The Goderich Signal-Star, 1983-03-30, Page 2091,
ni
rata' ta01111*.-
l!t. a° Slat
G a eon
MPRIT of
he bad removed one„
..c
"ice, year,: the
f6 i stns her �operat oni,
,t :did Pot• send., the swig
a cake
The London w9manl. says
that the:'fourth miniver'
was not any less significant
thai<,tbe previous three; It's
just that she was far too busy
to send the cake because of
her part-time job, hetipital •
volunteer work, gtiing
lessons, church and club ac-
tivities.
The part-time statistician
with the Department of
Public Works is one of a
dozen current members of
Bosom Buddies, a program
for mastectomees — people
who have lost a breast' — at
the London YMCA -YWCA.
The women meet once a
week for a half hour of swim-
ming pool exercises, follow-
ed by an hour-long meeting
that features speakers,
crafts, films or discussions.
Now in its third year, the
Bosom Buddies program is
operated by Thelma Griffin
of Lambeth who is the Cana-
dian Cancer Society's
Mastectomy Visiting Service
Convener in the London
area. Thelma has been a
Mastectomy Visitor for the
past 10 years officially, but
in fact she's been visiting
mastectomy patients since
her own operation 20 years.
ago.
"When I walk in and tell
them I had my operation 20
years ago, they immediately
perk up because I give them
hope that they will be alive in
20 years, too, and they can
see it will be possible for
them to look normal again,"
Thelma says.
Mastectomy Visitors are
women who have had a
breast removed, usually
more than five years ago.
They are able to reassure pa-
tients and offer them advice
because they have been
there themselves. The ser-
vice was introduced by the
Canadian Cancer Society to
give women a sympathetic
and supportive source of in-
formation when they may be
at their lowest point. Thelma
Griffin and the five other ac-
tive Mastectomy Visitors in
the London area visited 206
women last year.
Jill Holmes recalls her
"delightful surprise" when
Thelma visited her three
days after her operation.
For the 7,000 women who
will undergo breast surgery
in Ontario this year, the
hours immediately before
and after the surgery are
traumatic ones. How readily
!pts depends
,vzell adults ed.
uvea someone aa:
routlook as dill:
UR rtainties.
eel that the end of
d has come,' ,she
"You envision all
?ts tembte things. You,.
right through me,
Ili to die.
9vhtg support of her.
husband,. Beverly, and
aughters, Debbie and
1Pod11.411 weather,.
rat• storm. But
some mastectomees . aren't
so lucky.
Some, women find that
their husbands:and children
have rejected them in an ef-
fort to overcome their own
emotional conflict. Accor-
ding to Thelma Griffin, some
women turn away'fro i'l. their
huslk ds because -they have
groundless fe u that diel
husbands will reject them
Ha such oases are. a
11p
minority and 90 per cent of
the rnasteetoxnees count,
on receiving :emotional sup-
port from their families,
Even those lucky enough
to have Baring families ap,.
predate the ;helping hand of
the , Mastectomy SIrtSiti4.
Serviice For many, the visit
from the Cancer society .
volunteer is their . introduc-
tion to breast prostheses, or
artificialbreast devices, and
other services. The visit
must be approved by`the-Pa-
tient's
he pa-tient's doctor. Only 2,000 of
the more than 6,004 masted
tomees in Ontario last year
were visited by the Cancer
$oc ty's' Mastectomy
Visitors. Some.. hospitals
operate their own services,
but 'Thelma Griffin believes
some physicians are in-
sensitive
effects
to f the
ie
psychological a
removal of a breast can have
and, to :some. of the physical
concerns such,.as the need
for specially designed or
.altered bras.
into
re not exactly tuned
into - how ;la woman feels.
about it," .slie explains. "It's
part of your femininity. it af-
fects . fashion because
clothing is designed to ac-
centuate the bust `and it af-
fects
f:fects your femininity and
self-esteem because men are
either , interested in your
breasts or your legs. It
depends a lot on your own
uebec group solicits funds
A Quebec -based
organization called the
Cancer Research Incor-
poration is presently
soliciting funds by mail
using the mailing list of the.
Times and Financial Post.
While this group is a legal
charitable organization, it is
not affiliated with the
Canadian Cancer Society or
the National Cancer
Institute. Of the money they
raise, 29 per cent is used for
administration costs (as
opposed to only six per cent
used by the Canadian Cancer
Society for administration)
and 95 per cent stays within
the province of Quebec
(although three small grants
have been given to univer-
sities in Toronto, Saskat-
chewan and B.C. ).
This Quebec -based group
is also sending out In
Memoriam donation cards to
funeral homes in Ontario. On
such cards, they use a
symbol which is almost
identical to the Canadian
Cancer Society's caduceus
symbol.
"This makes things very
confusing for the donor,"
says Bob Montgomery,.
district director for the
Ontario Division, Canadian
Cancer Society. "This group
is not illegal. All we are
saying to the donor is
beware. Money donated to
this group is not likely to go
to helping people in their own
areas."
Howard Aitken of Goderleh (centre) was recently presented with this certificate of service
for serving as publicity chairman for the Huron Unit of the Canadian Cancer Society from
1967-82. With him, at left, is Bob Montgomery, district director for Ontario Division and. Mel
Farnsworth, vice-chairman of the Huron Unit. (Photo by Joanne Buchanan)
psyh gra*"
w het enr.Yon centit . n t.
The first visit from
Thelma and her subsequent
involvementm the 9sonm
Buddies ;program B
at: the:.
YMCA YWCA were very IM-
portant
m-portant to Jill Holmes.
"At .first, I . enjoyed ex
changing feelings with;. the
other women.. If, you have
hada twinge, you're relieved
to hear that someone else
has, too, . b.' cause once
youve had It you 'think
maybe with every ache and
pain that it's coming' back..
But now, 1'w in a position
where '1 think T can help, the •
newer members -of , the
Both Thelma and Jill feel.
the ideal time for, the first
visit is before the operation.,
Jill now- feels she was
"railroaded" into the opera-
tion when she signed a con-
sent form for a biopsy and
mastectomy At the ,;same
time, not realizing she had
any options.
"I wish there had been a
source of information in ad-
v ou '.trealize that
f have hts• you
on. a little amore .line to
gs t ugh,"
says. .
l~ or Jill, learning,
required amastectomy 's
especially distressing, ' Tbeb'
her biopsy was first .analyz-
ed, she was told she did not
have a malignancy. She and
her family-. had already
celebrated ,oath.chariVagiA
wheu:.she discovered 0 daysr.
later that a mistake had;
Wit thee-
help of the -
dian Ca cer Soexgt i'
Ma ectomy VisitingServine
and }errfamly and friends,.
Jill has regovered from the
emotional and physical
shock. Her scars have heal=
ed and she now feelsready to
help others overcome their
problems. She shares a bond -
with the thousands of women
visited by Thelma and the
other volunteers in and
around London
"You: never forget At. No
matter what. You just live
with it," she explains.
xa.mine breasts...
• from page 3
start you off on the right
track by examining your
breasts and then- showing
you how to do BSE. In ad-
dition, your local Unit of the
Canadian Cancer Society
can provide pamphlets,
films and other helpful
material.
When you practice BSE
you quickly learn what is
usual for you, so if anything
unusual develops you'll
discover it at a very early
stage. If you do ., contact
your doctor right ' away.
Many doctors will see you
the same day you call.
AND THEN? '
Well, that depends. Your
doctor may take an x-ray
picture of your breast, using
a modern technique called
mammography, . or
xe lography. Ultra -sound
may be used, especially if
your' doctor thinksthe lump
is . a cyst. if your doctor
suspects a 'cyst, it can be
easily drained with a needle.
For other lumps your doctor
may do a. biopsy which .in-
volves removing tissue from
the breast Remember, in 85
percent of cases the lump is
not cancerous.
. AND IF IT
Many women keep the
lumps on their breast secret
because they are frightened
of mastectomy - (surgical
removal of breast tissue).
They are especially
frightened • of radical
mastectomy (temoval'of the
entire breast). It's true that
this was the most common
operation for breast cancer
for many years. But times
have changed.
Today,;a doctor has three
other choices depending on
how early the lumpis found.
the patient's age and the
extent of the cancer:" a
lumpectomy, where only the
tumour and_ a margin of
breast tissue around it are
removed, a simple
mastectomy where the
breast is removed, or a
modified mastectomy where
the breast and glands are
removed but the muscles are
left. Often the breast can be
rebuilt .through plastic
surgery after a mastectomy.:
In some cases your doctor
will use' radiation therapy
instead and focus a radiation
beam on the cancer at a dose
which will destroy it with
minimal . ; damage to
surrounding tissues. Or he
may prescribe
chemotherapy, an .anti-
cancer drug treatment.
Remember, everything
depends on regular breast
self-examination and the
early reporting of anything
unusual.
This information is brought to you with the kind co-operation of the following:
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118 KING STREET
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