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Posted by Betsy Mullen on 10/14/2001 from 24.4.254.67:

In reply to: Is a reocurrence just a matter of time ? posted by Tony on 10/6/2001 from 206.58.22.251:

Dear Tony:

If you have not contacted our office directly yet, we have trained information specialists that can speak with you and your wife one on one and who can determine the best materials to send you (all free of charge). You are more than welcome to call us toll free at (866) 2 WIN ABC.

With respect to your question, everybody is different and every body is different. We are all individuals and not statistics. I am delighted to hear that your wife is doing so well! In my case; I was diagnosed with breast cancer nine years ago (this week) and told that I would very likely die within two to three years and that even after my chemotherapy I had a 60% of a recurrence. I am pleased and grateful to say that I proved my doctors wrong and am alive and healthy today; cancer free.

Your wife is also welcome, if she has not done so already, to fill out the special Personal Profile Form (blue link at the top of this page) with her specific information and with requests for some of the information and resources I have outlined below. All of her (and yours) personal information will remain confidential.

WIN Against Breast Cancer has several additional resources that I think will be very helpful to your wife. 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 patients by age, geography, marital status, type and stage of breast cancer, type of treatment, hobbies and on and on.

If you r wife is interested, we could look into matching her with a buddy who shares a similar profile to hers. 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 health care and who faces similar concerns.

We will be happy to send you and your wife educational materials, free of charge regarding breast anatomy, 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 and much more depending upon your individual needs. For example, we can send you a book by cancer survivor and advocate, Richard Bloch entitled "Guide for Cancer Survivors for you, your family and friends. We do not charge for any of our services.

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).


ADDITIONARESOURCES TO HELP YOU

There is a great book out entitled "Be a Survivor" written by Vladimir Lange, M.D. My plastic surgeon and I served as consultants on the project (there is also a corresponding video and interactive CD-ROM). There are full color pictures including my breast reconstruction in the book, video and CD-ROM, as well as description of the various reconstructive surgical procedures and all major breast cancer types, stages, treatments and other important information. You can purchase the book through our site’s bookstore.

An additional book that I highly, highly recommend was written by Michael Lerner, the Founder of Commonweal. There is a link to Commonweal in the Resources Section of this site and I will post it on this message (at the bottom) as well. The book is entitled "Choices in Healing: Integrating the Best of Conventional and Complementary Approaches to Cancer".

Another good book that extensively covers breast cancer and reconstruction is entitled "A Woman’s Decision" which is also highlighted in our "virtual bookstore". The books can be purchased on line in our virtual bookstore via Amazon.com. 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. If finances are a problem, please let us know and if the books are available in our library, we can work out a lending situation for you.

Tony, I will close with this thought and a saying of mine: "When in doubt, check it out." We each know our bodies well and are your own best advocates. We all need to pursue any concerns with our health care team. And remember, we are strong advocates of second opinions. I am holding you and your wife in my thoughts and look forward to hearing from you with an update on how you are both doing and how WIN ABC can best be of help and support to you. 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

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