Everyone at higher risk should get screened by a dermatologist every year. And all of us should be checking our own skin each month.
Melanoma is a virulent and aggressive cancer. It begins in the melanocytes, or the pigment in the skin. It presents itself as a change in an existing mole or skin pigment, or in the formation of a new one. It is easily treated in its most early stages. Once it spreads, though, it is often fatal.
Unfortunately, there is no cure for melanoma. Melanoma is one of the cancers that won't respond to conventional chemotherapy. There have been no significant advances in the medical treatment or survival rate in the last 30 years.
More awareness is needed. Most think "it's only skin cancer" and consider it nothing serious. But I can tell you with absolute certainty, they are DEAD wrong.Posted Mar 13th 2007 10:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: All Cancers, Cancer Survivors
I often note the passage of time according to events. My husband does it with songs -- if he hears Cheap Trick's
I Want You to Want Me, for example, his mind takes him back to a buddy's basement in Jersey where he played pool with a bunch of other 10-year-old boys.
Music just doesn't do it for me. It has to be some sort of happening for my mind to travel back in time -- something like the Florida Gators SEC victory over Arkansas on Sunday.
Last year, the Gators were also SEC champs. And the year before that too. And I think I'll know the status of this team at this same time every year for as many years as I survive cancer -- because two years ago, I sat cooped up in a University of Florida hospital room trying to recover from the effects of chemotherapy and the only real excitement piped into my cubicle of a room was the thrill of a big Gator win.
It was the same kind of win the team repeated the following year -- the win that marked my first year of survival. And now, the Gators win again. And so do I.
While the defending National Champions celebrate their accomplishments and head into the first round of NCAA tournament play in New Orleans, I celebrate my accomplishment -- surviving cancer for two years. And when the Gators play in whatever game comes their way next March, I will be reminded of that same hospital room, that same dark and dreary time in my life. And then I will marvel at the power of time and the unlikely collision of cancer and college basketball.
And then I will pause, reflect, and head straight into my third year of survival.
Go Gators!
Posted Mar 8th 2007 10:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Chemotherapy, All Cancers, Cancer Survivors
My hair is not so short, not so dark, not so curly anymore. And the shock of what sprouted from my head following chemotherapy is not so startling anymore. I guess it's a combination of my getting accustomed to my new look and the fact that lately, my hair is a changin' -- once again -- and this has me somewhat numbed to all things hair-raising in my life.
I was born with straight, blond hair. And I wore these locks on my head for 34 years. Until cancer came a knockin', chemotherapy came a drippin', and my hair went a tumblin'. Bald brought quite an adjustment. And so did the stuff that replaced my pre-chemo hair.
For almost two years now, I have been peering in the mirror at short, brown, curly hair. It took some time, but I grew to like my new look. And now, just as I am feeling OK about my changed appearance, my hair is taking another turn.
Naturally, my hair is longer. That's what happens when chemotherapy becomes a thing of the past. So this is not so surprising. But as my hair grows and gets heavier, my curls are transforming into waves. And I wonder if my curls will continue to disappear as my hair continues to grow. Will my hair be straight again one of these days?
With each passing day, my hair also gets lighter as it slowly fades from dark brown to light brown with a tint of red and a hint of blond. Will my hair be blond again one of the days?
Someone once told me that cancer is temporary. Someone else told me this is not true -- there's nothing temporary about the way cancer changes a life forever. I think I agree. Because as I study my hair, I realize that all of its temporary phases are really just a sign of the permanence cancer has left branded on my body and soul.
Posted Jan 22nd 2007 11:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Chemotherapy, Cancer Survivors
Today I watched a video of myself. I was interviewing my grandmother about her 83 years worth of memories -- a project my husband and I dreamed up so that my grandma's life story would live on long after her death.
The video was taped in May 2000, three years before my grandma died and four and a half years before I was diagnosed with cancer. My hair was long and blond and straight, like it had been since I was a little girl, and it was twisted and clipped on the top of my head. I instantly longed for this hair -- and for my grandma too -- and just as I was convincing myself that my post-chemotherapy dark, curly hair was merely a new phase of my life -- much like the phase of living without my grandma -- my six-year-old son entered the room, looked at the TV screen and said, "Mommy, I really like your hair like that."
"I do too," I told Joey.
"Can you get it back?" he said.
"No, I can't get it back," I replied, knowing that I would never bleach my hair back to its original natural color and that the forces of nature will forever prevent me from removing the curl that today looked somewhat like what frames a lion's face.
So, no, I can't get my hair back. And I can't get my grandma back. But I am thankful for the video that captures us together, talking and laughing and remembering. And should my own grandchildren ever wish to interview me when I am 83 years old, I will definitely tell them about my sweet and spunky grandma and all of her touching stories. And I will tell them about the great blond hair I had the privilege of wearing for the first 34 years of my life.
Posted Jan 19th 2007 10:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Breast Cancer, Research, Daily news
I have dense breasts. And ever since the surgeon who performed my breast reduction surgery more than 10 years ago told me about the composition of my breast tissue, I have been a bit obsessed with how my breasts feel. Good thing -- because I ended up with breast cancer two years ago as a result of my own at-home monitoring. And now I wonder if my cancer was influenced by the density characterizing the tissue that fills my breasts.
Canadian researchers are reporting in a groundbreaking study that women with dense breasts, like me, are five times more likely to develop breast cancer than whose whose breasts have a lot of fatty tissue. It's long been knows that dense breasts inhibit the effectiveness of X-ray mammograms -- and perhaps delay diagnosis -- but now it's clear that breast density is a risk factor all on its own.
"Breast density is an 'extremely important' factor that accounts for up to one-third of all cases," says lead investigator Norman Boyd of the Campbell Family Institute for Breast Cancer Research at Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto
Dr. Boyd says breast size has no bearing on density, and women cannot determine their degree of density on their own.
Density is the percentage of breast tissue not clearly visible on X-ray mammography. While fat shows up dark on mammograms, dense tissue appears light -- making it difficult to spot tumors.
This is not all bad news, say the authors of the study who report that density decreases with age. This research opens up a whole new avenue of prevention because the factors that affect density -- hormones, diet, exercise, environmental exposures -- can hopefully be altered. Also, this is very important news for women because it provides them with new and better information. And now, women who know they have dense breasts can insist on more frequent screening.
This research is published in Thursday's edition of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Posted Nov 3rd 2006 9:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Skin Cancer, Research, Daily news
In the not-too-distant future, dermatologists will be able to diagnose skin cancer without ever cutting the skin.
Right now, doctors cut out all suspicious lesions in order to examine them, to determine if they are cancerous or not. But with the development of a new microscope, cells can be examined right on the body -- without cutting.
Moles matter, reported Matt Lauer on Thursday's
TODAY show during an interview with a skin cancer expert. Moles are highly associated with melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. So it is critical that each mole is investigated. With this new high resolution technology -- essentially a video biopsy -- a camera will allow doctors to view cells, zero in on the area of concern, and pinpoint the exact cells that make up a mole. If the cells are similar in shape and size and have equal distribution, the mole is normal. If the individual cells are irregular and have no uniform pattern, the mole is abnormal and probably cancerous.
While cutting for biopsy purposes will one day be a thing of the past, cutting will still be necessary if a mole is characterized by cancerous cells. If it's cancer, it must come out. But the video biopsy can be used to map the border and boundaries and will allow for precise removal of the mole.
This technology is still developing -- but one day, perhaps eight to 10 years from now -- doctors will be able to more consistently detect cancer without removal of skin. For now, they must take a piece of the mole and put it under a microscope.
There are definite warning signs of skin cancer. Any mole that is asymmetrical with irregular borders and varied, dark colors should be reported to a physician. Also, any mole that changes in color, shape, or size and is bigger than a pencil eraser is cause for concern.
Posted Oct 22nd 2006 10:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: All Cancers, Sunday Seven
I have a new friend who is a new breast cancer survivor. She is surviving a new diagnosis, a recent lumpectomy, and the moments leading up to another surgery to further investigate the margins surrounding the tumor removed from her breast. She is surviving the first phase of her breast cancer journey. A phase full of uncertainty and fear and panic. A phase so new and so fresh and so raw, her mind is whirling. A phase that has her grasping for any bit of direction she can find as she navigates a terrifying, unfamiliar road.
My friend is a young wife and mother whose worries are consuming her. She e-mailed me today and asked if I ever have moments when I look at my young children and worry that cancer will take me from them while they are young. She asked if I have always been so sure I will be okay. And so I replied with this candid cancer confession.
Continue reading Sunday Seven: Seven completely candid cancer confessions
Posted Oct 6th 2006 2:00PM by Dalene Entenmann
Filed under: Breast Cancer, Prevention, Pink products, Cancer events, Celebrity fundraisers, Television, Products, Celebrity news
Today is
Lee National Denim Day, the world's largest single-day fundraising campaign for breast cancer, which encourages millions of women and men nationwide to wear their favorite jeans and make a $5 donation to support breast cancer research, education and outreach.
In addition to celebrity spokesperson
Pierce Brosnan's campaign efforts, cast members Steve Carell, Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer and B.J. Novak of NBC's
The Office have appeared in a Lee National Denim Day public service announcement (PSA) supporting the cause in the usual slant of dark comedy they employ at Dunder-Mifflin each week during the award-winning show. If you missed the PSA, it can be viewed as a YouTube
video here.
Celebrities Heidi Klum, Kate Bosworth, Don Cheadle, Brandon Routh, Kerry Washington, Gabrielle Union, Ellen Pompeo, Ginnifer Goodwin, Ben Stiller, Julianne Moore, Richie Sambora, The Fray, Cheyenne Kimball, BJ Novak, Jenna Fischer, Rainn Wilson, and John Krasinski have decorated jean pockets for an auction to benefit Lee National Denim Day in support of Women's Cancer Programs of the Entertainment Industry Foundation. The celebrity designed and autographed denim jeans will be auctioned on
Charity Folks. Today is the last day to bid.
Last year, more than 29,000 companies participated in the Lee National Denim Day fundraiser, raising more than $8.6 million dollars. In the last twenty years, the event has raised more than $61 million dollars in support of breast cancer programs.
Posted Aug 28th 2006 10:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Breast Cancer, Chemotherapy, Blogs
The Beck family
blogs about life in California -- about soccer games and parades and hikes and family trips. They display happy photos of their kids eating pancakes made by daddy and playing on the beach and dressing up for Halloween. And they also blog about breast cancer -- because Valerie Beck, wife and mom of two young children, was diagnosed with this disease on June 26, 2006.
Valerie is just two months into her journey and has just completed her second chemotherapy treatment. She has already survived surgery and scary pathology results and some dark moments. But Valerie will surely conquer cancer with her happy take on life, her supportive family, and her ability to go with the flow -- however unpredictable it may be. And her husband -- author of the family blog -- keeps all readers updated on Valerie's progress. He is positive, hopeful, and a bit frightened too. On July 8, he wrote:
What a past couple days, my beautiful bride Valerie, my wife, my life long partner has a serious fight in front of her. She is going to grow old with me, she is going to help me spoil our grandchildren, we will beat this! I have faith, and I believe, but I also believe you cannot hide from the awful truths, this is not a nice disease. Three of the best doctors in the world do not come rushing to your aid in ONE DAY if they thought "you will easily make it through this" (which is what it seems I am always telling Valerie). I am trying to be strong, I feel I have to be, but sitting here in front of an inanimate object I find it easier to share my inner fears. I do have faith we will make it through this ..... it just won't be easy.
It won't be easy. But it can be done. Best wishes, Beck family!
Posted Aug 18th 2006 8:00AM by Dalene Entenmann
Filed under: Breast Cancer, Hospice, Blogs, Books, Cancer Survivors
10.18.2006: We are deeply saddened that
Miriam Engelberg has lost her battle with breast cancer.Our favorite cartoonist, Miriam Engelberg, who blogs
Cancer Made Me A Shallower Person, and publishes the weekly Cartoon of the Week, titles her latest post
Bad News. The lack of balance she has been experiencing has been confirmed to be due to a brain tumor, and she will be entering hospice home care.
Miriam Engelberg was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was 43 and decided to chronicle her breast cancer journey in a series of comic strips that have now been collected in the book, Cancer Made Me a Shallower Person: A Memoir in Comics. Engelberg, mother of a then four-year-old, used cartooning as a way to cope with the shock of diagnosis, surgery, chemotherapy, support groups, and a second cancer diagnosis.
She has made arrangements with her web designer to see that her cartoons still appear each week. Engelberg warns they might be in black and white. Normally she colors them in on her computer. Here is
her latest cartoon.
Cancer just sucks.
Posted Aug 7th 2006 7:00AM by Dalene Entenmann
Filed under: Drug, Research
Charlie Emrich, in
Glowing chickens bring hope in fight against cancer, calls fluorescent chickens, "cool in a creepy, mad-scientist sort of way." When you consider that scientists have combined jellyfish DNA with chickens to create illuminated birds, you can kind of see it from Emrich's descriptive perspective.
The purpose of chickens that glow, is that scientists can track antibody-based therapies that might prove valuable in treating human cancers.
UC Davis Cancer Center Dr. Joseph Tuscano explains that, "One of the problems with modern drugs is that they're not very specific. Even aspirin is not very specific. Antibodies, on the other hand are highly, highly specific meaning that, like an archer's arrow, they can effectively target a disease. Antibody-based therapies are one of the biggest advances in cancer treatment in the last 40 years."
Emrich quotes researchers of the project and takes you through the purpose and process of genetically-modified glow-in-the-dark chickens in the potential development of antibody-based therapies to one day treat cancer
here.
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