Filed under: Breast Cancer , Research Here's an opportunity for you to share your personal breast cancer experiences, and help further research too. Molly, a college student at BYU, has launched a national research project aimed at examining the relationship between couple leisure satisfaction and marital satisfaction of couples in which one spouse has breast cancer. Molly and her study partner Dr. Ramon Zabriskie hope to identify new avenues for cost effective intervention targeted at improving the quality of life for adult cancer patients and their spouses. Both the cancer patient and spouse/partner will be asked to complete a short online questionnaire. No identifying information is required, and all responses will be kept confidential. If you would like to participate in Molly's study, click here . Spread the word too -- the more participants, the merrier. Thanks to my breast cancer surviving friend Adriene for this tip!

Filed under: Breast Cancer , Cancer Survivors I have had a hard time keeping my counseling appointments lately. Life keeps getting in the way, and counseling keeps getting pushed to the side. The last time I called my counselor to cancel -- due to an emergency room trip with my three-year-old -- I mentioned that my inability to keep up with sessions was perhaps a precursor to an eventual termination of our counseling relationship. My counselor -- Lindsay -- said this was maybe an accurate assessment, that we should discuss the possibility of an ending point. We haven't yet discussed it, though, because I have not made the time to contact her. I have continued to leave counseling on the back burner. But today Lindsay sent me an e-mail to check in. She wrote that I am probably going to be okay on my own now -- in the aftermath of cancer -- and that we should have one final session to reflect on my progress over the past 16 months. I have not replied to Lindsay -- not because I am busy with other things but simply because her words made me cry. They still make me cry, hours later. I'm not exactly sure why. And I'm not exactly sure how I will follow up on scheduling my very last session. I assume my tears -- my sadness -- are part of the healing process, part of the separation anxiety I feel each time a part of my treatment ends and a part of my life moves on. I assume I am sad at the prospect of leaving a vital part of my recovery behind, about leaving the comfort of my counseling chair, about leaving Lindsay. The possibilities are endless. And I suppose we will cover all possibilities when Lindsay and I sit down for our last, final, concluding session -- when we recall how much I have grown since the day we first met, when I could barely mutter a word about cancer without weeping uncontrollably, when I could barely manage to find pleasure in my days, when I could barely imagine that life could -- and would -- offer me peace and happiness. Today, life is good. And it's clear that counseling is no longer necessary for my survival. But that doesn't make it any easier to make my final appointment. To contemplate saying my last goodbye. To tackle life completely on my own. Which is what I will do -- in time -- so I can continue moving on, away from breast cancer. Permalink     Email this     Linking Blogs     Comments

Filed under: Breast Cancer , Research , Daily news Mammograms may not be solely for detecting breast cancer anymore -- they may also lead to detection of heart disease . Calcifications may be detected in the arteries of the heart during routine mammograms. Essentially, this indicates hardening of the arteries and can be a sign of heart disease. This is nothing new, really -- doctors have long thought that hardening of breast arteries relate to heart disease. But this relationship had never really been studied -- until recently. Several large studies and many smaller ones have shown a correlation between these vascular calcifications on arteries in the breast because of the similar size to the arteries in the heart. And this correlation revealed itself for one woman -- Bunnie Gleiman -- when she went for her annual mammogram and learned that she had these calcifications on the arteries in her breast. She says her mammogram saved her life -- but not from breast cancer. Now on medications for cholesterol and blood pressure, Bunnie reports that she is happy and healthy. Thanks to her mammogram. Read     Permalink     Email this     Linking Blogs     Comments

Filed under: Breast Cancer , Celebrity cancer diagnosis , Television , Celebrity news The public liked the idea of Sheryl Crow and Lance Armstrong as a couple, and the media treated them pleasantly when covering them as a couple. When the marriage was called off, not much was said about it other than announcing it had happened, and the public accepted that sometimes things just don't work out between two people. However, when the news of Crow's breast cancer diagnosis broke, so soon after the breakup, speculation followed. Had one of the most famous cancer survivors walked out on Crow when the chips were down? It didn't make sense at the time that a man who has dedicated his life to improving the quality of life for cancer survivors would do that -- but since nothing was ever said one way or the other the rumors continued to lurk in the shadows between imagination and fact. In a two-part exclusive interview with ABC's Good Morning America Diane Sawyer, Sheryl Crow opens up about the breakup with Lance Armstrong and being diagnosed with breast cancer. After being told she had breast cancer, Lance Armstrong was one of the first people she contacted. He was on a solo trip from Lake Tahoe to Oregon. He was about to turn around and return to LA to be with Crow and she told him she did not want him to do that for her. And so, for the personal reasons why the relationship did not work out is a private matter between two good people who insist they still love each other, and past that it should not be our business -- but as Crow makes clear -- Armstrong did not abandon her. You can watch video clips of the television interview online here , and read the interview in print here . The most inspiring moment came when Crow said, "People go through challenging moments of losing people and of having their life threatened from illness and real grief. But they get through it. And that's the testament to the human spirit and it's -- we are fragile, but we also are divine." Read     Permalink     Email this     Linking Blogs     Comments

Filed under: Breast Cancer , All Cancers , Research , Opinion , Environment , Stress Reduction Nearly seven in ten marriages touched by breast cancer do not survive. Trauma of any kind can split a weak marriage and divorce rates are at an all time high with 6 out of 10 marriages ending. So how do you support your spouse, wife, or life partner when they are going through breast cancer so your relationship does not end?

Filed under: Cervical Cancer , Research , Stress Reduction , Daily news Cervical cancer awareness is on the rise, though almost no information on its effect on male partners is available. For the first time attention is being given to the impact of this disease on women's relationships and the men they love. A five-year study on the psychological and emotional effects of the disease is being planned at the University of Surrey in the UK. The researchers will observe whether the disease bonds couples stronger or breaks them apart, as well as the effect it has on their sex lives. Described as a lonely disease by lead researcher and cervical cancer patient Alison Nightingale, its effects can be very stressful and confusing for both partners. "One small-scale study found that partners suffered the same levels of cancer-related distress as the women going through treatment," she says. Any newly-diagnosed cervical cancer patients and their partners are encouraged to participate in the study by contacting the university. Read     Permalink     Email this     Linking Blogs     Comments

Filed under: Breast Cancer , Chemotherapy My friend Amy is done with chemo. Her hair is growing back.  Her spirits are lifting.  She is coming back to life after a diagnosis that sent her world into a tailspin.  I know this from e-mails and phone chats and a series of articles written about Amy in the Akron Beacon Journal .  Yet I have never seen Amy, have never reached for her hand or given her a hug or supported her in the way I would have liked to -- but our relationship is still solid and strong because of our connection.  We are both breast cancer survivors -- diagnosed not too far apart from each other and at an age that seemed much too young for what we now know is a much too common disease.  We were both 34. Amy and I became friends because of a common friend.  Amy's high school friend was my college roommate who linked us when she realized we were both fighting a similar battle.  I am thankful for this match-up because my bond with Amy is priceless.  She is always on my mind and will always be my companion on this journey that we both agree has been both devastating and positively meaningful.  Read on and you too can get to know my friend Amy. Read     Permalink     Email this     Linking Blogs     Comments