Your Breast Cancer Awareness

I haven't written in a while and sometimes I wonder, am I too close to Michelle's Place Breast Cancer Resource Center to be writing this blog? Not too close to the day-to-day operations but too close to the reason we were started. I will write another day on why it is okay for the people close to the patient to feel these feelings that we don't feel comfortable admitting (unfairness, anger, etc.) because I was that person. But today, I want to talk about why you should donate your hard-earned dollars to Michelle's Place as you sit and try to find focus through October-induced pink fog.

Our Executive Director, Kim Goodnough, gave a poignant speech, at our 12th Annual Celebration of Life Golf Tournament, this past Friday. Kim took a moment after all of the raffle tickets were purchased and there were no more chances for the participants to spend money. She was strictly taking the opportunity to share tough information with a group of people supporting our organization. I am going to do my best to reiterate what Kim shared (and I will probably add to it because I just can't help myself). We lost 4 clients this week. We are not here to save lives. We are here to bring comfort to women fighting the battle for their lives. We will not find the cure for cancer. We are helping the women who live in your neighborhood and are raising children while going through breast cancer treatment. Your sisters, your friends, your aunts, your mothers, your daughters, your co-workers. One of the four we lost this week was Candy Guitterez. Candy was one of our Self Help Group Facilitators and she leaves behind a family and her youngest is six years old. This is what we do. Bring comfort, support, whatever we can to help these women get through their days in the best way possible. And we educate women on getting mammograms, ultrasounds, diagnostics so they catch breast cancer early and don't have to get to where Candy and others have been. It is not pretty, pink-filled days that the marketers make it look like. Women walk into our office scared and we give them understanding, hugs, love and information. Services and support come next. No woman should have to go this alone.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month, October, Pink Ribbons, Hope. It has a place. We celebrate too. There is plenty to celebrate. But when faced with a choice on where to spend your dollars, we hope you consider where the funds are invested. Michelle's Place invests in our community. Helping women and their families right here in Temecula Valley. If you choose to support us, you can make a one-time donation online or choose to be part of our Wings of Hope program where you can choose to donate monthly automatically as low as $10.

Every dollar counts. Make yours count. Thank you.

Amy Watson
amy@michellesplace.org

The Doc Says my Breasts are Dense, Now What?

Dense breasts.  40-50% of all women have dense breasts and the denser the breast, the more difficult it is to find the abnormalities in a mammogram. Breast density is not something you can feel...like when you have fibrocystic breasts (I once had a doctor explain this as feeling like grapes in a ziploc bag). This is not the same. Breast density is a condition you can only see on the mammogram.

So what's the issue? Dense breast tissue shows up white on a mammogram. Guess what else shows up white? Calcifications. Cancer. Even benign tumors. Needless to say, the mammogram is difficult to decipher and less accurate when there is dense breast tissue.

As of April 1, 2013, Senate Bill 1538 went into effect and now the law requires doctors to inform women who have dense breasts that the mammogram may not be sufficient. The law is simply ensuring that women are made aware of their breast density.

How does the medical community measure breast density? There is no standard.

L-R: Wayne Watson, Dr. James Maxwell, Dr. Amy Bremner,
Carole Conrad

So you have dense breasts...now what? Well, screening mammograms miss 20-30% of cancer and the majority of those missed are women with dense breasts. Mammograms are still considered the best screening test even if you have dense breasts. However, now that you will be made aware of your breast density, you can work with your doctor to determine if additional screenings are needed. MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) is the next step. Why not an ultrasound? Ultrasounds are best for investigative work once a problematic area is discovered by a screening tool, like a mammogram or a MRI.

Self Breast Exams are still one of the best tools and you know your body better than anyone. Check your breasts monthly. Get your annual screenings. Most of all, get educated and be your own health advocate.

Michelle's Place Breast Cancer Resource Center would like to thank Dr. Amy Bremner and Dr. James Maxwell for their informative, candid presentation on Breast Density.