Comments for A rural woman's breast cancer journal

Comment on Seedling trees and surviving by lanezen

lanezen — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 21:26:20 +0000

I’m so sorry that I don’t check the blog responses very often and only just saw your comment. I hope you see my reply. Thank you so much for writing to let me know you enjoyed my post about planting the seedling trees, and telling me about your optimism. I’m happy for you that you have been here for all the milestones with your children and grandchildren . . .and to plant some trees yourself, literally or figuratively! Best wishes to you!

Comment on How my mind works while I’m waiting for test results . . . . by lanezen

lanezen — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 21:23:01 +0000

I hope your tests turned out negative for prostate cancer. If they weren’t negative, I hope it is a very early and manageable stage and that you’ll be just fine. Let us know.

Comment on Seedling trees and surviving by gracedtraveller

gracedtraveller — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 03:27:36 +0000

thanks for your seedling story… found it as I was researching a conference paper I’m writing on “living rurally longer term with HIV”.

I had wanted to include a reference to Susan Sontag’s famous statement about the two kingdoms: the well and the sick, which appears in the preface to her book “Illness as metaphor” and stumbled across your blog.

Great story about the 100 seedlings to screen the ethanol plant.

and no one is too old to plant a tree! when I was diagnosed with HIV 22 years ago I never expected to see my children graduate from uni, or see them married or nurse my grandchildren… and here I am and all those things have transpired…

so I’m continuing to plant trees and maybe I’ll see my great-grandchildren…

Thanks for putting a smile on my face and a reminder of hope in my heart

Neil
Northern Rivers region, New South Wales, Australia

Comment on How my mind works while I’m waiting for test results . . . . by rehisco

rehisco — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 20:33:26 +0000

Your article was enlightening. It seems the medical practioners treats us “routinely” and have become insensitive to the psychological impact this can have with no appreciation about the emotional condition of the patient.

I am a male and have not been diagnosed prostate cancer, but have had two tests showing high PSA (15) levels. I have been urged by my primary care physician and the consulting urologist to have a biopsy so a determination can be made.

Though I have been urged to have the biopsy done, my clinics (the VA) first available appointment is two months out.

The possibility of a positive outcome is upsetting of course, but the anxiety from waiting for the tests and subsequent results I am afraid is more than I can take.

I prey your tests were negative and you are doing well.

Comment on “New Hope In Treating Triple Negative Breast Cancer” by dphealthcareconsulting

dphealthcareconsulting — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 20:35:53 +0000

Special invitation to all breast cancer bloggers. This month the Being Cancer Book Club is reading “The Adventures of Cancer Bitch” by S. L. Wisenberg, “witty and relentless, surprising and honest. Wisenberg has walked through the Valley of Cancer and she is willing to tell all; this is a cornucopia of breast cancer information as well as a very smart, funny read from an excellent writer.”—Audrey Niffenegger, author, The Time Traveler’s Wife.
Book discussions are in Mondays’ posts. Take care, Dennis

Comment on “New Hope In Treating Triple Negative Breast Cancer” by dphealthcareconsulting

dphealthcareconsulting — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 21:34:44 +0000

Open invitation to you and your readers to participate in the Being Cancer Book Club. This month we are discussing “The Last Lecture” by Randy Pausch. “…the lecture he gave … was about the importance of overcoming obstacles, of enabling the dreams of others, of seizing every moment (because “time is all you have…and you may find one day that you have less than you think”). It was a summation of everything Randy had come to believe. It was about living.”
Monday is Book Club day; Tuesday Guest Blog and Friday Cancer News Roundup.
Also check out Cancer Blog Links containing almost 200 blog links and Cancer Resources with 230 referenced sites, both divided into disease categories.
Please accept this invitation to join our growing cancer blogging community at http://www.beingcancer.net
Take care, Dennis

Comment on Again – we need patient navigators, people — and they need to do more than give out toll free numbers by Missed my voice . . . « A rural woman’s breast cancer journal

Missed my voice . . . « A rural woman’s breast cancer journal — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 18:04:01 +0000

[...] In February I posted about the need for patient navigators, to help terminally ill people who are overwhelmed by this disease itself and do not have the resources and energy to deal with the bureaucracies of health care and insurance. My friend was farther along in his disease than we wanted to acknowledge. He went into the hospital in March, we thought for a few days to resolve some side effects of a chemotherapy medication. One day a perky doctor that we hadn’t seen before even told us we could take him home that day. We said we needed some preparation and information about home health care and were even told that a physical therapist (whom we knew nothing about) said the patient didn’t need any home care assistance. We were astounded, since he needed help for all basic needs and hadn’t been able to eat or drink anything. So that discharge was postponed, ostensibly to give the hospital time to get the home care arranged. [...]

Comment on Hollis Sigler’s Breast Cancer Journal by Missed my voice . . . « A rural woman’s breast cancer journal

Missed my voice . . . « A rural woman’s breast cancer journal — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 17:57:33 +0000

[...] grief, caring, journaling After not posting here for quite some time, I had a very flattering comment from a reader to say my voice was missed, and that people worry when too long a time goes by between [...]

Comment on Survivors retreats by lanezen

lanezen — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 17:31:23 +0000

Sorry I was not online at the time to get this posted.

Comment on Hollis Sigler’s Breast Cancer Journal by dphealthcareconsulting

dphealthcareconsulting — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 16:30:27 +0000

Miss your voice. I always get nervous when so long a time passes between postings. I have written about this myself. I added you to my Cancer Blogs Links Page. Take care, Dennis beingcancer.net

Comment on Updated post: triple-negative breast cancer by Understanding Triple Negative Breast Cancer « Journeying Beyond Breast Cancer

Mon, 16 Mar 2009 14:51:01 +0000

[...] that my knowledge of triple negative breast cancer is more limited. However, I am indebted to A rural woman’s breast cancer journal for an excellent posting on the subject and a link to TNBC, a website dedicated to Triple Negative [...]

Comment on Survivors retreats by gosmoky

gosmoky — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 09:27:17 +0000

I thought I’d share this retreat I found that is taking place March 27-29 in Gatlinburg, Tennessee…

http://gosmoky.wordpress.com/2009/02/27/retreat-for-female-cancer-survirors-in-the-smokies-march-27th-29th/

Comment on Art therapy and breast cancer by lifetrekkingcoach

lifetrekkingcoach — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 03:55:20 +0000

Thank you for sharing your sketch book and the powerful information about Art Therapy!

Comment on Hollis Sigler’s Breast Cancer Journal by Hollis Sigler’s bBreast Cancer/b Journal « A rural woman’s bbreast/b b…/b

Hollis Sigler’s bBreast Cancer/b Journal « A rural woman’s bbreast/b b…/b — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 02:53:20 +0000

[...] Hollis Sigler’s bBreast Cancer/b Journal « A rural woman’s bbreast/b b…/b Tags: art-therapy, Breast Cancer, Cancer, cancer information, chicago, disease, family, [...]

Comment on Art therapy and breast cancer by Inflammatory Breast Cancer, And Methods Of Detection | How Dangerous Is Breast Cancer

Mon, 16 Feb 2009 15:45:05 +0000

[...] Art therapy and breast cancer Must watch video on inflammatory breast cancer Water therapy for lymphdema symptoms » … NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Women having radiation treatment for breast cancer experienced lasting improvements in mental and physical health and quality of life after participating in five sessions of art therapy, Swedish researchers report. The findings “strongly support art therapy as a powerful tool in rehabilitation of patients with breast cancer. [...]

Comment on Must watch video on inflammatory breast cancer by Inflammatory Breast Cancer, And Methods Of Detection | How Dangerous Is Breast Cancer

Mon, 16 Feb 2009 15:44:57 +0000

[...] Inflammatory breast cancer Please watch this video to understand how the symptoms of this type of breast cancer are different [...]

Comment on The parts I left out by The parts I left out « A rural woman’s breast cancer journal

The parts I left out « A rural woman’s breast cancer journal — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 19:50:23 +0000

[...] The part I left out [...]

Comment on Whose finger is that on your mammogram sticker? by lanezen

lanezen — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 22:41:31 +0000

LOL! No kidding! I think it would make me feel like a little girl who got in trouble for doing something bad.

Comment on Unexpected reaction to checkup & wondering why I write this by lanezen

lanezen — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 22:39:55 +0000

nimbleknitter,

I meant to tell you that I’m also grade 1, stage 3. April this year will be 2 years since my diagnosis and 2-year anniversary of my surgery will be in May.

Just think — pretty soon you will be done with treatment!! Let me know how it goes.

Comment on Whose finger is that on your mammogram sticker? by katbur

katbur — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 20:41:36 +0000

Hey that was me, thanks. I guess since I went from mammogram to diagnosis to surgery in one fell swoop I didn’t get to have the joy of markings. Gotta give them credit they are cute.

As for the finger and hand? Just glad it’s not reminding me to go have my pelvic, LOL!

Comment on Unexpected reaction to checkup & wondering why I write this by lanezen

lanezen — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 19:54:58 +0000

nimbleknitter,

Thanks for finding me! I have just lately been looking for other blogging survivors – good to meet you!!!

I agree that trying to keep up with this stuff can be overwhelming. As I said, I would have to go back and reconstruct what happened when I was diagnosed and through treatment and sometimes I think I want to, and other times I don’t even want to think about it again — this is LIFE AFTER CANCER!!

I’d love to see your blog – would you send the link?

Comment on Unexpected reaction to checkup & wondering why I write this by lanezen

lanezen — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 19:52:35 +0000

Katbur, I guess that’s right – we blog becuase we hope it will help someone some time.

You said, you didn’t start your blog until you were finished with treatment –I didn’t either and I share your amazement over women who are able to write about it as they are going through it. I did keep track of some things in a journal, but didn’t start the blog until later, and a lot of things I put in the journal never made it here.

I have been wondering lately if I can go back and describe my experience from the time I had the diagnosis until I was finished with radiation treatment. I think if it is important to do, I will, and otherwise….it probably won’t happen.

Comment on Unexpected reaction to checkup & wondering why I write this by nimbleknitter

nimbleknitter — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 17:55:20 +0000

Hi, someone sent me a link to your blog. I’m triple negative also. I’m into my second week of radiation and I finished chemo on 12/29. I had a lumpectomy back in Sept. Stage 1, grade 3.

I had never heard of triple negative until my surgeon told me about it. Now whenever anyone asks me about my cancer I tell them it’s triple negative and explain what that means. I like to spread the word. I occasionally read the forums on the triple negative foundation site but often find it too depressing.

I’m not a writer so I find it very difficult to put my emotions into words. Therefore I don’t talk much about my cancer on my own blog which is devoted to knitting. I started a journal but found that it just took too much out of me to keep up with it. I admire your ability to articulate your experiences and will go back through your earlier posts to bring myself up to date.
Kim

Comment on Unexpected reaction to checkup & wondering why I write this by katbur

katbur — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 17:09:47 +0000

I think your reason is the reason a lot of us blog. I have hope that someone will stumble across my site at the right time in their life and it will help. I didn’t start my blog until I was finished with treatment and I’m always so amazed by those who record their entire process. While you are right that our experiences will be different and we will process them differently I think we need to remember more often that we are all in this together. No one will understand what you are going through like someone who has been there themselves.

ps. What are the cute floral thingees?

Comment on Updated post: triple-negative breast cancer by Updated post about triple negative breast cancer « A rural woman’s breast cancer journal

Thu, 29 Jan 2009 15:55:04 +0000

[...] Published January 29, 2009 Rural women Tags: triple negative breast cancer I have updated a previous post about triple negative breast cancer. [...]

Comment on Unexpected reaction to checkup & wondering why I write this by lifetrekkingcoach

lifetrekkingcoach — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 14:39:35 +0000

Hi! I just found your blog and I’m going to link it to my blog. Thank you so much for sharing your experience. I’ll be including you in my prayers

Comment on We need patient navigators! by lanezen

lanezen — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 01:29:11 +0000

Katbur,
It is amazing to me that more of the workers in this setting don’t understand that.

Comment on We need patient navigators! by katbur

katbur — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 00:37:37 +0000

I have spent most of my career doing case management and remember having this argument weekly. During treatment the last freakin thing you need to be dealing with is pharmacies and office staff. Ironically, I was assigned a case manager through my insurance company the day of my last chemo treatment.

Comment on About by lanezen

lanezen — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 13:22:46 +0000

My disclaimer.

I want to emphasize that in this journal I am not making any recommendations or giving advice. We are all different. Not all breast cancer is alike. Not all treatment is the same for everyone. Our ways of making decisions about treatment and learning to live beyond cancer are unique to each one of us.

Comment on The women over at Breast Cancer Action by lanezen

lanezen — Fri, 16 May 2008 00:04:43 +0000

On the other hand. . . . .
“Many breast cancer awareness campaigns urging women to have yearly mammograms are based on the premise that breast cancer found early can always be effectively treated. But the complex biology of breast cancer means that women diagnosed with “early” breast cancer fall into one of three groups.

“One group has very aggressive disease that, no matter how small it is when it is found, cannot be effectively treated with the therapies that are currently available. These women will die of breast cancer eventually, no matter what treatment they are given, unless they die of something else first.

“Another group of women diagnosed with breast cancer has a type of either non-aggressive invasive disease or some presentations of DCIS (ductal carcinoma in situ) that will never be life-threatening.

“The third group has a type of breast cancer that responds to currently available treatments. Finding breast cancer earlier does increase the likelihood that treatment will work for women in this group.
http://bcaction.org/index.php?page=breast-cancer-screening-policy