by Vicky Rego, Breast Cancer Helpline Coordinator
I recently had the opportunity to attend the Breast Cancer Options Integrative Medicine conference at SUNY New Paltz, where there were several workshops discussing topics such as risk and recurrence reduction, medical marijuana in treatment and care, a report back from San Antonio lead by Dr. Sheldon Feldman, stress reduction, nutrition, the financial impact of cancer, and moving beyond BRCA genetic testing.
Why did you decide to become a SHARE Helpline Volunteer and Peer?
Many years ago I lost my wonderful sister, Julia, to breast cancer. When I was also diagnosed with breast cancer--almost 17 years ago--I needed to do something for others going through the same battle.
On April 27, SHARE celebrated National Minority Health Month with our first ever Health & Wellness Summit in Harlem, NY. Speakers, panelists, exhibitors, and attendees gathered at the National Black Theatre in Harlem, NY for cooking demos, mindful meditation, movement routines, and talks on heart health, radiology, and breast, ovarian, prostate and colon cancer.
At age 34, I was diagnosed with stage 1 invasive ductal carcinoma. The tumor was in my left breast and was ER/PR+, Her2-, and I had no lymph node involvement. I had fertility treatments for an egg harvest, a lumpectomy, eight rounds of CMF chemotherapy, a bilateral mastectomy, and several reconstructive procedures…
April Resource Roundup
Welcome to our monthly resource roundup! Each month, we’ll be curating study opportunities, new clinical trials, research results, news articles, personal perspectives, and upcoming events of interest to women and families affected by breast, ovarian, or metastatic breast cancer.
March Resource Roundup
Welcome to our monthly resource roundup! Each month, we’ll be curating study opportunities, new clinical trials, research results, news articles, personal perspectives, and upcoming events of interest to women and families affected by breast, ovarian, or metastatic breast cancer.
When I returned to the workforce after having been a busy “stay at home mom,” instead of returning to bookkeeping, I decided to work in Brooklyn, in a medical office. There I developed a lot of knowledge by reading medical journals. My mom had developed breast cancer when I was 23. I’ve been reading and accompanying the development of breast cancer treatments since then. My mom did not have a breast surgeon, and did not go to a good hospital. She died of metastatic disease. With my additional knowledge, my aunts went to breast surgeons and to Sloan Kettering which was known to be excellent for breast surgery at that time. They lived long lives.
February Resource Roundup
Welcome to our monthly resource roundup! Each month, we’ll be curating study opportunities, new clinical trials, research results, news articles, personal perspectives, and upcoming events of interest to women and families affected by breast, ovarian, or metastatic breast cancer.
I was 52, no history in my family, knew no one who had had breast cancer. I was diagnosed with Stage 1, negative nodes, a 1-1/2 centimeter tumor. I was scared to death. In 1993, few people even spoke or mentioned the word cancer. It was a taboo subject…
If you’re like me, after 8 months of this grueling process, your eyes refocus, turning back to the outside world – the landscape of your life – and you consider your return to work, to health, to the life your body used to inhabit. Yet it’s different after cancer.
