today after 6 years i had my second mamo and
now i remember what i said after the first:
"what was i thinking??? NEVER AGAIN."

how do other women deal with this issue?
esp women over 50. do you go? or not?

and now i forget what it is we can take after
x rays. is it vitamin c?

thanks.

Hi, Fruitgirl!

Remember me?



Well, bless your heart. It's OK.

I'm over 50, and I had one mammogram about 15 years ago and none since! So I know just what you mean, girlfriend! Ha, ha. I have no thoughts or worries about any of it anymore.

I keep quiet about this because people tend to jump all over it as we are all programmed to do.

I think you will be just fine and all you need is some nice, crisp, sweet watermelon, some rest, some time in Nature, and plenty of kindness and love for your own Self.

Oh, and maybe a massage.



Love,
Julie

My partner in love, is an educated Nutritional-Science practician and what she have learned is that mamograms will GIVE you breastcancer.

Science, do you hate it or love it?

ah Jules,

music to my ears to hear you
see your fruity name again

how ya bean?
hows the nighttime noneating?
mine comes and goes

only reason i went for the mamo
was to get my well meaning dr
to hush up with the lectures
thing is with my spazzing out
they always have to take extras
so THATS IT no more ever

yes watermelon, rest, nature, love
and this morning i resumed the dry brush massaging

xo

healthybun,

i do believe the ama and pharmaceutical companies
are in cahootz. sadly.
in that the highest incidence of breast cancer
occurs in women over 50
and that ama recommends women over 50
get mamograms every year

horrible

Hey, I'm really glad to know you are still around, too. I've wondered about you. . .

Oh,yeah.

I know about those lectures from the well-meaning doctor. So I quit going to doctors also. Ha, ha.

Well, the late-night eating doesn't seem to be much of an issue anymore. I just eat when I want, whatever I need (as long as it's fruit), and it just doesn't seem to be a problem. I guess I feel more relaxed and settled about the whole thing. I learned that the period of adjustment is really something to experience! It can be kinda intense, but fun overall. And that it just gets better and easier as you go along, thank goodness. It feels more intuitive and balanced. I just prefer going to bed with an empty stomach and light body. There is always more fruit the next day, or in the next 5 minutes, or whatever you need!

Hope you are having a great weekend!

Love,
Julie

Pretty controversial!

When I was diagnosed with breast cancer, the mammogram showed my tumor (3 cm) crystal clear. It was surprising how well it showed up, because I was only 40 and mammogram readings are a lot easier on women over 50 - less dense tissue.

I found a dimple, but there was a lump there - my doctor felt it even though I couldn't. So the mammogram can be a really good thing if you have a lump - it can really show it and give a lot of information. (most lumps are nothing, and the mammogram can often tell the difference)

I don't know how valuable it is for a woman with healthy breasts - I have friends who had lumps found in mammograms that ended up benign - it's no fun going through an invasive and potentially dangerous procedure like a biopsy when there is nothing wrong in the first place.

I think every woman has to do the research for herself and decide. These do save lives, and I haven't decided about the radiation issue. We are all sitting in front of a computer right now. Most of us probably own cell phones and televisions. There's lots of radiation in the world.

After the chemotherapy was completed, I had to go in for several weeks of radiation treatments to my chest and armpit (lymph nodes). The skin is still really discolored and I do worry that they used something known to cause cancer as part of my treatment - they do that for a lot of people. I don't know if it was the right thing to do - time will tell I guess. I have to keep that skin covered, because it gets sunburned in minutes - very sensitive now.

If you are missing your mammograms just because they are uncomfortable, that isn't good. However, if you have researched it to your own satisfaction, and if you are doing your self-examinations properly, and you can accept the consequences if things go wrong, then you must do what you feel is best. Just don't kid yourself that just because you have a healthy lifestyle you are immune. That was my mistake!

I do go and get my remaining breast mammogrammed when I am supposed to. I always feel conflicted, but I am scared not to go. I have heard that a lot of women, even breast cancer survivors, don't go regularly. If you do get them done however, don't think that it is then ok to skip your self-exams, they are just as important.

Be safe, be healthy!

Sapphire

Has anyone heard of infrared thermography specifically designed for breast screening? I understand that it is a non-invasive procedure that can screen all breast tissue (dense or otherwise) and pick up the most microscopic abnormality. When an abnormality is observed they can actually tell whether it is simply fibrous tissue or an actual or potential cancer. The only thing it cannot do is pinpoint with any degree of accuracy the exact location. However, that is where a mammogram could take over. I understand that in Europe they use the infrared procedure first, followed by a mammogram only if deemed necessary.
Unfortunately, in North America, a whole "industry" functions around the mammogram, and if infrared was provided on a wide scale basis, then the mammogram industry would take a serious hit. Currently in Canada, infrared is not covered by any health care plan, as mammograms are. They cost $200.00 and it is not widely promoted. Think of all the costly procedures which could be avoided, (to say nothing of the emotional upheaval and physical discomforts resulting from unnecessary biopsies) if they would only use this technology first. Mairi

Hi Mairi!

I am Canadian too, and I have heard of the thermal imaging. I don't think it is easily available here yet. Too bad the money stuff gets in the way of common sense so much of the time. You are right, the test is not yet covered by our health care, which really isn't very logical.

When I had active breast cancer, I was given three chemotherapy drugs. I only remember the price tag on one of them because it shocked me so much. The price tag on the epirubicin was $1,600.00 (I got two vials each time I went in for a treatment, twice a month for six months, but I can't remember if that was the cost of each pair, or the cost of each individual vial). As a Canadian, I didn't have to pay this, but its a big price to pay to poison someone either way. We all pay tax dollars, it came from somewhere!

How many $200.00 tests would save people from having to take these expensive drugs - and which choice would ultimately be a less expensive burden for our health care system in the long run? And the chemo drugs are just the beginning - also factor in the anti-nausea drugs, the highly paid oncologists, the surgeons, the radiation treatments and all the staff that entails! Cancer is big business.

I don't know if you have ever stepped foot inside any of the Cancer Agency Buildings in Canada, but in BC it feels like walking into the Taj Mahal! By comparison, our normal hospitals seem like something out of the third world! It really makes you wonder! Can you even begin to imagine how many people would be put out of work if this ceased to exist? Are those people qualified to do anything else?

Ok, I had my big rant - have a nice day!

Sapphire

I have the pre-emptive aversion to mammograms, because of the pain they cause and because I am oblivious to their benefits.

I wonder about what Sapphire wrote: "Just don't kid yourself that just because you have a healthy lifestyle you are immune. That was my mistake!"

Is it possible to have a healthy lifestyle and get cancer?

Gosia


RawGosia channel
RawGosia streams

unfortunately the us govt has not supported the therography
so it is still hard to obtain and evenso is unreliable
due to variables, eg room temperature, windows etc.

the mamogram is such a complicated issue and i really am
appreciating everyone who has added to this thread.

"Is it possible to have a healthy lifestyle and get cancer?"

Just my two cents here: I think living a healthy lifestyle greatly reduces the risk of cancer, but doesn't make it impossible to get it. Even wild animals occasionally get cancer, just at much lower rates than modern humans. I recall reading an article about a T-Rex skull that had a fossilized brain tumor.

Even when eating healthy and living a natural lifestyle--good amount of sun, fresh air, exercise, little stress, etc.--we're still exposed to tons of toxins each day. Radiation from computers, cell phones, radiowaves all over the place... polluted air... second-hand cigarette smoke from people we walk by on the sidewalk... exhaust fumes... power lines... tap water on our skin or even being consumed... pesticides on non-organic produce... chemicals in laundry detergent... the list is endless. I imagine a lifetime exposure to those things creates some risk for disease, even if just a small one.

IMO, the stress of worrying about getting sick probably does more to create illness than most of the above things... but if there is a warning something may be wrong, it's unwise to ignore it and assume it is passing detox.

Can people with a healthy lifestyle get cancer?

Well, I stopped smoking in my 20's (was an occasional smoker before that), and became a vegetarian. Went to the gym regularly and spent a lot of time outdoors. Became a vegetarian around that time - vegan much of the time, but not all the time, and not always raw. Had four kids, a reasonably happy marriage. Some money stress, but not really major, just the normal stuff that would be expected. I have no family history of cancer - went back seven generations to check - found nothing.

So when I got breast cancer at the age of 40, it caught me by surprise. I have lots of family members who drink excessively, chain-smoke, are overweight, and have all kinds of bad lifestyle things going on. They are all fine, so why did I get sick? And because I thought this could never happen to me, I wasn't monitoring myself closely enough - hindsight is a great thing. According to the lists of risk factors for getting breast cancer, I score a big zero. All the stuff that the cancer agency tells you to do to keep yourself healthy, I was already doing and much more!

I met many others at the Cancer Agency who thought they had good lifestyles, and one lady I met ended up declining the chemotherapy. Not only had she been raised as a life-time vegetarian, but she had never in her life had so much as an aspirin, and she was terrified what these drugs would do to her body. I have lost touch with her, but hope she is doing ok. If I was ever on my high horse about my superior diet and lifestyle, I have fallen and I have fallen hard. I am very careful what I say to people now.

Wish I had some solid answers. Maybe I ate too many things that weren't organic. Maybe I used the microwave too much. Maybe I did this to myself in my youth, before I started looking after myself properly. Maybe it is all environmental. Maybe I have some bizarre food sensitivity that nobody else has. Whatever it is, I am battling for my health, and have no idea what weapons to use.

So yes, anything can happen. Think of all the famous people who have had to deal with this. Many of them are also great examples of a healthy lifestyle, for instance, Lance Armstrong. If anything, the people in the most danger are the people who don't think they are in danger at all. They won't pay close enough attention, like me. Until we get some kind of idea what causes this, we really don't know how to protect ourselves.

I still believe it's less likely to happen to someone following a sensible lifestyle, but always be aware. There are no guarantees.

Stay safe, stay healthy,

Sapphire

Sorry to hear about your cancer. Yeah that's rough, when you're already living healthy.

I think it's in the environment.

Esp since NYC has one of the highest cancer rates in the country - and New Yorkers prob eat healthier than most Americans, imo.

Good luck to you!

This is a very thoughtful and intelligent thread, I think.


Thank you for posting, Sapphire. You are an excellent/beautiful writer.

Bless your heart. Somehow, friend, I do not believe that your hard-livin' relatives are really fine, though. I imagine they are all having physical/mental/emotional/spiritual effects of harmful living. No one is immune from that and it'll surely catch up to everyone eventually, depending on many factors like general consititution, etc.

I have a lot of respect and compassion for you, and compassion for all of us. This is a crazy, mixed-up, largely unhealthy man-made world we were born into and we were all taught and led in so many ways that are just wrong and harmful. None of it is any of our "faults." We are all doing the best we know how given our current circumstances. For myself, I find that I more and more want to go away from all conventional thinking and practices.

Living healthfully in all the ways we know how and in agreement with Nature is the best any of us can do. I do think it is helpful and very important to live as "purely" as possible and to ingest only the purest air and foods, which I, myself, did not do for many years. There has been a lot of unlearning to do and plenty of change and cleansing and healing on all levels.

But as Maya Angelou says, when you know better, you do better.

Thank you for sharing your very poignant and enlightening story and I am right now wishing for a perfect healing for you.

Much love,
Julie

Thanks for your interesting insights. Thanks Sapphire for sharing your story.

I think that perhaps the definition of healthy lifestyle in the traditional sense is not accurate. So another question that could be asked is: What is a truly healthy lifestyle?

And, can a person who leads a truly healthy lifestyle (say: no exposure to toxins, plenty of exercise, rest, meditation, sunshine, fruit-based all-raw diet) get cancer? I am also asking: Shouldn't there be some reason for getting sick?

In Tasmania (where I live now), a cancerous disease of the mouth is wiping out the population of Tasmanian devils. So yes, the animals do get sick too. I wonder about what could be possibly causing this. The scientists have no idea. Could it be that there is, in some form, a causal relationship with the fact that those animals live in a damaged (by humans) environment ?

Gosia


RawGosia channel
RawGosia streams

Thank you for all the kind thoughts.

You are right on the money Gosia!

What exactly is the missing link? Obviously, something in my world isn't right. They used to say all sorts of vague things to people when they got lung cancer, until one day they found the connection to smoking, and bingo, now we know. I think this is the same thing. It could be anything, even something I am still doing every day and just don't know. It must be something pretty common, because this disease is reaching epidemic proportions - it's crazy! Whatever it is, it seems to be tied in with the hormones. (Most breast cancers are estrogen-receptor positive, and have something to do with estrogen imbalances, but I don't know how these two things are connected - ie, is it cause or effect?) A person could drive themselves crazy just trying to figure out this one thing!

Of course, anyone who develops ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) or MS or Lupus or any number of other diseases is in the same boat as me. Nobody really knows where this all comes from. Despite all the advanced medical technology in the world, there is just so much we don't know. And considering how drastic all of these conditions are, it is amazing how many people take no interest in protecting their health.

Someday, I hope we can all look back on all of this stuff and laugh at how easily preventable it all was. Just like we now can with smoking - if you just don't start, your chances of having healthy lungs are pretty fantastic. When my mother was young, she was encouraged to smoke to help keep her figure slim and beautiful. A friend of mine actually found a very old medical textbook that suggested smoking as a great way for pregnant women to keep from gaining too much weight - sounds pretty shocking today, doesn't it! (I didn't believe her when she told me this, so she showed me - it's honestly true!) A lot of the stuff in the book sounded crazy today, but it was also sad to see how helpless the doctors were in the days before antibiotics and other big medical advances! (like polio vaccines)

I just hope we solve this mystery before any of my daughters or my sisters or any more of my dear friends, have to face this monster. There is nothing so scary as having a nurse explain that she is wearing protective gear because the stuff in the syringe she is holding is so toxic that it will cause chemical burns if she accidentally spills it on her skin, and then proceeds to inject the whole contents into your arm - chemotherapy is horrible! Hope you never have to experience it!

I'm very grateful for one thing though. Hard as this was, it was nothing compared to how hard it would have been for one of my kids to be sick. I try to remember to send a little prayer of gratitude every day for that!

Stay safe, stay healthy!

Sapphire