HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1984-03-26, Page 40-,
Moral support given to women
Mastectomy
BY JOANNE BUCHANAN
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. Aubin is vice-chairman of the
Mastectomy Visiting Committee for 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 patients help themselves to
recovery. The visitor establishes a close
relationship for a short period of time with
the recent mastectomy patient, offering
Visiting Service offered by
understanding with warmth and knowledge,
and practical support with a special kit
provided free of charge.
The kit contains a booklet with general
information, including suggestions on
brassiere and clothing comfort, and
illustrated exercises to be , used with the
doctor's approval; a rubber ball and length
of rope for exercising; materials for a
temporary prosthesis; and a list of retail
outlets where a permanent prosthesis may
be fitted and purchased.
The visitor does not sell or fit prostheses.
but is familiar with all types. Visits are
made with the approval of the surgeon or
doctor. Medical opinions or advice are not
given. Personal comparisons are not made.
And all information about the patient is
confidential.
SUPPORT GROUP FORMED
As well as visiting mastectomy patients,
about 3162 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 meetings. Women
from all over Huron County are welcome to
attend these meetings and can call Mrs.
Aubin at 524-9427 for further information.
Mrs. Aubin says the number one concern
for women who have had mastectomies
seems to be their physical appearance.
However, she explains that the prostheses
available today are excellent --snore
comfortable and natural looking than ever
before.
She also says that many women want to
"get back into the swing of things" too soon.
At first, the mastectomy patient doesn't
have the use of her arm and Mrs. Aubin says
it is important to keep exercising after being
released from hospital. However, this
should be done gradually.
Arid the patient who has had radiation
treatment as well as a mastectomy will need
lots of rest says Mrs. Aubin from
experience.
SELF-EXAMINATION IMPORTANT
Eighty per cent of all breast cancers
diagnosed clinically were found by the
woman herself—either by practising breast
self-examination or accidentally. It makes
sense that regular breast self-examination
once a month should detect cancers earlier.
And earlier detection results in a greater
chance of cure—and easier treatment. The
really good news is that over 80 per cent of
breast lumps are not cancer—but only a
HOPE Page 11
Huron Unit
doctor can check them out.
When Mrs. Aubin discovered a lump on
her breast, she visited her doctor the next
day. A biopsy revealed that the lump was
cancerous and within a week's time she had
surgery. She was released from hospital 10
days later" (some women are released in five
days) and was off work for eight weeks.
She had three weeks of radiation
treatment which she says was not painful at
all. During this time, she stayed a
Thamesview Lodge in London. This Lodge 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 check-
ups.
heckups. 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 hispiration to me."
As a volunteer with the Cancer Society
Mrs. Aubin wants to give that same kind of
inspiration and HOPE to other 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 hasbeen well ever since.
Mrs. Good was 31, happily married and
the mother of three when she noticed
bleedingfrom her right breast. And she
vM 1yreca is iii evernng
"It was 11 p.m. and 7:30 the next morning
I called my gynecologist -obstetrician and
told him about it.
"He told me. not to be concerned because
bleedigg.- wwas 'not unusual shortly after
'giv'ing 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
complete recovery but I still have a regular
medical check-up once a year."
Furthermore, she is considered "cured",
according to Dr. Richard Hasselback, an
oncologist at Princess Margaret Hospital,
whose interests there involve breast cancer,
lymphomas and leukemias.
four weeks and observe it again." According to Mrs. Good, "If people would
At the end of October her doctor sent her not be so afraid of the word `cancer' and see
sn -vo i;on--He- ed -Ar"ae €t oo`i? y a i :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
enhances the chance of a cure," she says.
biopsy should be performed. Cancer was
diagnosed and Mrs. Good had the first
mastectomy. In 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 110
a local or a general anaesthetic. All 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 on the • cir-
cumstances.
1. Surgery
Surgery is still the most commonly used
and most effective treatment for localized
breast cancer. However, the dctual opera-
tion performed in any individual can only be
determined after a careful assessment.
Thesurgical procedures available range
froth removal of the tumor with a bit of ad-
jacent normal breast (lumpectomy) at one
extreme, to removal of the entire breast, 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 may be 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 effec-
tive in removng cancerous tissue, or
destroying it, if one knows exactly where the
cancer is situatedand if adjacent essential
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
particular drug and the frequency of its ad-
ministration.
. Not .Surprisingly, side effects may occur
when the individual being treatedis 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,
muscles of the chest wall beneath the .normal organs and tissues can be preserved sore mouth, susceptibility to infections,
breast, and tufa y and lymphoid -tissue -of` ---y thout injury. ,-re
Chemotherapy, on-the-other--anaemiadu.sed-bipod..clotting_ability_and
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). The
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
hand, once administered, is distributed hair loss: Side effects can, occasionally,
throughout the entire body (the brain being have serious consequences so it is important
the one exception under certain cir- to carefully observe and monitor people
m
custances) and is capable of destroymg receiving such treatment and to stop and
cancer cells wherever they exist. The major modify the dosage schedule if required. Peo-
difficulty with cancer chemotherapy agents ple undergoing treatment should also report
is that they must, while being destructive to, any unexpected effects to their physician.
cancer cells, be gentle in their action on nor- Fortunately, these side effects disappear
mal cells since their distribution is to both. once therapy is discontinued, with hair
Although in some cancers the response to regrowth occurring.
chemotherapy is so dramatic it is the first Most chemotherapy 'treatment does not
choice of treatment, in breast cancer require hospitalization, and can be carried
chemotherapy is used basically in two cir- out in a cancer clinic or in the doctor's of-
cumstances. In the second case it is classed fice. The individual may be hospitalized for
as `adjuvant therapy', meaning that it is the initial treatment or when several drugs
complementary to surgery and/or are being used at once. The Canadian
radiotherapy. 'Cancer Society has additional literature
1. Where the primary tumor has been con- available regarding chemotherapy that will
trolled by surgery or radiotherapy but be helpful to people receiving such treat -
secondary tumor deposits are known to ex- ment as well as family members.
ist, chemotherapy has proven helpful. 4. Hormonal Therapy
2. In some situations where it appears that Breast cancer, in a great many cases; has
"We're trying to inform them about
methods of breast 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
become cancerous.
,1-feat sit had a_ h _ardn minov
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.
Sometimes suppression of tumor growth
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-
mo es (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 m
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 percent. In addition, the discovery of
breast cancer at a very early stage of its
development (as for example with main
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
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