My
sister did the “Breast Cancer Three Day.” When she first told me she was going to walk sixty miles over three
days I thought she was crazy. I thought she was crazy not because I don't share her commitment to breast cancer awareness,
but because she had trained with me in 2004 when I trained for my participation in a marathon for stroke research. It kicked
my butt then, its four years later and she's my older sister!! I knew she was very serious and would do it – that's
my big sister.
Breast
cancer is a life threatening reality for all women. One out of every eight women, that's 12.6% of all women, will be diagnosed
with breast cancer in her lifetime. It's an equal opportunist affecting women regardless of class, social status, race,
ethnicity, gender (yes, men get it too) or sexual orientation. Lesbians have a higher incidence of certain risk factors known
to be linked to breast cancer as many chose not to have children and delaying/never becoming pregnant is just one of the risk
actors.
Although the number of breast cancer survivors is growing, its still killing too many women. It’s the most
common cause of death from cancer amongst our Latina sisters and the second most common cause of death from cancer for all
other women. We don't have to engage in any special, risky behavior. Just being a woman with a family history of breast
cancer, delaying pregnancy until after 30 or never becoming pregnant, early menstruation, late menopause, use of oral contraceptives
and daily consumption of alcohol puts us at risk.
I have had conversations with women who have delayed
mammograms or don't do self examinations. They've said they are too young or cancer doesn't run in their family.
If this is your excuse you're only fooling yourself. You are never too young to develop breast
cancer. Just ask Christina Applegate, the star of “Samantha Who?” who at 36 was diagnosed with breast cancer and
recently underwent a double mastectomy to rid it from her body. There have been survivors and deaths in
women as young as 20.
There had been a history of breast cancer in Applegate’s family so she was vigilant but many women don't
know if there is a family history. In the past talking about your cancer was taboo, there was a stigma about it so many of
our mothers, grandmothers, aunts did not talk about it. I heard an interview with one woman who, after
she was diagn osed, discovered her grandmother had been a breast cancer survivor. She remembered her grandmother having a
scar on her chest and always being careful to wearing clothing to keep her breasts covered but no one discussed the cancer.
It’s
that dangerous secret in the family closet that can be putting you at risk, especially for our LGBT sisters whose communication
with their biological families is often difficult or nonexistent. If they can't bring themselves to talk about you being
gay, expecting a conversation about a family history of breast cancer might be totally impossible.
Not
having breast cancer in your family history can also give you a false sense of security. My sister was
not doing the 3-day in memory of a family member who had succumbed to breast cancer. She did it to find a cure for all women
for this insidious disease. She did it to help research to fight and ultimately provide a cure for breast cancer She has two
beautiful granddaughters, friends, co-workers – she did it for them. That’s my big sister.
Thirty
five years ago approximately 75% of women diagnosed
with breast cancer survived their disease at least 5 years. Mastectomy was the only accepted
surgical option for breast cancer treatment. Only one randomized trial of mammography for breast cancer screening had been
conducted. Clinical investigation of combination chemotherapy, using multiple drugs with different mechanisms of action, and
of hormonal therapy as post-surgical treatment for breast cancer was in its earliest stages.
Thanks to
the efforts of the Susan G. Komen Foundation, institutes like the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Center, events like th e Breast
Cancer Three Day and thousands of women just like my sister who took to the streets “just because”
today nearly 90% of women diagnosed with breast cancer will survive their disease at least 5 years.
Combination chemotherapy has become standard in the treatment of women with early stage breast cancer. Hormonal therapy
with SERMs is now standard in the treatment of women with estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer, both as therapy and in
the treatment of advanced breast cancer. There are drug treatments being used to treat breast cancers that overproduce a protein
called human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 or HER2. This protein is overproduced in about 20% of breast cancers.
The study of large groups of related individuals has led to the identification of several breast cancer susceptibility
genes, including BRCA1, BRCA2, TP53, and PTEN/MMAC1. Women who carry20mutations in these
genes have a lifetime risk of breast cancer that is roughly 10 times greater than that of the general population. Progress
towards a cure is being made everyday but we/women must keep fighting, educating ourselves and our daughters and walking/running
to raise funds for this much needed research
I wasn’t up for the 3-Day
but I support the Race for the cure by making regular contribution, even buying breast cancer stamps for all my mail. I do
monthly self-exams, and have annual mammograms. I have taken and encourage my friends to make lifestyle changes and choices
as preventative measures. Healthy eating and regular exercise really contribute to breast cancer prevention.
But
I was still at risk even though no one in my family has ever been diagnosed. I was concerned when my doctor told me they needed
to redo my mammogram. I was annoyed that I had to take another day of to be squished and squeezed again. My concern turned
to worry when after the first set of x-rays they called me back in for a second set, then a set on a different machine, then
an ultrasound before I was taken to a little room to wait to speak with the radiologist.
I
was shocked by the news that I would need a core biopsy and devastated when the results of that core biopsy meant I would
have to have surgery. I had done all the right things, contributed to the Komen Foundation, ate right, exercised, had no family
history but I had precancerous/cancerous cells in my left breast.
The good news is
that because of advances in technology my lump was found three years earlier than it would have been with the old technology.
I have friends, family and a partner who are there for me. And I have a big sister who did the Breast Cancer 3-day, walking
60 miles never realizing that when she did it for a cure, she was doing it for me.
