Breast Cancer Expert Phyllis Johnson shares Breast Cancer management news and commentary at MyBreastCancerNetwork.com. The HealthCentral Network, Inc. (www.HealthCentral.com) is one of the top health destinations on the Web, with more than 35 condition-specific, wellness and general health Web properties. http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9692 http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9692/rss self application/xml en-us 15 120 19 http://www.healthcentral.com/images/hc_logo_sm.gif http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9692 http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9692/103089/conference Sun, 07 Feb 2010 07:59:35 -0500 Phyllis Johnson Having breast cancer is always hard.  Having it before age 45 adds an additional layer of issues.  Most women with breast cancer have already had their children, have finished menopause, and may be retired or near the end of their professional career.  Younger women have concerns about how cancer will affect their fertility, their family, and their profession.   Younger women can also feel isolated.  There may be no... http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9692/103089/conference http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9692/102467/treatment Sun, 31 Jan 2010 14:35:31 -0500 Phyllis Johnson When I was in cancer treatment, I had many people say, “Let me know how I can help.”  Sometimes I asked for a ride to the doctor, but most of the time I was too set on being independent to ask. But I would have never asked for what I needed most—someone to clean my bathroom!  You have to know a person pretty well to ask him or her to scrub your toilet, and the two or three people in the whole world I might have... http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9692/102467/treatment http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9692/101074/balancing Sun, 17 Jan 2010 13:22:10 -0500 Phyllis Johnson   January 15, 1999 I finished eight and a half months of cancer treatments:  chemo, surgery, more chemo, and  radiation.  Finally, I was done, ready to get back to my normal life.  From early March 1998 when I first saw a doctor for my breast symptoms, I had not gone longer than two weeks without a medical appointment.   However, like many breast cancer patients, I didn't feel relieved; I felt adrift; I felt... http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9692/101074/balancing http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9692/98739/lights-dark Mon, 21 Dec 2009 05:41:36 -0500 Phyllis Johnson   December 21, the longest night in the northern hemisphere this year.  Darkness surrounds us, and the memories of all those we have lost this year sear our souls.   Sure, most people get well from breast cancer.  Depending on how you count, more than 80 per cent will live out their expected life times.  But we lost friends who were too young with children still depending on them.  Others had just begun to spend... http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9692/98739/lights-dark http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9692/98586/companions Sat, 19 Dec 2009 08:05:00 -0500 Phyllis Johnson Do you have your 2010 calendar yet?  Check out the calendar designed by Deirdre D'Aulerio and photographed by Mary Britt that honors women with inflammatory breast cancer and the folks who support them.  Mary originally met Deirdre when she took some family portraits of Deirdre with her husband and baby.  Less than two years later, Deirdre asked Mary to take some more pictures of her with her son before she lost her hair to... http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9692/98586/companions http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9692/98179/mucinous-good Sun, 13 Dec 2009 08:43:23 -0500 Phyllis Johnson   Melody had never heard of mucinous breast cancer when she received her diagnosis.  She says, "Of course I'd heard of breast cancer - I did not know there were specific types of breast cancer though.  Had never, ever heard of mucinous breast cancer and in fact found the term to be a little gross sounding.  I learned that I was lucky I had mucinous breast cancer as the prognosis for this is usually very, very good,... http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9692/98179/mucinous-good http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9692/97431/acceptance Sun, 06 Dec 2009 10:34:19 -0500 Phyllis Johnson   Last week people in the United States gathered for Thanksgiving dinner.  For many, unemployment, the threat of lay-offs. or impending foreclosure gave them less than usual for which to be thankful.  As they looked across the dining table, they found reasons for gratitude.  "At least we have our family; at least we have our health.  As long as we have those, we'll be OK," they said.   But what about the homes... http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9692/97431/acceptance http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9692/95923/statistics Sun, 22 Nov 2009 18:21:58 -0500 Phyllis Johnson I've been reading and listening to the debate on the new screening guidelines from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force for almost a week now and trying to sort through the various claims.   Two historical figures who have fascinated me for years have stories that seem pertinent to the debate.  The first is Dr. Ignaz Semmelweiss, a Hungarian-born doctor who worked on the maternity ward of a hospital in Vienna in the... http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9692/95923/statistics http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9692/95290/understanding Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:59:00 -0500 Phyllis Johnson   One of the first things I did once the shock of my breast cancer diagnosis wore off was start to worry about what my diagnosis meant for my two sisters and my daughter.   My doctor told me that their risk had increased by 50%.   How could I tell them that they had a 50% chance of getting cancer?  With three first degree relatives to worry about and a fifty-fifty chance for breast cancer, it seemed inevitable that we... http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9692/95290/understanding http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9692/93971/emotional Sun, 08 Nov 2009 08:32:57 -0500 Phyllis Johnson   Once upon a time no one studied breast cancer survivors' emotional health.  Not enough survived; both doctors and patients assumed survivors should be grateful and move on with their lives.    Now that 89% of breast cancer patients live at least five years, researchers are starting to look at survival issues.  In an Australian study researchers looked at the emotional health of women two years after their... http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9692/93971/emotional