May 30 (Day 91) - Love Versus Cancer

Today is a special day to our family, it is my sister Sherry's birthday! We each celebrate Sherry's life in our own individual ways - but on this day, we will all remember with love, how lucky we are to have had her in our lives.  One of the ways I celebrate Sherry's life is by blogging... this blog was inspired by and is dedicated to Sherry.  Check out "My Inspiration."

We lost Sherry to Inflammatory Breast Cancer on December 4, 2009.  Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC) is a truly awful disease and in honor and celebration of Sherry's life, I hope to shine a small light and create awareness of this disease.

IBC is not a new type of breast cancer, but it is very important to distinguish IBC from other types of breast cancer because there are major differences in its symptoms, prognosis, and treatment.  IBC probably accounts for about 1% of all breast cancers diagnosed in the United States but the disease is often misdiagnosed, since there is no consensus on the real incidence of IBC.

Symptoms

Diagnosing inflammatory breast cancer at an early stage can possibly save your life. IBC causes symptoms that are often different from those of more common breast cancers. It rarely causes a breast lump, and it may not show up on a mammogram. Because it doesn't look like a typical breast cancer, it can be harder to diagnose. IBC can present in a number of ways, and each patient's symptoms are unique, but a common feature is that those symptoms typically progress very rapidly, often within a matter of weeks. Inflammatory breast cancer symptoms may include all or a combination of the following signs and symptoms:

• Breast swelling, which appears suddenly with one breast much larger than the other  
• Itching  
• Pink, red, or dark colored area, sometimes with a dimpling of the breast skin that looks like an orange peel (peau d'orange)  
• Ridges and thickened areas of the skin  
• Breast that feels warm to the touch  
• Flattened or retracted nipple  
• Breast pain

You do not need to have all of these symptoms to be concerned about inflammatory breast cancer. Since inflammatory breast cancer symptoms are very similar to those of an infection (mastitis), your doctor may prescribe a round of antibiotics. If the symptoms have not improved or have grown worse, breast imaging (mammogram, ultrasound, breast MRI) and a biopsy are strongly recommended. These are simple screening procedures for cancer. MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) is the most sensitive imaging test for IBC. It can find any breast mass that looks like it could be invasive cancer. More importantly, MRI allows the skin changes that are typical of IBC to be measured precisely. Diagnosing inflammatory breast cancer at an early stage can possibly save your life.

Love Versus Cancer™ aims to honor and promote the strength and hope that love brings to the challenge of confronting cancer. Love unites us all in our efforts to end cancer. Medicine provides the all-important clinical tools to treat cancer – but love bolsters the heart and spirit to help us rise above the disease. Join Love Versus Cancer and connect with those who also recognize the power of love.  

"Love Versus Cancer" does not promise that love will defeat cancer -- not every "fight" will be won.  Love bolsters the spirit and help us rise above the disease. Wherever cancer may take us, love abides and offers strength and hope to confront the disease.

Send an E-Card to someone you love.

Donate to Love Versus Cancer. (Fox Chase Cancer Center Inflammatory Breast Cancer Clinic)

Source: www.fccc.edu

April 13 (Day 44) - Helping Families Fighting Breast Cancer

Recently my mom told me of a family at her Church that was losing their home.  This family has also been battling  Breast Cancer. Their wife/mother was diagnosed with breast a couple years ago and the cancer has slowly progressed over this time.  Her prognosis has gotten worse and she is now at the point where the cancer is considered terminal. You shouldn't have to fight a battle for your life and worry about losing your house all at the same time. 

Today's cause holds a special place in my heart because I can see how necessary and valuable the work of The Pink Fund can be. I have several family members who have been diagnosed with Breast Cancer. We rejoice because my mother is a Breast Cancer survivor and sadly, we lost my sister to Inflammatory Breast Cancer in 2008. I have written about her on my "inspiration" page. Fortunately, we did not need to take advantage of a charity such as The Pink Fund, but I thank God they are around for those who need them. 



The Pink Fund was founded by Molly MacDonald, a breast cancer survivor, with the mission to help women (and men) fighting breast cancer focus on healing, raising their families and returning to the workplace. The Pink Fund will provide short term financial aid during the brief period of treatment and recovery. Literally millions of dollars are being raised for early detection, research and programs for the medically underserved. Families facing breast cancer urgently need financial help now.



Check out the PinkBlog.  Here is an excerpt from a recent post:  

I thought about The Pink Fund and my desire from the very beginnings of my breast cancer journey, when this idea began to form in my head, because of my own experience with the financial fallout that can come from a breast cancer diagnosis, to make a difference in the lives of a sister or brother survivor and their families while fighting this disease.


A financial fallout not just because of the added medical bills, the co-pays and prescriptions insurance does not cover. But because of the potential for job loss, the inability to work due to side affects so numbing your feet and fingers fail you and you begin to wonder if you are going mad, because you can’t remember from one minute to the next, or put together a cohesive sentence, and so rather than risk talking you simply shut up and suffer.


Initially, I never considered the work of The Pink Fund in terms of how many women we could help, knowing it would start with one and then another and another. I haven’t really taken the time to count all the pink file folders holding poignant letters humbly asking for help.


I only know that every day,every week, every month, our team sits down to address the issues a breast cancer patient faces when he or she cannot make the mortgage, worries about the lights or heat being turned off, makes a decision to not pay an automobile insurance premium, because darn it, I need this car to get to treatment and work, but if I pay my insurance, Edison is going to turn my lights off and Consumers might literally leave me out in the cold!


I only know from the files of heartfelt thank-you notes for “saving my life”, “being like family” , “giving me hope” “because I am crying happy tears for the first time in months” that The Pink Fund is creating day by day, week by week, month by month, year by year some kind of record for providing help and instilling hope in another human being. 

Thank you Molly MacDonald for inspiring us with your compassion for others! 
Please consider partnering with The Pink Fund to help families battling breast cancer.
Click here to help.

Source: The Pink Fund

March 1 (Day 1) - Click for Breast Cancer

Since this is my first post, I thought I would start out with something simple.  Please visit the Breast Cancer Site at http://www.thebreastcancersite.com/  and make sure you click on the "click here to give" button to help fund mammogram screenings for women in need.  This is paid for by the advertisers who display ads on the page. This is such a simple way to help... Let's make sure we visit this site everyday and click the give button.  You can see a breakdown of where women were helped (by state) on the results page. 

Some facts about breast cancer:

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among American women, after skin cancer. Today, approximately 1 in almost every 8 women (13.4%) will develop breast cancer in her lifetime. Breast cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer death in women after lung cancer -- and is the leading cause of cancer death among women ages 35 to 54. The American Cancer Society estimates that in 2009, approximately 192,370 women will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer and approximately 40,610 will die. Although these numbers may sound frightening, research reveals that the mortality rate could decrease by 30% if all women age 50 and older who need a mammogram had one.

From the site:

Your clicks count! Last year, visitor clicks funded 2,808 mammograms (down from 2008, which was 3,315). Purchases at The Breast Cancer Site store funded an additional 4,178 mammograms for women in need (down from 4,262 in 2008). Let's get those click numbers back up in 2010! Please click every day and tell others about The Breast Cancer Site! Since The Breast Cancer Site began in 2000, together we have funded free mammograms for more than 18,000 women in need through clicks alone!

Don't forget to come back everyday to see another way to help.