Coping with Women's Cancers
In the December 6, 2016 post, I described having my first 3D mammogram this week. It showed that I have “sunshine breasts”—no clouds in my imaged fields. This makes me one of the lucky ones. My official report came in today’s mail confirming that my mammogram was normal (benign) and that my breast tissue is primarily… Continue reading Update: My First 3D Mammogram – And an Important Note about Breast Density
Yesterday I had my first 3D mammogram. The technologist said I have “sunshine breasts”–not a cloud in the imaged field. I’m one of the lucky ones. See the updated post on December 9, 2016: Update: My First 3D Mammogram – And an Important Note about Breast Density On December 5, 2016, I went for my routine… Continue reading My First 3D Mammogram – I Have “Sunshine Breasts”
In Part 1–Chemotherapy, we entered Diane’s story as she was undergoing pre-operative chemo for invasive lobular cancer (ILC) and lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) of the right breast, a relatively uncommon form of the disease. That post discusses breast cancer statistics, as well as the details of Diane’s chemotherapy protocol and its effects. In Part 2–Diagnosis, we reviewed why Diane… Continue reading Diane’s Story – Breast Cancer: Part 3–Surgery
In Part 1—Chemotherapy, we entered Diane’s story as she was undergoing pre-operative chemotherapy for lobular breast cancer. In this post, we will take a close look at how Diane’s journey began a year ago last month and how she is currently preparing for surgery by getting second opinions while her body recuperates from chemo. This is a cautionary tale… Continue reading Diane’s Story – Breast Cancer: Part 2–Diagnosis
Pink Ribbon for Breast Cancer Awareness Please take a few moments to familiarize yourself with the risk factors for breast cancer, the most common malignancy in women after skin cancer. Although this disease predominantly affects women, men can also develop breast cancer. The American Cancer Society predicts that of the 246,660 American women who develop new cases of invasive breast cancer in… Continue reading Breast Cancer Risk Factors: Ladies (and Gents), Please Read
Mammary gland at 40x under lab microscope (Accessed July 2016) © MicroscopeWorld 2015 Beginning with this post, we will be following the progress of my friend Diane, who is currently undergoing treatment for breast cancer and has generously agreed to tell her story. Along the way, we will provide reliable information and resources to help others… Continue reading Diane’s Story – Breast Cancer: Part 1–Chemotherapy
Glowing, Radiant Health RECAPPING MY STORY TO DATE AS I PREPARE TO START VAGINAL RADIATION THERAPY ONE WEEK FROM TODAY . . . Note: The blue-green highlighted terms in the text contain links to previous posts. Symptoms & Preliminary Diagnosis When I started this blog on November 9, 2013, it was with a warning for all… Continue reading My Story – Uterine (Endometrial) Cancer: Looking Back & Forging Ahead to Radiation
As I mentioned in yesterday's post, among other things I had my annual screening mammogram done yesterday. Just 24 hours later, I am holding the faxed report in my hands with the word "BENIGN" in big bold letters. Scattered fibroglandular elements and calcifications were seen, all harmless. The only recommendation was to get another screening mammogram… Continue reading My Story – Uterine (Endometrial) Cancer: Mammogram Results–One Less Thing to Worry About
This is a quick update on my story before I publish the more important post on uterine cancer risk factors--hope you ladies of a certain age will check back very soon. Today I had my triple-header medical appointments. Amazingly, I left the house about 11:00 AM and returned about 2:30 PM--all went without a hitch.… Continue reading My Story – Uterine (Endometrial) Cancer: Triple-Header Tuesday
The Bottom Line, Upshot, or Whatever Directional Phrase You Like Well, I am thankful to say that I seem to have found a good doctor. I saw my new gynecologic oncologist yesterday afternoon in West Orange, NJ. Not surprisingly, when I arrived I found out that the MRI report from Tuesday night had not been… Continue reading My Story – Uterine (Endometrial) Cancer: How to Make a New Cancer Patient Feel a Bit Better
The Patient Path 