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Now they tell us....

When I was all done with my treatment I walked out of the Radiation Oncology department and started to cry. The thought of not being in the care of all those doctors scared the s___t out of me.  I didn't stop crying for a week. I went into my PCP's office and they said "we were wondering why you hadn't come in sooner" -- apparently post-treatment depression is quite common. Which is why this study is most worrisome.

The good news is that I didn't take any of the named drugs, but I'm guessing alot of other women did.

ACLU fights for our rights to our genes

 ACLU Challenges Patents On Breast Cancer Genes.

The stuff after Breast Cancer that no one tells you about

One of the nasty side effects of breast cancer drugs like Tamoxifen and Aromatase Inhibitors that no one ever talks about is vaginal dryness. As if it's not bad enough that you've gone through months of poking and prodding and infusions and radiation, but then at the end, you're left with a significantly reduced libido and a not an ounce of your own lubrication. To solve that problem, my friend Helen Rollins at Women's Intimate Solutions has come up with a Breast Cancer Buddy kit that is designed to help survivors adjust to their new reality. So if you or a friend is going thru this, head on over to the Women's Intimate Solutions site and pick yourself up some.

Great perspective on mammograms

Anna Lefler has perfectly captured the experience of getting a mammogram .

Great clothes, great cause

The “2009 Cancer Awareness Fashion Show” hosted by Rumorz Boutique, is this Friday and the tickets are selling fast!  Please join in the fight against cancer at this fun event taking place at the White Mountain Chalet in Berlin, NH on Friday, March 20^th.  Doors open at 6pm and the show time is 7pm.  The event’s proceeds will be donated to the local Relay for Life held in Berlin on June 19^th-20^th at the White Mountains Community College.

Featured at the show, will be fashions from the downtown Berlin store, Rumorz Boutique, owned by Stacia Roberge and featuring the “Elle” line from Greetings Jewelers.  The models for the fashion show include local residents and cancer survivors.  Tickets are $5.00 when purchased in advance at Greetings Jewelers, North Country Dental and Rumorz Boutique and $7.00 at the door the night of the event.  The evening will include an opening dance from the Emanuel Dance Studio,  a cancer survivor guest speaker, 50/50 raffle, door prizes, hors d’oeuvres, cash bar and always a few surprises.  

Please come out and support the community in the fight against cancer!  If you are interested in becoming a part of this year’s Relay for Life, please contact Claudia Sudol (752-5448) or Allison White (449-2486).  Any questions about the fashion show, please call Stacia Roberge (752-1118).

Kate Update -- Better Late than Never

Every year, my annual newsletter, the Kate Update, seems to get a little later. But eventually, I find the time to put everything else aside and recap my life from the previous year. It's a great exercise, even though it does lead me to question what the heck I'm doing.. Here is the 2008 version. Download Kate Update 2008

A nifty solution to the Xeloda problem

For those of you taking Xeloda for breast cancer, read this great post this great post from Running a hospital about using Henna to east the Hand and Feet Syndrome

Asking the right questions when diagnosed

A year ago, when we started Fill the Gap we expected to be flooded with calls from recently-diagnosed women looking for answers to all the questions we were sure they had. And while we've had great response, we've fielded remarkably few questions. In fact most of what our myriad of volunteers do is listen.

I've been noodling this conundrum for awhile now, and I think I know what's happening, Once you've been thru chemo and radiation and tamoxifen and all those things you think of all the questions you would have liked to ask, but didn't know to ask them. That's what we were thinking when we founded Fill the Gap. But in reality, as you're going thru it, you really don't have a clue. I can remember sitting in the Dr. Winer's office at Dana Farber and running out of questions. So here's a list, ladies, of things you should be asking your oncologists – and I'm sure there are a lot more out there.

1. What impact will chemo have on my intelligence and brain power – is there a difference in the chemo brain impact of AC, EC, Taxol, Herceptin?
2. What impact does tamoxifen and aromatase inhibitors have on my sex drive? Which is going to have a lesser impact on my sex life? Is the vaginal dryness reversible? Is there anything I can take for it? How much does that cost?
3. If I have a choice between a double mastectomy and being on Tamoxifen - -what will impact my sex life less?
4. What impact will all this have on my relationship with my husband?
5. What anti-depressants do you recommend when the full impact of all this hits me – after the treatment is all over.
6. How soon after this is all over can I start coloring or perming my hair?
7. What can I do besides Tamoxifen etc to keep it from coming back? Food? Diet? Exercise?
8. Which will have a worse impact on my ability to run/jog/play tennis etc Tamoxifen or an aromatase inhibitor?
9. What's the difference in cost between the various treatments ?

    

Sex vs surviving -- not sure which I'd chose

This amazing story caught my ear on  NPR this mornign, about women who might benefit from Viagra, This is another example of the media and big time pharma focusing on the wrong issue. As I mentioned before, what good is an interest in sex if your aging post-cancer body can't enjoy it  if its there?  And what kind of choice is medicine giving women these days -- stay on Tamoxifen or your anti-estrogen drug of choice and give up sex. Or risk your cancer recurring by stopping your medication (as many women do) or by using estrogen-based vaginal moisturizers. That's a tough one, and if there was more discussion of it, I'd bet that the choices might not be what the doctor ordered. Imagine a young woman of 35 or 40, on Tamoxifen, being told that yes, after awhile, your libido will go away and your vagina will dry up and sex will be excruciatingly painful for the rest of your life. And by the way, good luck in the next 30 or 40 years of marriage.  Yes, there are solutions like Women's Intimate Solutions. And yes, they make it better, but why is it that pharma is focusing its efforts on men and their problems and not looking into solutions for the tens of millions of women out there that suffer (or will soon) suffer from this problem?