Ginny Mason was only forty years old when sharp, shooting pains started in her breast. She thought the pains must be part of premenopausal changes. Then she noticed her bra didn't fit right. No it couldn't be swelling; maybe her bra was just old and stretched out. "You try to justify things because you don't want to... Read more
Remember those stereotyped groups from high school? Among them you found the creative types starring in the spring musical and the science types solving equations. Thank goodness most of us figured out pretty quickly after high school that we were much more than the label pasted on us by our peers.
One group I've developed an... Read more
"My friend died of breast cancer. She wouldn't get any treatment. It was that kind that black women get."
I had just met Bea, and in the course of our getting-to-know-each-other chat, she had mentioned that her husband was a one-year survivor of an aggressive cancer. So I shared my story about being an eleven-year... Read more
Over the years, I've been fortunate in my doctors. They've always been competent, and they've mostly been personable. As I've grown older and more assertive, I've learned how to interact with doctors to get the kinds of explanations and follow-up care I need.
One phrase doctors use, however, really irritates me, and I... Read more
The word "lymphedema" on the evening news caught my attention the other day. I stopped making supper to pay closer attention. In about a minute and a half the news anchor and the doctor covered two new studies that affect breast cancer patients. The main idea of the piece is that it's important to question generally... Read more