Women's Information Network
Against Breast Cancer

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Posted by Betsy Mullen on 4/2/2001 from 64.12.103.48:

In reply to: scared to death, and frustrated! posted by Janet Lee on 3/12/2001 from 205.188.198.47:

Dear Janet:

I am checking in to see how you are doing and I hope that this message finds you well and things running smoothly for you. If you have not done so already, I highly recommend that you contact our office for help and support.

WIN Against Breast Cancer has several resources that I think will be very helpful to you. We have our Breast Buddy Program which matches women who are at least 1-year post treatment (excluding tamoxifen) with new patients to mentor and support them throughout the diagnosis, decision-making, treatment and recovery periods -- for at least 1-year. We make every effort to match Buddies with new patients by age, geography, a mother of young children, marital status, type and stage of breast cancer, type of treatment, hobbies and on and on. If you are interested, we could look into matching you with another woman who experienced many of the thoughts, feelings, questions and emotions that you are experiencing who can contact you via telephone and/or e-mail.

We have trained information specialists in our offices that can speak with you one on one to determine the best materials to send you (all free of charge). You are more than welcome to call us at (626) 332-2255. If it is a long distance call for you, just ask us to call you right back so that the call is "on our dime."

WIN Against Breast Cancer will be delighted to send you out an educational kit of information, specific to your diagnosis, treatment and needs, including videotapes about adjuvant therapy, questions to ask your doctor about breast cancer, an extensive WIN ABC Breast Cancer Resource Guide and much more; free of charge. Other educational materials we can send to you include information regarding breast self-exam and breast anatomy, understanding breast changes, questions to ask your health plan about exemplary care (found on our web site under help yourself – 10 key questions for women to ask their health plans) and breast cancer myths.

WIN Against Breast Cancer will be happy to send you, also free of charge, a beautifully illustrated book entitled "My Mommy Has Cancer", written by a breast cancer survivor for her young son to better understand, in a clear and non-threatening way, what was going on with her as she entered treatment. We also have another book for young children book entitled "Kids Talk: Kids Speak Out about Breast Cancer" that we will be happy to send to you as well.


AN IMPORTANT REMINDER: It is very difficult to render an opinion without knowing all the facts of any one particular case. But one strong recommendation we would like to make is that you pursue your question(s) with your own physicians. You should feel fully empowered to obtain a satisfactory answer and feel free to seek a second or third opinion. We have some great tips on partnering with your health care team and key questions to ask your doctors, communication tips and informed decision-making tips to help you get the information you need.


There is a special Personal Profile Form on our web site (blue link at the top of this page) that if you have not done so already, you can fill out and e-mail to us to help us best meet your needs and you are also welcome to call us at (626) 332-2255. Your information will be kept confidential.

I hope that you can find hope and comfort in the following words and thoughts. I have also included some resources below that I personally found helpful when I was diagnosed with breast cancer.


What Cancer Cannot Do:

Cancer is so limited…

It cannot cripple love

It cannot shatter hope

It cannot corrode faith

It cannot destroy peace

It cannot kill friendship

It cannot suppress memories

It cannot silence courage

It cannot invade the soul

It cannot steal eternal life

It cannot conquer the spirit.

--Anonymous



"A Song of Hope"

Hope is a gift we give to ourselves.

It is a free spirit whose silent song is of strength and courage.

It is a song of believing, of reaching for dreams and of never giving up.

Hope is a gift tied with ribbons and is born out of need.

Once you have it, it will never leave you...for it becomes a part of what you are.

Although it may seem difficult to find...hope is always there, somewhere in the heart.
--Flavia Weedn



"Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul

And sings the tune without the words

And never stops at all."

--Emily Dickinson



Words of Hope and Inspiration*

For Dealing with Thoughts and Feelings


"The ancestor of every action is a thought."
--Ralph Waldo Emerson

"For they conquer who believe they can."
--Ralph Waldo Emerso

"It is hard to fight an enemy who has outposts in your head."
--Sally Kempton

"It’s all right to have butterflies in your stomach. Just get them to fly in formation."
--Dr. Rob Gilbert

"Fear is that little darkroom where negatives are developed."
--Michael Pritchard

"I have seen what a laugh can do. It can transform almost unbearable tears into something bearable, even hopeful."
--Bob Hope

"If you are distressed by anything external...the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment."
-Marcus Aurelius


Words of Hope and Inspiration

For Overcoming Difficulties


"Out of difficulties grow miracles"
--Anonymous

"Where there is life there is hope."
--Cicero

"Setbacks pave the way for comebacks."
--Prism

"Out of your vulnerabilities will come your strength."
--Sigmund Frued

"Honor your challenges, for those spaces that you label as dark are actually there to bring you more light.
--Sanaya Roman

"Until you try, you don’t know what you can’t do."
--Henry James

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us."
--Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Difficulties meet us at every turn. They are the accompaniment of life. Out of the pain grow the violets of patience and sweetness. The richness of the human experience would lose something of rewarding joy if there were no limitations to overcome."
--Helen Keller


Words of Hope and Inspiration*

For Turning Adversity into an Opportunity to Help Yourself and Others


"The dark or sick days need not be seen as bad days, for they often prompt our deepest reflection and, in some cases, a change of lifestyle. In this sense, then, one can look upon darkness or disease not as an end but as a beginning of growth."
--Eileen Rockefeller Growald

"Live your beliefs and you can turn the world around."
--Henry David Thoreau

*Source: WIN Against Breast Cancer’s Breast Buddy Volunteer Curriculum ©1994



What is COURAGE?


Confronting the dragons

Overcoming the obstacles

Understanding the risks

Really living

Always believing

Going the distance

Expecting the BEST!

--Author unknown



The following is from an e-mail that I received earlier this year from a friend and colleague. I do not know who the original author is. I hope that you like it.


STRONG WOMAN VERSUS A WOMAN OF STRENGTH


A strong woman works out every day to keep her body in shape ... but a woman of strength builds relationships to keep her soul in shape.

A strong woman isn't afraid of anything ... but a woman of strength shows courage in the midst of her fear.

A strong woman won't let anyone get the best of her ... but a woman of strength gives the best of herself to everyone.

A strong woman makes mistakes and avoids the same in the future... a woman of strength realizes life's mistakes can also be unexpected blessings and capitalizes on them.

A strong woman wears a look of confidence on her face ... but a woman of strength wears grace.

A strong woman has faith that she is strong enough for the journey... but a woman of strength has faith that it is in the journey that she will become strong.

(Pass this on to a GREAT WOMAN...I just did !)



Complementary Resources

The following site is a resource that I personally found helpful after I was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Belleruth Napartsek has produced guided imagery tapes for cancer patients that I found comforting and effective while I was undergoing chemotherapy and throughout my "breast cancer journey". You can even sample excerpts from her tapes on her web site and order the tapes through this site.
www.healthjourneys.com -- Health Journeys.com: The Guided Imagery Center


There is a wonderful organization called COMMONWEAL that I know will serve you well. The organization's founder, Michael Lerner, Ph.D. is a colleague of mine (I am proud to say) and his book Choices in Healing is a must:Choices In Healing -- Integrating the Best of Conventional and Complementary Approaches to Cancer Author: Michael Lerner (MIT Press, 1994; ISBN: 0-262-12180-8; 667 pages, $24.95) A comprehensive, objective resource covering mainstream and complementary therapies with emphasis on spiritual, psychological, nutritional and various unconventional treatments. You can order his book along with several other wonderful resources either by telephone (415 868-0970) or via Commonweal's web site at www.commonweal.org. The site also has a good links page that I think you will find helpful. I also highly recommend Commonweal’s Cancer Help Program, which is an incredible retreat that I have personally experienced and benefited from.


Bernie Siegel, MD has produced some good books and audio apes that I also found helpful in addition to the resources listed above. You can order his materials through this site. His web address is: www.pathfinder.com


Janet, please know that I am holding you in my thoughts and prayers. I have outlived my original breast cancer prognosis by 6 years already and intend to do so for many more years to come.

If you have not done so already, I highly recommend that you contact our office for help and support. We have an arsenal of resources including our Breast Buddy Breast Care Program that provides one-on-one peer support for patients. We can send you our extensive Breast Cancer Resource Guide and many other resources, free of charge.

Please always feel free to contact our office directly at (626) 332-2255 for any additional information, help and support that you might need. And please remember, if the call is long distance, just let our staff know and ask them to call you right back so that the call is "on our dime".

Please keep us up-to-date on how you are doing and how we can help.


My warmest personal regards,
Betsy


Elizabeth ("Betsy") Mullen
Founder, President/CEO
WIN Against Breast Cancer
Main Office:
536 S. Second Avenue, Suite K
Covina, California 91723
Telephone: 626-332-2255 Fax: 626-332-2585
San Diego Office:
Telephone: (619) 284-4900 Fax: (619) 284-7900
Web Site: www.winabc.org

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