Calling all triple negative breast cancer patients in the UK
Comments
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Hello Mary,
Thank you for your post. Like you, I found Chris Woollams latest email most interesting and I think all the information os very useful. I shall write more later. I have an eye infection at the moment, and it is making me feel somewhat tired. I have a lot of reading to do on various things, so I shall definitely post later on. I now have Vita magazine to read and that is always useful because so much of it comes from patients. I signed up for it on diagnosis.
I shall talk to you later.
Fond thoughts.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hi Sylvia
The chart that you posted is very interesting.
Here is link 10. You have to lie to the website and tell them that you are a medical professional, which of course most of you are. I must say that there is a certain delightful classic Irishness to the approach that the site has taken to the health care professional question because if you answer yes, there is no attempt to prove that you are telling the truth.
http://www.imt.ie/clinical/2016/02/outcomes-with-n...
Michael
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Hi, Sylvia
Thanks for posting the graph. I do wish the experts who come up with these things would include something about a time frame. Such as: what if someone stopped smoking 20 years ago, was the damage done that long ago? Or can we not blame that? I'll bet we all know people who have lived a very clean life and still got cancer. A friend was telling me yesterday about 2 friends of hers; one is a man who used to drink heavily and smoke heavily. He stopped these things some time ago and now has come down with cancer. Her other friend is 70, lived on the same farm all her life, grew her own food and raised her own animals. She is thin and never smoked. She has recently been diagnosed with ovarian cancer. I hope someday we have answers to these questions.
Talk soon, Mary
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Hello Michael,
I was so glad to know that you found the chart interesting. What I picked up on is that the non Hodgkins lymphoma is about the only one that seems not to be associated with lifestyle. I do remember that you said you thought it might have had something to do with when you were working with dark dyes as a hairdresser. I have read in the past about a connection with black and dark brown hair dyes and cancer.
I have now managed to look at links 6, 7, 8 & 9. I did find link 6 about breast cancer in men and found it most interesting. I got to wonder why breast cancer is so rare in men and yet so common in women. Both seem to be connected to hormones that have gone awry. I was interested in the particular case on the link because both husband and wife have been through breast cancer, are now in remission and are on tamoxifen to try to prevent recurrence. I do wonder whether a lot of breast cancer in women has been caused by birth control pills and whether women are getting it earlier and earlier because they are on birth control pills at such a young age. Even with triple negative, my oncologist told me that the tumours mutate and you do not necessarily start off as triple negative.
I do hope that a man with breast cancer may post in.
as for link 7, I cannot really understand why survival would be worse for stage III but not for stage I, II & IV. I did not read all of the link as I did not sign up as a medical person.
As for link 8, from Science Magazine, it was a bit too complicated for me to understand. Link 9, about a new, non-invasive, to wipe out cancers, is reason to hope and makes interesting reading.
Thank you for posting link 10, which I shall read later on, when I have waded through a lot of other things that I have to do.
Wishing you all the very best.
Sylvia
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Hello Mary,
I was glad to know that you liked the graph. I thought you might find it interesting. What stands out on that graph is the number of times that diet, smoking, alcohol and obesity are mentioned.
It would be a difficult task to include something about a time frame because we are all individual and we all probably react differently to things we are doing that are going to hurt our immune system and hurt our bodies in general. If a person has been smoking for twenty years there is bound to be damage to the body but stopping smoking must help towards restoring the body. We all know examples of people who smoke too much, drink too much, eat too much etc. but manage to live on to a ripe old age. Others do everything right and end up with cancer or some other chronic disease. We cannot measure just how much stress plays a part and that is not even mentioned on the graph. I think stress, especially negative stress, must upset the body and send a person along the slippery path to cancer and other chronic diseases. All we can do is examine our own lives and think about events that have taken a toll or are taking a toll on us.
I know there has been Swedish research which believes it is possible that childhood x-rays may be associated with breast cancer, as well as parathyroid disease. They do not seem to be sure which causes which.
I think another big factor is our environment over which we have little control. I was brought up in London when we had coal fires and horrible thick fog. We have pollution from too many cars, too many planes and all the chemicals etc. of the industrial revolution. Goodness only knows what technology is doing to us. People seem to be on smart phones 24/7, not to mention computers at home and work.
As you will see from my post to Michael I have now managed to catch up with the links and found them all interesting. I now have to read link 10 and print it out.
As for all the great information coming out of Chris Woollams emails, I am just amazed at it all. I do think one of the most important bits of information is the importance of a healthy gut. I eat plain soy yoghurt with live cultures (Sojade plain organic soy, Provamel plain coconut yoghurt with live cultures and Tesco Free From soy yoghurt with live cultures). I also eat Biona sauerkraut with my main meals, and have started using miso.
The amount of information coming from Chris Woollams is mind boggling and it is impossible to take it all in.
I still have to read through What Doctors Don't Tell You more thoroughly, not to mention Vita magazine. Remember that Vita is a free magazine from Breast Cancer Care, is easy to read, with most of the information and experiences coming from patients going through treatment or having been through treatment.
That is all for now.
Fond thoughts.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Hanieh,
I hope all is OK and that you are just having a break.
Fond thoughts.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hi Sylvia
I am going to post links a couple of times a week as I am getting the impression that it is too much information in such a short time.
When Janette relapsed the biopsy came back ER or was it HR positive. As for my lymphoma, I think the hair dryer is the most plausible cause but as I have probably said before, when I was about 10 I went to the doctor with a small lump behind my ear. The doctor said it was a boney spur and there it stayed, unchanged but when I first had chemo it disappeared. I told the consultant but he said it would be very unusual for a child to have fNHL. I have probably been banjaxed from birth:-(
Hopefully I am off to Brentwood tomorrow and then on to Ibiza but I have a stinker of a cold.
Michael
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Hi Sylvia
I've not been here for a while but every now and then I try to come back and read all your informative posts. Unfortunately filtration is a big problem here and I really can not realize why some scientific research sites should be filtered. It's been a week since the bigging of our work days after New Year holiday and things are hectic. Yet nothing in the world is more enjoyable than being healthy and busy especially with the job and family you love.
I always use my smart cell phone or tablet to come here and since I have decided to use them less in the new year I may come back less than before but I will pop in every now and then because I never want to miss such great friends here.
I still have the pressure in my head but since all the MRI , MRA , MRV came back normal I try to ignore it. I have stopped diphereline injections yet sometimes I feel worried about it as you said the mutations can happen and a TNBC could have been a different BC at first. But again I think if this is true all the TN patients should have hormonal preventive treatments. Anyway I am trying to be less engaged with the whole deal. Everyday I repeat it to me that I WILL be healthy and it will NEVER happen again. Spring is really elevating and we should try to enjoy it to the fullest.
This is the picture of my lovely tree from my kitchen window.
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Hi Sylvia/ everyone
Hope you are all doing great. I do pop on to read the posts but often feel I have nothing informative or interesting to offer , but love to see that everyone is doing so well.
I've just been away for a five day break to Barcelona with my daughter. I've never been before, it's a beautiful city with some lovely architecture. What is everyone's favourite place they have visited ?
This week I started back to work full time. I'm not doing too bad but still worry with every ache and pain. Also have just had first mammogram after treatment and am awaiting results.
Love the picture out of your window Hanieh ... Can you send some of your sunshine to us in uk
Sorry I have nothing interesting to offer but glad you are all doing so well . I will be 49 tomorrow and feel blessed to have reached it.
Lots of love to everyone Amanda
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Hi everyone
I received the invite below but as it is in Washington DC perhaps people in North America may be interested.
Dear Michael Collins,
At 6 pm on May 2, 2016, the National Foundation for Cancer Research will kick off the 2016 Szent-Györgyi Prize Dinner and Award Ceremony at The National Press Club in Washington, DC. This year's winner is Mary-Claire King, Ph.D., who discovered the BRCA1 gene and provided the first evidence of genetic predisposition to breast cancer.
Dr. King's work has led to genotype-based breast and ovarian cancer screening that can identify individuals who have inherited mutations in BRCA1 and give them a chance to take preventive measures at an early stage of their lives.
The Szent-Györgyi Prize celebration is always a wonderful opportunity for the research community to recognize the life-saving efforts of a fabulous researcher. We look forward to seeing you there to honor Dr. Mary-Clair King!
Please click here, or contact Hali Hartmann at hhartmann@nfcr.org, to reserve seats or tables at the dinner. Please also share this invitation with others who may also be interested in joining us for this inspiring evening.
Sincerely
Franklin C. Salisbury, Jr.
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HI, Hanieh and Amanda,
Glad to see you writing, I understand completely, Hanieh, that you want to pull back a little bit. It gets overwhelming. I have been through a phase myself of getting tested for things that turned out to be fine, and then feeling silly, as well as going through all the worry leading up to it, I will honestly say I am not completely out of that phase yet. I know the stress of the worrying is not good for us. There are so many reminders, it's hard to get free of it, but staying busy is the best. It sounds like you are doing that. It's such a blessing to have work you love and your family. The other thing that's great for getting your mind off unpleasant things is traveling to see new places. I am ready to go somewhere.
Amanda, it seems that you get to a lot of great places. I want to go to Italy, and the coast of Greece. My favorite place where I have been, hmmmmm........ I have only been to US, Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and some of the Caribbean islands. I have favorite places in the US, the mountains of Wyoming and New Mexico; I love the Caribbean islands, and British Columbia in Canada. My ideal living arrangement would be an island in the winter and the mountains in the summer. Guess I better start working on that. Glad you are feeling well enough to work full time!
Talk to you soon,
Be well, Mary
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Hello Michael,
Thank you for your last two posts. I think that if you could post two links a week that would be great and give us all time to look at the link and digest any information that we can. I have just read link 10 and have found it extremely interesting and informative, so much so that I am going to get Raymond to scan it and paste on the thread, just in case there are people who are not into chasing links. I think this last link is extremely important and want to thank you so much for enabling us through your effort to have all this information.
I was interested to know that after Janette relapsed her biopsy came back ER+ or perhaps HER2+. I think that is what you mean rather than HR+. We have to keep remembering that these cells mutate.
I keep mentioning what my oncologist told me about how my triple negative did not necessarily start off as such.
Whatever we read I think we have to remain positive in our minds about triple negative. We need to ignore the doom and gloom printed about it.
I know from what my friend and neighbour went through with triple positive that it was no picnic and I feel that it is worse than triple negative. She was on so many different drugs.
I for one would not want to be on tamoxifen or an aromatase inhibitor for five years, now extended to ten years, with side effects such as weight gain, blood clots, osteoporosis and goodness knows what else. I am glad that the orthodox treatment put me into remission and I have had no medication since in getting on for eleven years.
I was interested in what you said about your lymphoma and the hair drier. Should we all stop using them? My breast cancer consultant told me that she thought we were heading for an epidemic of brain cancer from mobile phones!! Is technology toxic to us?
Again, I do love your sense of humour and love that word banjaxed. I sometimes think the same. I was born during the London blitz and probably traumatised from birth. I was scalded on the head from a kettle boiling over when I was about two and lost my hair and the family tells me that I was also bitten as a toddler by a neighbour's pet monkey. Are they having me on?
I do hope you have a good time in Brentwood and then in Ibiza and I hope you manage to get rid of that nasty cold. It looks as though we are all getting run down from lack of sunshine and too much rain and too much windy weather.
If you have a chance in Essex, have a drive round Langdon Hills. The Nature Reserve there is very peaceful and there is a path to have a walk round. There used to be basic little houses there on the Plotlands. Londoners from the East End used to come there in the 1920's. There is one that should still be open as a kind of museum.
Thank you for all you do for the thread.
Sylvia.
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Hello Hanieh, Amanda, Mary and adagio,
I have been reading your most interesting posts and will talk later.
Fond thoughts.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Michael,
Thank you for your second post and the information about the awards ceremony. Let us hope someone will be able to attend and that we shall get some feedback Did you happen to see the programme last night on BBC 1 How To Stay Young. It was Part 1 and well worth watching
It stated that 75% of illnesses are due to lifestyle choices and only 25% are due to genetic factors.
They were doing MRI scans that showed up images in the body of ageing parts as well as DNA tests. It is all well worth watching.
Best wishes,
Sylvia.
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Hello Hanieh,
It was nice to hear from you and to know that all is well. I do understand that you need to have breaks and to switch off cancer. Remember that you can come here to talk about anything you like. It does not have to be about cancer. Remember that we may have come together because of our breast cancer, but we must not let ourselves be defined by it. You are a unique individual, and I am sure there is a lot more you can tell us about yourself and your country. This is all part of the therapy of moving on.
Long ago on this thread we decided that we were going to be positive about being triple negative.
As I have said before I would not want to be having to take those nasty anti-hormonal pills with their side effects.
I am so glad that I am allowing my body to be drug free to try to keep cancer at bay.
I have read in the past that if you take tamoxifen long enough. you can end up with triple negative any way.
Fond thoughts.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Hanieh again,
I forgot to say that I loved the photograph of your tree. It must give you a lot of pleasure to be able to see that from your window. I find that green is such a relaxing colour. In fact green and blue are my favourite colours. What are yours?
Try to rid your mind of worry. It does not serve any purpose. Do things that help you to relax. I firmly believe that stress causes cancer, and that it should have been on the chart that I posted.
Take care of yourself and think happy thoughts.
Love,
Sylvia.
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This was the link 10 that Michael sent to us. It is easy to read and is really a summary of where things are with breast cancer. It would be nice to have your comments and opinions.
Best wishes to all.
Sylvia
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Outcomes with new agents outlined
From the Irish Medical Times
An individual approach to breast cancer treatment is now preferred, Gary Culliton reports in his
latest Clinical Update. The way drugs are administered and scheduled is now much more specific to
the type of disease involved.
Dr Janice Walshe, consultant medical oncologist, gave an overview of the treatment approach in
breast cancer patients, including an update on diagnostics and therapies, at a St Vincent's Private
Hospital (SVPH) education evening late last year.
She spoke about advances in hormone therapy, chemotherapy and targeted therapy, as well as
about Oncotype DX testing. Recent innovations were also outlined, including the approval by the
National Cancer Control Programme of TDM1 (Kadcyla). This is a monoclonal antibody attached to a chemotherapy agent, and it is used in HER2+ metastatic breast cancer.
The survival results seen in women whose cancer has moved outside of the breast to the bone, liver
or lungs justifies use of the new agent, in Dr Walshe's view.
She also outlined current recommendations regarding followup. Since 1994, there has been a yearly
increase of between 2 and 4 per cent in the number of cancers reported.
Awareness has increased and there are more active screening programmes available. Increased
BMI has had an impact. In the higher socioeconomic groups, women are more likely to have children at a later age and to have smaller families. Better nutrition means periods come earlier.
Later menopause also means more exposure of the breast to oestrogen over time (of itself this increases the likelihood of mutations that will allow breast cells to start proliferating). However, deaths from breast cancer continue to reduce. This is due to increased breast awareness, screening and better treatment approaches.
An individual approach to breast cancer treatment is sought. Patients' age is considered, as is the
size of the tumour and whether it affects the lymph nodes. Biology is also taken into consideration:
whether a hormonesensitive receptor is expressed (and whether the cancer might be more sensitive
to hormones produced by the body). The possibility that this process might be stopped is examined.
HER2 was a biomarker of more aggressive breast cancer, Dr Walshe explained.
A molecular classification of breast cancer has been proposed based on clustering of genes'
expressions. Database studies of expressions have shown patients' outcomes have been
dramatically different (Sørlie T et al., PNAS, 2003). Two different types of hormonesensitive breast
cancer, which tend to have better outlooks than basal subtypes (triple negative breast cancer, which
does not express an oestrogen receptor — or a HER2 receptor) have been identified. The HER2
subtype is more likely to be overexpressing the HER2 gene.
Cancers are staged: stage I tends to be confined to the breast. Stage II is in the breast and local
lymph nodes, while stage III tends to affect the breast but surgery is not necessarily an immediate
option (distant lymph nodes may be affected). Stage IV is where the cancer has moved outside the
breast and local lymph nodes, to the lung, the bone or the liver. Disease control is the objective in
these patients.
Thus, patients with stage I or II disease have been diagnosed with an earlystage breast cancer.
Patients with stage III have locally advanced disease. Stage IV is metastatic disease. The cancer is
removed in earlystage disease and the objective is to reduce the risk of recurrence. There are
proportions of people with different characteristics who will relapse. Cells that were in the breast have gained access to the blood supply or the lymph channels. Over time these will 'nest' somewhere, divide and cause destruction in specific areas.
Postsurgery, pathology typically suggests that 60 per cent of earlystage disease patients are
hormonesensitive.
Antihormonal therapy is important in forms expressing oestrogen receptors. Among patients who
have HER2+ disease, addition of the drug trastuzumab is essential. In patients who do not express
HER2 receptors or oestrogen receptors, there is reliance on chemotherapy alone.
GPs played a critical role in encouraging patients to enter clinical trials, Dr Walshe said. Treatments
aim to reduce the risk of micrometastasis. The pioneer surgeon George Beatson (1896) took out the
ovaries of three women and their breast cancer shrank. This was the first sign that hormone
deprivation could be therapeutic in breast cancer. Thankfully, hormone deprivation can now be
achieved using pharmaceutical agents.
Tamoxifen, for example, is licensed in premenopausal women — where the major oestrogen source
is from the ovaries. Tamoxifen is a prodrug that is metabolised to active metabolites (SSRI
medicines can interfere with this process).
Steroid hormones
In postmenopausal women, the major source of oestrogen is from the adrenal glands. Steroid
hormones are metabolised into oestrogen. Aromatase inhibitors, such as anastrozole or letrozole,
are used to block production of that oestrogen. With aromatase inhibitors, oestrogen production
reduces by 98 per cent within two weeks (this process contrasts with Tamoxifen treatment, where
oestrogen is still circulating).
With reduced oestrogen levels, cardiovascular risk must be monitored: cholesterol levels may
increase among patients on aromatase inhibitors (Smith, NEJM, 2003). Bone health also needs to be
monitored: bonedensity scans every twotothree years are advised. A proactive approach is taken
where there is a tendency towards osteoporosis.
People treated with surgery alone were compared with patients who received antihormonal therapy
(EBCTCG, Lancet, 2005).
The trials are updated every five years. After five years of treatment, there are ongoing benefits in
terms of protection from breast cancer recurrence. Reduced deaths from breast cancer were also
seen.
Hot flashes are among the typical sideeffects: an increase is often seen in the initial weeks of
treatment, followed by a plateau and a reduction. Rare serious sideeffects may include
thromboembolic disease and endometrial cancer.
Great progress had been made in regard to chemotherapy, said Dr Walshe. The way drugs are
administered and scheduled is now much more specific to the type of disease involved. Certain
factors increase the likelihood that chemotherapy may work better than other therapies. In a woman
who has affected lymph nodes under the arm, the rate of relapse is substantially higher than the rate
in a woman who has no lymph nodes affected there. Benefit from chemotherapy is substantially
greater in women with affected lymph nodes under the arm, than in women who received
chemotherapy but did not have these lymph nodes affected.
The same phenomenon is seen in relation to hormone sensitivity. Postmenopausal women with
hormonesensitive cancers may often just be given antihormonal therapy.
Day wards have relieved some pressure but shortterm sideeffects GPs may come across include
myelo suppression, cumulative fatigue, mucositis, GI side effects, nausea, vomiting and weight
gain.
People nowadays are more sedentary and in premenopausal women patients particularly,
chemotherapy has an effect on the ovaries, reducing the metabolic rate. This could also lead to an
increased likelihood to gain weight, said Dr Walshe.
There can also be neurological toxicity, as well as musculoskeletal sideeffects and skin problems.
Premature menopause
Premature menopause in itself can lead to reduced oestrogen levels. Increased cardiovascular risk
and bone health issues can be a consequence. Longterm sideeffects associated with some drugs
can include cardiotoxicity, and patients are carefully screened for this. Infertility is a big issue among young women diagnosed with breast cancer, though the risk of second cancers is rare. In terms of psychological interventions, there is a good psychotherapy resource in ARC Cancer Support House.
Premature menopause is age dependent: the older the patient is, the greater the likelihood of
permanent menopause. There may be menopausal symptoms as well as issues related to infertility,
osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease. It is important not to get pregnant when on chemotherapy:
barrier protection is advised.
Oncotype DX testing facilitates selection of patients who truly need chemotherapy. This multigene
assay measures genes that are important in a specific subtype of breast cancer that is hormone
sensitive (oestrogen receptorpositive — ER+), that does not affect the lymph nodes underneath the
arm.
Since Oncotype DX has been introduced here, 59 per cent of people have avoided chemotherapy as
a result of the test, a national study showed. Thus a lowrisk score reduces the likelihood of
premature menopause and infertility, in addition to heart, bone and psychological issues. Antihormonal therapy has less value in a person with a highrisk score — someone who has had
a tumour taken out and who has no affected lymph nodes (Paik et al., NEJM, ASCO 2004).
In a person with a lowrisk score, the benefit of antihormonal therapy is significant. In a person with a high risk, there can be a 30 per cent absolute benefit from chemotherapy. A person with a highrisk
Oncotype Dx score needed chemotherapy, Dr Walshe said, whereas in a person with a lowrisk
score, chemotherapy did not confer an additional benefit (Paik et al., J Clin Oncol, 2006).
A good deal of patient education is involved. Oncotype DX had made a big difference in terms of
preventing overtreatment yet avoiding undertreatment, said Dr Walshe. HER2 positivity — overexpression of the HER2 gene — is seen in 15 to 20 per cent of breast cancers. It is a biomarker for aggressive disease and in the past such patients were more likely to have had a survival of two to three years. When chemotherapy and trastuzumab treatments are targeted, the outlook for these
women is now the best among patients with breast cancer (Romond et al., NEJM, 2005).
The principle of treatment for patients with metastatic disease is different. The aim is to control the
disease for as long as possible, to get disease reduction, combined with a tolerable quality of life.
Treatment with antihormonal tablets is continued for as long as possible. When the option of
additional agents is not available, chemotherapy is selected. Single chemotherapy agents — rather
than drugs in combination — are chosen, unless the disease burden is very large.
Bonestrengthening agents are also given.
Genetic mutations
Genetic mutations that put future generations at risk have thus far been identified in only 5 to 10 per
cent of patients with breast cancer — the BRCA mutation accounts for the vast majority of these.
There are undoubtedly other unknown gene mutations that make people more susceptible to breast
cancer, and these are a source of ongoing study. Routine surveillance is recommended.
Breast cancer exists within families, but following testing, the vast majority will not have BRCA.
Tumour markers are not recommended in patients who have been treated for breast cancer in the
adjuvant setting. Scans and blood tests are done and can be helpful in the context of metastatic
disease.
The HSE has decided to reimburse the drug trastuzumab emtansine (Kadcyla). This drug is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with HER2positive, unresectable locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer who previously received trastuzumab and taxane, separately or in combination.
Patients should have either received prior therapy for locally advanced or metastatic disease, or
developed disease recurrence during or within six months of completing adjuvant therapy. Kadcyla
was added to the National Cancer Control Programme Oncology Drug Management System on
August 1, 2015.
Dr Leo Varadkar (Fine Gael)
Billy Kelleher (Fianna Fáil)
Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Sinn Féin)
Brendan Howlin (Labour)
Róisín Shortall (Social Democrats)
Richard Boyd Barrett (People Before Profit Alliance)
Eamon Ryan (Green)
Dr Michael Harty (Independent Alliance)
Finian McGrath (Independent)
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Hello Amanda,
It was nice to have you back on the thread.
I was glad to know that all is fine and that you enjoyed Barcelona.I went there along time ago, but do remember how much I liked it. In fact, I used to love Spain and visited quite a bit when I was travelling through it during the three years that I worked as a high school teacher in Morocco. I loved Seville.
It must be hard going back to full time work,but at least you are able to have short holiday breaks.
I think it is wise to keep busy and to put breast cancer at the back of your mind. As I told Hanieh worry serves no purpose. I do not think it is wise to subject you body to too many scans, unless you really need them and it will give you peace of mind. I had a CAT scan before and after treatment , as well as a BONE NUCLIDE scan. I did not request them.I would think it a good idea to have a BONE DENSITY scan, before and after treatment as breast cancer treatment does or can cause osteoporosis.
I can understand that people need to take breaks from the thread, but we do need posts to keep the thread going.You can talk about anything you like. That is an important part of the therapy. Non medical tips for getting through treatment are useful and important.
Sending you fond thoughts.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Mary and Adagio,
I think I have answered all your past posts, for which many thanks. If I have not please let me know.
I look forward to hearing about your favourite places. What about your favourite books and favourite people?
Fond thoughts,
Sylvia xx
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To all,
To echo Hanieh's advice about enjoying the spring.....religious or not, there is a psalm with a beautiful line that always reminds me of spring. Here it's a brisk day, but clear and sunny.
"This is the day the Lord has made, let us be glad and rejoice."
Love it!
Mary
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Hello everyone,
As we all seem to be in a philosophical mood I thought I would post the following, which I have always liked.
Best wishes
Sylvia
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Desiderata
Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant; they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be critical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy.
© Max Ehrmann 1927
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Hi, Sylvia
Good to see the Desiderata again, such a beautiful poem, or prayer, not sure which. Thanks for posting. We do ourselves well by looking at the good things in life, don't we?
The article that MIchael linked and you posted is really good, it covers every kind of breast cancer. Looks like there are some new things out there.
Thanks for all you do.
Talk soon, Mary
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Hi, Michael
I am going to ask you a question, since you have been writing in an open discussion I feel I can ask. I know from reading that you lost your wife, Janette, to a recurrence of breast cancer. I am very sorry about that. I did not know that you had cancer. Lymphoma, you say. And you mention a hair dryer. My question is about the hair dryer. Do you think it is implicated in the cause of your disease? I notice you also talked about a lump behind your ear.
I also wanted to thank you for all the links, very informative. I will not make it to the seminar in Washington D.C. in May. I hope to be at my brother's house in Texas then.....they moved a few years back and I have never seen their new home, only pics. Looks pretty fancy, he says no, but that's what he would say.
Be well,
Mary
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Hi Mary
The hairdryer must have come from the spell checker. It is supposed to be hair dye. So keep on drying your hair. I don't have any left to blow dry but I do use a dryer on my dog to stop her smelling when it rains, which in Ireland is the default weather setting ;-)
Michael
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just reading through the posts and realise the spell checker is the work of the devil.
HAIR DRYER'S as far as I know, have no connection to cancer but be wary of hair dye at least those from the 60's & 70's
Michael
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Hello Mary,
I was glad to know that you liked the Desiderata poem. It has always been one of my favourites.
I thought that the latest article to which Michael gave us the link really summed up very well where we are going with the treatment of breast cancer, and I thought it was very important for everyone to see.
Thank you for your kind words. Appreciation does make it all worthwhile.
I noticed you mentioned hair dryer. I read years ago that black and dark hair dyes might be implicated in breast cancer and probably other cancers. I noticed that Michael meant to say hair dye but the computer thought better! I do find when typing that you can start typing a word and the computer jumps in with an assumption of what you are going to say. It is apparently called predictive text, but I think it is rather like someone rudely interrupting what you are trying to say. Hair dryers could well be a problem with cancer development as they do emit EMFs (electromagnetic fields). I think this applies to hand held dryers as well as the helmet ones and could probably be worse for the hand held dryers. I wonder if anyone is doing any surveys on these matters, such as they have done with the problems of light penetrating darkness and people dong night shift.
I do hope you have a nice time at your brother's in Texas.
We have just experienced really wild weather here in little old Exmouth. On Saturday we had heavy downpours of hailstones which settled for a while like snow, and in addition we have had gale force winds and rain. Today it is very calm and we have a bit of sun.
if you go to the Janette Collins Foundation that Michael set up in memory of her, you will see her beautiful photograph. Michael did tell us their story when he joined us in 2012. I found it a romantic and tragic story. I remember a lovely American lady called Christina1961 who went through all of her treatment with us on this thread, found a post from Michael and referred him to us. I am so glad that she did.
Sending you fond thoughts.
Sylvia xxxx
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Here are some pictures from the Exmouth Journal website after our hail storm last Saturday. Enjoy!!
Sylvia
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HI, Michael, Sylvia and all,
Well, Michael, I was relieved to read that my hair dryer was not my enemy because I am already afraid of my cell phone and my microwave. But then Sylvia posted and planted a seed of doubt about the hair dryer!
I do understand the spell-check problem. I type for this discussion board on my desk-top computer and do not use it, but rely on my own spelling capabilities. But on my cell-phone and tablet I cannot turn off the spell-check and I sent out some strange messages until I learned to check before sending.
Probably if we could get far above and beyond this cancer problem and look back in a hundred years or so (hopefully much less), we will find cancer is caused by "all of the above". The chemicals of today, (including hair dyes), the helpful appliances, the processed foods and drugs etc. I know when I was having my new kitchen cabinets made, I walked into the cabinetmaker's shop one day, and found it hard to breathe for the fumes. I found him at work inside with no mask or breathing apparatus of any kind. it did not seem to bother him, but I had to leave almost immediately. We talked outside, and he mentioned that it is indeed an occupational hazard of his work to become damaged by the fumes. Other than mentioning it, he did not seem overly concerned. I hope he will not be affected long-term.
I am looking forward to visiting my brother and his wife. Right now I am pondering whether I want to drive or fly. It is a 12-hour drive, but if I fly it would about 8 or 9 hours before I got there because I am a 2 1/2 hour drive from airport and have to get there 2 hours ahead and so on. That ends up being a not very large difference, and I could pack a lot more stuff if I drove. If I flew I wouldn't have to worry about car troubles. But it's more expensive to fly, and airports are even more unpleasant since the Brussels attacks. I think I am leaning towards driving, also then I could leave when I want and be more mobile. The area of Texas where they live has warmer weather than we do, they already have ripening tomatoes on the vine and we had frost last week. The pictures of hail in Exmouth are very dramatic, that must have been a surreal experience. It looks like a winter wonderland, was there much damage to cars and houses? You must sometime post some pics of Exmouth on a normal day, it looks very charming, I would like to see that too,.
I will check out the Janette Collins Foundation. I also received Chris Woollam's latest messages. TTAC's Cancer, A Global Quest is set to air again, which is worth seeing for anyone who hasn't watched it.
Talk to all soon,
Love, Mary
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Hi Sylvia, Mary and all
Sylvia, that picture and those words really interested me. Thanks for sharing them.
Here ,also ,winter seems to be inclined not to leave us as we have so much rain and chilly weather.
Yet , as we usually do not much rain, these days have brought us a lot of pleasure.
About what you said about colours, I should say we have the same taste for colours as I love blue and green , too. When I got married about 12 years ago all my kitchen supplies from my cupboards and curtains to my dishes,spoons and forks and baskests were all light blue. I will try to find a picture of it from my archives and post it here. But after moving to new places I had to change colour.
Last Friday I saw some tourists from the US and Germany in Tehran but as I was in a hurry I couldn't talk to them. There, I remembered all my friends on this thread. If any of you ever liked to visit our country, I would be so happy to welcome you here and even in my house. Despite the pictures the politicians have shown to the world about the Iranians and what they say about us, we are really hospitable and love interactions with the world.
Sylvia, Mary, Amanda, adagio and all, I will never forget how supportive and kind you all were to me in my times of anxieties and hardships.
Love you all wish you the best
Hanieh
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Feeling a new "knot" in my left reconstructed breast and I have appointment with BS tomorrow at 9am. I'm praying that it is just fat necrosis again, but I am paralyzed sitting at my desk. So afraid. I don't want to tell my husband anything because he will worry too much. After seeing doctor I will get an ultrasound...I will let you ladies know as soon as I know something. Just saw my MO on Friday and she didn't do an exam, but did tell me since I am coming up on my 3 year anniversary of TNBC that I should celebrate. She mentioned that if I were to have a recurrence it happens in the first 3 years.
I'm frightened
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