# Getting off my butt to fight breast cancer **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 10, 2008, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-off-my-butt-to-fight-breast-cancer/440863 "2008-03-10T19:25:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2008, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-off-my-butt-to-fight-breast-cancer/440863/1 "2008-03-10T19:25:57Z")
**This post is being made with moderator approval. Thanks TubaDiva!** A few months ago, Mrs. WeHaveCookies (Shay) and I began to hear ads on the radio about this year’s Bay Area [“Susan G. Komen For The Cure” 3 day breast cancer fund-raising walk](http://08.the3day.org/site/PageServer). These events are happening all across the country on various dates (please see the above site). The one in the Bay Area is scheduled for September 5 - 7, 2008. We started talking about how that (aside from just being a great cause) it would be a great incentive to train for and prompt us to get more regular exercise in our daily lives, and meet some great new people in the area that we recently moved into from across the country. Then a couple of weeks ago, we received some news that moved things immediately from just talking to taking direct action. Shay’s mom has been diagnosed with breast cancer, and the pervasive reach of this disease entered our lives in a much more personal way, as it does with so many people every day. Thankfully, the doctors caught it early and the prognosis is good, but she is still in the middle of the decision to remove the tumor while keeping her breast and undergo radiation treatment or have a full mastectomy. Over this past weekend we both registered for the event and have started futzing with our personal donation pages. We each have an individual contribution goal to meet in order to qualify to participate in the event, so we are hoping that our contributors will split their donations between us. Here is a link to [my donation page](http://08.the3day.org/site/TR/Walk/SanFranciscoBayAreaEvent?px=1823001&pg=personal&fr_id=1188) and to [Shay’s donation page](http://08.the3day.org/site/TR/Walk/SanFranciscoBayAreaEvent?px=1822992&pg=personal&fr_id=1188). We are also putting together a “thank you” gift for those who donate to us. As I have posted elsewhere on the Dope, Shay is a composer and classically trained pianist, and she has decided to re-record a selection of her original compositions on the piano as a gift. I am also going to try to work on some recordings of my own with acoustic guitar and vocals. We will distribute these gifts along with some photographs of the event once we have completed the walk in September. I will be making regular updates to this thread, including breast cancer awareness links and information, and to make sure Dopers have plenty of opportunities to get out their wallets for a good cause. 😃 In the meantime, feel free to jump in if you are also interested in participating in a 3 day walk near you, if you are a survivor or love a survivor, if breast cancer has touched your life, or just to show your support for the fight against this disease and the quest for the cure. Thanks for reading! ---
**Author:** ![Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d9b06d/32.png) [@Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boozahol_Squid_P.I)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2008, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-off-my-butt-to-fight-breast-cancer/440863/2 "2008-03-10T22:42:43Z")
Boobs are my most favorite charity. ---
**Author:** ![Mahna\_Mahna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47c2d/32.png) [@Mahna\_Mahna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahna_Mahna)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2008, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-off-my-butt-to-fight-breast-cancer/440863/3 "2008-03-11T00:05:15Z")
3 days? Damn, you 'Muricans are hardcore. Up here, we have the Weekend to End which covers 60K in 2 days. I did it for the first time last year, and it was the most painful, exhilarating, inspiring experience of my life. So much so that as soon as I crossed the finish line and treated the giant blisters on my feet, I limped over to the registration table and signed up again for this year’s walk. I hope that you and your partner have the same kind of experience, and I’m sorry to hear that your lives were touched in such a personal way. I’ve got a ways to go on my own fundraising for this year (I’ve been a little bit lazy, to be honest), but if I should happen to reach my goals on time, I’ll be happy to kick some of the extra in your direction. Least I can do. ---
**Author:** ![ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2008, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-off-my-butt-to-fight-breast-cancer/440863/4 "2008-03-11T00:16:21Z")
[QUOTE=Diomedes] Boobs are my most favorite charity. [/QUOTE] Mine too. And they’re also my most favorite theoretical charitable item, as I am always wishing I could give at least half of both of my personal pair to someone else… I’m posting a link to **Mahna Mahna’s** [Weekend to End Breast Cancer](http://www.endcancer.ca/) for any other Canucks who might be reading and interested in participating. Thanks for the info! ---
**Author:** ![ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2008, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-off-my-butt-to-fight-breast-cancer/440863/5 "2008-03-11T16:47:54Z")
On the radio during our morning commute today, we heard some good news on the breast cancer treatment options involving the drug **tamoxifen** combined with an aromatase inhibitor. Here is a snippet from a [Washington Post article](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/10/AR2008031002935.html): > [@Washington Post](#): > > In the new research, Paul E. Goss of Massachusetts General Hospital and his colleagues looked at more than 1,500 women who had been taking a placebo in the original study but then started taking the aromatase inhibitor letrozole after the study was stopped. It had been at least a year and as many as seven years since they had stopped taking tamoxifen. > > Even so, compared with the risk to about 800 women who did not start taking letrozole, the risk of a recurrence was cut by 63 percent. In addition, the risk of the cancer spreading was cut 61 percent, and the chance that a new tumor would be found in the other breast dropped more than 80 percent. > > A second paper, also published online yesterday by the Journal of Clinical Oncology, answered another crucial question. Hyman Muss of the University of Vermont did further analysis of the original study and found that letrozole, which is sold under the brand name Femara, was effective in cutting the recurrence risk for women of all ages, including those older than 70. > > A third study, involving 1,598 patients, found that a different aromatase inhibitor, known as exemestane or by the brand name Aromasin, was equally effective at reducing the recurrence risk. Shay’s mom has also decided on having a lumpectomy and undergoing radiation. Her particular variety of cancer is known to respond very favorably to tamoxifen. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2008, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-off-my-butt-to-fight-breast-cancer/440863/6 "2008-03-11T18:20:02Z")
Best wishes. I’m walking as well, but its a little 5k on Mother’s Day (so my kids can walk, with my mother, and my sister and her kids). My sister is a survivor, having been diagnosed a year ago with Stage II breast cancer at the age of 37 - with a one and a three year old at home. After a mascetomy, chemo and radition, she is now clear, and her hair has reached the “don’t wear sensible shoes to the women’s bookstore, unless you want a date” length. ---
**Author:** ![Ceejaytee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ceejaytee/32/2956_2.png) [@Ceejaytee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ceejaytee)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2008, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-off-my-butt-to-fight-breast-cancer/440863/7 "2008-03-11T18:37:57Z")
We’re all about breast cancer in my family (wow, that sounded odd). My mom had breast cancer 15 years ago (lumpectomy & radiation), my younger sister had a double mastectomy last year, chemo and radiation (and a lawsuit against the radiologist for not catching it sooner–her oncologist thinks she’d had it for a couple of years and it should have been caught sooner). Her cancer recently metastisized to a small spot on her spine, which they treated with radiation. This kind of thing will probably keep happening the rest of her life. I was tested for BRAC1 and 2 and came up negative. My little sister is positive for BRAC2 and just had her ovaries removed to lessen the chance of getting breast cancer (estrogen feeds tumors) and eliminate her chances of getting ovarian cancer. My younger sister had a hysterectomy, because, well, who the hell wants to get cancer again? I’ve switched over to estrogen-free birth control and I get examined a lot. My mom was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer last summer, and died in the hospital from respiratory failure while being treated for pleural effusion (liquid around the lungs, which is where they found her breast cancer cells). Her oncologist had been very upbeat about treating her with oral medication, like Elizabeth Edwards, and said she would have been okay living with cancer. I’m not trying to be a downer. I’m sure Shay’s mom will recover nicely and I wish her all the best. It’s just that I have 2 sisters and breast cancer has become a big part of our lives. My younger sister has developed a greater appreciation for life and not sweating the small stuff, attitudes I am trying to adopt. I wish you luck with the walk. I’ll mosey over to your website soon. ---
**Author:** ![Ceejaytee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ceejaytee/32/2956_2.png) [@Ceejaytee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ceejaytee)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-off-my-butt-to-fight-breast-cancer/440863/8 "2008-03-12T19:45:36Z")
_bumping important thread so I won’t have killed it_ 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2008, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-off-my-butt-to-fight-breast-cancer/440863/9 "2008-03-13T02:44:29Z")
I meandered for the Cure in the Komen Run in Newport Beach, CA, last year, and I will do it again this year. A number of Dopers, Unaboarders and Fathomites sponsored me. Good for you guys! ---
**Author:** ![ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2008, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-off-my-butt-to-fight-breast-cancer/440863/10 "2008-03-13T02:57:05Z")
I’m very encouraged by the response from y’all so far. Thank you! Though I am beginning to wonder if there is something about liking to play Mafia and being charitably generous, or if some of y’all are just trying to butter me up to start banking manipulation points early for future games. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-off-my-butt-to-fight-breast-cancer/440863/11 "2008-03-20T23:06:19Z")
Just giving this a friendly little nudge to the top of the page with some breast cancer news. [Amy Winehouse to pose nude for breast cancer awareness.](http://www.showbizspy.com/2008/03/20/amy-winehouse-gets-naked-to-raise-awareness-of-breast-cancer/) 🙂 And on a more somber note, [Dame Maggie Smith has been diagnosed with breast cancer.](http://ukpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5gVwVaW15S21x_Fd8On5BiYBk9O9Q) ☹ ---
**Author:** ![vison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/e47774/32.png) [@vison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vison)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-off-my-butt-to-fight-breast-cancer/440863/12 "2008-03-20T23:38:31Z")
While I was undergoing chemo for breast cancer for most of 2005 my youngest sister and a few other friends did the 2 day walk, and have done it in 2006 and 2007 as well. I said then I would do it one day, and I’m aiming at next year, 2009. In the meantime, money has to do the walking for me. I wish the very best to everyone who participates, you’re all heroes to me. And I hope for the best for every other woman who has to deal with breast cancer. It’s a hard row to hoe. ---
**Author:** ![ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2008, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-off-my-butt-to-fight-breast-cancer/440863/13 "2008-04-07T19:31:49Z")
The biopsy of my mother-in-unlawfulness’ lumpectomy has uncovered two other cancer types besides the original type that prompted the original diagnoses. The doctors are re-evaluating the need to go back and do a full mastectomy of at least one breast now. While this is a setback, spirits and optimism are still high as the detections have been nice and early. I’ve been trying to write more, and I’ve decided to share a half-baked essay on boobs. Some of this information is redundant, but I did not originally start writing it with this audience in mind. Some of the things I say may prompt some folks with differing viewpoints to post. I am not trying to hijack my own thread into a pit-fight, though. I hope that the thread can stay here and the discussion can stay civil. If it ends up in the pit anyway, maybe few more donations might come in. 😃 * * * Some introspection on boobs… I spend a lot of time thinking about boobs. My own pair (too) often occupies my thoughts, but as a lesbian-living-in-cohabitating-sin, I certainly spend a good deal of (much more fun) time thinking about my partner’s pair as well. Mine are attention hogs. They’re just too damn big for their own good. My bras are uncomfortable, so I think about them every time a strap irritates me, which is about every 30 seconds. I’m also constantly dropping and dribbling food onto them. If I had a nickel for every spot or stain I inflict upon my shirts all because of “the shelf”… They get in the way of pretty much everything I do, even sleeping. I remember a time back when I was an active and athletic teenager. Back then they were only minor annoyances that took a few years to get used to. Then they just kept growing. Now they are an obstacle to getting into shape and being more active. Two self-sustaining parasites attached to my chest like big ticks. My mother in-unlawfulness was recently diagnosed with breast cancer, which prompted my partner and I to sign up for a local fundraising event. We’ll be walking 20 miles a day for 3 days with a few thousand other folks. More boobs on the brain, along with a conflicted and nagging guilt about being unhappy with my healthy (though heavy) pair. Knowing that we’ll be walking with survivors who have had single or even double mastectomies… Knowing that I would gladly give half of mine to someone who wanted them, if I could… Knowing that if I ever do follow through on getting breast reduction surgery, that my doctor could very well have an augmentation patient in the next room, getting her birthday present from her husband implanted… Nonsensical and ironic knowledge, all of it. I haven’t even yet touched on the whole point of 50% of the population having them stuck on our chests in the first place. I personally don’t even hear my biological clock ticking, let alone experience pangs or aches of unfulfilled motherhood. At 33, I figure I have managed to somehow dodge that particular hormonal or instinctual bullet. However, my personal ambivalence certainly doesn’t stop me from feeling completely perplexed at the conflicted double-speak that runs so rampantly through our society about boobs. Victoria’s Secret Wonder Bra billboards with airbrushed cleavage as big as a city bus? That’s cool. Titillating even. But breast-feed your baby anywhere but alone in a private room with no windows and a locked door? Icky! :rolleyes: If in the distant future, some alien intelligence finds Earth, with the only vestiges of our civilization remaining somehow relating to boobs…what conclusions might they draw about us? Mind-boggling. Or should I say mind-boobling? * * * ---
**Author:** ![ChiefScott](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58f4c7/32.png) [@ChiefScott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChiefScott)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2008, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-off-my-butt-to-fight-breast-cancer/440863/14 "2008-04-07T19:38:40Z")
[QUOTE=ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies] snip If in the distant future, some alien intelligence finds Earth, with the only vestiges of our civilization remaining somehow relating to boobs…what conclusions might they draw about us? [/QUOTE] _Sometime far in the future…_ **Bloog** – “Hey, Bleeg?” \*\*Bleeg \*\* – “What, Bloog?” **Bloog** – “Earth had a cool civilization, huh?” **Bleeg** – “Boobalicious, Bloog. Boobalicious.” ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2008, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-off-my-butt-to-fight-breast-cancer/440863/15 "2008-04-08T00:56:22Z")
[QUOTE=ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies] The biopsy of my mother-in-unlawfulness’ lumpectomy has uncovered two other cancer types besides the original type that prompted the original diagnoses. The doctors are re-evaluating the need to go back and do a full mastectomy of at least one breast now. While this is a setback, spirits and optimism are still high as the detections have been nice and early. [/QUOTE] Well, that sucks and I am sorry to hear it. My friend Susan thought she found a lump, they did a mammogram and found it. Then they did a biopsy and while doing it found another mass. Then they did an MRI to check out the first two masses and found a third. You see where this is going… ☹ She had a bilateral mastectomy a few months ago, scary but it went well. Much harder was the reconstruction phase- she HATED the tissue expanders necessary prior to getting implants, and they were painful as hell. However, she finally got her implants and she is much much happier. A mastectomy is not the end of the world- it’s the end of cancer. She can pick out a great new pair of bobbies. 😉 Seriously, hard news to hear but not necessarily the worst news. Hang in there, all of you. ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2008, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-off-my-butt-to-fight-breast-cancer/440863/16 "2008-04-08T03:00:34Z")
I will be participating in the 3-Day in Chicago in August. I lost my Mom two years ago to an extremely rare form of breast cancer. Last August, I found two lumps in my own breast and between finding it and having it examined eleven days later, I planned my own funeral. We’re talking SCARED. Turns out I have a couple of harmless, fluid-filled cysts (and a MUCH higher awareness of breast health.) ---
**Author:** ![ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2008, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-off-my-butt-to-fight-breast-cancer/440863/17 "2008-05-07T17:43:10Z")
Today is mastectomy day. ☹ She has elected to go the reconstruction route, but I’m not sure if any of those procedures are happening today as well or not. Unfortunately the surgery was scheduled at a time that made it impossible for us to fly back to ND to be there for it. It is a worrisome day all around. ---
**Author:** ![ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-off-my-butt-to-fight-breast-cancer/440863/18 "2008-05-16T21:15:41Z")
A study has shown that a deficiency in Vitamin D in women when they are diagnosed with breast cancer can increase the future chances of recurrence of or death from the disease. [Story](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/16/AR2008051601472.html). > [@The Washington Post](#): > > “This study found that vitamin D deficiency is very common among women with breast cancer, and it suggests that vitamin D deficiency is linked to poorer outcomes in these women,” Dr. Nancy Davidson, director of the breast cancer program at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, said during a May 6 press conference. Davidson is president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). > > Nevertheless, the evidence isn’t strong enough to suggest women with breast cancer take more of the vitamin. > > “It’s premature to tell all women diagnosed with breast cancer that they should take vitamin D supplements over and above what’s recommended for bone health,” said study author Dr. Pamela Goodwin, a medical oncologist with Mount Sinai Hospital and a professor of medicine at the University of Toronto. “If you’re a woman with breast cancer, it’s probably worthwhile having vitamin D levels checked. If they’re deficient, they should take more to get it in the range that we think is beneficial.” > > The optimal levels of vitamin D associated with breast cancer risk in this study do overlap with optimal levels for bone health, Goodwin added. In other news, my mother-in-unlawfulness is doing very well after her procedure. In other other news, in about a month I will actually be able to refer to her as my mother-in-law. Yay CA Supreme Court! Be sure to check out [Kat’s American Cancer Society’s “Relay for Life” donation thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=468104) too! ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2008, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-off-my-butt-to-fight-breast-cancer/440863/19 "2008-05-17T00:37:12Z")
Thank you for doing this, **DarkSide**. I hope, when I’m better, I can do a walk too. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Omegaman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e480ec/32.png) [@Omegaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omegaman)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2008, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-off-my-butt-to-fight-breast-cancer/440863/20 "2008-05-17T17:54:32Z")
You go girl! You should be proud of yourself. I got involved with that charity after my sister had a scare with that kind of cancer. Unfortunatly a lot of us don’t seem to care untill it’s on our doorstep. Well, most people do what they can. But actually getting off your ass is another matter entirely, I bet your family is so proud of you too.