Talk given at the American Cancer Society’s Annual Meeting, November 19, 2009. Good morning. When I got sick, I had no idea how much my life was about to change. I was 34, a mom of a toddler and a newborn baby, and my days were filled with caring for them, keeping the family going, and writing about ...
I had a really interesting appointment with the Medical Oncologist this morning. Dr H is away so I saw Dr RB again..Wow what a difference from the last time I saw him. When I saw him back in August he had been pretty certain that I didn’t have a recurrence. As I discussed with OH afterwards, I think ...
I am officially a cancer patient again. I have my new appointment with my medical oncologist this coming Wednesday at 8.30am and they were at pains to tell me this would be at Auckland Hospital. For those of you unfamiliar with Auckland regional hospitals and where I live in relation to them and how ...
After my previous blog post which detailed the email I sent to a Real Estate agent about her use of the term ‘bucket list’ I have to report I am very impressed by her response to it. She actually had the courage and integrity to actually front up to me in person and apologise for any offense caused ...
Treatment for inflammatory breast cancer starts with chemotherapy, followed by surgery and radiation therapy. This combined-treatment approach has improved the outlook for women with inflammatory breast cancer. About half the women diagnosed with the condition survive five or more years, and nearly ...
A diagnosis of inflammatory breast cancer is based on your medical history, your physical examination and an excisional biopsy — taking a small sample of skin and some of the underlying tissue to examine under a microscope. An excisional biopsy that includes the skin is helpful because a hallmark of ...
Rapid change in the appearance of one breast, over the course of days or weeks Thickness, heaviness or visible enlargement of one breast Discoloration, giving the breast a red, purple, pink or bruised appearance Unusual warmth of the affected breast Dimpling or ridges on the skin of the affected bre ...
Inflammatory breast cancer is a rare but aggressive type of breast cancer that develops rapidly, making the affected breast red, swollen and tender. It’s a locally advanced cancer, meaning it has spread from its point of origin to nearby tissue and possibly to nearby lymph nodes. The early signs of ...
Pardon me while I gloat… I do so love to be right. I’ve been telling all my Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC) friends and myself that the current survival statistics don’t apply to us (those diagnosed since 2001). Why? Well because back in the day the doctors used to treat IBC just like every other b ...
Here’s another true e-patient story from one of our team. Cheryl Greene is third from the left in the banner at top of this blog. She’s a long-time friend of our founder “Doc Tom” Ferguson, a board member of the Society for Participatory Medicine, executive producer of DrGreene.com (AMA: “the pionee ...
