Journeying Beyond Breast Cancer

"We are all people and all individuals. We can make different decisions and still respect each other. It doesn’t matter whether we are in the “pink crowd” or not.  Breast cancer prevention and treatment options are still gray. I made my treatment choices. Time will tell whether I made the right decisions but to me, they seemed the best decisions I could make based on the information that was available at the time. We are individuals, we have brains, and we have the right to make decisions that we believe are best for us." ~ Elizabeth

One of the hardest parts about developing leukemia at age 22 was how restrictive it was: My treatments left me highly susceptible to infection and with limited mobility. Airplanes were strictly off limits. Even a trip to my neighborhood bodega required a protective face mask and plastic gloves to shield me from germs. Extended stays in the oncology ward were especially difficult, because travel was so closely tied to my identity.

When Gina Poe lost her mom to breast cancer, she was devastated. Michal Poe, a 68-year-old home hospice social worker, had been the rock of the family, carrying on with humor and strength even as her disease became more advanced.

After her death in February, though, Gina discovered her mother wasn’t just the rock of the Poe family; she was also a loved and celebrated member of a “virtual family” of advanced breast cancer patients from around the world who talked daily on the website, Inspire.com. Now Gina has embraced the family she didn’t even know existed. She even invited them to attend her mom’s celebration of life service on yesterday -- delayed, at her mother's request until spring, when the flowers would be out -- and livestreamed video for the online group members who couldn't come in person.

I am a breast cancer survivor. I am well aware that October is the month to bring awareness to breast cancer, yet many survivors like me are disturbed to watch every year as the parade of positive of positive pink, not necessarily realistic, is marched across television screens and through magazines and newspapers.

A growing number of women in the UK are being diagnosed with breast cancer before they reach the age of fifty years, says Cancer Research UK.

More people are surviving cancer, but the personal and financial consequences remain long after diagnosis

New statistics published today show that around a quarter of women in Scotland do not attend breast screening.

For adults with cancer, psycho-oncologic interventions, such as relaxation, individual and group psychotherapy, and psychoeducation, may be effective in producing significant small-to-medium improvement in patients' emotional distress and quality of life, according to a study published in the Feb. 20 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

In this HINTS Brief, we explore health behaviors of cancer survivors and summarize public health strategies to promote health and well-being among cancer survivors.

When my son was 7 and my daughter was 3, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. My husband and I knew from the beginning that we would not try to hide cancer from our children. I wanted them to know

It's hard to imagine that someone who has been through cancer would have to worry about dying of cardiac disease, but according to a new study, long-term cancer survivors have more risk factors for cardiovascular disease than those who have not had cancer.

Losing your hair to cancer treatment — on your head and the rest of your body — is one of the many emotional challenges that patients must face, writes Susan Gubar.