OctOber is

MESSENGER POST MEDIA

BREASTCANCERAWARENESS

MOnth

Think pink.

What you need to know about your breast density There is a difference between the seen and the unseen when it comes to breast cancer detection, and knowing your breast density could possibly help save your life. What makes up your breasts, or the composition of fibrous, fatty and glandular tissue can contribute to the risk-factors of this potentially fatal form of cancer. One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer, and according to the National Cancer Institute, studies have shown that breast density is directly linked to a woman’s risk for breast cancer. Although breast density is not at this time specifically used to assess the risk for breast cancer, in January, 2013, New York State will mandate that all women be informed with their screening mammogram report if they have dense breast tissue. What does that mean in plain, non-technical language? Breast tissue is made up of fibrous, glandular matter, as well as fat. A higher composition of fibrous and glandular material equals more dense tissue. Dense tissue is harder to see through than fatty tissue. For radiologists who are reading mammograms, density matters.“A mammogram is a screening tool, it’s not perfect. There are women with breast tissue that is so dense we can’t see through it,” says Dr. Stamatia V. Destounis, attending radiologist, Elizabeth Wende Breast Care, Rochester. “So knowing density may help women understand the importance of other screening tools, including

self-exams and being proactive.”While digital mammograms are still considered the optimal way to detect early breast cancer, there are other tests available including breast ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI,) and a newer technology called 3-D mammography tomosynthesis. Elizabeth Wende uses multiple diagnostic tools as needed to detect breast cancers.“When I look at the population of patients through our door, 60 percent have either heterogeneously dense or extremely dense breast tissue” says Destounis. “More than half of our patients are in the grouping considered to have dense breast tissue.”Breast density is an important factor for Destounis because seeing through dense tissue can be difficult and may require further testing, such as a breast ultrasound. Ultrasound is a diagnostic test typically used after an abnormality is found on a mammogram. Destounis points out the mandate that will go into effect in January 2013, informing women of their breast density, may lead to increased breast ultrasound examinations in addition to mammograms. However, in studies published regarding screening breast ultrasound more than 95 percent of abnormalities detected on the additional ultrasound examination turn out to be “false-positive” meaning not worrisome for cancer.“Fatty tissue is very easy to see and very easy to read,” says Destounis. “But dense

tissue is white and difficult to read through on mammography.”Breast tissue is classified using a four-level density scale: almost entirely fatty, scattered areas of fibroglandular density, heterogeneously dense, and extremely dense. Destounis notes that palpating lumpy tissue on breast self exam does not necessarily mean a woman has dense breast tissue, nor does breast size. Most lumps women palpate may be fatty or normal breast tissue. For radiologists, fat is gray in color, and dense breast tissue appears more white on a mammogram. But so do abnormalities, which make them more difficult to see.Gender, race, and genetics all determine a woman’s breast density, which may decrease during menopause in some women. In others, tissue remains dense which can contribute to an elevated risk for breast cancer. Density, along with factors such as family history of the disease, prior diagnosis and treatment, and other indicators including environment and lifestyle, should be discussed with doctors to determine which screening tools are best to use in each situation. “Ask questions, read about breast density, talk to your doctor, get information and try to understand the reasons this may be important for you,” says Destounis. “Knowing your breast density will make you more aware. Discussion with your doctor will educate and inform and help clear up any confusion or anxiety. Asking questions is a good thing.”For more information please visit the American College of Radiology, www.acr.org

As the fight against breast cancer moves forward, so does the technology. The latest imaging tool, 3-D Mammography Tomosynthesis creates more visibility of the breast tissue, thus leaving less opportunity for this common cancer to go undetected.Approved for use since early 2011, 3-D Mammography offers a more advanced way to detect breast cancer in its earliest stages using a specially designed digital camera and a computer to produce high resolution three-dimensional images. Traditional two-dimensional digital mammography, while still one of the best and most advanced tools to detect breast cancer even in its early stages, may not reveal tiny masses or micro-calcifications that could potentially be hidden in overlapping breast tissue.“We have been doing research since 2009 and we use 3-D mammography in conjunction with 2-D for improvement in detection,” says Dr. Stamatia V. Destounis, attending radiologist, Elizabeth Wende Breast

Care, Rochester. Elizabeth Wende Breast Care LLC, began using 3-D mammography tomosynthesis in 2011 and now has two machines available for patients who match the characteristics for this particular type of screening. “We believe in the technology, we think it does help look into the breast tissue, especially with women who have dense breast tissue,” says Destounis.According to Destounis, who has been a breast radiologist for 19 years, it is difficult on a standard mammogram to see all the breast tissue. Conventional two-dimensional images are flat, not allowing methods to unravel overlapping breast tissue, which may create the illusion of an abnormality. A three-dimensional image allows a more detailed examination of different layers of tissue. Seeing fine details in each 3-D image may help reduce the need for further testing. “This is a great additional anatomic study,” says Destounis. “We are getting more information about breast anatomy with this additional screening which is a perfect balance.”Early detection is key in effectively treating breast cancer, and with the technology of breast tomosynthesis, there is advanced improvement in detection. “Studies have been very positive, but you still need other tools,” says Destounis.Some of those tools include breast ultrasound, which uses sound waves to check for non-cancerous growths, masses, or cysts in the breast, as well as breast cancers. There are no risks associated with breast ultrasound, and there is no exposure to radiation.A breast MRI, or magnet resonance imaging, examines breast

tissue on a more functional level, using magnets and radio waves to see the activity in the breast, including the anatomy and vascular areas. It is not a replacement for mammography and may be used in conjunction with other diagnostic tests. Breast cancer affects one in eight women, but the latest technology of 3-D breast tomosynthesis may help decrease mortality rates. It is simple, adding only one minute of time during a regular, digital screening mammogram. It is used at Elizabeth Wende when indicated, for those patients who are at high risk, who have dense breast tissue, a strong family history, or have had breast cancer.Some indicators of breast cancer include body weight, amount of fat in the body, hormones, environmental factors, sedentary lifestyle, alcohol use, and genetics. Those with a strong family history, or two family members with diagnoses, and/or those with an inherited gene called BRCA, are at an increased risk. Breast abnormalities can be identified through breast self-exams, routine visits with primary care physicians and gynecologists, education, and yearly screening mammography.“Implementation takes some time and as time goes on we will continue to change over to the 3-D. We are leaving the door open to slowly convert,” says Destounis. “We are all about taking care of the patient and identifying the cancers, and we want to get the answer in a timely fashion.”Elizabeth Wende Breast Care, LLC 170 Sawgrass Drive, Rochester 585-442-2190 www.ewbc.com

New technology for breast cancer detection

is mulTi-dimensionalBY DEBORAH BLACKWELL | MESSENGER POST MEDIA

Advertising supplement to Messenger Post Media for the week of October 7, 2012

. . .Think pink . . . . . . Advertising supplement to messenger post mediA for the week of october 7, 2012 • pAge 2 . . . . . . Think pink.. .Cleaning for a Reason helps cancer patients face one less baTTle

BY DEBORAH BLACKWELL | MESSENGER POST MEDIA

Embrace your sisters is a special seRVice

BY DEBORAH BLACKWELL | MESSENGER POST MEDIA

“When I found out my sister had breast cancer, I just wanted to hug her.”

—Judie Raffard, Founder, Embrace Your Sisters

The bond between sisters is unbreakable. And when breast cancer touched the life of Chrisann Philipson of Honeoye, little did she know that her sister, Judie Raffard also of Honeoye, and three of their friends would raise enough money between them to create an organization that has helped change the lives of many local women affected by this prevalent disease. Now that bond continues to strengthen through Embrace Your Sisters (EYS,) a nonprofit charity providing short-term emergency financial assistance to women who suffer from breast cancer.Since 2007, EYS has given out almost $200,000 to women residing in Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Seneca, Steuben, Wayne and Yates counties, and hopes to raise and give even more. “There are almost a thousand women diagnosed with breast cancer each year in the seven counties we serve, and 300 will be at or below poverty level,” says Susan Cooney, president, Embrace Your Sisters. “Personally I’d like to see us help all 300 of them.”Personal dedication and commitment is how the original founders, Lisa DiStefano-Cessna, Alisha Cessna, and Daisey Nichols Stanley, along with good friends, Philipson and Raffard, and a group of local women built the all-volunteer organization. The assistance EYS provides eases the financial burdens of dealing with cancer, medical expenses, lost time from work, and other costs, so the “sisters” they embrace can focus on their health and families. “Thank you so much for your help with my co-pays,” says an EYS recipient from Seneca Falls. “We need more people like you, neighbor helping neighbor. It’s a labor of love.”The strong force of members that keeps this love going is made up of more than 75 members and many volunteers who donate their time doing various things to help recipients, from running the organization, helping with special

events, educating about breast cancer, to knitting

and distributing cancer caps. They have recently

utilized grants and funding to write a

comprehensive guidebook detailing

cancer resources and contact information

which will be available online in a digital format this

month. The guidebook will also eventually be distributed to social

workers and cancer centers in the Greater Rochester area.“Embrace Your Sisters is more than just an organization dedicated to helping people diagnosed with breast cancer,” says Tracey Fuller, General Manager, Heiser Logistics and EYS member. “It is a life line for those who should be focused on beating this terrible disease and getting healthy again, not how to cover their co-pays or grocery bills for the month.”As Embrace Your Sisters celebrates its fifth anniversary, its lifeline continues to grow. This fall members and volunteers are making Christmas tree ornaments in memory or support of breast cancer patients and their caregivers, to be displayed at Granger Homestead’s Festival of Trees in Canandaigua. The ornaments will also be for sale in the gift shop. Proceeds from this fundraiser will support the ongoing mission of EYS. “Without a doubt this organization has brought relief in dire times and has made a significant impact on the lives of those it has touched,” says Fuller. “It’s a real grassroots group of lovely ladies that identified a real need and found a real solution to fill the void.”For more information on how to apply, donate, or become a member or volunteer, please visit their website.Embrace Your Sisters PO Box 322, Canandaigua 585-624-9690 www.embraceyoursisters.org

A clean house may be the furthest thing from a woman’s mind when going through cancer treatment. But when the need to clean catches up, one service comes mind, and to the rescue. Cleaning for a Reason is a national nonprofit organization that partners with professional residential maid services to offer four free cleanings over a four month time period to female clients with any type of cancer. “What’s neat is we’ve really created a collaborative giving-network among what would normally be considered competitors who have come together with one cause and can help women with cancer,” says Debbie Sardone, Founder and President, Cleaning For A Reason, based in Lewisville, Texas.The organization has more than a thousand maid services in the United States and Canada and has done over 11,000 free cleanings valued at $2.9 million dollars. “The cleaning businesses have been very generous, the spotlight should be on them,” says Sardone. “This is a gift from the service business owners, they pay their employees to do the complimentary cleanings.”

Sardone says her organization has every type of maid service in the program—from franchises to regular mom and pop companies—and they match them with about 300 patients each month. She says their greatest challenge is not having enough cleaning services to cover the number of cleanings needed. “We know we can’t help everyone, but we can focus on those we can help, and that’s what we do,” says Sardone.The cleaning service is limited to women over age 19 currently undergoing cancer treatment. A woman can apply on the Cleaning for a Reason website, submit a doctor’s note stating she is currently going through cancer treatment, and the organization will try to match her with a participating maid service in her area. The patient-client is able to utilize the service to meet her personal cleaning needs, such as focusing on a specific area of her home most important to her, or receive a general cleaning. “In August I had a biopsy and then a wedge of lung was removed. I found out about the service at the cancer center,” says Diane of Plattsburgh, Clinton County. “They cleaned my home and what a huge help. The vacuuming alone was a God-send, after the operation I couldn’t use my right arm.” The primary mission of Cleaning for a Reason remains solid as the organization continues to evolve. Sardone originally came up with the idea to provide cleanings to women receiving cancer treatment over 15 years ago when working at her own company, Buckets & Bows Maid Service in Lewisville, Texas. She took a call from a woman inquiring about housecleaning who indicated to

Sardone that she could not afford maid service at that time due to her medical bills. Sardone said she hung up without really thinking about it, but realized afterward that she could have offered her some cleaning help for free. “I thought to myself, why didn’t I just give that to her? How often does somebody call with that need?” says Sardone. “I was so upset I had made that decision in that moment. So I had a staff meeting that same day and I said that if a woman calls and has cancer we will offer services to her for free. It’s not that I didn’t care, it was that I didn’t think of it until it was too late. I have no idea who that original call was from—it was before caller I.D.” Sardone said it became a policy that day. When she heard about someone in her community with cancer she would reach out to them and said it became something she proactively sought out. She launched Cleaning for a Reason in 2006 and her foundation has since grown nationwide. The organization has many national corporate sponsors such as Hoover, who gave away almost a thousand vacuums to cleaning partners to help defray their out-of-pocket costs. Swiffer, of Proctor and Gamble, became a partner last year and is placing pink limited edition mops in all the Walmart stores this month to benefit Cleaning for Reason. The company even received television broadcast exposure from Oprah Winfrey in 2009. Sardone also owns KYSO (Knock Your Socks Off) a global consulting business and does maid service business training and workshops. She is co-owner of The Clean Team Catalog, a mail order cleaning supplies and equipment e-commerce store. “Our whole world is cleaning,” she says.On the business end of things Sardone ensures that each company she sends in to a client’s home is professional, bonded and insured. She works hard to recruit and partner with legitimate cleaning companies, who volunteer their time and services and pay a monthly contribution to be part of the program. “We pledge money every month to Cleaning for a Reason so they can keep the operation up and running. I joined in 2008 when a close friend of mine had cancer and lived too far away for me to help, so I wanted to give back to the community,” says Tina Servis, owner, Maid 4 Time, Henrietta. “I have contributed well over $5,000 in free cleanings. The biggest thing I have learned through doing this is that going through chemo or radiation, you really don’t know how you will feel. Most people feel sick and need help. If we can give back just a little bit of something, that’s what I’m happy about. More people need to know about this service. Cleaning for a Reason is just a great company.” To become a cleaning partner, to make a donation, or to apply for cleaning services, please visit www.cleaningforareason.org.

“There are tons of cancer-research foundations. I need help with my house! I have three small children

and have been taking chemotherapy for 19 months.

This is a God-send to me.” —Stephanie, patient-client of

Cleaning for a Reason, New York

Deb Sardone, Cleaning for a Reason 211 S. Stemmons, Suite G Lewisville, TX 75067 (877) 337-3348 www.cleaningforareason.org

Tina Servis, Maid4Time 29 Hummingbird Way, West Henrietta 585-359-4834 www.maid4time.com

KYSO Consulting, Inc. www.debbiesardone.com

The Clean Team Catalog: www.SpeedCleaning.com

“People go through challenging moments of losing people and of having their life threatened from illness and real grief. But they get through it. And that’s the testament to the human spirit and it’s—we are fragile, but we also are divine”. —Sheryl Crow

men and breast cancer It’s rare, but it’s still something to worry about in the United States. Last year, an estimated 1,970 new cases of breast cancer occurred in men, says Susan G. Komen for the Cure. There were 390 male breast cancer deaths in 2010.

A darker RibbonBY HOLLY ANDERSON, ExECUTIvE DIRECTOR

Of THE BREAST CANCER COALITION Of ROCHESTER

Local breast cancer survivor speaks in her own words about

some realities of “the Sisterhood”

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When I was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 40, I was inducted into a sisterhood I never asked to join, but took some comfort in knowing I was not alone. One in eight women can expect a diagnosis of breast cancer during their lifetime.I tried to soothe my fears by reminding myself of the 98 percent survival rate when it’s caught early. And though I did catch mine early, at just over one centimeter, it had spread to my lymph nodes. Not long after my treatment began, I was dismayed to learn that the 98 percent survival rate only measures five years out from diagnosis. Survival means you are alive, not necessarily cured. There are many women battling advanced stages of this disease who are part of that survival statistic. It turns out that the “cure” can’t really be known until the people in the study die—of breast cancer or something else. I am nearly 14 years out from my Stage III breast cancer diagnosis and I show no signs of the disease that brought such fear and anxiety into my life back then. Many in this sisterhood are not so lucky. While it is true that most women survive this disease, studies done over a 20-year period by the National Cancer Institute tell the other half of the story. More than one third of all women diagnosed with breast cancer will lose the battle. Even with all of the awareness, breast cancer remains one of the most prevalent and life-threatening forms of cancer, taking the lives of nearly 40,000 American women each year. There is no rule book with breast cancer. Women with similar prognoses can have very different outcomes. Women diagnosed with the earliest forms can go on to develop advanced disease. Women with multiple node involvement might never have recurrence. And women who have been given a clean bill of health can develop breast cancer in distant sites sometimes many years after the initial diagnosis. Is it any wonder that there is so much uncertainty within the sisterhood’s survivor community?Though we now have improved diagnostic and treatment options, researchers are still frustrated by their inability to predict who will develop advanced disease. New avenues of research are being developed that will help us get closer to the answers we seek. There is so much emphasis on early detection, and we must

also not ignore those who struggle daily with the effects of this disease.The subject of advanced breast cancer is usually avoided, and there is little discussion of the impact of recurrence and advanced breast cancer outside of the medical literature. The emphasis on breast cancer is still, almost universally, on mammography, early detection, survivorship, and a tiny pink ribbon. Breast Cancer has got to be more than symbols. We need to acknowledge that many engage in a daily battle against this disease and, yet, are living very full lives amongst us. Survivors. Surviving.Holly Anderson was diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer in 1999. She has been with the Breast Cancer Coalition since 2000, serving as their Executive Director since 2001. She is a lifelong resident of Rochester, and is married with four children and two grandchildren. She is a dedicated advocate for those living in the aftermath of breast cancer and frequently speaks out about the politics of breast cancer.

Breast Cancer Coalition of RochesterThe Breast Cancer Coalition of Rochester (BCCR,) entering its 15th year, is a community-based, independent nonprofit organization dedicated to eradicating breast cancer through action and advocacy. The Coalition provides support and educational programs for those coping with breast cancer and works with citizen and environmental agencies and organizations to increase awareness about environmental risks related to breast cancer and other public health risks. BCCR also collaborates with other independent grassroots breast cancer organizations from around the country with the goal to end breast cancer.

840 University Avenue, Rochester 585-473-8177 www.bccr.org

If you or someone you love is coping with advanced breast cancer, you are not alone. The Advanced Breast Cancer Support Network meets at 9:30 am on the second Thursday of each month at the Breast Cancer Coalition. Find this and many other support and education programs available, 840 University Avenue, Rochester. Visit the website, www.bccr.org for more information.

. . .Think pink . . . . . . Advertising supplement to messenger post mediA for the week of october 7, 2012 • pAge 3 . . . . . . Think pink.. .

A nurse’s perspective of bReasT canceR TReaTmenT

BY DEBORAH BLACKWELL | MESSENGER POST MEDIA

Kitty Forbush, RN, charge nurse at Pluta Cancer Center’s chemotherapy infusion room,

has been helping women with breast cancer fight, endure, and manage their treatment for two decades. A strong support for her patients, she fights the battle right along with her patients, whom she calls friends.

This exceptional and caring nurse talks in her own words about her life’s work and shares her message of hope and love.

When a woman walks into our clinic for the first time, even though I have never been in her shoes, I respect her fear, anxiety, frustration and sadness. From the very beginning, I try to envelop her with compassion and love, and provide her with information and offer humor. I let her know that I appreciate her need to come to terms with her diagnosis, and where she is on that journey. Stages of denial, anger, bargaining and acceptance have to be navigated; each person is on a different path and a different timetable to find her place of peace.At Pluta, even though I have witnessed almost every scenario, each patient is a clean slate for me, and I let her know that. I encourage her to stay off the internet and deflect people’s well meaning stories of their own, or friends and relatives stories of treatment, with the simple statement, ‘I appreciate your concern, but for now my doctors’ and my nurses’ voices are the ones I prefer to listen to.’From the start I assure her than I am, along with the other Pluta nurses, her safety net. We know what happens when she is with us in the clinic, but she is the one who has to go out in the world and continue with her life, whatever that is—working, being a wife, a partner, a daughter, a mother—and all that makes up her life. We let her know that she can call and ask for help if she needs it. We tell her that the words, ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t want to bother you,’ are not words we want to hear. We want to know what is happening and if there is a symptom or feeling that hasn’t been explained, she should call us. No matter what. We remind her that treatment can bring on more stress and that everything she can do to alleviate some of that will be beneficial to her healing. Accepting offers from friends and family of food, cleaning, childcare, rides and company of treatment days are highly encouraged. Napping when needed, and getting a pedicure or a massage are great ways to feel pampered, especially when going through treatment.

So often women initially feel that they have to be tough and ‘push through’ what they are feeling both physically and emotionally. I am there to remind them

that suffering will not make any of this better, and

understanding the symptoms and fatigue they may experience

are real physical factors of treatment. Big emotional swings are also common and can be exhausting and nerve wracking for patients and their families. I always tell my patients that whatever they need to feel with us is okay—that the treatment room is the place where they can be scared or cry when they need to, and I cry right along with them.The most important thing for a patient to know is that as treatment continues and she gets the physical and emotional support she needs, a transformation takes place. She grows in the knowledge and power that she can make it through treatment and somehow be better for it. Not a day goes by that a woman doesn’t stop by to show us her new hair and revel in her survivorship. It is an honor to be a part of a woman’s healing and be able to give her hope.Kitty Forbush, RN Charge Nurse Chemotherapy Infusion Room Pluta Cancer Center

Pluta Cancer CenterPluta Cancer Center is a quality Oncology Practice Initiative qOPI© certified practice. Established in 1975, the Center is New York’s first independent, not-for-profit cancer facility. Pluta Cancer Center provides compassionate care through a personalized, patient-centered approach that empowers patients and their families. The Center offers the latest in radiation therapy technology, chemotherapy treatment and provides massage therapy, yoga, tai chi, support groups and nutrition counseling. In July, the Pluta Cancer Center announced that it had initiated a process to merge with the University of Rochester Medical Center.

125 Red Creek Drive, Rochester 585-486-0600 www.plutacancercenter.org

. . .Think pink . . . . . . Advertising supplement to messenger post mediA for the week of october 7, 2012 • pAge 4 . . . . . . Think pink.. .

Silhouettes of Hope and Courage HonoreesBY DEBORAH BLACKWELL | MESSENGER POST MEDIA

Q & a wiTh

Breast cancer affects one in eight women, and its limits reach beyond those who are diagnosed with this common disease. Almost everyone is touched by breast cancer in some way, and the fight against it is fierce. There are some women who are able to rise above their diagnosis, and through their own unique experience provide hope and inspiration to others. On October 4, three local women were honored at the 17th annual Silhouettes of Hope and Courage at Thompson Health’s M.M. Ewing Continuing Care Center in Canandaigua. This event, open to the public, highlighted the moving stories and bravery of these women, who spoke about their situation, about breast health and breast cancer prevention. The honorees answered a few questions for Think Pink, and share a bit of their message. What helped keep you inspired and hopeful to persevere through your diagnosis and treatment?

Who or what gave you support and inspiration and why?

How has the situation changed who you are?

What is one thing you would like to say to other patients and families and caregivers facing this situation?

Carole Lillis, Canandaigua, has many successes in her life. Married 41 years to husband Rob, their son Ryan is a writer for the Sacramento Bee, daughter Kate, a fundraiser for the Crouse Hospital Foundation. Carole also sees the success of students she helps every day in her role as Director of Academic Success at Keuka (ASK.) She works with the at-risk student population there, and is also an assistant professor of first year writing and Introduction to Children’s Literature.My journey with breast cancer started with a phone call, as many of these journeys do. The radiologist called me with the news and had said at the time that she ordered my biopsy that she was, ‘98 percent sure that the spot she saw was nothing to worry about,’ but she wanted to be 100 percent sure. I have since learned that this is the Thompson way—they are always 100 percent in whatever they do. These are the people who saved my life and I remember them in my prayers every day.That call came in December, 2010. As soon as I was diagnosed, my daughter went into overdrive. She became very active in fundraising for the Susan G. Komen foundation through their 60-mile walk events. To date, she has accomplished three of them and raised several thousand dollars. However, I have to say that the worst moment of my life was not the phone call I got telling me that I had breast cancer, but the phone call I got a few months later, in February 2011, from my son telling me that my daughter-in-law, Sarah, at age 34, had been diagnosed with breast cancer at the same time that I was undergoing treatment. My son received double heartbreak, but was strength-personified. Yet to me, many times, it almost seemed like too much to bear. I know that people say, ‘What doesn’t kill you makes you strong,’ but there were several times in the ensuing months when I was ready to give up. What kept me going was the courage and grace of Sarah who endured far more invasive treatment than I did and managed to keep a smile on her face at all times. As her chemotherapy treatments went on, everyone in her family and ours spent a week with her in California. We have become an unbelievable unit through all of this, and that is the message that Kate takes with her when she raises funds. My family, especially my husband Rob, another pillar of strength and good humor, and friends were instrumental in keeping me grounded through my treatment. Several women I know who have been treated for breast cancer reached out to me by taking me out to lunch, sending me cards, phone calls, emails, and keeping me in their prayers. I hope I have become a better person knowing that life can change in a heartbeat, but we have to keep going. I hope that now I am a person who is grateful for the contribution every person makes. The receptionists at the Sands Center were lovely and cheerful, the nurses outstanding, the mammography techs kind and gentle. But the radiation techs, Mike, Richard and Tom will remain in my memory forever, they were wonderful to me. I hope that I have become a better person because I have met these inspiring people. I know I am trying to live up to the hope they all gave me.My message to others facing this? Don’t try to be brave all the time. Let your tears flow. Speak up to your fears. Reach out to

people. In sharing your strength and appreciating theirs, you will get stronger and survive.Marlene Button, Dundee, is an associate veterinarian at Millstone Veterinary Clinic and has been in practice for 28 years. Part of a very large extended family, Marlene shares her home with her two Rottweilers, named Jackson and Zoey, and refers to them as the spoiled-rotten-weilers. She

also has two cats, Sonny and Luna. When I went for my ultrasound and biopsy, I knew even before the results that the diagnosis would be cancer. On the way home from the procedure, I saw not one, but two rainbows. I believe in modern medicine, but I had a tremendous number of people praying for me. I am forever grateful to all of those who supported me with their thoughts and prayers.I am humbled to be chosen by Sands as one of their honorees, but I do not feel I was especially courageous. Courage to me is my friend Pam, for whom breast cancer was the second of three distinct cancers she was diagnosed with last year. She was so sick after her first cycle of chemo that she had to be hospitalized, but she continued her treatments. Courage is my cousin Kathy, a single mom who was in stage three when diagnosed. She continues to raise her daughters and have a positive, upbeat attitude. Fortunately, I had relatively few side effects during my treatment. I continued to work and, for the most part, kept to my usual schedule. Being busy kept me from dwelling on the treatments. I never missed a day of work. Compared to many patients, I had it pretty easy, and I admire those who continue treatments even though they cause them to be ill. My advice to others going through this is, inform yourself of your treatment options, and don’t be afraid to take an active roll in making the medical decisions that are right for you.I have a large, extended family, and their love and support were invaluable. My sister, sister-in-law and mother all took turns driving me to, and sitting with me during my treatments. My church family was all very loving and supportive. My employer, Dr. Susan Collins, and our colleagues allowed me the flexibility to fit treatments into my day. My doctors, the nurses and technicians, receptionists and staff were all cheerful, upbeat and positive which made the treatments as easy as possible for me. Their competence and professionalism were greatly appreciated, and very reassuring. This situation has made me more sympathetic to people going through serious medical issues. It has also strengthened my faith.Mary Beth Exley, Bristol, a homemaker and homeschooler, lives with her husband George, and has four children. Oldest son John works in New York City, son Philip is in his last semester at college, son Stephen is in his junior year at college, and her youngest, daughter Piety, is just beginning her 7th grade year. This busy mom of four keeps a smile on her face, as she begins her treatments. I guess people would say of me that I am naturally cheerful, and I would say of myself that I am realistically optimistic. I recognize that life is hard at times, but I believe that living life to the fullest with a smile on your face is probably the best way to handle all that life has to offer, even the hard times.Cancer can be frightening because it is often painful and deadly. I would say I am more thankful for life, for family and friends, for all of the blessings that I have been given since going through this trial. I would say my faith has increased because of my situation with breast cancer, and I am confident I will continue to get through it all.I have received tremendous support from my family and from my church. Church friends made me a quilt with inspirational sayings stitched into the squares. The quilt was practical, too, for warmth during chilly chemotherapy sessions. Another friend made me a dozen different scarves and head-coverings for my bald head. Many friends have brought meals for my family on days when I have been too exhausted to cook. And most importantly, are all the prayers that have been said for me, even by people who don’t know me! All of this support has given me encouragement to go on through the hard days.My advice to others going through this is to accept offers of help. It is encouraging for the whole family to receive help from others. Also, talk to as many people as possible about your situation, including The Breast Cancer Coalition of Rochester, because they have a very personalized and informative approach. I was surprised to find so many women who have already gone through breast cancer, and I was blessed to hear their insights and suggestions. Knowing that there are people behind you and thinking of you is very uplifting. I have a hope for the future, a hope beyond this life on earth. Of course, I do not want to die yet. I want to continue my life with my husband, my children, and my friends, but cancer will not steal my hope for the future. I choose to focus on a future that can be cancer-free, as I endure the hardships of chemotherapy. I choose to be strong, to act with courage, because I know I am not alone through this trial. Thompson Health 350 Parrish Street, Canandaigua 585-396-6000 www.thompsonhealth.com

Susan G. Komen Foundation 1-877-465-6636 ww5.komen.org