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Do I Dare Connect With Others Living With Metastatic Breast Cancer?
Last month, I had the opportunity to attend the HealtheVoices16 conference in Chicago. I attended last year’s conference as well, in New Jersey, and I have to say that both times, I was overwhelmed by how well I was treated and by the quality of the speakers and workshops.
This conference is probably the only one like it that brings together patient advocates and bloggers who are using social media to connect with other patients. The aim of the conference is to inform and empower us to keep using our voices.
Deeply Rooted Connections
The theme of this year’s conference was Deeply Rooted Connections. I know that social ...
Source: Life with Breast Cancer - May 9, 2016 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Kathy-Ellen Kups, RN Tags: Breast Cancer Source Type: blogs
Dark Thoughts That Come With Metastatic Breast Cancer
There are a lot of dark, foreboding moments when you are living with metastatic breast cancer. There is no way to describe the feeling that comes over you when you are hit with the realization that you have this incurable disease, and death is stalking you. I am pretty good at overcoming the doom and gloom, but frankly, there are some deep, dark thoughts that occasionally invade my mind.
I Think About Dying
There are those moments when I really understand that death is imminent. There is no cure at this time; this cancer could kill me. I am constantly thinking about the fabulous women who have already died from breast canc...
Source: Life with Breast Cancer - February 9, 2016 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Kathy-Ellen Kups, RN Tags: Breast Cancer living with people Source Type: blogs
Christmas is Bittersweet With Metastatic Breast Cancer
I love the Christmas holiday season. There’s nothing more wonderful for me than decorating my home and wrapping presents. I leave all of the decorations up until after the new year so my house stays festive.
Although it’s a most joyful time for me, there’s always that niggling thought that this could be my last Christmas.
The joy is bittersweet for most people diagnosed with metastatic cancer. We are terminal, after all. We are also hugely aware that the members of our metastatic community whom we’ve lost won’t be with their families this year.
Surprisingly, most of us are more concerned with how o...
Source: Life with Breast Cancer - December 28, 2015 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Kathy-Ellen Kups, RN Tags: Breast Cancer Source Type: blogs
Most Embarrassing Cancer Moments
I think everyone has embarrassing moments in their life. I mean who didn't awkwardly walk into a wall at one point, trip as they entered a room or a building, or realized you got home and you had a toothpaste stain on your shirt since morning - after having a big meeting at work.My famous embarrassing moments in life include also coming back to the hotel at the end a day at a very busy and important conference and realizing I had been wearing one blue shoe and one black shoe all day long.But my mortifying cancer moments include:Needing a quick appointment with my cancer surgeon and realizing after he didn't come back...
Source: Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog - July 15, 2016 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: cancer bonds memory moron stupid me Source Type: blogs
Post Breast Cancer, Happiness Is A Clear Mammogram
I had my mammogram last week. I don't talk about these ahead of time because I don't feel the need to. If I feel the need to, you can bet my blog will be covered in mammogram information.But even if I don't talk about it, doesn't mean I am not thinking about it. You can bet I was thinking about it. I was convinced that I had a recurrence and I timed my mammogram (for two days before my annual oncologist appointment). I was sure I had a something.I had already started putting together a plan in my head on how I was going to handle it, tell people, deal with treatment, talk to my oncologist on Friday about it. I was positive...
Source: Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog - July 17, 2016 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: breast cancer cancer recurrence crazy happiness mammogram Source Type: blogs
Cancer Is Scary, but It ’s the MRI Machine That Terrifies Me
I mentioned in last’s week blog that I don’t scare easily. Well, that might not be completely true. I have two real fears — and they are major!
For one thing, I am totally afraid of falling off a cruise ship. I am convinced that someone falls off a ship on every cruise. I can’t imagine anything more terrifying than finding yourself in the middle of the ocean, with the big boat you were on moving off into the horizon without you.
I know that sounds random and irrational, but there you have it.
My Biggest Fear
My other fear is perhaps more relatable, especially for other women who may be living with metastatic breas...
Source: Life with Breast Cancer - July 8, 2016 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Kathy-Ellen Kups, RN Tags: Breast Cancer Source Type: blogs
What ‘Taking Care of Yourself’ Means When You Have Metastatic Breast Cancer
People who call to check on me often end the conversation by saying, “Take care of yourself.” I have said this to others battling their own conditions. Lately, though, I’ve been questioning what the expression even means.
Putting Myself First
Immediately after being diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer that had spread to my lungs, I spent almost a month in the hospital with a tube in my chest. When I got home, taking care of myself was a real priority.
No one asked anything of me, and friends and family rallied together to focus on my getting better. I didn’t question my need for self-care. I rested when I neede...
Source: Life with Breast Cancer - August 11, 2016 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Kathy-Ellen Kups, RN Tags: Breast Cancer Source Type: blogs
Breast Cancer and My Unique Security Problem
I travel across the border between Canada and Michigan almost once a month to visit my family in Ontario. Thanks to breast cancer, I have an interesting problem — I have three pieces of ID that I use, each with a picture of me sporting a different hairdo and hair color. In this age of increased scrutiny and tighter border security, having this distinction is not a good thing. Several times I have had border officers look at my passport, then my permanent resident card (“green card”), and after noticing that I am blonde in one and brunette in another, ask for a third piece of ID. It doesn’t help that I then ...
Source: Life with Breast Cancer - January 6, 2017 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Kathy-Ellen Kups, RN Tags: Breast Cancer Source Type: blogs
Breast Cancer Update 2017
Several organizations have posted their latest information on the status of breast cancer in the US in 2017. I just foundthis overview with links to various resources for more information. So go read up on
Source: Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog - February 8, 2017 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: breast cancer breast cancer treatment Source Type: blogs
Some Kinds of Cheese Can Cause Breast Cancer - Really?
Okay, I am done. I do not care what about any more news about what can or can ' t cause breast cancer. I am done. The latest info is thatconsumption some kinds of cheese can cause breast cancer. That would be American, cheddar, and cream cheese. I never eat American cheese - because its basically ' fake food ' - but I probably make up for that in the amount of cheddar and cream cheese that I eat.But that ' s it. I am done. I quit smoking because it causes cancer (and it smells). But that ' s it. I no longer care about what might cause cancer. If I listened to all the advice that is out there, I would be living in a cave ex...
Source: Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog - March 2, 2017 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: cancer cause carcinogens food Source Type: blogs
What An Oncologist Should Not Say to a Cancer Patient
We hear all about good doctors and not so good ones. But every so often we hear about the one ' s you really do not want.Yesterday someone told me about the recent visit to her oncologist for her breast cancer treatment. She brought her sister with her for moral support and to help her out. I think she said her sister asked the oncologist something about that after chemo the tumors would be gone. And the oncologist replied with ' unless there are any other tumors ' . I don ' t remember the exact words but the point is NEVER say that to a cancer patient.Seriously, what was she (the doctor) thinking? You want your oncologist...
Source: Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog - March 3, 2017 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: being a patient breast cancer treatment doctor questions uncertainty with doctors Source Type: blogs
Math Class is Important In Determining Your Cancer Prognosis
Who knew math class would be so important later in life? Here ' s the problem: You get a cancer diagnosis and your doctor starts spouting numbers at you. You survival rate is this, but if you do this treatment it could be more like this. All of us sit there in a daze looking at the numbers and blindly staring at your doctor and trying to make a decision.If you are lucky, your doctor says ' take all these numbers with you and go home and think about it ' . If you are unlucky you forgot all the math you ever took and can ' t decide if a 60% survival rate is better than a 40% death rate. And if you are afraid of math, skipped...
Source: Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog - March 10, 2017 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: breast cancer treatment cancer risk doctor questions numbers Source Type: blogs
What To Do When A Family Member Has Cancer
Its different when a friend has cancer than when its a family member. When you live in the same house as someone with cancer, you need to be a bit more proactive and protective than when its not someone in the same house.For the person with cancer, they are probably feeling a bit stressed, to say the least. They may isolate themselves or they may act in an uncharacteristic manner - drinking more, eating more or less, etc. Their whole being is probably focused on their diagnosis and how they feel, which may or may not be very well. They are contemplating their odds, their upcoming treatment, etc.This is not a time to make u...
Source: Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog - May 25, 2017 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: cancer diagnosis family relationships stress Source Type: blogs
Breast Cancer Treatment Benefits
Recently it was announced in a draft proposal that the UK ' sNHS would not cover faslodex to treat estrogen positive metastatic breast cancer. While this may be disappointing to some, at this point I agree with the decision.The reason given for the decision is:" While NICE [National Institute for Health and Care] Excellence acknowledged that it can stall tumour growth by up to three months compared to aromatase inhibitors, it said early evidence isn ’t strong enough to show that the drug extends survival. "What is the point of spending millions of dollars on patient medication if it does not extend survival? Th...
Source: Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog - September 4, 2017 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: breast cancer treatment metastatic cancer quality of life Source Type: blogs
Complications After Cancer Linger
My least favorite phrase is ' with your medical history we need to be sure ' . I have been hearing it since my first cancer diagnosis. Even though my two cancers, thyroid and breast, are not what are considered the most horrible kinds, they both could recur and kill me anytime they want.What it has meant over the year is that I have always been sent for more tests than anyone else. I need more blood tests and scans than anyone else. Now as I have developed more ailment such as RA, its harder to treat. One of the costs of my cancer treatment is osteopenia - in a family full of women with osteoporosis, all of a sudden I am m...
Source: Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog - September 21, 2017 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: cancer history cancer treatment crankiness Source Type: blogs
