Battle breast cancer with online resources

Find everything from forums for survivors to fundraising initiatives to medical facts

By Anne Bokma

Helena Streun was 45 when she felt the lump in her left breast. She underwent a mastectomy, bought a prosthesis and hoped she’d live to see her five young children grow up.

That was in 1975. Since then Streun, now 75, has not only seen her children grow up, she’s watched her grandkids come of age. Now president of the Cancer Assistance Program, based in Hamilton, Ont., Streun actively supports others with cancer and regularly visits women who have recently undergone breast surgery. “When people with cancer hear I’ve survived 30 years, it gives them a boost,” she says.

Getting involved in the fight

Much has changed since Streun was first diagnosed with breast cancer. Not only are new medical treatments increasing survival rates, but women and their families affected by breast cancer now have instant access to reliable breast cancer resources on the Internet: the latest medical research, message boards that connect them with other survivors and fundraising activities that get them involved in the fight for a cure.

In addition, October highlights breast cancer and raises understanding about the disease and the search for a cure.

Connecting with others

In Streun’s day, women with breast cancer would meet one another at monthly support groups in church basements; now they can instantly connect via the Net.

• Rethink Breast Cancer is a Canadian charity with a young survivors’ message board. Rethink Breast Cancer communicates breast cancer information to women in their 20s, 30s and 40s. The organization teams up with the art, entertainment, fashion and sports worlds to host hip fundraising events, and its web site offers discussion groups that cover such issues as mental health, sexuality and fertility.
• Breastcancer.org has chat rooms and discussion boards where people discuss issues such as getting through treatment and dealing with recurrence. Breastcancer.org is an American non-profit organization for breast cancer education. The site also features e-mail cards for women with breast cancer.
• Y-ME National Breast Cancer Organization, which promises that “no one faces it alone,” connects the newly diagnosed to other breast cancer survivors. The site offers webcasts on new breast cancer medical developments and allows readers to submit questions that will be answered by trained peer counsellors.
• Canadian Breast Cancer Network is another option for those who prefer to meet with other survivors face to face. Here they can find a local support group.

Medical expertise

Death rates for breast cancer have been declining steadily, but it’s still the most frequently diagnosed cancer in Canadian women. One in nine women will develop breast cancer and one in 27 will die of it, according to the Canadian Cancer Society. Concerned about your risk of contracting the disease? Radiologist Dr. Steven Halls offers a detailed breast cancer risk calculator with 13 questions for you to answer.

Dr. Susan Love, renowned for her work in raising awareness of breast cancer, offers live web chats on her award-winning site as well as the opportunity to submit questions to a panel of experts. In addition, her site features dozens of real life stories of women sharing their experiences with breast cancer.

At Breastdoc.com, Dr. Deborah Axelrod’s educational site, newly diagnosed women can be linked with women who have received similar breast cancer treatment. The site also offers illuminating clinical photos of breasts showing the signs and symptoms of cancer.

Mammography

The odds for complete recovery from breast cancer are highest when the disease is detected early. That’s why mammograms, recommended every two years from the age of 50 to 69, are so important.

Mammograms reduce the death rate due to breast cancer by 30 per cent, says Dr. Heather Bryant, vice-president of the Alberta Cancer Board. She notes that about 60 per cent of Canadian women in that age range now have mammograms regularly. (Fifteen years ago, the percentage was only 20 per cent.)

For the latest news and general information about mammography, check out Medline Plus.

Breast self examinations

The breast self-examination (BSE) is controversial. “There’s no evidence that it lowers mortality. If it will help set your mind at ease, do a BSE, but do it properly,” says Bryant, who suggests women have a clinical breast exam done by a physician during their annual checkups. “If you aren’t inclined to do it, don’t feel guilty about it.”

The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation has a downloadable chart on its web site with instructions on how to perform a BSE. You’ll also find plenty of info on BSEs at Breast Self Exam.

Fundraising events

There are special events and fundraisers planned around breast cancer awareness month. The best known is the CIBC Run for the Cure held throughout Canada which raises millions of dollars for cancer research.

Rethink Breast Cancer, in partnership with Roots, launched Canada’s Fashion Targets Breast Cancer campaign. The sale of limited edition T-shirts and lapel pins funds the organization’s breast cancer research and awareness programs.