Breast Cancer- There Is A Way Through Your Fears

Have you had breast cancer in the past, or are you undergoing treatments now? Then SoulCollageT is a practice that you will find immensely helpful. Get in touch with the voices inside of you that have something to say about your cancer. Open yourself to the gifts they bring you. Free yourself from your fears.

This is the story of my breast cancer journey, and how gluing magazine pictures onto mat board led me back to my spirit.

In December of 2001, breast cancer was the furthest thing from my mind. I was busy. I had a loving husband, a nice home, three beautiful stepchildren, a good job. Then my perfect little world was suddenly turned inside out and upside down.

A routine, suspicious mammogram. A phone call. Mammogram #2. A stereotactic core biopsy.

My diagnosis: breast cancer, stage 2, infiltrating, ductal, HER2.

All of the above happened within the fearful, anxious, unbelievable time span of 7 days. And my life has never been the same.

The next nine months held a most strange quality of disbelief and exhaustion. It also held two surgeries, four chemotherapy treatments spaced three weeks apart, and 47 radiation treatments (spaced daily, over the course of 9 weeks).

It's been three years since my life was turned upside down and inside out.. Three years. My prognosis is very good. I hear this every three months depending on which doctor my appointment is with: breast surgeon, medical oncologist, or radiation oncologist.

Three years have passed. I look good. I feel good. And yet nothing has been able to quiet the storms of fear that threaten to overwhelm me from time to time. The insidious fear that the breast cancer might return. The intimidating fear of another potentially deadly diagnosis.

I have meditated and prayed about this. I have talked about it with my wonderful therapist and with other breast cancer survivors. I have tried guided imagery, journaling, and art journaling. These have all tempered the fear to some extent, but only for a very short while.

Then I began practicing SoulCollageT and my inner dynamics began to change.

SoulCollageT is a unique blend of spiritual practice and the fun of collage. Using our intuition and imagination, we create a deck of collaged cards where each card reflects a different aspect of who we are. The cards are then used to assist us to access our own deep wisdom and help us answer life's questions.

There are four suits in a SoulCollageT deck: The Committee (the inner voices in our minds), The Community (the family and friends who love us), The Companions (animal totems who lend us their energies) and The Council (archetypes who symbolize major life themes for us).

SoulCollageT cards are made using magazine images, scissors, a glue stick, and 5" x 8" pieces of mat board.

It turned out to be the best way for me to deal with the lingering fears that I was left with after my cancer treatments were over. I listened carefully inside of me to the voices that had something to say about my breasts, and my breast cancer, and I made three cards over the course of a few months.

The "voices" I named and then worked with in the coming months were: I am the one who fears breast cancer returning, I am the one who survived breast cancer and walked away from it (both of these voices were Committee members), and I am the one who gave you the courage to survive breast cancer (an archetype from my Council).

After making the cards, I journaled with them, asking each voice the following questions: Who are you? What do you have to give me? What do you want from me? How will I remember?

The entire process of making these SoulCollageT cards and then dialoguing with them led me deeper into my feelings about my diagnosis and all that I had been through on my journey since then. This led me to a very deep and powerful spiritual healing that is difficult to describe, yet very real in my life.

Now, when my fears of another cancer diagnosis threaten to consume me, I simply look at my SoulCollageT card that honors that voice inside of me and I acknowledge it. This voice, this fear will always be a part of me, but I do not have to allow it to control me. I am reminded of this because I also have the other two cards which speak to me of how I found the inner strength and courage to take the breast cancer journey.
About the Author

Anne Marie Bennett is a freelance writer and artist. She is a breast cancer survivor who loves sharing the gift of SoulCollageT with others. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband Jeff and two highly cherished (and spoiled) feline companions named Sasha and Scooter. To see my breast cancer SoulCollageT cards and read more about them, please visit: my SoulCollage breast cancer page.

Breast Cancer Prevalence

n November 2003, the American Cancer Society stated that breast cancer is the leading cause of death in women between the ages of 40 and 44. In the United States, there are approximately 200,000 new cases of breast cancer and more than 40,000 deaths; making the U.S. one of the countries with the highest death rates due to breast cancer. Perhaps the most alarming statistic is 1: 8 women will eventually develop breast cancer over their lifetime.

Generally Accepted Risk Factors for developing breast cancer can be divided into two categories; those a woman can control and those she cannot. Women who choose pharmaceutical hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and oral contraceptives may increase their risk of breast cancer. Additionally, a woman who consumes one or more alcoholic drinks per day or lives a sedentary lifestyle faces an increased risk for acquiring breast cancer. Those factors that are beyond the immediate control but still may lead to increased risk include: onset of menstruation prior to age 12 or onset of menopause after the age 50 and inheritance of the breast cancer genes, BRCA 1 and BRCA 2. Inheriting the breast cancer genes, BRCA 1 and BRCA 2, are known to be associated with both breast and ovarian cancers, but only account for 5-10% of all breast cancer. In 70% of all cases, the cause of breast cancer is still yet unknown.

Conventional screening methods all examine structure. For example, mammography uses X-ray to examine breast tissue. Any structure that has grown large enough to be seen by X-ray could be detected by mammography. However, mammography can have a high false positive rate. In fact, only 1 in 6 biopsies are found to be positive for cancer when found by mammography or clinical breast exam. This leads to increased psychological stress, physical trauma and financial worries.

Other risks of mammography include the radiation exposure, although this has been debated by doctors for many years. Recently published in Radiation Research, 2004 the author suggests that the risks associated with mammography screening may be FIVE times higher than previously assumed and the risk-benefit relationship of mammography needs to be re-examined.

There exists a technology that can detect a breast issue YEARS before a tumor can be seen on X-ray or palpated during an exam. This technology has been approved by the FDA as an adjunctive screening tool since 1982 and offers NO RADIATION, NO COMPRESSION AND NO PAIN. For women who are refusing to have a mammogram or those who want clinical correlation for an existing problem, digital infrared thermal imaging may be of interest.

Thermal cameras detect heat emitted from the body and display it as a picture on a computer monitor. These images are unique to the person and remain stable over time. It is because of these characteristics that thermal imaging is a valuable and effective screening tool.

Breast thermography has undergone extensive research since the 1950s. There are over 800 peer-reviewed studies on breast thermography with more than 300,000 women included in large clinical trials. An abnormal thermogram is 10 times more significant as a future risk indicator for breast cancer than a first order family history of the disease. A persistently abnormal thermogram carries a 22-fold higher risk of future breast cancer.

Medical doctors who interpret the breast scans are board certified and endure an additional two years of training to qualify as a thermologist. Thermography is not limited by breast density and is ideal for women who have had cosmetic or reconstructive surgery. It is recommended that since cancer typically has a 15 year life span from onset to death, that women begin thermographic screenings at age 25.

Thermographic screening is not covered by most insurance companies but is surprisingly affordable for most people. For more information or to find a certified clinic in your area, go to www.proactivehealthonline.com.

Breast Cancer Prevention And Cure

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in North America (after heart and other cardiovascular diseases) and breast cancer is among the leading causes of death among women. Cancer prevention, not cancer research or cure, is therefore a top priority for all women. Of known cancer causes, smoking tobacco accounts for about a third of the cases and diet is blamed for another 30-50 per cent, although the relationship between food and cancer is hazier than for tobacco and there are no pat answers.

But "prevention" may simply not be possible. If it is, and there is some evidence that change of diet and occupation (reduced stress levels) in combination with a special herbal dietary supplement may be effective in preventing some types of cancer in women, so much the better. If it isn't, the alternative is early detection and surgery. But not just surgery, surgery in combination with other treatments which may include any or all of chemotherapy, radiation, lymphectomy, tamoxaphen (tamoxifen, and a new replacement called Arimidex which may have frightening side effects) and even radical mastectomy (complete breast removal).

Mammograms may be painful. All reports indicate that they are. However, the alternative, breast cancer left long enough to detect by conventional means (pain, lumps, etc) is virtually always resultant in radical mastectomy, chemotherapy and often in death. Check this web site for basic information on cancer, breast cancer, side effects, etc.

My wife has had 10 tumors removed from her breasts. The first two, in the late 1980's, and the last two (1 each breast each occurrence), about 1996-7, were benign. The six in between (four in the right breast, two in the left breast) were malignant. Although the diagnosis of breast cancer is a devastating experience, most women face up to and cope well with it. In fact, studies show that many respond with renewed vigour and enjoyment of life and stronger interpersonal ties. But there is an inevitable period of adjustment, usually improved by knowing as much as possible about the disease.

My wife has been "free of cancer" for well over 8 years, but at her last mammogram checkup, in Jan '05, they discovered a growth they could not otherwise account for and wanted to do another biopsy-type lump removal. This inevitably raises the heady and frightening spectre of "cancer" once again. As I began to write, this "ectomy" was still in our future, the results and reactions were also "still in our future". We've been there, several times, but that didn't make a diagnosis of malignancy any easier, any less emotionally stressful, even though the "period of adjustment" was eased somewhat.

So after 8-9 years cancer free she was diagnosed in January, 2005 with another lump and it was removed in early April, 2005. Yes, it was malignant, but, in the doctor's words, it was a "friendly" tumor. Our "period of adjustment" has been much easier this time around.

My mother had a radical left-breast mastectomy when she was about 77-78. She lived another 11-12 years cancer free.

At what age am I most at risk for breast cancer? Actually, most at risk is probably after 40. But breast cancer has occurred in teenagers. I'm not sure if it occurs in pre-teens? Breast cancer is extremely rare but not unknown in men, also. The age group most at risk of dying of breast cancer is the younger women because "I'm too young to have breast cancer" and so the warning signs are ignored until it is too late.

What are the causes of breast cancer? There are many. They include stress, diet and lifestyle, and genetic tendencies (inherited).

What are the methods of detection of breast cancer? Intermittent or continuous breast pain or breast discomfort for no apparent reason should be quickly investigated. "Feeling" a "lump" or "hard spot" in one's breast should also be quickly investigated. But the best "early detection" method remains, as painful as it may be, a mammogram. My sweetie has had 7 malignant lumps successfully removed from her breasts (four from the right, three from the left) as well as 4 benign lumps (2 each breast), all detected by mammogram. Had she not had those mammograms she would long since have died of breast cancer; as it is, she also still has both breasts (slightly reduced in size).

How do we prevent breast cancer? The first thing is to eliminate undue stress. This may require a radical lifestyle change and could hinge upon something as simple as running one's household in a period of low income - just making ends meet! The next step is to make certain one's diet is not counter-productive to a cancer-free existence. A regular program of exercise, such as walking a mile or two a day, every day, is beneficial (golf is excellent exercise). Finally, an herbal dietary supplement taken as a preventive may be beneficial? However, even doing all of the above is no assurance one will not develop breast cancer. So make sure you get your mammogram.

Disclaimer: This article in no way should be taken as "medical advice" on any product, condition or course of action, nor does it constitute in any way "medical advice" endorsing any specific product, specific result, nor any possible cure for any condition or problem. This article is meant as a source of information upon which you may base your decision as to whether or not you should begin using any vitamin, mineral and/or herbal supplement for better health, or begin using a "greens" product as a dietary supplement.

If in doubt, or if you have questions, you should consult your physician and, if possible, consult a second physician for a possible different opinion. The author does not bear any responsibility for your decisions nor for the outcome of your actions based upon those decisions.

Hormone Replacement Therapy And Breast Cancer

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HORMONE REPLACEMENT THERAPY AND BREAST CANCER: THE RISKS IN PERSPECTIVE

Janet M., a fifties-something woman, entered my office and said as she sat down, "I've read that if I take hormones I'll increase my breast cancer risk. I'm going crazy without sleep and with these mood swings, but I don't want to increase my breast cancer risk by taking hormones."

Like many women, Janet had heard that a recent study, the Women's Health Initiative (WHI), definitively showed that hormone replacement therapy (HRT) increases breast cancer risk. Janet, like most people, didn't realize that this study found no statistically significant increase in breast cancer risk to women who took HRT.

When differences are not significant, an increase in risk may well be due to other factors, not the one being studied, such as HRT use. As often happens when a medical story is reported, the emphasis was on the increase in risk, not whether the increase was likely to be due to the agent being studied or to the size of the risk.

The actual size of a risk is important in any woman's decision making process. In this case the risk was exceedingly small -- only 8 in 10,000 women a year -- which is 0.08% or eight hundredths of one percent! Janet was amazed to learn the actual size of the increase, and said, "You mean I was getting all concerned for a risk that small!"

"And," I pointed out, "even this very small difference in risk may not be due to hormone use." I explained that breast cancers take an average of eight years to reach about half an inch in size. This means that breast cancers started in the first year of the study would not be detected for eight or more years. The study followed women for only about five years, so all or most of the breast cancers found were probably present in an undetected state before the study began.

Janet asked if HRT use might have caused some breast cancers to grow more rapidly and therefore be detected sooner than eight years. This is unlikely. A number of studies find that breast cancers in women who were using HRT were not larger and were not dividing more rapidly than breast cancers in non hormone users. Since breast cancers grow more slowly in older women and the average age in this study was 63, breast cancers in this group would tend to grow more slowly and so take even longer than the eight year average to be detected.

Women in the WHI study used a particular type of hormone Prempro. The results of this study therefore do not apply to other, newer approaches in which more natural hormones are used and a woman's menstrual cycle is more closely approximated.

Janet was surprised to learn that many studies find that women who use HRT do not have an increase in breast cancer risk compared to women who don't use hormones, even when hormones are used for twenty years. Also, in another large study in which some women were assigned to take Prempro and others not, women who used Prempro had no significant increase in breast cancer risk.

Of Lumps, Bumps And Breast Cancer

You feel a mild soreness in the breast so you checked for lumps. You felt a little bump. The next best step is to consult a doctor, you might have breast cancer. Breast cancer is a malignant tumor that starts from the cells of the breast. Breast cancer occurs mainly in women but this does not mean that men are safe from this disease.

A woman's breast is made up of lobules, which are glands that make the milk; ducts, which connect lobules to the nipples; fat and connective tissues; blood vessels; and lymph vessels. Most breast cancers begin in the ducts. It may also begin in the lobules then spread to other tissues.

When one feels a lump in the breast, there is really no virtual worry because most lumps are benign which means that they are not cancerous. In fact, benign breast tumors are abnormal growths but do not really pose threats because they do not spread outside of the breast. However, some benign lumps increase the risk in having breast cancer.

Then there are lumps that are not really tumors at all which are often caused by fibrocystic changes -- cysts are fluid-filled sacs while fibrosis is the formation of scar-like tissue. These changes can cause swelling of the breasts resulting to being lumpy and sometimes a fluid discharge from the nipples.

There are different types of breast cancer and knowing them will greatly help in assessing the disease.

Carcinoma in situ is a term used for early stage of breast cancer where the cancer cells are still confined to the place where it started. In particular, the cancer cells are confined in the lobules or the ducts, depending on where it started. The cancer cells have not gone into the fatty tissues in the breast nor spread to other organs of the body.

Ductal carcinoma in situ is the most common type of noninvasive breast cancer. Similar with Carcinoma in situ, the cancer cells have spread through the walls of the duct into the fatty tissue of the breasts. Almost all women with breast cancer at this stage can be cured and the best way to find is through the use of mammogram.

Lobular carcinoma in situ is the condition which begins in the milk-making glands but does not go through the walls of the lobules. This is not a true cancer but this can increase the risk of a woman to have breast cancer later. For this very reason, it is of utmost importance for women with this type of condition to follow the guidelines for breast cancer.

Infiltrating (or invasive) ductal carcinoma is a type of breast cancer that starts in the milk passage, breaks through the duct walls, invades the fatty tissue of the breast then spread to other parts of the body. This is the most common type of breast cancer.

Infiltrating lobular carcinoma starts in the milk glands then travel to the other parts of the body.

As of now, there is no exact cause for breast cancer but there are certain factors that are linked to the disease. Some factors that cannot be controlled are age, gender, family history, personal history of breast cancer, and race. Factors such as not having children, birth control pills, diet, exercise, and alcohol are some of the factors that can be controlled which may lessen or heighten the risk of a woman to have breast cancer.

There are several tests that may confirm and disconfirm if you suspect breast cancer such as imaging tests which includes mammography, breast ultrasound, and ductogram and biopsy which includes fine needle aspiration biopsy, stereotactic core needle biopsy, and surgical biopsy.

Hormone Replacement Therapy: Breast Cancer Risk In Perspecti

Many women have concluded that recent study results show that hormone replacement therapy increases breast cancer risk. A closer look at this study shows that the increase in risk was far less than half a per cent a year and may not be due to hormone
Janet M., a fifties-something woman, entered my office and said as she sat down, "I've read that if I take hormones I'll increase my breast cancer risk. I'm going crazy without sleep and with these mood swings, but I don't want to increase my breast cancer risk by taking hormones."

Like many women, Janet heard that a recent study, the Women's Health Initiative (WHI), definitively showed that hormone replacement therapy (HRT) at menopause increases breast cancer risk. Janet, like most people who heard about this study, didn't realize that the WHI study found no statistically significant increase in breast cancer risk to women who took HRT.

When differences are not significant, an increase in risk may well be due to other factors, not the one being studied, such as HRT use. In this, as in the reporting of many studies, the emphasis was on the increase in risk, not whether it was likely to be due to the agent being studied or to its size.

In addition to statistical significance, the actual size of a risk is important in any woman's decision making process. In this case the risk was exceedingly small - only 8 in 10,000 women a year - which is 0.08% or eight hundredths of one per cent! Janet was amazed to learn the actual size of the increase, and said, "You mean I was getting all concerned for a risk that small!"

"And," I pointed out, "even this very small difference in risk may not be due to hormone use." I explained that breast cancers take an average of eight years to reach about half an inch in size. This means that breast cancers starting in the first year of the study would not be detected for eight or more years. The study followed women for only about five years, so all or most of the breast cancers found during the study were probably present in an undetected state before the study began.

Janet asked if HRT use might have caused some breast cancers to grow more rapidly and therefore be detected sooner than eight years. This is unlikely. A number of studies find that breast cancers in women who were using HRT were not larger and were not dividing more rapidly than breast cancers in non hormone users. Also, breast cancers grow more slowly in older women. The average age in this study was 63, so breast cancers in this group would tend to grow more slowly and so take even longer than the eight year average to be detected.

Women in the WHI study used a particular type of hormone called Prempro. The results of this study therefore do not apply to other, newer approaches in which more natural hormones are used and a woman's menstrual cycle is more closely approximated.

Janet was surprised to learn that in many studies women who use HRT do not have an increase in breast cancer risk compared to women who don't use hormones, even when hormones are used for twenty years. Also, in another large study in which some women were assigned to take Prempro and others not, women who used Prempro had no significant increase in breast cancer risk.

As Janet left, she said, "I can see now that when I hear about a study I need to know how big a risk is, and not just that it is increased. I'll also ask how long a study it was. This discussion has given me a whole different perspective."