Oct. 12--EVERY TIME I turn around, I know that my battle is just beginning.
You see, for me, the big problem isn't going to be defeating breast cancer. That's a given, a minor bump in the road of life we already know is well on its way to being conquered, thanks to prayer from all of you and to my excellent chemotherapy treatment and surgery and radiation to come.
But how do you get an obese workaholic who thinks she's a 6-foot, 120-pound diva -- I call it reverse anorexia -- to trade in nightly town council and planning and zoning meetings for nights at the gym? What's a chubby reporter to do? She attends the third annual breast cancer community forum, Hope, Not Fear, at the Savin Rock Conference Center. Sponsored by the Yale-New Haven Breast Center, the Yale Cancer Center and the West Haven Breast Cancer Awareness Program, the forum brought a wide range of medical professionals to talk about the biology of breast cancer, its treatment and survivorship.
I was especially interested in the survivorship talks on bone health and nutrition. Nutrition, for obvious reasons, and bone health because I had just experienced a very painful weekend. At my fifth chemotherapy treatment on Oct. 2, Taxol was administered for the first time. The worst side effect was arthritic bone pain. My legs felt like I had run a marathon and my pelvis felt like it was expanding beyond my saddlebags. I spent most of the weekend in bed, being nursed on Tylenol Arthritis, Percocet and foot and calve massages from boyfriend Bob Daley.
Throughout my cancer education, I've been told that exercise is important during chemotherapy. Is walking from the car to the office enough? (Hope, hope.) Not quite. And it's never too late to become more physically fit, even if the pounds don't melt off as much as you'd like, said Tish Knobf, American Cancer Society professor of oncology nursing at the Yale University School of Nursing.
"We are encouraging people in treatment to try and walk 20 minutes a day to prevent the side effects of fatigue," Knobf said "In general, for bone health, what's recommended is 30 minutes of physical activity five or more days a week. Those are the national guidelines," Knobf said. "When there is no muscle activity the body isn't getting the signal to build up the bones."
Bone loss is of particular concern to breast cancer patients, Knobf said. Since long-term survival for those who have had breast cancer has increased, "We want to encourage all kinds of health promotion to decrease the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and bone loss," she said.
Adequate calcium and vitamin D intake are also recommended, said Knobf, who is putting together a four-year study, Yale FIT, Fitness Intervention Trial. For more information, e-mail tish. knobf@yale.edu or call (203) 737-2357.
Heidi Larson, a registered dietitian with Yale-New Haven Hospital, also provided tips to the 100 attendees on choosing proven lifestyle changes that reduce the risk of cancer recurrence.
Raspberries and strawberries, broccoli and other "cruciferous" vegetables such as cauliflower, arugula and cabbage and walnuts, for example, are things we should be digging into. Red meat, alcohol, salty food and sugary drink consumption should be limited.
When it comes to choosing organic over fertilized foods or trying to decide on information they read on the Internet, people with questions should ask their doctors, Larson said.
In this, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I have promised to promote fund-raisers in our region. Contact me to have your event included.
--Kris Carr, the author of "Crazy, Sexy Cancer Survivor," is appearing at the Madison Beach Hotel, 94 West Wharf Road on Tuesday. The luncheon benefits the Breast Cancer Network of Strength Organization. Tickets are available through R.J. Julia Booksellers, (203) 245-3959.
--New Haven native Stephanie Engstrom, a contemporary artist, is exhibiting the "Breast Show Ever" at MWstudioNYC, 373 Broadway in New York, through Oct. 19. The exhibit celebrates breast cancer survivors through mixed media panels with casts of breast cancer survivors, some from the area. It benefits the Susan G. Komen Cancer Foundation.
--A coat sale to raise money for the American Cancer Society in honor of Hamden resident Patricia Carney, who died from brain cancer, is under way. Contact aimjig@yahoo.com.
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