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CancerChatCanada wants to know how you move on from breast cancer
CancerChatCanada is looking for breast cancer survivors under the age of 46 who have finished treatment in the last three years for the study, "Moving Forward After Breast Cancer: An Education and Support Study."
Participants will be connecting with each other through online chat groups established by CancerChatCanada. The next group is tentatively scheduled for April 16 and interested individuals will get details on date and time when they register.
For more info, or to register, please visit their website.
Posted on Feb 27, 2012 - 12:11 PM by AngieSurvivorship Education Day in Calgary
Cancer Bridges is holding a Survivorship Education Day at Foothills Medical Centre on Friday, February 24 to help survivors "live your best life with and beyond cancer."
"Survivorship covers the physical, psychological, and economic issues of cancer from diagnosis until the end of life," said Cancer Bridges.
Some of the sessions are "Support for Living Your Best Life," "Get Moving," "Finding the Energy to Fight Fatigue," "Dealing with Fear and Uncertainty," and an opportunity to ask questions to oncology healthcare professionals and to hear the stories of other survivors.
There will also be displays by organizations such as YACC to tell you more about the support that's available for you.
For more information, please contact Cancer Bridges at cbridges@ucalgary.ca or (409) 923-8032.
DETAILS
Date: Friday, February 24, 2012
Time: 1-5:15 p.m.
Where: Foothills Hospital Auditorium
No cost, no pre-registration required.
NL researcher looking for young survivor mothers for a research study
Judith Strickland is a PhD Nursing student and researcher who is looking for participants for her current research study.
"I am looking to know, what are the experiences of young mothers recently diagnosed with cancer of the breast or cervix. Many young women are mothers and there needs to be more emphasis placed on young women and mothers diagnosed with cancer (as I think you would agree)," she said in an email.
Right now, she is looking for participants on the island portion of Newfoundland and Labrador only as she will be traveling for in-person interviews.
Criteria
Participants must be:
- Between the ages of 20- and 50-years-old;
- Diagnosed with cancer in the last two years;
- A mother prior to their diagnosis of cancer of the breast or cervix; and,
- Is mother to at least child not older than 17 years of age.
If you are interested in particpating, please contact her at (709) 637-5000 before the end of February 2012.
Posted on Feb 16, 2012 - 03:09 PM by AngieGuest blog series: Dealing with isolation
Welcome to the first appearance of our brand-new guest blog series! We will share real-life opinions on issues young adults face when they are dealing with cancer.
This month we are talking about isolation. Amy Aubin is the brave soul who is taking the first leap with us into this new endeavor. Enjoy her story and take a look at her blog if you’d like to learn more about her!
It hardly seems that long ago I was listening to my old-school iPod and training for the Ironman triathlon I had dreamed of doing since I was 10. Then I started feeling these sharp pains. I was passed over by numerous doctors and I continued my training until I was in so much pain I had to slow down; I then knew that something was wrong. It took me over a year to finally get a diagnosis of ovarian cancer, and by then it had spread beyond my one ovary.
My name is Amy and I am a cancer survivor and a current cancer patient. I never thought that I would be wishing to be in remission for my 30th birthday, but that’s just the way it is. I live in a suburb of Toronto, Ontario; I’m married; and I have a daughter who is four-years-old (turning 14).
YACC asked me to be a guest blogger and I don’t think I could have answered the email fast enough. You see, YACC has helped me in so many ways. I have my own blog, Bobloblaw’s Medical Blog, which started out just as a means of communication to my very large family on my medical status. Now, nine months later, it has evolved into something that seems so much more.
I was at the height of my “life” at 24. I was going into law school, training for the Ironman triathlon, and living in downtown Toronto the way I had dreamed, but there was one flaw—I had cancer.
No one else I had ever known had cancer at 24, and none of my friends understood or knew what to say. I turned to my best friend, Denial, and ignored it. I had my surgery and “moved on.”
Since then I had my daughter, got married, and moved back to my hometown only 30 minutes from my downtown apartment.
In 2011, I received the bad news that I had cervical cancer. It was happening all over again.
I had a great job I loved in human resources, I had just bought my first car, and I was starting to train again. My spirit crushed and my hopes of a “normal” life dashed, I turned to YACC (oddly recommended by my in-laws who saw Geoff Eaton talk about it on CBC). YACC was holding Retreat Yourself East in Rocky Harbour, NL and I signed up, unsure of what to expect.
Before going out east, I sat in the waiting room at Princess Margaret Hospital, looking around, and seeing only women over the age of 45 or 50. I felt like I had been sucked to the bottom of a bucket.
I headed out east the first weekend in May and it changed my life from the first minute. I was in a group of people who were all my age, and although they had different kinds of cancer, our feelings all fell under common themes.
It’s a little ironic that I was feeling so isolated and I went to a tiny place with, like, four stores and just ocean. I cried more that weekend than I have in my whole life—all of the feelings I had been pushing down and “forgetting about” came pouring out.
I left feeling stronger for my battle ahead and pretty drained—after all, getting out five years worth of emotions can be pretty exhausting.
Since the Retreat, my ovarian cancer has metastasized to my right lung (stage 4); I no longer work in human resources; and my husband, daughter, and I had to move back home with my parents. Now I feel like I am at rock bottom, and alone.
I am completing a six-round chemotherapy therapy regimen (four down, two to go), possibly 15 radiation treatments, and then who knows what.
With treatments, it’s difficult to have a routine, hold a job, make plans, or even get out of bed. Isolation feeds so many other feelings; depression, anxiety, feelings of inadequacy. It’s easy for so many of these feelings to take over, especially if you feel quite alone.
I used to be a social butterfly, I loved going out dancing, trying new things, doing extreme sports, just jumping into anything at any time. I miss working, I miss running and being busy. Laying in bed and lazing around the house sucks.
I started my own business to try and keep me busy but there are a lot of days I am far from busy. The chemo I have sucks all the energy out of me. Almost every month I have at least one blood transfusion just to get my complete blood counts up.
Isolation is probably one of the hardest elements of having cancer when you’re young. In a society where people our age are made to think that now is the time to focus on our careers, have families, buy houses, and ‘grow up,’ having cancer just doesn’t fit into that equation. There are so many pieces to this puzzle of life and no one expects cancer to be one of those pieces because unlike the other pieces, you can’t put cancer aside and worry about it later.
One of the most powerful things I have learned about isolation I had tattooed on my arm (very impulsively at the last YACC conference). Inspired by Geoff Eaton’s presentation, it reads “1% is more than 0%” and underneath it reads “Find the good” so any time I feel so alone, I try and find the good. No matter how small, there is always something good, even in cancer (as odd as that sounds).
Amy regularly blogs over at Bobloblaw’s Medical Blog. You can learn more about her business, Lennox Printing Press, at lennoxprinting.ca.
Please contact angie@youngadultcancer.ca if you are interested in blogging about dealing with cancer as a young adult.
Retreat Yourself 2012
If you are a young adult cancer survivor who is currently, and was diagnosed, between the ages of 18 and 35, apply to attend an upcoming Retreat Yourself program!
Photos courtesy of Amy Aubin
Posted on Feb 14, 2012 - 06:56 AM by AngieWant to attend a retreat for Breast Cancer survivors?
Dr. Rob Rutledge and Timothy Walker, Ph.D of Healing and Cancer have organized the Skills for Healing Breast Cancer Weekend Retreat which will take place from April 13-15 in Annapolis Valley, NS.
This retreat is designed to help educate anyone who has been diagnosed with breast cancer about receiving complete breast cancer care, empowering the body, stress reduction, and meditation.
The weekend will be filmed by PinkDog Productions to create a PSA, documentary, and educational DVD set to be distributed to cancer centres, support groups, and networks across Atlantic Canada.
The food and accomodations are provided, interested individuals just have to get to the Annapolis Valley, but travel bursaries are available. Participants are invited to bring one supporter.
Contact
If you are interested in attending, or if you have any questions, please contact Kristen at (902) 488-5799 or at info@healingandcancer.org.
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CPAC looking for input from survivors in Halifax
The Canadian Partnership Against Cancer (CPAC) is preparing a national practice guideline dealing with the "screening, assessment, and care of cancer-related fatigue in adults with cancer."
CPAC is hosting focus groups with cancer patients and survivors to ensure the Fatigue Guideline covers what is most important for cancer survivors.
A focus group will be held in Halifax on February 21 from 2-4 p.m. at the Bethune Building (1276 South Park St, Room 544). Parking costs will be covered and refreshments will be provided.
Registration
If you are interested in participating in this focus group, please contact Peggy Jones at 473-5994 or email peggy.jones@ccns.nshealth.ca by February 17.
Posted on Feb 06, 2012 - 11:08 AM by Angie