How to Save your Relationship when a Partner has Breast Cancer
Even the best relationships are affected by breast cancer. When I was diagnosed with breast cancer, my husband was too. Breast cancer didn’t leave him out; it affected every area of his life. As his wife, he knew me to be strong, supportive and a little bossy. He loved me for all of that. Learning how to go from caregiver to care recipient was a difficult transition for me. Seeing me weak and vulnerable was new to him.
He knew me too well to ask me what I needed from him. He took it upon himself to accompany me to each chemotherapy appt, and settle into the chair beside me. Since my doctor didn’t allow me to come witho...
Source: Life with Breast Cancer - October 25, 2013 Category: Cancer Authors: Kathy-Ellen Kups, RN Tags: Breast Cancer Source Type: blogs
Pink Marketing should be Celebrated
Is Pink Marketing making you feel pinked out, pinked off and pinked all over? Every October for the past several years, pink has been celebrated. It started with pink ribbons and quickly turned to pink coffee pots, pink can openers and even pink screw drivers. Almost everything else that can be marketed is showing up in pink. Now anti-pink organizations have risen up with pink sleuths trying to out companies that are using Pink Marketing for self gain.
The concept is brilliant; pink stuff for breast cancer awareness. The whole month highlights the need for breast cancer screening and provides tributes to those who h...
Source: Life with Breast Cancer - October 17, 2013 Category: Cancer Authors: Kathy-Ellen Kups, RN Tags: Breast Cancer breast cancer awareness Pink Marketing Pink stuff Source Type: blogs
The Gold Standard for Breast Cancer Screening
Mammograms are still the gold standard for breast cancer screening. Although I go to great lengths to get my friends to go for a yearly mammogram, I am always surprised at how many women try to avoid it or make excuses not to have one. To be clear, by screening I mean testing to reveal cancer when none is suspected. The goal is to detect breast cancer before it becomes invasive.
Finding a breast tumor while it is still in-situ, or in the duct results in a much better outcome and possibly avoids extensive surgery and treatment. Both my mother and my mother-in-law were fortunate to be diagnosed with breast cancer while ...
Source: Life with Breast Cancer - October 14, 2013 Category: Cancer Authors: Kathy-Ellen Kups, RN Tags: Breast Cancer Breast Cancer Screening Mammograms Thermography Source Type: blogs
Be Creative to Urge Women to Get Mammograms
I love Pinktober! It is a world draped in pink ribbons and products. Breast cancer awareness month is pink and pretty, but in fact it has a purpose. The purpose of awareness is to save women from the disease. Dedicating a whole month to breast cancer awareness is a significant feat accomplished in part by dedicated people who have been affected by a loved one’s diagnosis. More importantly, the effort has extended to a commitment to research to find better treatments and essentially a cure. For now however, we are beating the disease with mammograms, early diagnosis and treatment, so awareness is important.
Early a...
Source: Life with Breast Cancer - October 8, 2013 Category: Cancer Authors: Kathy-Ellen Kups, RN Tags: Breast Cancer Breast Cancer Screening Mammograms Pinktober Source Type: blogs
Obamacare will Help Women Battle Breast Cancer
The Affordable Care Act known fondly as Obamacare will help women battle breast cancer. Without insurance a breast cancer diagnosis can be a death sentence. Early diagnosis and intervention is key to battling the disease. With Obamacare, preventative testing such as mammograms for women over 40, and genetic testing for women at high risk of familial cancer is covered without co-pay or coinsurance. This is regardless if your deductible has been met. Once diagnosed, no insurance company can deny a woman coverage for a preexisting condition. Also, obtaining insurance through exchanges will be more affordable. Women’s h...
Source: Life with Breast Cancer - September 30, 2013 Category: Cancer Authors: Kathy-Ellen Kups, RN Tags: Breast Cancer Obamacare preexisting condition Source Type: blogs
Prophylactic Mastectomy: Still a Woman’s Choice
Prophylactic mastectomy of the healthy breast after breast cancer is diagnosed in the other should be the choice of the woman and her doctor. Recently it has come under scrutiny. Researchers are suggesting that this is in many cases an unnecessary procedure done more for peace of mind than for medical reasons.
For many women diagnosed with breast cancer in one breast the breast is removed and they are done with it. This was the case for both my mother and mother-in-law. Both were diagnosed in their sixties, and both underwent a mastectomy without needing chemotherapy. For them breast cancer was found in its earliest stage...
Source: Life with Breast Cancer - September 19, 2013 Category: Cancer Authors: Kathy-Ellen Kups, RN Tags: Breast Cancer breast cancer risk prophylactic mastectomy Source Type: blogs
Prophylactic Mastectomy; Still a Woman’s Choice
Prophylactic mastectomy of the healthy breast after breast cancer is diagnosed in the other should be the choice of the woman and her doctor. Recently it has come under scrutiny. Researchers are suggesting that this is in many cases an unnecessary procedure done more for peace of mind than for medical reasons.
For many women diagnosed with breast cancer in one breast the breast is removed and they are done with it. This was the case for both my mother and mother-in-law. Both were diagnosed in their sixties, and both underwent a mastectomy without needing chemotherapy. For them breast cancer was found in its earliest stage...
Source: Life with Breast Cancer - September 19, 2013 Category: Cancer Authors: Kathy-Ellen Kups, RN Tags: Breast Cancer breast cancer risk prophylactic mastectomy Source Type: blogs
Yoga Helps Breast Cancer Survivors Get Better Sleep
A recent report on a study showing that yoga helps breast cancer survivors get better sleep may change my mind on the practice. I have attempted yoga a few times in my life and each time I come away thinking it was OK, but it didn’t do anything for me. If I am going to be active, I like to do something a little more intense like skiing, mountain biking or kayaking. As much as I enjoy these activities however, I love my sleep even more!
The study was conducted by Karen Mustian a researcher at the University of Rochester Medical Center. It revealed that cancer survivors, most of them from breast cancer reporte...
Source: Life with Breast Cancer - September 12, 2013 Category: Cancer Authors: Kathy-Ellen Kups, RN Tags: Breast Cancer better sleep breast cancer survivors yoga Source Type: blogs
Stress and Breast Cancer Metastasis- Study Confirms Link
The few years leading up to my being diagnosed with breast cancer stressed me to breaking. I really handled the stress well, but I suspected that my body suffered the consequences when I found a tumor in my breast in 2003. Now a recent study out of Ohio State University links stress and breast cancer metastasis. It confirms my suspicion that my immune system had been adversely impacted by all the stress and may have been linked to the development of stage 3 breast cancer.
The ATF3 gene is already known to be expressed under stressful circumstances. This recent study shows that this gene may do more than just link stress...
Source: Life with Breast Cancer - September 2, 2013 Category: Cancer Authors: Kathy-Ellen Kups, RN Tags: Breast Cancer metastasis stress Source Type: blogs
Blogging About Breast Cancer – A New Therapy?
It has been a tough year with my mom passing away in June and recently another member of the family has had serious health problems. It has helped me a lot to share thoughts and feelings with friends and family through social media while I was dealing with the loss of my mom and now this recent development. The more people I talk to about tweeting and face book, the more I realize how supportive social media can be. Blogging about breast cancer can be therapy.
I benefitted all these years from blogging about my experience with breast cancer. I definitely find that sharing openly on the web helps keeps me sane about my th...
Source: Life with Breast Cancer - August 27, 2013 Category: Cancer Authors: Kathy-Ellen Kups, RN Tags: Breast Cancer blogging breast cancer therapy social media Source Type: blogs
3 Traits That Can Help You Beat Breast Cancer
I often contemplate the traits that help people overcome adversity. I especially love to talk to people who have beat breast cancer and tell their stories like triumphant warriors. For a while I attributed their power to optimism, now I know better.
Years before I was diagnosed with breast cancer, my cousin told me that she couldn’t get cancer because she is an upbeat and optimistic person. I am sure she thought I was lacking in her optimistic spirit when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. She may have overlooked the fact that although we come from the same genetic line that tested positive for the BRCA 2 genetic mutati...
Source: Life with Breast Cancer - August 19, 2013 Category: Cancer Authors: Kathy-Ellen Kups, RN Tags: Breast Cancer beat breast cancer breast cancer survivor breast cancer tips survive breast cancer Source Type: blogs
Continuing the Discussion on Genetic Testing for Breast Cancer
A few months ago, Angelina Jolie revealed that she had made the difficult decision to remove her breasts to combat the risk of familial breast cancer. We haven’t heard much about it since – Angelina has moved on. That’s how it should be. The wonderful thing about having access to genetic testing for breast cancer is that the risk of breast cancer is determined early when it can be addressed and life can go on.
I get a lot of emails and calls from women asking if they should get tested for the BRCA 1 or 2 genetic mutations for breast cancer. They have family members that were diagnosed and many of them have lost a m...
Source: Life with Breast Cancer - August 13, 2013 Category: Cancer Authors: Kathy-Ellen Kups Tags: Breast Cancer Source Type: blogs
Boobless in Detroit
For a while, that was the title of my life. After breast cancer, I went for 2 years before having reconstruction. Since embarking on seeking the perfect reconstructed breast, I have had four surgeries. They were spread over four years and I am extremely happy with the results. Had you told me at the outset however that I would be having four more surgeries; I may have lived with my prosthetic boob.
Breast Reconstruction seemed practical to me after finding out that I was BRCA positive. Having the genetic test done was encouraged by my oncologist when we began discussing the prophylactic mastectomy of my left breast. Th...
Source: Life with Breast Cancer - August 9, 2013 Category: Cancer Authors: Kathy-Ellen Kups Tags: Breast Cancer Source Type: blogs
Breast Cancer – Big Deal
For those of us who have been diagnosed with breast cancer, it is a big deal. For people whose loved ones have been impacted by the disease, breast cancer is still a big deal. What I wonder about though, is how big a deal breast cancer is now that it has been in the forefront for so long.
I am hearing less about events like the Susan G. Komen three day walk, or the American Cancer Society’s fund raising events then I did last year at this time. The hoopla seems to have lessened as perhaps has the interest. I don’t blame people for losing interest in the effort to banish breast cancer and help those afflicted by it. W...
Source: Life with Breast Cancer - August 5, 2013 Category: Cancer Authors: Kathy-Ellen Kups Tags: Breast Cancer Source Type: blogs
Improved Sex from Breast Reconstruction?
If losing our breasts challenges us as sexual beings, does breast reconstruction bring our “Sexy” back? For me, the answer is yes and no. My breasts were never the best part of my appearance. Like a lot of women I took them for granted and flaunting them was never something I felt comfortable with. Flirting with my husband involves tilting my head so my hair falls just so, a mischievous Mona Lisa smile and maybe a wink or two. He gets it! My husband though like most men appreciates a woman’s body and never hid the fact that he was attracted to my womanly curves.
After losing a breast to my first mastectomy, my ...
Source: Life with Breast Cancer - August 1, 2013 Category: Cancer Authors: Kathy-Ellen Kups Tags: Breast Cancer Source Type: blogs
