Women's Information Network
Against Breast Cancer

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Posted by Betsy Mullen on 4/11/2001 from 205.188.200.201:

In reply to: Lumpectomy in chest cavity posted by Nancy on 4/11/2001 from 64.12.101.152:

Dear Nancy:

I have run your message by one of our medical advisors, a very experienced and well-respected breast surgeon. A soon as I receive any feedback, I will post the information and notify you that I have done so right away. I was 33 years old when I was diagnosed with breast cancer 8-1/2 years ago, and although I had no prior family history, I can relate and empathize with you and what you are experiencing. Please know that we are here to help and support you and your loved ones for the long run. I am glad to hear that your sister is doing well and that your mother lived to a ripe old age following her own breast cancer diagnosis.

If you have not done so already Nancy, I encourage you to fill out the special Personal Profile Form (blue link at the top of this page) with your specific information and with requests for some of the information and resources I have outlined below. All of your personal information will remain confidential.

Also, if you have not contacted our office directly yet, we have trained information specialists that can speak with you one on one to determine the best materials to send you (all free of charge), including a booklet entitled "Understanding Breast Changes" and an in-depth WIN ABC resource guide with great resource listings and suggested reading. 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 has several additional resources that I think will be very helpful to you. We have our Breast Buddy Breast Care 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, 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 a buddy who shares a similar profile to yours. Depending upon where you live, this may need to be a telephone and e-mail relationship, but it certainly helps to speak with another woman who had a similar diagnosis and who faced similar decisions regarding her treatment options.

We will be happy to send you educational materials, free of charge regarding breast anatomy, breast health, 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), various videos including nutrition during cancer treatment, dealing with side effects of treatment, tamoxifen, breast reconstruction, a wonderful book by Richard and Annette Bloch entitled "Guide for Cancer Supporters" and much more depending upon your needs.

In addition, WIN Against Breast Cancer has published a very extensive Breast Health/Breast Cancer Resource Guide. We will be delighted to send these materials to you (all of which are free of charge to patients and the public).


Suggested Reading:


A book that I highly recommend is Choices In Healing -- Integrating the Best of Conventional and Complementary Approaches to Cancer Author: Michael Lerner, Ph.D. (MIT Press, 1994, ISBN#: 0-262-12180-8, 667 pages, $24.95) An objective and comprehensive resource covering mainstream and complementary therapies with emphasis on spiritual, psychological, nutritional and various unconventional treatments. Can be ordered directly from COMMONWEAL @: 415-868-0970.


There is a great book out entitled "Be a Survivor, Your Guide to Breast Cancer Treatment " written by Vladimir Lange, M.D. You can purchase the book through our site’s bookstore. An additional book that I highly recommend for you was written by Michael Lerner, the Founder of Commonweal. There is a link to Commonweal in the Resources Section of this site as well. The book is entitled "Choices in Healing: Integrating the Best of Conventional and Complementary Approaches to Cancer".

Additional good books that extensively cover breast health, breast cancer and reconstruction are entitled "A Woman’s Decision, Breast Care Treatment and Reconstruction, 3rd Edition" and the newest edition of "Dr. Susan Love’s Breast Book" which are also available in our "virtual bookstore". Another book I think will be helpful to you is entitled "The Road to Immunity: How to Survive and Thrive in a Toxic World" by Kenneth Bock, MD and Nellie Sabin. It covers in depth information about the immune system and how to keep our immune systems functioning at peak capacity.

We have another book in the WIN ABC library that is entitled "Assess Your True Risk of Breast Cancer" by Patricia T. Kelly, Ph.D., copyright 2000. It discusses what statistics really mean, evaluation of heredity and lifestyle risks and What You Need to Know About Genetic Testing (BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene testing).

The Complete Book of Breast Care by Niels H. Lauerson, MD, PhD and Eileen Stukane is also a very good resource with comprehensive and easy to understand information.

Another great resource about breast health is: Diseases of the Breast, Second Edition; Editors: Jay R. Harris, Marc E. Lippman, Monica Morrow, C. Kent Osborne; Publisher: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2000; ISBN #: 0-7817-1839-2. Most medical libraries should carry it; I’m not sure about regular public libraries.

The books can be purchased on line in our virtual bookstore via Amazon.com and should be available in most public libraries.


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 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 am holding you in my thoughts, Nancy and look forward to hearing from you with an update on how you are doing, what your pathology reports show and how WIN ABC can best be of help and support to you throughout your breast cancer journey. Please keep us "posted".


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

Follow Ups:

• Re: Lumpectomy in chest cavity - Nancy   4/18/2001 (1)
  • Re: Lumpectomy in chest cavity - Betsy Mullen   4/19/2001 (0)
• Re: Lumpectomy in chest cavity - Nancy   4/16/2001 (0)

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