I didn't understand when I was diagnosed how people are counted in the US or elsewhere, for that matter. As I learned more about the databases kept by the federal and state governments, I was really astonished to learn how these large and complicated databases are falling short. Not to say that their efforts don't … Continue reading BCAM 2021: Day #17 →

Medication can often be given to a patient in a variety of ways -- pills, liquid to be swallowed, injections and infusions. Typically pills or liquid to be swallowed can be administered at home, which most injections have to be done in a doctors office and most infusions at an infusion center or hospital setting. … Continue reading BCAM 2021: Day #16 →

Putting all of these timelines together is astonishing. When we are first diagnosed, it is a whirlwind of treatment, surgeries, medication, doctor visits and learning a whole new language. Add in the psychological affects of assimilating the knowledge of a truncated life expectancy and it's super complicated. And yet all the normal things of life … Continue reading BCAM 2021: Day #15 →

Here's what I think so many people don't understand -- Stages I - III are when the breast cancer hasn't spread beyond the breasts or local lymph nodes, but Stage IV is when the breast cancer has taken up residence somewhere outside the breasts. Stage IV is fatal, it's terminal, it is incurable, it will … Continue reading BCAM 2021: Day #14 →

I always chuckle a little at the irony of choosing the 13th day of October as the day to recognize the only Stage of Breast Cancer that is terminal. Once we get to Stage IV, that's it, the cancer will be the cause of our death and only a lucky few live long lifespans with … Continue reading BCAM 2021: Day #13 a/k/a US National Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day →

This slide has examples of the receptors that are utilized to determine the best treatment for the different subtypes of breast cancer. Knowing the cancer's receptors helps to know the tendencies of the cancer's behavior, it's preferred fuel, the places where the cancer might spread, and so many other things that help us manage a … Continue reading BCAM 2021: Day #12 →

Take a moment and read the slide above once more. Breast cancer isn't the "easy" cancer. Breast cancer isn't a celebration. Breast cancer is a killer and it's killing women in increasing numbers. Awareness of these statistics is one thing, but what we really need is money allocated to research directed at Metastatic Breast Cancer. … Continue reading BCAM 2021: Day #11 →

While breast cancer has traditionally been a feminine disease all about "boobs" and "tatas," it is important to remember that men are also diagnosed with breast cancer. NOT chest cancer, but breast cancer. We cannot forget to include men in research, in campaigns, in treatments, and in our support groups.