Ovarian Cancer is the Ugly, Deadly, Killing Stepsister of Breast Cancer

Ovarian and breast cancer are linked together with the BRACA genes. In the world of cancer statistics if you have been tested and have this genetic mutation your chance for one or the other of these cancers or both is likely. Even if you don’t have this known genetic mutation, the links between ovarian and breast cancer are still a concern. For this reason I call Ovarian Cancer the ugly, deadly killing stepsister of Breast Cancer. Think of Breast Cancer as Cinderella and Ovarian Cancer as her stepsister with bipolar and off her medications and carrying a loaded hand gun and you get the idea.

Last week I went to a funeral of a friend of mine who died from Ovarian Cancer at age 53, five years after her first diagnosis. She was a great person, and it is very sad that she is gone. Her name was Sherie. She was a 6th grade teacher for 30 years, and also ran a summer program for pre-teen girls and did tutoring. Her husband added up that she had taught or mentored over 6,000 students.

After her diagnosis, Sherie realized that there were very few empowering events for ovarian cancer survivors. No large walks, charity fund raising events or recognizable logos. Sherie set to change this by starting her own foundation, http://www.shocfoundation.org/, to raise the awareness of ovarian cancer. She even started an ovarian awareness walk. The importance of all of this is that ovarian cancer kills so often that there are not that many survivors. There is no definitive diagnostic test for ovarian cancer and many patients by the time they are diagnosed are in the later stages of the disease. Sherie wanted to help to change that reality. Her foundation to date has raised close to a million dollars of which much is donated for ovarian cancer research.


This August at her foundation’s walk, Sherie was there, looking thin but thrilled to have so many survivors and friends participate. The start for the walk is at a huge parking lot of a big Harley Davidson dealership in the small suburb that she taught in for all these years. A woman’s roller derby team starts the race. Cub Scouts and Camp Fire Girls flag the street crossings. The eclectic crowd and surroundings is proof that cancer can touch everyone. I will miss Sherie, but her husband, daughter and son, and her foundation’s board are continuing her fantastic work.

Cancer Survivor Day is June 7th, 2009

Survivorship comes in many forms. Surviving the loss of a loved one, a parent, a spouse, a child, a friend, a beloved pet, or an accident, a divorce, or an illness are all a part of life.

Survivorship can in retrospect have some laughable moments; your wedding, your child’s wedding, adolescence, family reunions, a conference, a vacation from hell, or menopause. These temporary survival situations are the fibers that make up our lives.

Those in the cancer community know how dear and elusive survival is from this disease. Cancer comes in many forms, many with-out a cure. A day acknowledging those who have survived cancer is a good day for this population group. Happy Cancer Survivor Day!

Menopausal Women: Wear Your Heart on Your License

As we age or watch our parents age, various subjects come to mind. One such thought is becoming an organ donor? I know it sounds morbid and may have some religious barriers to overcome, but read on.

Last year a friend’s adult nephew had a heart transplant. While recouping he met a woman who also received a new heart. The commonality led to friendship and romance. This Christmas they were able to spend it together as a healthy loving couple.

A friend’s teenage son was tragically killed in a car accident. They decided to donate his organs. They were asked if they wanted to know the recipients. About 2 years later they agreed. The woman who received his heart was very excited to thank them if not in person, via mail or email. They agreed to email and soon a beautiful letter with a picture of a vibrant healthy woman in her 40’s came into their inbox. Also was a picture of the same woman looking 15-20 years older, prior to her new heart.

This woman started swimming after her transplant and the exercise revitalized her body and spirit. She felt a new affinity to swimming and wanted to know if their son was a swimmer. Yes, he liked to swim but as far as they knew it wasn’t his favorite sport. They started looking through old pictures and it did seem he was in a pool or the ocean or a lake in pictures from every vacation. Who knows?

On my drivers license under ‘restrictions’, along with ‘corrective lenses’ it also says ‘anatomical donor’. http://www.organdonor.gov/


Organs that can be donated are: heart, liver, lungs, kidneys and others.
Tissues that can be donated include: skin, corneas, heart valves, tendons and others. Cells donated now are showing some great research with cancer. Are you ready to become a donor?

Cancer Genomes are like Garden Gnomes

Who ever said that the topic of cancer is depressing and no one would want to read about it has not read about Cancer genomes. Cancer genomes research is getting exciting. Really! According to Richard Wilson of Washington University in St. Louis, in the next decade or two, a blood sample will determine which drugs will work best for individual patients. “Personalized Genomics, Personalized Medicine”. http://genome.wustl.edu/publication.cgi.

The excitement of this work is that it looks at the entire genome, the entire DNA, rather than just the ordinary suspect or mutant genes in the body. The results find all the mutants in the body, not just the ones expected.

Like Garden Gnomes, Cancer Genomes are rarely inborn but develop later in life. Few small children ask for a garden gnome for Christmas, but Grand Ma or Grand Pa seem to acquire quite a few. Only 5-10% of all cancers are hereditary. Less than 5% of all garden gnomes are thought to be indigenous of their environment

Personalized medicine and personalized cancer treatments in the not so distant future is hopeful! Garden gnomes acquisition at your own risk.

Pharmacogenomics- a new Beginning in Cancer , a new Vocabulary Word

Pharmacogenomics is the study of inherited variations in genes that can influence a person’s response to a drug. What this means is that more individualized treatments can be prescribed. Effectiveness can be forecasted as well as harmful treatments avoided.
Studies and trials around the world are being researched. The goal is to be able to read a patient’s genes and know in advance the course of treatment that will work best for that person.

Just last week the FDA approved a genetic test for determining whether patients with breast cancer are “good” candidates for treatment with the drug Herceptin. “Good” in this situation means the breast cancer tumor shows it will respond favorably to the drug.

Just think; you could plan for your side effects of a treatment. You could make an intelligent decision whether to consent to a course of treatment knowing the side effects may be challenging. You could plan your life as a chronic cancer patient, acute, or terminal.

I know I was shocked when I went through chemotherapy to find out that the drugs they used on me were hoped to be the right ones for my cancer. I was naïve enough to think there was a formula that worked, and if it didn’t, another formula of drugs and treatments was used. I remember saying to my radiation oncologist that 12 years of medical school should have given her more than a statistical recommendation of what would work for me. She told me that actually she was a surgeon before she went into radiation oncology and had more than 12 years of medical school!

Sign me up for Pharmacogenomics. It is a reality, and a new beginning in cancer I hope to see in my life time.

Blueberries, Birds and Cancer?

I have grown Blueberries for 20 years. For the month of July, if I am unavailable, I am out in my patch of 12 bushes, picking, worrying and scaring off birds from my berries. Last year my yield was about 50 pounds. This is not an easy achievement. The birds love blueberries. I grow them organically. I net my bushes, I hang reflective tape, and I fly a huge flag all to deter the birds. It looks like a bad 1980’s disco scene. Each July it is ‘game on’, Haralee versus the Birds.

Blueberries have been singled out as a champion antioxidant. Antioxidants are substances that may protect cells from damage caused by free radicals. These free radicals may lead to cancer. We do not want to set these radicals free.

Cancer in birds is not something heard often. Are the birds on to something with their voracious consumption of blueberries and subsequently acquiring lots of antioxidants? Don’t know the answer to that, but I think this is the year when the berries will be mine, all mine!

From a few blogs ago I wrote about the Speedo LZR, take a look at Darra Torres. At 41, she will be at her 5th Olympic Games and the oldest member of the US Women’s Swim Team. Go for it!

Cancer Survivor Day

     Sunday June First is Cancer Survivor Day. Right in between Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Memorial Day, Proms, Weddings and Graduations is the little known outside of the world of cancer a holiday to celebrate survivorship. How appropriate. Cancer is the disease that can just occur in your busy life. Sandwiched between growing up, working on you career, enjoying your family and life, or expecting to retire, you are given the diagnosis of Cancer. 
   
Cancer is the big ‘C’. Cancer attacks your body and you are at war and the optimum outcome is to become a survivor. Even the most nurturing, kindest oncologists become generals in the battle against cancer. First they usually send in the surgeons to remove and dissect. Then they plan the next attack. An assault of radiation to kill in a planned zone, or send in the big guns, chemotherapy, to kill and destroy all living masses is decided. Cancer is a sneaky enemy and if thought to be lurking, a multi phase plan of attack is issued using all resources available to oncologists. 
   
Casualties and collateral damage occur like in any war. Neuropathy, heart valve damage, impaired vision, mobility and dexterity issues, bone loss, and of course death can occur. But if you don’t die, you are a survivor. You have beaten the big ‘C’, at least for now. Some cancers are not curable.

     Last week a good friend called me to tell me she heard the  ‘c’ word. Cure is the small ‘c’ in the world of cancer. It is word we don’t hear that often. She had, (notice past tense), ovarian cancer. She won the war. She is cured. She was lucky she was diagnosed early with the cancer, and now 5 years later, after a full assault, she is lucky again to hear that word, ‘cured’!     

Breast Cancer, my cancer, with all the awareness, celebrity and glamour status and wonderful fund raising walks and events, has no cure. For many of us who have survived the battle, we are still hoping to win the war.

     Happy Cancer Survivor’s Day. Do you celebrate? Are you a survivor?

Green Tidbits in the World of Cancer, or Mom was Right

Eat your greens is now a proven mantra. Folate found in spinach and other leafy greens is the best food source of this vitamin. Nutrients found in veggies and fruits consumed have the best preventative effects against developing cancers. Unfortunately no proven benefits to help the symptoms of menopause.

We are all familiar with increased doses of Folic Acid in pre-natal vitamins to prevent birth defects. Now studies have shown that we all need Folate. A diet lacking in Folate can increase the risk of developing cancers; breast, colon and pancreatic.

Large doses of Folic acid or Folate is not recommended. Best sources are natural in your diet. Certain medications and alcohol can impair Folate absorbtion. Check with your doctor. I once again am the harbinger of bad news of you wine drinkers, sorry.

What is the final word? Mom was right, eat your greens. For you spinach haters. and you know who you are, oranges and strawberries are also good sources. Happy Mother's Day!