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Clinton News-Record, 1984-03-28, Page 35Moral support given to women Mastectomy Visiting Service offeredliy BY JOANNKBUCHANAN Mary Lou Aubin of Goderich is an attractive, busy woman. Mother of five grown children, she works as a legal secretary. Almost four years ago, Mrs. Aubin had a mastectomy (surgical removal of a breast). Today she enjoys giving moral support to other women in the area who have undergone the same operation. Mrs. Mbn1a. vice-ohairman ot the Mastectomy Visiting CorrunitfeTrfor the Huron Unit of the Canadian Cancer Society (Mrs. Phyllis Pitblado is chairman) and she is also on the Mastectomy Visiting Committee of the Goderich Branch, along with Phyllis McConnell. The Cancer Society's Mastectomy Visiting Service is designed to meet the emotional and practical needs of mastectomy patients. Volunteers who have had a mastectomy themselves are carefully selected and trained to visit the recent mastectomy patient in the hospital or as soon as possible after the patient has gone home, when the need for support is most critical. The role of the mastectomy visitor is to help the jatients help themselves to recovery. The visitor establishes a close • felaticifithiplot if -Short periotrofthnowith the recent mastectomy patient, offering uriderstanduigr*ith Warmth and *Madge, attend -1 se mee Ings an.an- ca and icraetinarsupport with a special -tit --.Anibinat_59orfurther4nformation... - provided free of cbtarge. Mrs. Aubin says the number one concern The kit conta - with general for women who have had mastectomies information, inclu suggestions on seems to be their physical appearance. brassiere and clothm comfort and However, she explains that the prostheses illustrated exercises to e used with the available today are excellent -more doctor's approval; a rubber ball and length comfortable and natural looking than ever of rope for exercising; materials for a before. temporary prosthesis; and a list of retail She also says that many women want to outlets -w ere-a-permanent.prosthesis_may_get back into the swing ol thins" too soon. be fitted and purchased. - - At first, the: mastectomy patient doesn't, or fit prothesesbut is familiar with all types. s are it is important to keep exercising after being The visitor does not sell ihave the use of her arm and Mrs. Aubin says made with the approval of the surgeon or released from hospital. However, this doctor. Medical opinions or advice are not should be done gradually. given. Personal comparisons are not made. And the patient who has had radiation And all information about the patient is treatment as well as a mastectomy will need confidential. lots of rest says Mrs. Aubin from experience. SUPPORT GROUP FORMED As well as visiting mastectomy patients, about 3M years ago Mrs. Aubin and Mrs. Pitblado organized an emotional support group for women who have had mastectomies. There are Presently 18 women in the group. They meet at different homes in Goderich every third month. Mrs. Aubin says the group is socially oriented but has also featured a couple of speakers from --the-Cancer Society at its mee ings. Women from all over Huron County are welcome to SELF-EXAM1NATION IMPORTANT Eighty per cent of all breast cancers diagnosed clinically were' found by the woman herself -either by practishIg breast self-examination or acalde.ntally. It makes sense that regular breast self-examination owes month should detect cancers earlier. And earlier detection results in a greater chance of cure -and easier treatment- The r_eally good, news is thatover_80_ per nent_of breast lumps are not cancer -but only a HOPE Page 11 uron Unit -doctor can check them out. :WhnMMibai discoveredlump her breast she Molted her doctor the nest " day. A biopsy revealed that the lump was • cancerous and within a week's time she had surgery. She was released from hoita1iO days later (some Women are releasedh,five days) and was off work for eight weeks. She had three weeks of radiation treatmentwhich she says was not painful at all. During this time, she stayed a 7Thamesview Lodge in London. ThhilAige is funded by the Cancer Society and allows patients from outside London to stay there free of charge while they are having radiation treatment next door at Victoria Hospital. Each local branch of the Cancer Society also provides free transportation services for patients back and forth to London if needed. Mrs: Aubin says she feels back to normal now but she keeps on having regular &set- ups. It will be four years this July since she had her surgery. She still remembers the mastectomy visitor who came to see her while she was recuperating in hospital "She was so attractive and energetic. She was a real inspiration to me." As a volunteer with the Cancer Society, •Mrs. Aubin wants to give that 'same kind of ._ inspiration and IlOP _to ether women who.. need it. Agincourt woman living proof cancer can be beaten! • Retta Good, 63, of Agincourt, Ontario, will tell you that cancer can be beaten. This widow, who runs her own real estate business, had both breasts removed due to cancer. She's had no treatment since 1953 and has been well ever since. •.,Mrs. Good was _31, happily niarried and • the mother of three when she iieticed • bleeding from her right breast. And she vividly recalls that evening: "It was 11 p.m. and 7:30 the next morning -Arreifferi "—ny ryttetelogistsobstetricisinc and told him about it. "He told me not to be concerned because bleeding was not unusual shortly after • giving birth to a child that was unable to nurse because he had Down's Syndrome." However, the doctor told her to visit him for a breast check-up to determine if there were any lumps. Meanwhile, she checked herself. No lumps. The doctor found nothing suspicious, but said he would check her every month. It was August, 1951. Towards the end of September, Mrs. Good noticed a lumpy mass had formed. "My doctor decided to leave it alone for three or four weeks and-observoit agahn" At the end of Oetober her doctor sent her to a surgeon for consultation. He decided a bioge should be performed. Cancer was di self<Mrs. Good had the first mastecto April, 1953, abnormalities were found in her left breast and a modified mastectomy was performed for cancer. Six years after her second operation, she gave birth to a healthy nine -pound daughter, Elizabeth. "And here I am today, alive and well and a happy grandmother of five. I've had a Breast cancer is curable... • from page 10 a local or a general anaesthetic. Ail or part of the lump will be removed for examination under the microscope. The diagnosis can then be established accurately. Remember, however, that most biopsies prove the mass to be non -cancerous, or benign. TREATMENT Effective means of treating breast cancer are available and may be used singly or in combination, depending pn the cir- ciunstances. 1. Surgery Surgery is still the most commonly used and most effective treatment for localized breast cancer. However, the actual opera- tion performed in any individual can Only be determined after a careful assessment. The surgical procedures available range from removal of the tumor with a bit of ad- jacent normal breast (lumpectomy) at one extreme, to removal of the entire breast,the muscles of the chest wall beneath the breast, and the fatty and lymphoid tissue of • the armpit (radical mastectomy) on the other. Fortunately, radical mastectomies are becoming increasingly rare as breast cancers are detected earlier and alternate treatment methods improve. Between these two extremes there is the removal of the en- tire breast (simple mastectomy) and removal of the entire breast and tissue of the armpit, but without removal of muscles (modified radical mastectomy). Ile surgeon performing the operation will be able to discuss with the patient the most ap- propriate operation since each situation is unique, requiring an individual approach. 2. Radiotherapy (Radiation Therapy) The principle of radiation therapy in- volves exposing the tumor to the destructive action of x-rays while at the same time pro- tecting healthy tissue. Much progress has been made in recent years toward increas- ing the sensitivity of the tumor to radiation, and increasing the x-ray dose, while at the same time improving the protection to nor- mal tissues. During radiation therapy people undergo- ing treatment may suffer from fatigue, nausea and stomach upset, and the skin in the area may become irritated. However, all of these side effects are temporary and subside after treatment is completed. They can now often also be controlled during the treatment. Radiotherapy maybe used alone or in combination with other forms of therapy. The decision as to the most effective method for any one individual has become very complicated. Therefore, these decisions are usually determined by a team of cancer specialists representing surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy. 3. Chemotherapy Surgery and radiotherapy are very-effecs- five in removng cancerous tissue, or destroying it, if one knows exactly where the cancer is situated and if adjacent essential normal 'organs and tissues can be preserved without injury. Chemotherapy, on the other hand, once administered, is distributed throughout the entire body (the brain being the one exception under certain cir- • cumstances) and is capable of destroying cancer cells wherever they exist. The major difficulty with cancer chemotherapy agents is that they must, while being destructive to cancer cells, be gentle in their action on nor- mal cells since their distribution is to both.. Although in stone cancers the response to chemotherapy is so dramatic it is the first choice of treatment, in breast cancer chemotherapy is used basically in two cir- cumstances. In the second case it is classed as 'adjuvant therapy', meaning that it is complementary to surgery and/or radiotherapy. 1. Where the primary tumor has been con- trolled by surgery or radiotherapy but secondary tumor deposits are known to ex- ist, chemotherapy has proven helpful. 2. In some situations where it appears that complete recovery but I still have a regular medical check-up once a year." 'Furtherrnore, she is considered "cured", according to Dr. Richard Hasselback, an oncologist at Princess Margaret Hospital, 'whose interests there involve breast cancer, lymphomas'and leukemias. • Accordingto_Mrs-Good, "If peoplewould babe so afraid of the word`cancer' and see their doctors as soon as they notice anything different, we would cut the terrible effects of the disease way down. If you are not content with the diagnosis of your physician, seek a second medical opinion." Mrs. Good devotes her spare time to publicizing the work of the Canadian Cancer Society. "We are trying to get the message across to women that early detection of cancer enhancesthe chance of a cure," she says. the cancer is localized to one site, it still has been possible to improve long term results by combining chemotherapy with the primary treatment. Extensive research has led to the develop- ment of many potent chemotherapeutic agents and skill in their uses. In order to achieve the best possible destruction of cancer cells, while at the same time assur- ing the greatest possible protection of nor- mal cells, the physician needs to maintain a delicate balance* between the dosage of the "We're trlpg to inform them about methods of bast self-examination and the Pap smear test. "If we could get all women in Canada to take the Pap test, we could eliminate cervical cancer. The Pap test can detect abnormalities in cells that may develop into cancer up to 10 to 20 years before they "I feel that I've had a share in removing the cloak of secrecy regarding cancer," she says. "I determined when it happened to me that I would try to turn the negative into the positive because I found in the early stages that people were afraid to discuss the subject. Therefore, the best thing to do is bring it out in the open and eliminate the negative so that the positive would be that one day we will discuss cancer the way it should be done -openly and freely." been shown to be one of those cancers which is dependent for growth on the hormonal en- vironment provided to the tumor by the in- dividual's body. Also, more recently, it has become possible to predict with greater ac- curacy which breast cancers are likely to be hormone dependent through tests on each individual tumor which determine whether that tumor has hormone receptors in its cells. This provides yet another approach to suppressing the growth of these hormone - sensitive tumors. particular drug and the frequencretats - Sometimes suppression of umor gro ministration. Not surprisingly, side effects may occur When the individual being treated is receiv- ing chemotherapy. They vary in their fre- quency and intensity depending on the drug being used, its dose, and the individual's -susceptibility. Some people have no ap- parent side effects but others may suffer from among the following to a different degree: nausea and vomiting, diarrhoea, sore mouth, susceptibility to infections, anaemia, reduced blood clotting ability and hair loss. Side effects can, occasionally, have serious consequences so it is important to carefully observe and monitor people receiving such treatment and, to stop and modify the dosage schedule if required. Peo- ple undergoing treatment should also report any unexpected effects to their physician. Fortunately, these side effects disappear • once therapy is discontinued, with hair regrowth occurring. Most chemotherapy treatment does not require hospitalization, and can be carried out in a cancer clinic or in the doctor's of- fice. The individual may be hospitalized for theinitial treatment or when several drugs are being used at once. The Canadian Cancer Society has additional literature available regarding chemotherapy that will be helpful to people receiving such treat- ment as well as family members. 4. Hormonal Therapy ' Breast cancer, in a great many cases, has wth is obtained by reducing the level of ap- propriate hormones in the body through surgical removal, or x-ray destruction, of the organ that normally produces those hor- mones (such as the ovary or adrenal gland). Drugs are now also available that serve to counteract the action of some of these hor- mones. On the other hand, tumor suppres- sion is sometimes obtained by elevating the level of certain hormones through providing them in the form of drugs. The determina- tion of the effective combination to achieve hormone suppression of a breast cancer in any one patient is a complex matter, depen- dent on many factors. Therefore if this method of treatment is recommended it is best that it be discussed on an individual basis with the attending physician. THE RESULTS OF TREATMENT When cancer of the breast is discovered and treated when it is still localized. to the breast, the five-year survival rate is about ' 85 pereent In' addition, the discovery of breast cancer at a very early stage of its development (as for example with mam- mography) may *permit effective local treatment with less radical and therefore less disfiguring surgical procedures, such as a lumpectomy. Therefore.; early detec, tion through breast self-examination or other techniques is crucial. Once breast cancer has spread beyond the Turn to page 12