Chemo Chicks

Here is a website focusing on women's cancer concerns such as head coverings, hair loss, shaving parties and more. Not just for breast cancer, and not just for young women, Chemo Chicks helps to address concerns of all women facing chemotherapy.

You can contact Chemo Chicks at:

E-mail: info@chemochicks.com
Phone: 310.439.1490
Mail: Chemo Chicks™, 4320 Kenyon Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90066

Breast cancer awareness aims younger

This is a very well written article about the shift in awareness and acknowledgment of young women and breast cancer. From the Tuscaloosa News in Alabama, Anna Maria Della Costa sheds some long-awaited light on young women facing breast cancer.

Here is the link to the article: It's far too good to include only an excerpt here. Please read it and pass it along to everyone that you know.

TUSCALOOSANEWS.COM
Published Friday, February 8, 2008
Breast cancer awareness aims younger
By Anna Maria Della Costa, Assistant Managing Editor

Reach Anna Maria Della Costa at 205-722-0191 or annamaria.dellacosta@tuscaloosa.news.com.

Guess where I'll be tomorrow?

I'm going on a visit. To speak to a Senator, if possible.

In an article written by Alicia Lanier, "Free Health Screenings at Feb. 9 for Women's Health Forum in Santa Clara Sponsored by Senator Alquist" it states that: "Senator Elaine Alquist, California Senate District 13, is holding a free Women’s Health Forum, Thriving with Change, in Santa Clara from 9 a.m. to 1:30 on Saturday, February 9, 2008. This is a great opportunity for women to obtain several free health screenings, including bone density, blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose, body mass index (BMI), and breast cancer prevention screening."

"You’ll also learn about health care programs and services provided by the state as well as health care issues being considered by the California Legislature. Keynote speaker will be former State Senator Jackie Speier. The event will be at the Santa Clara Senior Center, 1303 Fremont Street, in Santa Clara. For more information and to sign up (space is limited), call Senator Alquist’s office at 408-286-8318."

And yours truly just called the number above. I was told to "just walk on in". So please, come join me! I was also told that they will be taking down contact information for future events. (I love mailing lists! It takes so much digging out of trying to find out what is going on and making changes...)

Here is the link to the original post: Free Health Screenings at Feb. 9 for Women's Health Forum in Santa Clara Sponsored by Senator Alquist

And the link to Senator Alquist's site: Senator Elaine Alquist . She is the the State Senator representing the Heart of Silicon Valley. The 13th senate district covers much of Santa Clara County including the cities of San Jose, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, Mountain View, and Gilroy.

The Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition

Here is a Breast Cancer Coalition in Pennsylvania that I came found: The Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition .

They are a grassroots organization advocating in (of course) Pennsylvania. They have a great website, as well as an annual conference. The 2008 conference will be held in October.

What caught my attention most?

One of the topics/workshops at the conference is "Breast Cancer in Young Women". Below is from their site about that particular workshop.

Breast Cancer in Young Women
Session AM 1
Session AM 2

Deena Damsky Dell, RN, MSN, AOCN, BC
Clinical Nurse Specialist/Clinical Educator
Fox Chase Cancer Center

Billie Hammond
Breast Cancer Survivor

Ruben Perez, MD
Good Samaritan Hospital

"Explore the specific issues young women face when diagnosed with breast cancer including fertility, psychological and sexual issues. Learn how treatment options might be different for a young woman and hear a young survivor's personal story."

Worth checking out. And really good to see that young women and breast cancer are being addressed. (Finally.)

Here is the link to the page on their Annual Breast Cancer Conference

Free Mammograms in 2008: Colorado

More free breast screenings for women over the age of 40.

I came across this article on free breast screenings. Posted in YourHub.com and written by Gary Sky on 1/25/2008 Tri-County offers free health screenings

From the article:

"Tri-County Health Department's new Peak Wellness program offers free cancer and heart disease screenings for qualifying 40- to 64-year-old men and women in Colorado."

"The free visit to a Peak Wellness clinic includes blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar and body mass index tests to screen for heart disease risk factors. Female clients will also receive a Pap test to screen for cervical cancer, a clinical breast exam, and will schedule a free mammogram to screen for breast cancer. In addition, clients also have the opportunity to speak one-on-one with a Registered Nurse, a Registered Dietitian, health educator and/or a smoking cessation specialist for free. The average clinic visit is 90 minutes."

"The Peak Wellness program is open to men and women who are 40- to 64-years old; meet income guidelines; are legal U.S. residents; do not have insurance; and/or for women, do not have insurance that covers a Pap test or mammogram and have not had a Pap test or mammogram in the past 12 months. Potential clients can live anywhere in Colorado."

"Appointments are held at multiple locations throughout the metro area including Aurora, Castle Rock, Commerce City, Englewood and Northglenn. For more information or to make an appointment, call 303-363-3018 or visit their Web site at www.tchd.org/peakwellness.htm."

And the waiting continues...

I spoke with the case manager at the Patsur Program... And the news is to the tune of $6,000.00... And they have never had a surgeon request a breast MRI before. So they don't think that they can cover it. But she is reassuring me that she is working on that... (And has been in the two weeks since I saw the surgeon... Without letting me know, of course...) So I am crossing my fingers that something will happen that is positive... (Like she really is working on this... But after the last handful of dealings...)

The surgeon warned me that the test was expensive... He had said about 3 grand... Plus FNA/LNA for the biopsy... (And while it has been almost a year since all of this has started, he discovered another location for concern... Time is not a friend in this sort of thing...) He said that the alternative would be more expensive, more invasive and more scarring... Not to mention, less effective... (That would be to open the breast up and do an old fashioned biopsy, and hope that he got the right location in the mass... Which would be fine if he were just going to remove the whole area, and then let me know if it was necessary for radiation afterward or not... But this whole wanting to have children thing is putting a damper on that... Not to mention that is just not how these things work... Though WHY that is, I just don't know, and no one else seems to either...)

So I am waiting... Again... Still...

And I think it may be time to get a credit card. The one with the highest limit I can get... I don't think they'll take my left arm as payment... They certainly aren't taking my breasts no matter how much I push for that... (A sick joke... I know... Sorry... Just frustrated...)

What I have left to say is this: When you are voting tomorrow... Ask yourself how important health care is to you... And how important it will be to you when you retire. Because I have Medicare. And they do not cover so many things. (Things like this...) Ask yourself if in a handful of years you want to be struggling to find a doctor who will even see you, let alone a hospital that will do the tests that you need to (save your life) lead a healthy life... And then vote for those that will support moving in a direction that will make sure American's do not have to continue facing such a grim future. So that one day, YOU do not have to face a grim future. (This is not something that I would wish on anyone...)