Bottom's up?...Hold that thought!

Recently I decided to limit my alcohol consumption to no more than 3 drinks per week (giving up alcohol for Lent helped me "reset" my wine-drinking habits). I decided to make this change because I know that alcohol consumption is associated with an increased risk for breast cancer. I want to do everything I can to prevent a recurrence or new cancer. When I explain this to people they are always surprised. They had no idea that consuming alcohol could increase your risk for breast cancer and that the risk increases with increased consumption of alcohol.

The American Cancer Society says:

The use of alcohol is clearly linked to an increased risk of developing breast cancer. The risk increases with the amount of alcohol consumed. Compared with non-drinkers, women who consume 1 alcoholic drink a day have a very small increase in risk. Those who have 2 to 5 drinks daily have about 1½ times the risk of women who drink no alcohol. Excessive alcohol use is also known to increase the risk of developing cancers of the mouth, throat, esophagus, and liver. The American Cancer Society recommends that women limit their consumption of alcohol to no more than one drink a day.

While the American Cancer Society refers to a "one drink a day" recommended limit on alcohol consumption, a pamphlet I have at home, from breastcancer.org, entitled "Your Guide to Reducing Your Risk of Breast Cancer" recommends limiting your alcohol intake to "fewer than 5 drinks a week."

If you want to know what you can do to reduce your breast cancer risk, limiting your alcohol is one place you can start.

For more information on reducing your risk for breast cancer, visit the American Cancer Society website or breastcancer.org.

Time to hit the books...and get some "Crazy Sexy" inspiration!

Two weeks ago I did my best to sneek into a classroom and be the best "guest" I could be, sitting out of the way and being as quiet as possible.

This week, however, was my first week really back in the swing of things, as I returned to both of the classes that I had taken incompletes in last fall. I spent Monday running back and forth between work and school in order to fit 2 classes into my day. Once again, I sat in a corner and didn't participate. I felt like I was crashing a party. This wasn't really my class, so I should remain as invisible as possible. Then I realized, "I'm doing it again. I need to stop apologizing for my cancer!" I have just as much right as anyone to raise my hand and speak up, plus it will probably help my grades. So, with the 3-1/2 weeks I have left of this make-up semester, I plan to fully participate as much as possible.

On another note, I got a great reminder today about a cancer survivor who's story and website I absolutely love. Kris Carr was diagnosed with a rare and incurable cancer in her early 30s. Her reaction was to set off on a hunt for alternative therapies, filming the whole thing along the way. I saw Kris Carr's documentary, Crazy Sexy Cancer, when it premiered on TLC in 2007, and immediately fell in love. I remember thinking Ms. Carr was so likable and truly admirable. But I completely forgot about this wonderful resource as I was going through my own journey, until a friend reminded me about her today. Just this morning I was thinking I wanted to get a new book for our upcoming vacation. I think I'll get Kris Carr's Crazy Sexy Cancer Survivor. Cancer or no, I strongly recommend you check out Kris' websites (also listed under "Breast Cancer Resources" in the right frame):

Crazy Sexy Cancer

Crazy Sexy Life

A New Start, Courtesy of Lent

Lent began just over a month ago on Ash Wednesday, March 9. Catholics traditionally give up something during the observance of Lent, from Ash Wednesday until Easter. I love Lent because I view it as a fun and exciting opportunity to challenge myself and start fresh with a change of pace. I love that Lent comes at the start of Spring. It's the perfect time to make a new beginning by changing bad habits. This year, Lent came at a time when I was also thinking about how to take even better care of my health, to do everything in my power to protect my body from a cancer recurrence or a new cancer. From the time I found out I had cancer, I had slacked off on my healthy eating behaviors and I had developed some bad habits I wanted to correct. I know that alcohol consumption increases breast cancer risk and that this risk increases with increased consumption of alcohol. I love wine and was in the habit of drinking a glass or two with dinner every week, a few nights per week. I also had some food consumption habits that I wanted to break. This year for Lent, I really went for it, giving up all of the following:

• Meat, 100% (For the past year we've been vegetarian with a once-a-month meat benefit but during Lent meat is completely off limits for both me and my husband. We still eat eggs, dairy, fish & seafood.)
• Wine (& all other alcohol)
• The decadent milk hot chocolate from my absolute favorite spot (I'm not giving it away that easy!)
• Butter (I had been using the best real butter option, Land O' Lakes Light Butter w/ Canola Oil, but have switched to I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Light)
• My favorite Organic Valley 1% Organic Chocolate Milk (I have limited these to one per day. It was not a regular occurrence for me to drink more than one per day but it certainly happened every now and then. I am limiting these because they are 1%, not skim, and the chocolate flavor means added sugars.)

For more information on risk factors for breast cancer, please see this page from the American Cancer Society website.

Young Survival Coalition

When I first got my diagnosis I, of course, scoured the internet for anything I could find on breast cancer, especially resources for young women with breast cancer. I came across the website for the Young Survival Coalition, which has its headquarters in Manhattan and affiliates throughout the United States.


The YSC is a support and resource group for women who were first diagnosed with breast cancer before the age of 40. YSC has monthly support group meetings where women can discuss whatever is on their mind at the moment. I went to two support group meetings - - one before each of my two surgeries. I met such wonderful women there who helped me prepare for and get through my surgeries, emotionally and practically.


This week, in New York, March 30 at 630PM, YSC is hosting an informative event called Exploring Complementary and Integrative Medicine.


To learn more about the Young Survival Coalition, click here.

Big Plans for the Weekend

So maybe this doesn't really sound like a big plan, but it is, I assure you. Today marks four weeks since my second surgery (Friday, February 18 - Friday, March 18 to be exact). This means that starting tomorrow I can work out again! And THAT means that tomorrow morning, D and I are getting up bright and early to head to our regular yoga class. I'm very excited to get back out there. I'll probably be signing up for some dance and Zumba events soon and can't wait to get back to my kickboxing class at the gym!

Back to Life, Back to Reality

Monday was my first day back at work in over two weeks. Readjusting to a work schedule was rough but overall, it went well. Tuesday, D and I went to a second follow-up with my breast surgeon. She said everything looked good and I don't have to see her for another six months. I will have annual mammograms and MRIs but they will not be at the same time. They will be spaced apart. My next mammogram will be in June and my MRI will be in October/November. Or maybe it's the other way around. I can't remember right now. Yesterday I met with one of my teachers from one of the two classes that I had to take incompletes in. She is teaching the same course at the same day and time and they are almost at the same point in the semester where I left off. She suggested I start sitting in on these classes so that I can make up my coursework on the same schedule as the current students and get to hear the actual lectures. I think it's a great idea, so in April I plan to start sitting in on these courses. Tomorrow I meet with my other teacher and my hope is that I can do the same thing with her class. Besides making up my coursework the two other things I'm really looking forward to are being able to workout again and taking a well-deserved vacation. Mom & I took a four-week set of dance classes awhile back. It was a lot of fun and I think I will check out their upcoming schedule to see what I can fit in with my new school schedule. Then, D and I are hoping to be able to get away in the coming months. Our last really big trip was Iceland. After that we did Portland, Oregon. I initially wanted to go someplace warm where we could do lots of outdoor activities like hiking, horseback riding, kayaking, etc., so we were looking at going somewhere in Central America like Belize, Costa Rica, Nicaragua or Guatemala. Turns out Guatemala is in their rainy season at the time we want to go, while Nicaragua is way too dusty & hot. Costa Rica seems too touristy and too much ON the beaten path. Belize seemed like it was the destination of choice but we just can't seem to figure out a trip plan that we are happy with. So now we're just being really open-minded, searching for deals on flights and packages to almost anywhere. At this point I'm starting to think I'd prefer a relaxing vacation in a European city, getting breakfast in a cafe every morning, taking the metro everywhere and just roaming around a cloudy, cool European city checking out museums and whatnot. As of tomorrow I have one more week before I can start working out again. I can't wait.

Before I go, here's an article I found yesterday, from the Today show website, about pregnant women with cancer, seeing their pregnancies through (click the hyperlink):

Pregnant with cancer, women struggle to heal for two

Outlook Good

Reading over my last few posts I realized that I was really upset two posts ago ("Spoke too soon?") and improving in the previous post ("32C") but that I hadn't yet written to tell you how I'm feeling now, five days after that last doctor's appointment. Gradually over the last five days I've started to feel really happy with the results of my implant surgery. The steri-strips (a white tape the doc puts over the incision) are completely gone now and I can clearly see what I'm dealing with. It's not bad. It's actually pretty good. Firstly, the mastectomy scar still looks surprisingly really good even after being re-opened. Secondly, the differences in the two breasts really aren't as dramatic as I made them out to be. Basically, I think what happened is that when I came home from surgery and took my first look at the results, I jumped the gun in getting so excited about how perfect they looked. In the back of my mind I knew there was a good deal of swelling contributing to the two breasts looking so similar, but I wanted to be positive and happy and excited. As the swelling went down though, reality set in. They are never going to look like a proper pair. (But hey, my original boobs were actually pretty dissimilar to begin with!) Now I'm feeling really happy with them and am back to my old feelings of "I don't think I want a lift" and "I definitely don't want to mess around with nipple reconstruction." However, I know that they may continue to change a bit as they settle and so, again, I am keeping an open mind and just seeing how I feel, and how they look, over the course of the next few months.


Everything else is great. I'm missing the gym, of course. I still have 2-1/2 weeks of no gym and it's driving me insane! I've started reviewing the work I had left off with when I left school towards the end of the semester. I have until sometime in May to complete those two courses. And I'm getting ready to return to work next week. Next week I also have a dietetic internship interview, so wish me luck!