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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 Turn to page 12