Newsletter No. 56

8/11/2019 Newsletter No. 56

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Our Motto is…we will survive…

The

Menopause

Gang

Fall 2014 No. 56

Breast Cancer & My Journey

By Nancy Wilson—Toronto, Ontario

My name is Nancy, currently 61 years of age, weight between 100-115 lbs,

small breasted, height 5’3 and shrinking.

In my early 30’s, while performing a self-examination, I found lumps. At anemergency visit to my doctor, she quietly and sincerely said: “It’s your rib cage.”

I left a little embarrassed, but more importantly, I left with my doctor’s encour-

agement about keeping up with self-examinations.

In August of 2002 I found a lump on my right breast. In October a mammogram found two more on my left breast. In No-

vember a bi-lateral lumpectomy was performed. I was sent home to await the results.

On Friday, December 13th, as if that’s not weird enough, the phone rings. It’s my doctor calling at 9pm. She said “Are

you alright?” and I replied “I was until you called.” Results: Invasive Ductal Carcenoma, or Bilateral Breast Cancer. If I’m

going to do something, I like doing it well.

The adventure continued in January 2003 where Dr. Ali performed bi-lateral lymph node surgery taking twelve samples

out of my right pit and nine out of my left. Result: Clear. Yahooooo. But, this part is actually where the fear entered me,

also the pain. Draining tubes with bags were attached to my arm pits. The liquid needed to be drained and measured

each day and exercises to be performed in order to avoid lymphodema (swelling of the arms). At first I refused to take

pain killers, then that night I totally agreed. Next came a commitment to do the exercises as my surgeon threatened me.

My radiation treatments started in March: right side sixteen treatments five days a week, followed with a three week

break. Then they did the left side. This wasn’t so bad, just tiring. However with my luck it was during the SARS epidemic.

There weren’t too many people around and I was tired of getting my temperature taken around radiation treatments.

The grand finale — Tamoxifen — instant menopause and thousands of wet t-shirts later for the next five years.

I also managed to get a wonderful Oncologist who kept me on track. I cried when both my surgeon and the oncologist

told me they didn’t want to see me anymore!

My sanity through all of this was having my sister-in-law, Carol, as my mentor. She was also battling this horrible disease

and for a longer period of time. She underwent much more invasive treatments, meaning chemotherapy.

We talked, we laughed, we cried. We compared our daily research findings; usually about another kind of green food to

eat, or a new recipe including another green food, a new vitamin, supplement, exercise plan or pan of brownies.

I lost Carol exactly two years after I received my ‘all clear’ and on that same day, she received news that hers had me-

tastasized . That was September 30th, 2004. Still to this day, there isn’t a moment that goes by when I don’t think about

her.

Cont’d on Page 7



Lise Fox — PublisherThe Menopause Gang Newsletter

Contact: (441) 297-0928

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.themenopausegang.com

Editor

Carole Sousa

Contributors

Caroline Ivaliotis

Monica Jones

Trish Wan

Suzanne Brennan

Nancy Wilson

Tales from Trish………………………………….

It’s All Relative……………………………………

Lines from Caroline……………………………...

Bda Cancer & Health Center Home Page ……

Divine Natures And Inspirations………………..

Breast Cancer & My Journey (cont’d)………….

Postmenopausal Breast Cancer Risks………..

Tales from Trish (cont’d)………………………..

Study Confirms No Links Between Wearing a

Bra and Breast Cancer………………………….

My Turning Point………………………………..

Our Motto is…we will survive…

Inside this issue

Thank you Nancy for sharing your story on the Cover Page. It’snot always easy to put it out there for others to read.

Menopause Corner

2

Disclaimer:

The information set forth in this pamphlet is not in ANY way (either written or implied) to substitute for and/or give medical advice to any person

who reads this. It is only intended to “share the emotional aspect of going through menopause”. The Publisher

Tales from Trish — Thank you Trish for sharing your travels atthe Kimberley Coast, West Australia. Congratulations for learn-

ing self-preservation. (Page 3)

It’s All Relative — I can always count on my cousin Suzanne to

make me chuckle. She missed her calling. She should have

been a comedian. (Page 4)

Lines from Caroline — Messages from Heaven is an interest-

ing article on after-death communication. (Page 5)

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Divine Nature & Inspirations — We all experience memory

lapses, some women more than others. Thank you Monica forsharing. (Pages 7)

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Postmenopausal Breast Cancer Risk Decreases… & Study

Confirms No Link Between Wearing a Bra & Breast Cancer.

(Pages 8 & 9)

My Turning Point — I’m sharing the new ‘Moi’. (Page 10)

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10



Our Motto is…we will survive…3

Tales from TrishKimberley Learning Curve

None of my articles is ever born fully formed — an idea evolves, is parked for weeks or months until one day it’s begun anew. And somy account of a recent trip became ‘What did I learn on my last vacation?’

Firstly, I learned that sailing around the Kimberley Coast of West Australia for 10 days being cared for by 80 crew is the way to go!

Identified by name badges, 100 fellow guests soon became mates; the crew honored us with the titles ‘Sir Ernie’ and ‘Lady Trish’.

Secondly, I learned that mountainous meals from many cuisines, afternoon teas laden with tempting canapés, cakes and assortedsandwiches, bottomless cups of tea or coffee and alcoholic happy hours with snacks would need to be strictly portion controlled.

It was clear I would be stimulated by the well-stocked library and daily news bulletins providing Australian, Canadian and U.S. newsbut who cared? The rest of the world seemed remote as we traversed sparkling waters without the onus of bed-making, cleaning,cooking or washing up.

Trivia comps kept our gray matter working and revealed the Captain held his position at the tender age of 37 which felt similar tohanding car keys to a teenager! Although we could brush up on dance steps after dinner, inexplicably the entertainer complained thatrather than tripping the light fantastic, we all rolled off to bed, replete and exhausted from sightseeing.

Orion’s National Geographic experts enlightened us with wildlife lectures, daily videos and photos featuring our exploits. We gainedtips on how to compose the perfect shot, care for equipment and the certainty that point-and-shoot digital cameras produce quality

photos if set at the correct aperture and later enhanced by photo shopping, cropping, brightening and other techniques.

Well prepared for the day ahead by the cruise manager and covered up to avoid sunburn, it was essential to share a confined spaceonce we’d safely boarded rubber Zodiacs and taken our seats along the sides. Patience enabled us to eventually take that ideal photoand we aided less agile guests during wet landings, guided beach walks, climbs up rocky inclines to view 45,000-year-old Aboriginalrock art galleries or to reach a remote swimming hole guaranteed free of crocodiles.

Skills were honed to spot birds perching in branches or nests or taking flight and to spy green-backed turtles popping their heads upmomentarily before diving again. Schools of pink jellyfish with stinging tentacles floated close to the surface and salt water crocshunted for food along mangrove shorelines — rule number one was not to trail our hands in the water! Slow moving sand-skipperscrept along the dead coral of Montgomery Reef searching for morsels as the water cascaded away at low tide. One of Australia’s leastdangerous sharks — a mature Tawny Grey Nurse — lazily circled our moored vessel, accompanied by two juveniles and the tiny fishthat clean the scales of the larger ones. Brimming with excitement, we shared the space at the ship’s rails so we could all capture andenjoy this rare sight.

We gained appreciation for the geology of our country: the Kimberley is renowned for twisted or ‘folded’ geological formations, onceancient sea-beds.

Giant boulders hang precipitously at the pinnacle of tall cliffs — relics of long-ago earth movement. Talbot Bay’s vertical sheer can-yons of iron-rich red rock reflect their brilliant hut at sunset. The phenomenon of the Horizontal Waterfall is created when tidal surgesswirl between two steep walls. After the wet season, Gardner Plateau produces the two highest single-drop waterfalls in the Kimberleywhen water drains into the King George River; our Zodiacs took us into the cooling spray as we sipped cocktails provided by Orion’screw.

Coaches drove us from the port of Wyndham to Kununurra to board a scenic flight over Purnululu National Park, home of the BungleBungle Range, where hills resemble giant beehives and deep chasms are filled with cycads. The ancient bungles were known only toa few drovers and Aboriginals until they were ‘discovered’ in 1989, to become a prime tourist attraction best viewed from the air. Oper-ating within the national park, the Argyle Diamond Mine is famous for rare pink diamonds. An isolated township for miners is sited toface away from the mine’s great gash in the landscape. The Ord River flows into Lake Argyle, a massive quantity of water comparable

to Sydney Harbour. Aware that our young pilot was obviously still clocking up his mileage we steadied our nerves as he made lowpasses over wilderness devoid of safe landing strips.

Back on Orion, en route to Darwin, we heard that ash from anIndonesian volcano was causing airline cancellations anddelays to schedules. A minority of our fellow cruisers hadsuffered sunburn, over-indulgence, seasickness, bruises orsprains but we had survived wildlife — sharks, crocs, poison-ous jellyfish, raptors, snakes and insects — so what was avolcanic eruption in the scheme of things?

Cont’d on Page 8




It’s All Relative…. By Suzanne Brennan

Contact Tracey Caswell

to purchase these books at:

Email: [email protected]

While chatting with cousin Lise Fox the other night

the subject of our crazy, dysfunctional family came

up since 3 out of 5 cousins suffer from some form ofmental illness. Looking back, we should have seen it

coming.

First up, aunt Rayna and uncle Don (names have

been changed to protect our family’s dignity). Uncle

Don, while renovating his duplex into a single family

home, removed the upstairs balcony and forgot

about it. When opening the door to step outside, he

fell in the yard. Watch out for that first step, it’s a

doozy!

He may have sustained a concussion as later on he

leaned on the doorbell while yelling to his wife, “Answer the door.” At the time he was standing on a rocking chair trying

to change a light bulb on the porch. The chair was right on the edge of the stairway. Honest truth, this is not a lie!

Finally at another uncle’s wake, dear old uncle Don came in the funeral parlor a bit tipsy and tripped on the step going

into the viewing room. He flew across the room and landed in someone’s lap. When he got up his toupee was falling off

to one side. Everyone tried to keep a straight face, especially for such a somber occasion, but seeing uncle Don just

made everyone smirk. Actually they always wished he would show up at a function because they never knew what funny

thing he would do next.

I must admit he was a kind-hearted person and would give you the shirt off his back. He would open up his house to

whoever needed a place to stay. I never knew him as I was young at the time but my mother used to tell us stories all the

time.

Here’s another one. Once he was looking for his cat. He asked his wife to look under the bathtub. She said “Don, you

fool, we have a bathtub that goes down to the floor, the cat wouldn’t fit under there anyway.”

My mother would go to his house in the country for a party and would stay all night. Uncle Don would get up in the night

to make coffee in the dark and drop sugar all over the floor. In the morning everyone would be walking on sugar, crunch-

ing under their shoes. When he was told about it, he would just shrug it off.

So here it is, a little taste of the fruits from our family tree, no wonder we’re all crazy! Remind you of anyone in your fam-

ily?




Lines from Caroline

Messages from Heaven

Have you ever experienced an ADC, a direct and spontaneous after-death communication from someone who has passed away? Bill

and Judy Guggenheim, the authors of the book “Hello from Heaven!” defined, researched and named this spiritual human experience.

They conservatively estimate that at least 20 percent of the US population has had one or more ADC experiences. These ADC experi-

ences have taken place without the use of mediums or psychics. The time, place and the form used to share the experience is deter-mined solely by the individual who has passed. Some of these ADC communications are recognized and perhaps some are ignored

or dismissed.

Research has shown that there are a number of common ways that the deceased can use their energy to let their living loved ones

know that they are still with them in spirit. It is believed that deceased loved ones can tap into the minds and physical experiences of

the living. These occurrences usually happen shortly after their death but can be consistent or occur several years after their passing.

It should not be a surprise for someone to experience an ADC from a loved one who has passed a while ago especially on a special

occasion or during a difficult time.

Butterflies, birds and dragonflies have been known to show up in the midst of a person’s loss and continue to appear periodically and

dance around in front of their living loved ones for years. These messengers present themselves at random moments as symbols of

love and support. People that receive this form of ADC often enjoy wearing butterfly and dragonfly inspired jewelry. They often place

representative objects in their homes and gardens to remind them that their deceased loved one is still with them.

The personal scent of loved ones who have passed or other scents have been observed. A short time after a loved one was buried, a

car carrying his family filled with a strong scent of fresh flowers. Everyone in the car noted the short intense beautiful scent. There

were no flowers in the car or anywhere in the area. Where did the scent come from? Could five people have just imagined this experi-

ence?

Electronic devices such as microphones, telephones, radios and TV’s have been known to produce uncontrollable static or turn on or

off by themselves. For no apparent reason at the funeral mass of a telecommunications professional the static of the microphone used

by the priest became so loud and overbearing that the microphone had to be turned off in order for the service to continue. Was this

technical difficulty or was someone making their presence known?

It is common to find coins, feathers or other objects in one’s path after the loss of a loved one. Often the same object is found consis-

tently, for instance, a penny tails side up. The object tends to appear in odd places such as in your bed, on a table or one may gaze

down at the floor and the object is mysteriously sitting there. These findings often occur when you are traveling, returning home from atrip or are doing something that pleases the deceased loved one. Imagine three living loved ones of a deceased family member, who

uses tail side up pennies as his ADC vehicle, are escorted to a restaurant table and three tail sided pennies are sitting on the table.

Are these pennies from heaven or just a mere coincidence?

The deceased often use after death communication to comfort their loved ones during the time of bereavement following their death.

They also try to give attention and support to their loved ones on significant dates and occasions in their living loved ones lives. They

have also been known to send warnings. Do you know someone who must have either a guardian angel or incredible luck? People

have reported feeling the love and guidance of loved ones such as grandparents or parents who have passed.

Perhaps you have already recognized an ADC or maybe

you received one but were not sure if it was an ADC or your

mind playing tricks onyou. All the ADC exam-

ples in this article have

been reported by reli-

able personal sources.

The next time you re-

ceive a message from a

loved one who has

passed, maybe you will

be able to acknowledge

it and embrace the com-

fort it brings.






Divine Nature And Inspirations By Monica Jones

When I move around, stories play in my head. When I sit down, it’s like pressing the off button.

Yesterday I was looking for a plastic bag. I went into the cupboard and found all the plastic bags were gone, but as I

gazed around, I saw an envelope in an odd place. I picked it up and looked at it. It was addressed to the bank in hus-

band Arthur’s handwriting.

Hmm. What’s that doing there? Do you think he dropped it in the cupboard Monica?, Oh, no, maybe he’s starting to get

forgetful. Is he getting early onset Alzheimer’s or “Old Timer’s”? Goodness, let me put it on his chair so he’ll see it when

he gets back and, I’ll try to remember to mention it to him later. Then I wandered away to get back to what I was doing.

And what was that? Oh, and where were my glasses? Hmm. Oh yes, in my pocket. I started laughing saying, “Who’s got

‘Old Timer’s in this house’? Well, maybe he doesn’t because I know I don’t”.

Goodness, life in the slow lane is hilarious! So the moral of this story is short and sweet.

I’m trying to remember not to make assumptions and remember to ask myself if what I’m thinking is true or not. Then,

how does it make me think and feel? And how would I be without that thought or belief? (http://www.thework.com/

thework.php). What I learned at Hoffman Institute (http://www.hoffmaninstitute.co.uk) is to try to find that pause button

and press it for as long and as hard as necessary until I’ve created enough space to allow disbelief or suspend beliefs

that are not serving me. This I am trying to do so I can be open to the possibility that I probably have no idea what is truly

going on. As I breathe and relax, my own hot buttons and fears recede, leaving space in my heart and mind for curiosity

and openness. When our hearts are open we generate true closeness and intimacy in relationships. This allows us to

treat ourselves and others with dignity and respect. When we do that, we are humane to ourselves and others, making

life definitely more peaceful and fun.

Over dinner later, I told Arthur the story about my morning incident. He burst out laughing, telling me I had to write this

one down — and quickly, before I forgot! And later still, he told me he’d taken the envelope out of his bike helmet and left

it there so he’d remember to take it to town on his next trip.

Monica Jones is a Bermudian artist and writer. Monica paints in pastel, charcoal and encaustic. She lives in Ber-muda with her husband Arthur (lifelong sweetheart and supporter) and three ducks. Monica has three chil-

dren, two grandchildren, a son and daughter-in-law and grew up in Paget, Bermuda.

Contact info: email [email protected] if you would like to receive regular newsletters from the author

and be added to the mailing list.

Cell: 441-332-2753…Website: http://www.monicajonesartist.com

Copyright Monica (Smith) Jones

Breast Cancer & My Journey Cont’d from Cover Page

The most important part of my story was not having to do this alone. Yes, my significant other was there, the family, the

friends, the amazing doctors at St. Michael’s Hospital, but it was Carol who held me together.

If you’re going through breast cancer, find yourself a Carol, someone who is going through the same journey you are.

Someone who feels, thinks, hurts, laughs, cries, gets angry, gets giggly, has outbursts (and sweats) like you do.

Let’s also not forget the self-exams, mammos, paps, colonoscopies, the green food, the exercising (I swim every day)

and the yearly physical at the doctor. Help others, be kind, live every day, one day at a time.

My sincere thanks to my friend Lise Fox for asking me to share my story. I hope it helps women who are going through

the same ordeal.




Postmenopausal Breast Cancer Risk Decreases Rapidly Af ter Starting Regular

Physical Activity

By American Association for Cancer Research Aug. 2014

Postmenopausal women who in the past four years had undertakenregular physical activity equivalent to at least four hours of walking per

week had a lower risk for invasive Breast Cancer compared with

women who exercised less during those four years, according to data

published Cancer Epidemology, Biomakers & Prevention, a journal

of the American Association for Cancer Research.

“Twelve MET-h (metabolic equivalent task-hours) per week corre-

sponds to walking four hours per week or cycling or engaging in other

sports two hours per week and it is consistent with the World Cancer Research Fund recommendations of walking at

least 30 minutes daily,” said Agnes Fournier, PhD, a researcher in the Centre for Research in Epidemiology and Popula-

tion Health at the Institut Gustave Roussy in Villejuif, France. “So, our study shows that it is not necessary to engage invigorous or very frequent activities; even walking 30 minutes per day is beneficial.”

Postmenopausal women who in the previous four years had undertaken 12 or more MET-h of physical activity each

week had a 10 percent decreased risk of invasive breast cancer compared with women who were less active. Women

who undertook this level of physical activity between five and nine years earlier but were less active in the four years

prior to the final data collection did not have a decreased risk for invasive breast cancer.

“Physical activity is thought to decrease a women’s risk for breast cancer after menopause,” said Fournier. “However, it

was not clear how rapidly this association is observed after regular physical activity is begun or for how long it lasts after

regular exercise stops.

“Our study answers these questions,” Fournier continued.” We found that recreational physical activity, even Fournier

and colleagues analyzed data obtained from biennial questionnaires completed by 59,308 postmenopausal women who

were enrolled in E3N, the French component of the European Prospective Investigation Into Cancer And Nutrition (EPIC)

study. The main duration of follow-up was 8.5 years, during which time, 2,155 of the women were diagnosed with a first

primary invasive breast cancer.

The total amount of self-reported recreational physical activity was calculated in MET-h per week. The breast cancer

risk-reducing effects of 12 or more MET-h per week of recreational physical activity were independent of body mass in-

dex, weight gain, waist circumference, and the level of activity from five to nine years earlier.

Eventually home, we were grateful our often accident-prone selves had not tumbled out of bed or fallen over once. We’d learned selfpreservation!

Tales from Trish Cont’d from Page 3




Study Confirms No Link Between Wearing a Bra and Breast Cancer

By www.breastcancer.org—Sept. 2014

In media stories on internet postings, it’s been widely rumored that wearing a bra, especially an underwire bra, can in-

crease breast cancer risk. The concern is that bras block the drainage of lymph fluid from the bottom of the breast so it

can’t get back into your body, so toxins build up in the breast.

There is no evidence to support this claim, and a new study confirms that wearing a bra does not cause breast cancer or

increase the risk of breast cancer.

The research was published online on Sept. 5, 2014 by Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention. Read “Bra

Wearing No Association with Breast Cancer Risk: A Population-Based-Control Study.”

In the study, the researchers looked at the bra-wearing habits as well as breast cancer risk factors (weight, family history

of breast cancer) of three groups of women in the Seattle area:

450 women diagnosed with invasive ductal breast cancer

590 women diagnosed with invasive lobular breast cancer

469 women who hadn’t been diagnosed with breast cancer

All the women were between 55 and 74 years old. The women who had been diagnosed with breast cancer were diag-

nosed between 2000 and 2004.

The researchers found that compared to women who hadn’t been diagnosed with breast cancer, women who had been

diagnosed were more likely to:

Be taking hormone replacement therapy

Have a first-degree family history of breast cancer (mother, sister, daughter)

Never have children

The researchers emphasized that nothing about wearing a bra, including:

Cup size

Average number of hours per day a bra was worn

Wearing an underwire bra

Age when women first started to wear a bra regularly

was linked to breast cancer risk.

“Our study found no evidence that wearing a bra increases a woman’s risk for breast cancer,” said Lu Chen, public

health sciences researcher at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Re-

search Center. “The risk was similar no matter how many hoursper day women wore a bra, whether they wore a bra with an

underwire, or at what age they first began wearing a bra.”

This study is very reassuring and confirms other research

showing no link between wearing a bra and breast cancer. This

myth probably continues to circulate because being overweight

does increase breast cancer risk and women who are over-

weight are more likely to have larger breasts and wear a bra.

Women who don’t wear a bra are more likely to be at a healthy

weight.




MY TURNING POINT By Lise Fox

I’ve been struggling with my weight for as long as I can remember and the big 65 is just around the corner. I vowed this

year I would finally do something about it. This is my last chance to make it right.

I don’t suffer from high blood pressure. Actually my pressure is usually below the normal range. However, I’ve beenwatching my blood glucose readings for many years as my mother and brother are on insulin. It’s something I really don’t

want to be on.

Every three months I go for a blood test called the A1C. This test determines how I’ve been doing with my blood glucose.

Unfortunately at my last test, the number was 7. Ideally it should be below 6. (Since writing this article, my latest test re-

corded 6.4). I went to the doctor for my husband but while there I asked her a question. I wanted to know why my morn-

ing readings were higher than the rest of the day. The first thing she said was, ‘Well you know you’re diabetic.’ I had

prided myself all these years on thinking I was not a diabetic. This was a real shock to me. She told me to come back in

three months for another A1C test.

I couldn’t take this laying down. I was determined to do something about it.

My son always said “Mom, stop eating breads and sweets. You’ll feel so much better and also lose weight.” I loved

breads of any kind and sweets but I thought this is it, I have to do this now. For years I suffered from allergies and intol-

erance to wheat, white flour and grains.

Since I wanted to have a lower A1C test reading in the near future, I decided to stop eating breads and desserts. I did

this ’cold turkey’. I made healthier choices for myself and also stopped eating chocolates. Now it doesn't bother me to

pass by a chocolate store. I don’t even crave it anymore.

A week into my new way of eating, I started feeling so much better. The joint pains were gone and my energy level was

off the chart. The depression I had felt for years was a thing of the past.

I had a new outlook on life and was more interested in my physical appearance then ever before.

Wearing a bathing suit had always been out of the question. Going swimming made me feel self-conscious. I missed outon many years of not getting into the ocean because of it, years that I will never get back.

While on vacation, the new ‘MOI’ allowed herself to wear a bathing suit and go into a pool. I took a deep breath one day

and went down to the hotel pool in my bathing suit and wrap. I didn’t back down. I thoroughly enjoyed myself, so much

so that a couple of days later I was in the pool again.

Feeling this new found freedom, shopping for new clothes was in order. My husband always wanted to see me in a

shorter skirt but I wouldn't even think of buying any. On this day I went straight for the skirt (skort) rack and bought some

in different colors. I wore one the next day, it felt good. It didn’t bother me that I was

still plump. It was exciting that I dared to wear it at all, a monumental achievement.

It seems like I’ve turned a corner and will not look back. I’m not embarrassed any-

more to wear clothes that I would not have worn before. I won’t hide behind darkcolors, long sleeves and long pants to disguise my weight.

I continue to count my calories on a program downloaded on my iPad called MyFit-

nessPal. I still check my glucose readings every day and hope to continue losing

weight on my new journey.

My friends say I’m absolutely glowing. Honestly I’m happy in my skin, my heart and

soul for the first time in my life.

This seems to have been MY TURNING POINT….

Newsletter No. 56

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