Saturday, October 27, 2012
Resources for women fighting breast cancer that your doctor doesn't offer.
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Saturday, October 27, 2012
By the nature of its side effects, cancer treatment can make a private battle a very public affair. For a woman with cancer, having a bald head, pale skin or a missing breast can make her feel like she's being targeted by a bright spotlight and a banner that says, "Cancer patient." But now more than ever, there are resources for women that will put the spotlight back on their work, their accomplishments and their life—and change that banner to simply read, "Woman." Girl on the Go provides private or in-home wig consultations for women with cancer, with locations in 12 states, including Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, North and South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Wisconsin. …
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Breast cancer isn't age specific. Here's how to cope with treatments and augmentations if you are diagnosed earlier in life.
Generally speaking, a woman in Massachusetts has a 13.3 percent chance of getting breast cancer, according to this breast cancer statistics chart from komen.org. An American woman in her 30s has a one in 232 chance of getting the disease, and a woman 20 years her senior has a one in 42 probability, according to the website. “Although we aren’t certain, the cause of breast cancer in younger women is likely caused by a genetic predisposition,” says Ann H. Partridge, M.D., M.P.H., the medical oncologist director of the Adult Survivorship Program at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. While breast cancer treatment in young women is often effective, the chance of recovery tends to be worse in women under 40. Breast …
Monday, October 8, 2012
In honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, here's a list of local breast cancer support groups.
One in 8 American women and 1 in 1,000 American men will develop breast cancer at some point in their lives. It’s estimated that more than 2 million people are diagnosed with breast cancer and fight for their lives each year. Breast cancer is difficult to face alone—for both patients and their loved ones. To help in the battle, there are a number of local resources and support groups. There are several breast cancer support groups in the Boston area, and their phone numbers: “Support groups are really beneficial,” says Debra Somers Copit, MD, Director of Breast Imaging at Albert Einstein Medical Center, and a member of the medical advisory board for Living Beyond Breast Cancer. “When patients are told they’re sick, it can be an out of body…
