ARMY OF WOMEN

Thanks to Dr. Susan Love's Research Foundation and the amazing Army of Women, there are oodles of ongoing opportunities to participate in cutting-edge research. I'm highlighting a few noninvasive studies for you to consider participating in if you meet eligibility requirements. There is even one listed here for ladies who don't have cancer. Click the links below for more details. (These studies are time-sensitive, so if interested, get in touch right away. If they're not right for you but for someone you know: share, share, share!) 

DCIS AND BRCA STUDY If you've been diagnosed with DCIS, have a known BRCA mutation, and are over age 20, this research study may be for you. The best part: They are recruiting women from all over the world. 

ENERGY STUDY The "Exercise and Nutrition to Enhance Recovery and Good Health for You" (ENERGY) study will analyze the effects of diet and exercise on overweight breast cancer survivors. Women must live near the following locations: San Diego, CA; St. Louis, MO; Birmingham, AL; and Denver, CO. 
HOT FLASH STUDY The "Interventions for Relief of Menopausal Symptoms: A 3-by-2 Factorial Design Examining Yoga, Exercise, and Omega-3 Supplementation" study needs women near Seattle, WA — cancer NOT required! — who are between the ages of 40 and 62, peri- or postmenopausal, suffer from hot flashes and not on Tamoxifen or other hormone treatment.

JEWELS IN OUR GENES STUDY aims to understand if there are undiscovered genes unique to African Americans that may predict early breast cancer risk. The "Jewels in Our Genes" study is looking for black women over age 18 who have been diagnosed with breast cancer and reside anywhere in the USA. 

MEDITATION STUDY If you live near Los Angeles, CA, and were diagnosed with breast cancer after 2001 but before age 50, you may be eligible to participate in a "Mindfulness Meditation-Based Intervention for Younger Breast Cancer Survivors" study.

YOGA STUDY The "Yoga for Breast Cancer Survivors: Effects on Fatigue, Immune Function, and Mood" study needs ladies who live near Columbus, OH, for a research project studying the effects of yoga on (you guessed it) fatigue, immune function and mood.
YOUNG BREAST CANCER STUDY The purpose of the "Breast Cancer Risk in Young Women" study is to learn what role genetic factors may play in the development of breast cancer in younger women. Currently recruiting 5,000 females diagnosed with invasive breast cancer at age 40 or younger who live anywhere in Canada or the United States.

(© Army of Women )

GET THIS PARTY STARTED!

One morning, just days before my surgery, I am sitting in my BFF’s kitchen. But this is no ordinary catch-up, chill-out visit. It’s much more personal, educational, important — dare I even say enlightening.

BFF has invited her friend "E." to join us for coffee. E. is a breast cancer survivor. She had a bilateral mastectomy and reconstruction — the same surgeries I am about to have. The entire process, from soup-to-nuts, start-to-finish, took her nearly two years.

That is a very long time.

I’ve known E. for awhile; we see each other at holiday and birthday parties (she and BFF have kids close in age). But I have never had a conversation with E. about breast cancer. Not that I didn’t have an opportunity; I saw her several times while she was undergoing reconstruction, and although I always made a point of asking how she was doing, she always made a point of saying she was fine. I never got the vibe that she wanted to talk about “it” — particularly at a party. And since E. makes a sinfully delicious dirty martini (complete with huge, juicy olives stuffed with bleu cheese), she would always then say, “Want a drink?”

It was soon after my diagnosis (in the same phone call, if I recall) that BFF suggested I call E. But I never felt comfortable picking up the phone; not exactly sure why. Maybe it was because E. never seemed open to discussing BC. Maybe it was because I didn’t know her very well. Or maybe it was because I was the one uncomfortable about opening up. (When my plastic surgeon’s office gave me the cellphone numbers of two women who recently completed their reconstruction with him, did I call them? Nope.) I guess I was afraid to hear all the details — the good, the bad, and the very, very ugly.

But as my surgery date creeps closer, I begin to crave face time with someone who has walked this path ahead of me. I want to benefit from their hindsight. Thankfully, during one of my repeated rants in the midst of all this cancer crap, my BFF had heard me loud and clear and took action, just in the nick of time.

So here we sit, we three women, and now I can’t stop talking to E. about breast cancer! I ask her everything I can possibly think of regarding pre- and post-mastectomy surgery and recovery. My notebook is crammed with questions, from the most mundane (if I can’t bear any weight on my arms, how am I supposed to drag myself out of bed in the middle of the night to use the bathroom?) to the more technical (what size were your tissue expanders? Did your surgeon use a biologic?), to the absolutely, utterly personal (are those [surgeon-created] fipples? Wow!). 

E. answers every one of my probing queries. And slowly but surely, my pre-surgery jitters begin their final fadeout.

The highlight of my meet-and-greet that will forever be seared into my brain is the fact that E. shows me her boobs. Yup, she shows me the money, honey. And they look freakin’ fantastic!  Here's the thing: When a woman is about to undergo the removal of two of her most cherished (and visible) body parts, finding another woman who looks just like she hopes to one day is nothing short of inspiring. Seeing how splendidly medical science can piece us back together (after using their many weapons of mass destruction in the OR to tear us apart) is not just reassuring, it’s downright life affirming. It makes me realize I will get through this. I will look whole again. If E. can do it, so can I.

So after explaining her entire reconstruction to me in great detail (including her complications, which I obviously have blocked out because I can’t for the life of me recall what they are), she casually reveals her "booby" prizes: two symmetrical, incredibly natural-looking, 36DD “foobs.” And they are amazing.

I have been so focused on the deconstruction part of my journey that I haven’t really thought all that much about my reconstruction, even though it is occurring at the same time, on the same table. Today, in the safety of BFF's kitchen, I allow myself to go there. Not only does the experience with E. help soften the mental blow of my mastectomies, but it forces me to truly face what I am about to go through. 

(Copyright ©2011 Rennasus)

These two hours, spent over a cup of hot joe with a woman I hardly know while she shares her most intimate details with me, are not just a bonding moment or a necessary evil or even a way for me to face my internal music; it's all of those things. But more importantly, these two hours are about the sheer force and monumental power of sharing a life-altering experience with another human being who knows exactly what I am feeling, fearing and denying.

And it is this moment that makes me finally ready to climb aboard that hospital gurney and get this party started. Surgery, here I come!