Cancer Vixen

From Random House:

“What happens when a shoe-crazy, lipstick-obsessed, wine-swilling, pasta-slurping, fashion-fanatic, single-forever, about-to-get-married big-city girl cartoonist with a fabulous life finds . . . a lump in her breast?” That’s the question that sets this powerful, funny, and poignant graphic memoir in motion. In vivid color and with a taboo-breaking sense of humor, Marisa Acocella Marchetto tells the story of her eleven-month, ultimately triumphant bout with breast cancer—from diagnosis to cure, and every challenging step in between.



But Cancer Vixen is about more than surviving an illness. It is a portrait of one woman’s supercharged life in Manhattan, and a wonderful love story. Marisa, self-described “terminal bachelorette,” meets her Prince Charming in Silvano, owner of the chic downtown restaurant Da Silvano. Three weeks before their wedding, she receives her diagnosis. She wonders: How will he react to this news? How will my world change? Will I even survive? And . . . what about my hair?

From raucous New Yorker staff lunches and the star-studded crowd at Silvano’s restaurant to the rainbow pumps Marisa wears to chemotherapy, Cancer Vixen is a total original. Marisa’s wit and courage are an inspiration—she’s a cancer vixen, not its victim.

Vist http://www.cancervixen.com

Mammograms

The statistics are sobering: Breast cancer strikes 1 in 8 American women.

But breast x-rays, or mammograms, drastically improve a woman's chance of surviving the disease, says Shaparak Kamarei, M.D., USC associate clinical professor of internal medicine.

"A mammogram is the best tool available for finding breast cancer early, before symptoms appear," says Kamarei. "Breast cancer is asymptomatic for years."

There are two kinds of mammograms: screening and diagnostic, she explains. Screening mammograms detect breast changes in women who have no signs of cancer. Diagnostic mammograms evaluate unusual breast changes, such as a lump, pain, nipple thickening or discharge or a change in the breast size or shape.

During the mammography, the breast is placed between two flat plastic plates, which are pressed together. The idea is to flatten the breast as much as possible; spreading the tissue makes any abnormalities easier to spot using with minimal radiation, Kamarei explains.

Although the pressure from the plates may be uncomfortable, each x-ray takes less than a minute. You should schedule a mammography just after your period, when your breasts less tender. If you're not longer menstruating, schedule the test at the same time each year.

Kamarei recommends that women get their first mammogram done at age 35. Women between 40 and 50 years of age should get a screening every other year, and women over 50, yearly.

"For all women, risk increases after 50," she adds. By age 60, 1 out of 23 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer. This number shoots up to 1 out of 10 by age 80.

Most states have laws requiring health insurance companies to reimburse all or part of the cost of mammograms.

"If the insurance policy doesn't cover it, I strongly advise women to pay for it themselves," she says. Most screening mammograms cost between $50 and $150 and are offered without cost in some clinics.

Avon Walk for Breast Cancer 2006 - A Record Breaking Season

This year’s Avon Walk for Breast Cancer was a tremendous success with the highest number of participants and greatest funds raised since its inception in 2003. Record-breaking events included the Avon Walk Chicago, which raised $8.2 million, and the Avon Walk New York, where more than 3,500 participants raised over $9.7 million. The New York Walk was the largest to date and among the special guests were breast cancer survivors from nearly 40 countries who represented the second annual Avon Walk Around the World for Breast Cancer.

Here are the 2006 results:

Walks were held in 8 cities April-October
18,000 walkers and crew participated
$48 million was raised
Donations and participation were up 32% from 2005
59 new research and access to care grants were presented at closing ceremonies
Total funds raised since 2003 by the Avon Walk series is nearly $150 million and total participants were 55,000.

Help set new records during our eight events in 2007. Visit http://www.avonwalk.org/ or call 1-800-510-WALK to register to walk, crew, volunteer or donate.

Shopping Pink from the Wall Street Journal

How to tell if a pink-ribbon product really helps breast cancer efforts
Tuesday, October 10, 2006

By Tara Parker-Pope, The Wall Street Journal


Store shelves are filling up with pink products tied to October's Breast Cancer Awareness month, but shoppers need to do their homework to be sure their green is really going to the right cause.

There is a seemingly endless variety of pink products on offer these days. The options range from food items -- pink M&Ms and Tic Tacs are popular -- to home appliances such as a pink KitchenAid mixer or a pink Dyson vacuum cleaner. Many products also carry the ubiquitous pink-ribbon logo that has become a universal symbol of breast-cancer awareness. Shoppers can choose from pink-ribbon slippers, towels, bedding, pajamas and jewelry, among other items.

But buyers need to look beyond the pink to be sure a product supports a legitimate breast-cancer group. Anybody can use the pink-ribbon logo, so it's important to read tags, boxes and fine print to find out what group is being supported and how much money it is getting from your purchase. Sometimes the money goes directly to breast-cancer research, while other purchases may support free mammograms for low-income women or simply "breast-cancer awareness."

Most major breast-cancer groups have strict requirements for disclosing how much of a pink product goes to charity. Consumers should look for labels and boxes that state what organization benefits and how much of the purchase price goes to it. Some products give only a vague description, promising that a "portion" of the proceeds supports breast-cancer research.

"Our rule is that a company must disclose whatever their donation is -- if they aren't willing to disclose it, they won't be accepted as a partner," says Robbie Finke, director of marketing for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, which lists all its pink products and the contribution on its Web site, www.bcrfcure.org. Some pink purchases clearly go further than others. Each sale of $60 Karey Kyle Rose Quartz earrings generates $40, or 67 percent of the purchase price, for the group BreastCancer.org. Spend $1,950 on a Van Cleef & Arpels pendant, and $1,000, or 51 percent of the price, goes to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. KitchenAid offers a variety of Cook for the Cure products that benefit the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation (www.komen.org). The company donates $50, or about 17 percent of the purchase price, from sales of its pink Artisan Stand Mixer. Meanwhile, 50 cents from the purchase of a $13 pair of pink-ribbon Meshmellows slippers -- or about 4 percent of the purchase price -- goes to the National Breast Cancer Foundation (www.nationalbreastcancer.org).

Sometimes simply buying a pink product doesn't guarantee money will be given to breast-cancer causes. The shopper has to take an extra step, such as mailing in product lids or labels or registering online to generate income for charity. For instance, Yoplait products with pink lids support the Komen Foundation -- but only if you mail them in. Specially marked bags of Sun Chips carry a pink ribbon, but the 25-cent-per-bag donation to Komen is triggered only when the shopper goes to a Web site and enters a special code. Viva paper towels will donate $100,000 to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, but if shoppers redeem a special coupon the company will donate an additional 10 cents, up to a total $200,000 donation.

Shoppers also need to decide what type of breast-cancer projects they support, because groups with pink products have different missions. The best way is to check a group's Web site. The Breast Cancer Research Foundation last year spent 89 percent of the $27 million it raised on research grants for breast-cancer prevention and treatment. The Komen Foundation spends most of its funds on breast-cancer education, awareness and community programs, such as free mammograms, but allocates about 40 percent to breast-cancer research. Products that support Breastcancer.org help support the group's mission to provide women the most up-to-date medical information about breast cancer. Products like a pink Gund plush bear support LIFE, which stands for LPGA Pros in the Fight to Eradicate breast cancer, a group that focuses on education and awareness about the risks of breast cancer to young women. Meanwhile, CancerCare, which receives support from the sale of pink Tic Tacs and pink Women for Hope bracelets (www.womenforhope.com), uses money it raises for support services for people affected by cancer.

Last year, pink products accounted for $35 million of the Komen Foundation's $200 million in annual revenue. Cindy Schneible, vice president of resource development for Komen, says the pink products do more than raise money for research -- they also raise awareness among people who might not otherwise think about breast cancer. "Our mission is to engage people where they live, work and play," says Ms. Schneible.

Gifts that Make A Difference

Warriors in Pink - The Ford Foundation

Deanna Favre - Hope Foundation

Cook for a Cure - KitchenAid

Avon Walk Shop

Komen Market Place

Eighteen Degrees

This morning's walk was quite cold! I walked to road around the neighborhood at 18 degrees and with a brisk northern wind. The walk took a little over an hour, but it seemed to go much more quickly!

I have been trying to keep in shape since the walk last June. In August I started a training program called Couch to 5K. It is a 9 week training program for running a 5k - and since I have never run before, it has been a good start. I am going much more slowly than the 9 week program. I am at week 7 and running 2.5 miles 3 times a week.

My sister just started her Couch to 5K program. Hopefully we can do a run together (with Charlie the dog who is also in training) in the spring.

I am also trying to keep up some distant walking, so I do a walk around the neighborhood once a week.