Breast Cancer Awareness Month Newsletter

Issue 1, September 27, 2010

Meet Billie Christie from New York, NY

In May of this year, Billie Christie, a young woman from New York, NY, found a lump in her breast. It was small and hard, and caused her pain when her beautiful, healthy baby rubbed against her while being carried. Feeling immediately that something was wrong, Billie made an appointment to have the spot looked at even though a routine annual physical had shown no sign of a lump or abnormality.

“I have large breasts, so everything feels lumpy. I felt for lumps haphazardly and irregularly, because I don’t have a family history. I didn’t know that you don’t have to have a family history to get breast cancer. I would have tossed up a lump the size of a pea as a muscle knot, because I work out a lot. I didn’t know any differently. And a lot of women I spoke to after I was diagnosed were very surprised to know that that’s what it would feel like that a small, hard, little pea is what breast cancer feels like!”

The American Cancer Society recommends yearly mammograms for women over the age of 40. Younger women should talk with their healthcare provider about their risk factors and have a clinical breast exam during a periodic health exam, at least every three years. Women can also discuss the benefits and limitations of breast self-exam and, should they choose to do this, receive instructions. All women should know their body, and like Billie, report any abnormal changes to their doctor immediately.

Billie was surprised, and then she got angry. She didn’t know what to look for or what to ask, and didn’t know that only a small percentage of cancers are family related. She channeled that anger and frustration, as well as her confusion and anxiety about her cancer and what course of treatment she should choose, into hyper-vigilant advocacy on behalf of her family and friends. “I’ve always been the maniac in the family. I’ve never smoked, I’ve exercised my whole life, I’ve always been healthy. But cancer doesn’t discriminate it can get you no matter who you are.

“When I had the opportunity, I talked to everyone. ‘If I can get breast cancer, anyone can get breast cancer; go get a mammogram.’ I have friends who’ve scheduled their tests because of what I’m going through, and that’s amazing. But I’m very passionate. Now I need to share my experience with other people, so that hopefully someone else can hear my story and say, ‘oh, I need to go get a check-up.’ That’s what I want to have happen.”

And that’s where Making Strides Against Breast Cancer comes in. “This past year, when I needed information, I went to the American Cancer Society Web site. A friend with Stage IV breast cancer told me ‘Don’t look anything up on the internet. I’d die if I read every awful thing someone wrote about the cancer I have. Visit only the trusted sites American Cancer Society, the hospital where you’re having your treatment.’” Billie visited cancer.org regularly, for information, for resources, for support. “I kept seeing Making Strides. There’s a walk in Brooklyn it’s in Prospect Park, which I love. And since I’m so passionate about making people aware of this, I’ll be walking with my daughter, my fiancé, and friends. You come highly recommended and I want to be part of your movement.”

As of Sunday, September 26, Billie had personally raised $1020, and her team, Billie’s Boob Club had raised $1,740. Visit Billie’s personal page to read more of her story and follow her fundraising efforts.

In talking to Billie, we found some resources that were particularly helpful to her, for herself and her friends.

The National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP) offers breast and cervical cancer screening to women without health insurance for free or at very little cost, in every state. For information or a referral on local administration of the program, contact the American Cancer Society at 1.800.237.2345 or your State Department of Health. NBCCEDP is a government program, and the American Cancer Society actively lobbies for additional funds to support it. You can join us in that effort at acscan.org.
How does COBRA work? Can I keep my insurance if I leave my job? What are high risk pools? Understanding health insurance can be tricky, especially with the new benefits available to cancer patients under the Affordable Health Care Act. The Health Insurance and Financial Assistance page of our website has information relevant for people across America, and the Cancer Information Specialists who staff our toll-free hotline are trained to help, too. Contact us at 1.800.237.2345.
For her Making Strides Against Breast Cancer fundraising, Billie used a combination of Facebook and personal emails to her friends. “I just sent out another message on Facebook because I have a lot of friends who want to donate, so I update regularly. I know many of them won’t give until just before or just after the walk, but they like to see my updates.” For information about our online fundraising tools, visit cancer.org/stridesonline.

Knowledge is Power

“Breast Cancer Screening has been shown to reduce breast cancer mortality.” In ordinary, less scientific language, this means that women who have screening exams at regular intervals are less likely to die of breast cancer. If this is true, then why aren’t all women screened regularly?

Women who don’t have health insurance are the most likely to skip screenings, which is one reason why the fight for access to healthcare is so important. Cultural biases and personal fear are also factors for why women of all ages, races, and ethnicities choose not to be screened. But Knowledge is Power; know your options, know your risks, and take action.

The American Cancer Society has very clear screening guidelines for women of average risk (that’s most of us, but learn more about risk factors at our website). Know them. Share them. Live them.

Begin annual mammography at age 40.
That means have a mammogram every, single year. No exceptions!
Women in their 20s and 30s should have a clinical breast exam at least every three years.
Women in their 20s and 30s should be educated about breast self-examination, and make an informed, conscious choice with professional guidance about whether or not to complete self-exams.

Know Someone in Need? Share Us!

Share Us

Once you start talking about the work you’re doing with the American Cancer Society to fight breast cancer, you’re likely to learn that many people you know and love have been affected by the disease. Help your loved ones by making sure that everyone knows about the services we provide.

Our toll-free hotline is staffed with Cancer Information Specialists 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. If you have a question about cancer, about treatment options, about local resources provided by us or anyone else, call 1.800.237.2345 anytime. We’d love to hear from you!
If you’d rather search for information on your own, our newly redesigned Web site is a warehouse of information. Visit us online (where you can chat live with those same Cancer Information Specialists) at cancer.org.
The Cancer Survivors Network is our online community by and for people with cancer and their families. Find and connect with others through our member search, discussion boards, chat rooms, and private CSN e-mail. Create your own personal space to tell us about yourself, share photos, audio, keep an online journal (blog), contribute resources, and more.
Every day, cancer patients need rides to treatment. Some may not be able to drive themselves, and family and friends cannot always help. Road To Recovery program provides rides to patients who have no way to get to their cancer treatment.
Getting the best care sometimes means cancer patients must travel away from home. This can place an extra emotional and financial burden on patients and caregivers during an already challenging time. The American Cancer Society is trying to make this difficult situation easier for both cancer patients and their families through Hope Lodge.
The “tlc”magalog is the American Cancer Society’s catalog and magazine for women. It offers helpful articles and a line of products made for women with cancer. Products include wigs, hairpieces, breast forms, bras, hats, turbans, swimwear, and accessories. All proceeds from product sales go back into the American Cancer Society’s programs and services for patients and survivors.
If you have breast cancer, you may want to talk to someone who knows what you’re feeling someone who has “been there.” Through our Reach to Recovery program, we can match individuals with a volunteer who will talk one-on-one about coping with your breast cancer diagnosis and treatment.
If you or someone you love gets cancer, you will have questions. Our I Can Cope classes can help you and your loved ones learn about cancer and how to take care of yourselves. The more you know about cancer, the better you can handle your treatment and decisions about your care.
In a Look Good…Feel Better session, trained volunteer cosmetologists teach women how to cope with skin changes and hair loss using cosmetics and skin care products donated by the cosmetic industry.

Celebrate Life; Look Good with Lilly Pulitzer

Scarf

This Fall, the American Cancer Society is partnering with iconic fashion designer Lilly Pulitzer for a national breast cancer awareness campaign.

Lilly Pulitzer has designed a limited edition "Murfee scarf" featuring pink and green lotus flowers to symbolize purity of heart and mind. As one of Lilly’s signature prints - which they never repeat - this scarf will add a little color to the fight against breast cancer!

When scarves are ordered from The Hope Shop only, $62 from each sale will be credited back to the New York or New Jersey Making Strides event of the buyer's choice.

Visit The Hope Shop to purchase your Lilly Pulitzer breast cancer awareness scarf today!

What Your Dollars Do: Make Breast Cancer Research Happen

Researcher

The American Cancer Society is involved in the fight against breast cancer in many areas, but we are perhaps best known for our role in research. But what is “research”, and how does it help people?

There are three big ways that the American Cancer Society is involved in breast cancer research, and all of them are vital.

We Fund Research
Through our extramural research grants program, as of September 14, 2010, the Society was funding 226 research projects related to breast cancer, all chosen through a rigorous peer review and selection process, amounting to $121.2 million. A few areas of research currently being funded are:

Reasons for breast cancer treatment differences between African American and white women
Exploring new breast cancer treatments that target immune system cells
Identifying and cataloguing the ribonucleic acids (RNAs) that are characteristic of normal and breast cancer tissues, with the goal of generating an “RNA fingerprint” of breast cancer. This “fingerprint” could prove useful in predicting breast cancer disease progression, detecting breast cancer at an early stage, and may also allow for more effective treatments.
Evaluating factors that influence mammogram interpretation by radiologists (co-funded with the National Cancer Institute)

We Conduct Research
The Society also conducts in-house, population-based studies of breast cancer, and does surveillance research to monitor long-term trends and statistics. Society scientists have studied:

The influence of many factors on the risk of dying from breast cancer. Factors include alcohol use, diethylstilbestrol (DES), estrogen replacement therapy, a family history of cancer, smoking, obesity, and spontaneous abortion
The influence of those same risk factors plus dietary factors on the risk of developing breast cancer.
Society Researchers are collaborating with investigators at many other institutions to identify common and rare genetic alterations which might contribute to breast cancer risk.
The influence of mammography on breast cancer prognostic factors
The ACS Behavioral Research Center is conducting a Study of Cancer Survivors to examine the factors ties to a good quality of life after a breast cancer diagnosis, with specific areas of interest being

The unmet needs of cancer survivors
The use of complementary therapies
The needs of minority women with breast cancer

We Work With Other Organizations
The Society has a strong advocacy program through which we build relationships and work closely with other organizations to serve and support and study communities.

The Society is currently collaborating with Aetna, Inc to develop surveillance research with Aetna members who request BRCA testing, to learn more about patients’ cancer risk assessment experiences, BRCA testing decisions, and other elements provided in the context of decision support.

By funding research externally, conducting research internally, and collaborating with science and medical professionals across the globe, we are able to learn more about what factors contribute to cancer and cancer death, and use that information to find new diagnostic tools, treatments, and ways of improving the quality of life for cancer survivors.