Each survivor has a story of strength to share with a daughter, a mother, an aunt, a grandmother, a friend, a co-worker, or an acquaintance that will encourage, inspire and comfort another in their struggle with breast cancer.
We must begin now sharing our stories in order to empower each other in this fight against breast cancer. Sisters sharing their stories, Sisters saving lives.
Begin gaining S.I.S.T.E.R.S. by sharing your story.
I am a Stage III Breast cancer survivor. And one thing that helped me was verbally saying everyday, "This too shall pass". I truly believe that your body responds to your mind and my mental state was one of encouragement not only to me but to others. I made myself a role-model to other women who were going through what I was going through. I would wake up, get dressed, put on make up, no wig - I styled the bold, beautiful bald look, and the finishing touch would be a SMILE! Even while in pain after several surgeries, getting chemo, radiation etc, I would SMILE everyday!
ReplyDeleteRemain strong in the fight my sisters.
ReplyDeleteIn the past couple of years I have been hearing more and more about an aggressive breast cancer referred to as the Triple Negative tumor.
ReplyDeleteWhat does triple-negative breast cancer mean?
I found on breastcancer.org it means that breast cancer cells tested negative for estrogen receptors, progesterone receptors and HER2. These negative results means the growth of the cancer is not supported by the hormones estrogen and progesterone nor by the presence of too many HER2 receptors. Thus triple-negative breast cancer does not respond to hormonal therapy or therapies that target HER2 receptors, which is common treatment for many breast cancer diagnoses.
It notes that anyone can get triple-negative breast cancer, but research has found that:
•Younger people (those under 40 to 50) are more likely to have this type of cancer.
•African-American women are 3 times more likely to develop triple-negative breast cancer than white women.
•Those with a BRACA1 mutation (a special gene mutation), have been found to develop triple-negative breast cancer.
About 10-20 percent of breast cancers – that is about one out of every 10 are found to be triple-negative.
Hormonal therapies and HER2 targeted therapies work to interfere with the effects of hormones on breast cancer, which can help slow or even stop the growth of the breast cancer cells. When these receptors test negative, the normal therapies have no effect.
I am glad this is an issue where more attention is being given. As an African-American woman it is important to know that I have a greater risk of developing this type of tumor if ever diagnosed with breast cancer. I'm under 50 so that creates another risk factor. It is an aggressive tumor, so maintaining a good breast health routine is very important.
Early detection saves lives. Let's live, thrive and survive.