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Kathy’s Fight Like a Girl Story (Breast Cancer, 3 Times)

by 18 Comments
Sep
05
2011
Kathy's Story (Breast Cancer)

My journey is a long one. I was diagnosed with breast cancer in Jan 2008 after doing a self- exam. The tumor was 3 cm and the cancer was hormone- and HER2+. I did 18 rounds of chemo and 35 radiation treatment then a lumpectomy and 9 nodes removed. In June I was cancer-free. In Feb 2009 severe pain began and my breast was fire red. My surgeon said I was paranoid and needed a better bra so I went to my family doc. He sent me to a new surgeon who did a biopsy. I had stage 3 inflammatory cancer - did several rounds of chemo the rest of the year and had a masectomy in Feb 2010 and none of it worked so more chemo. In Sept 2010 I was cancer-free again. A few months later I found several small tumors on my chest. A biopsy showed stage 4 metastatic cancer in my chest wall. Started oral chemo which sent me to the hospital with renal failure. I took a six week break and a vacation and started IV chemo today 7-14-2011. In spite of all this I am very blessed. I have a wonderful family and … [Read more...]

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Katie’s Fight Like a Girl Story (EDS)

by 8 Comments
Jul
13
2011
Katie's Story (EDS)

In January of 2010  I was diagnosed with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome after a discouraging and difficult 10 year journey to finally NAME all my strange symptoms. Since then I've been trying to find balance; I am a middle school special education teacher, a wife, a mother, a Christian, a friend, and so much more. So how do I do any of those things well when I can hardly see sometimes off and on throughout the day because of the glares/blind spots/visual aura I get from the vascular symptoms of my EDS. I get migraines that incapacitate me. I dislocate joints running the dishwasher. I nearly pass out when I stand up. My heart races and my temperature is at fever-level because my body can't regulate it. I'm exhausted. I'm tired. And I'm discouraged. But I am thankful. Thankful? Really? Here's what I realized: I have 4 loads of laundry to fold because I have clothes. My house is a mess because my boys have toys. My kitchen is a disaster because we have food to eat … [Read more...]

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Claudia’s Fight Like a Girl Story (Chronic Pain)

by 8 Comments
Jul
09
2011
Chronic Pain Purple Ribbon

Hi! I am Claudia, from Romania. I’m 17, 158 cm, 55kg. I had a happy childhood with minor, but frequent, health problems. My story started 3 years ago. I was operated for appendicitis in March. In April I woke up in a morning with a pain on the left knee.  It was swollen. It hurt more when I went. I said: “Nothing wrong!”, thinking that I hit it without realizing. It was before Easter, so I continued to be normal. No doctors, no meds. During a week, the pain continued, moving to the right knee, than to the right ankle. They were swollen too. I went to the doctor and she said: “I’m sure that this is rheumatism. You’ll have tests to confirm, but anyway you have to do injections of Penicillin!”. I was shocked because I didn’t felt sick. I went there just because my mother said to and then I found that I have this. I took the treatment, but when the test came, the doctor realised that all are normal.  She said: “Oh! I think that there is a mistake from the … [Read more...]

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Alicia’s Fight Like a Girl Story (Brain Tumor, Seizures)

by 4 Comments
Jun
26
2011
Grey Brain Tumor Awareness Ribbon

In December 2002, I was diagnosis with Epilepsy. After doing an EEG, the epilepsy was determined as Begin Rolandic Epilepsy. My seizures were under control through medication and chiropractic treatments. After a change in Neurologist, another MRI was requested in February 2005. At this time, they found an abnormality (no size was defined), thought to have been due to moving during the MRI. My Neurologist, Dr. Ismail, decided to do a follow up MRI several months later. During the summer of 2005, I had one seizure during the day. This was the first time that I had a seizure during the day. During the summer 2006, I had an increase in seizure activity. July 18th, August 1st, and September 1st.  My parents witnessed the seizure on September 1st, which was different from the type of seizures that they had witnessed prior. They took me to the ER, where the doctors sedated me to stop the seizure. Because of the sedation, my breathing was not normal, so the doctors … [Read more...]

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Can Women Taking Tamoxifen for Breast Cancer Benefit From Fish Oils?

by 3 Comments
Jun
18
2011
Breast Cancer, Tamoxifen, and Fish Oil

Women who have breast cancer and those who are at high risk for the disease sometimes take the anti-estrogen drug tamoxifen. Tamoxifen is a medication that binds to estrogen receptors and blocks the action of estrogen on breast cancer cells. When estrogen is blocked, the breast tumor doesn’t grow as rapidly, as long as a woman has estrogen-receptor positive breast cancer - the most common kind. Now researchers have discovered that women taking tamoxifen for breast cancer may also benefit from fish oils. Fish Oil and Tamoxifen for Breast Cancer Fish oil supplements have become a popular among Americans, because they reduce inflammation and lower the risk of heart disease. They may also help to boost the cancer-fighting power of tamoxifen. In the laboratory, researchers induced breast tumors in a group of rats. Some of the breast cancer induced rats ate a diet consisting of 17% fish oils, while others ate a diet rich in corn oil as a control for two months. Some of the rats … [Read more...]

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