Information and opinions on MyBreastCancerNetwork from Phyllis Johnson http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9692 en-us 15 120 19 http://www.healthcentral.com/images/hc_logo_sm.gif http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/ http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9692/25798/anniversaries Wed Apr 23 10:15:41 -0400 2008 Phyllis Johnson Cancer anniversaries are bittersweet.   Wedding anniversaries remind us of young love or second-chance love and fill us with happy memories.    Anniversaries of the death of loved ones are sad.  When I'm out of sorts and can't figure out why, I often realize that the day marks an anniversary of the death of someone close to me.   With cancer anniversaries, we want to feel happy, but we often feel sad or... http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9692/25798/anniversaries http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9692/25539/celebrations Fri Apr 18 14:35:31 -0400 2008 Phyllis Johnson Marisa's reports about the Breast Cancer Research Foundation's big Spring Gala, the Hottest Pink Party Ever, have interested me because I've been planning my own cancer celebration.  That phrase "cancer celebration" certainly is an oxymoron.  Why would anyone celebrate cancer?    I won't be trying to compete with the Foundation on the number of celebrities in attendance.  The main celebrity at my party will be... http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9692/25539/celebrations http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9692/23654/big-cancer Tue Apr 01 12:00:00 -0400 2008 Phyllis Johnson Most people are diagnosed with breast cancer by a surgeon, usually a local surgeon recommended by their primary care doctor. Maybe the cancer was so small and easy to remove that more decisions aren't necessary. But most of the time, the biopsy is just the start of decision-making. Lumpectomy and radiation, or mastectomy? Is surgery enough, or do you need chemo? Do your local doctors have the expertise to deal with your situation, or... http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9692/23654/big-cancer http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9692/21154/death-loved Wed Mar 05 11:29:00 -0500 2008 Phyllis Johnson I also read the Washington Post advice column -- about how to talk about cancer and death, if your prognosis is not good -- that PJ Hamel and Natalia Hernandez wrote about this week. You can see PJ's post from Monday for the text of the original letter and response from Carolyn Hax, the advice columnist. The letter writer, "V," was distressed that her friends tried to reassure her when she talked about the possibility of her... http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9692/21154/death-loved http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9692/20872/cancer Wed Feb 27 09:57:00 -0500 2008 Phyllis Johnson "I feel my oncologist just drops me like a hot potato when the symptom isn't cancer related," wrote a woman on a support website I belong to. I've had three oncologists with three distinct personalities. After working with them and talking to lots of cancer patients I've learned to be realistic in my expectations.  Oncologists choose their specialty to fight cancer. If you are seeing an oncologist at a... http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9692/20872/cancer http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9692/19141/breast Mon Jan 14 09:42:00 -0500 2008 Phyllis Johnson When I was at my parents' house over Thanksgiving, my mother gave me a bag of letters and cards that she didn't want to throw out. So now I'm looking for a place to stash over 10 years of Mother's Day card, thank you notes, and assorted memorabilia. In the stack were printouts of some emails I had sent when I was in treatment for inflammatory breast cancer in 1998 and 1999.   Reading them again reminded me... http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9692/19141/breast http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9692/17320/10-gift Tue Dec 04 15:40:00 -0500 2007 Phyllis Johnson    Is there a woman with breast cancer on your holiday shopping list? Finding the right gift needn't be difficult if you think about how her treatments are affecting her.   1. If she's about to start chemo, she's probably worried about losing her hair, so pretty hats and scarves can be fun. Even hip, "bald is beautiful" gals will be covering up when the weather gets cold. I never understood how... http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9692/17320/10-gift http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9692/17060/cancer Thu Nov 29 15:02:00 -0500 2007 Phyllis Johnson Most people think of breast cancer as one disease, but actually more than ten main types exist. If you look at the tumor profiles within those types, there are even more variations.  I was diagnosed in 1998 with inflammatory breast cancer (IBC), a form of cancer that affects about one to five percent of breast cancer patients. It took three years before I met someone with my kind of cancer face to face. When well-meaning people told... http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9692/17060/cancer http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9692/15548/isnt-good Mon Oct 29 10:12:00 -0400 2007 Phyllis Johnson In 1998 the surgeon told me he wanted to schedule a biopsy for inflammatory breast cancer (IBC). I was too numb to ask very many questions, but when I got home, one of the first things I did was an internet search on "inflammatory breast cancer." I didn't find much, but all of what I did find was terrifying. One statistic that really hit home was "average survival of 18 months." Both my children had graduation... http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9692/15548/isnt-good http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9692/14981/month-means Mon Oct 15 14:04:00 -0400 2007 Phyllis Johnson October is a time for memories.   Last Saturday I volunteered at our local Komen Race for the Cure and saw that I'm not the only one who remembers those who have struggled with breast cancer. Everywhere there were T-shirts, signs and pictures of those who have gone before us -- "In memory of" or "in celebration of."   I remember Thelma Robinson, my mother's sister. She was diagnosed when her... http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9692/14981/month-means