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What Breast Cancer Awareness Means To Us (Part Two)

10/28/2020

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While Breast Cancer is something that all of our warriors experience and fight for every day, October is an opportunity to spread this awareness on an even high level and open the world's eyes to what this disease really is.

Hello, warriors! Welcome back to the blog and welcome back to part two of our blog discussing what breast cancer awareness means to us. While we are rapidly approaching the end of October and the end of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we hope you know how incredibly proud we are of each of you. We know this year's difficult situation has prevented us from doing what we all normally like to do to spread awareness, raise money, and gather with our fellow fighters, supporters, and warriors. 2020 can't cancel our hope, our fight, our journey, or the color pink. We all continue to stand in solidarity together, continue to fight together, and support one another. We know this year might be weighing heavy on you and your family, but please believe us when we say that we understand and we are with you. Please continue on your journey, continue with your fight, and continue using your story to prepare and educate others. Your fight can be a light in the darkness for others and for the rest of 2020 and beyond. Have you been feeling at a loss this month, that you haven't found your voice in this battle, that you're not giving back enough or doing enough? Don't be discouraged. Your voice and everything you're doing every day speaks volumes. To help give our own bit of help and support for the rest of Breast Cancer Awareness Month and beyond, we wanted to create a blog on how to make everyday Breast Cancer Awareness Month. 

Your voice, your journey, and how you choose to handle and battle your diagnosis is a testament in itself. Even if you aren't particularly vocal or you don't share your experience in a blog or through social media, that doesn't mean your journey doesn't impact others. When you go in for your treatments, consider the people sitting around you. This could be their very first or very last treatment. A kind smile, sharing your experiences with them, or just being a positive presence within this little snapshot of time can cause a ripple effect to those battling around you. How youR battle progresses also doesn't go unnoticed by your doctor or nurses. They find comfort, inspiration, and drive from how hard you fight and in the relationship you build together. 

Your journey and battle can bring you closer to your loved ones than ever before and can create a bond that you never expected. How you live in your survivorship and how you share your experiences with a new friend or coworker leaves an impression too. Don't think you have to shout from the rooftops and put yourself in the spotlight if you don't want to. Every step of your journey affects someone. If you want to be public about your experience, that is a welcomed expression too. Writing a blog, documenting your experiences on Facebook or Instagram, being a mentor to someone recently diagnosed, participating in group meetings, and more can also help others and raise awareness. No matter how you chose to share and express your experience, both are just as important and beneficial as the other. 

There are many steps you and your loved ones can take to promote awareness throughout the entire year, here are some tips and suggestions to make that possible. 
  • Lead by Example: One of the biggest keys in battling breast cancer is to promote, talk about, and support early detection. Talk about how common it is to get breast cancer at an early age and that mammograms don't truly work for individuals under the age of 40. Talk about and normalize self-breast exams, give yourself self-breast exams often, and once you reach the age of getting a mammogram, start going and getting those, and don't keep it a secret! 
  • You can talk to your friends and family: Don't shy away or keep your experience from your loved ones. Share with them what you are or have gone through and what you may have done differently. Plan to go and get screened together and talk about self-breast exams. Make sure to support one another to make sure that each of you is getting the care and support that you need. 
  • Listen to your community: There are so many women who want and need to tell their stories and how it affected their lives and the lives of their loved ones. It's a grueling process to go through, but listing to someone who needs to share their story can be healing for the storyteller and those who are listing. It can make the reality of breast cancer and the fact that true awareness hardly skims the surface very real. It can inspire you to work harder to be an advocate and to push harder for a cure. This is also an opportunity to comfort them through their experience and to spend as much time with them as possible. 
  • You can donate to a charity or multiple charitable organizations throughout the year, not just in October. Everything and anything you give will help. Don't be quiet about your donations or involvement. Don't just share your favorite places to donate in October. Share them as often as you can. Host fundraising events throughout the year, or create a fundraising event or opportunity for your loved ones and friends to donate throughout the year, for your birthday, at every holiday, and any large gathering. Your voice and your actions can set a consistent example, and remind others that breast cancer is a reality for people every single day.  
  • Please remember that there is always something new to learn. Regardless if you are newly diagnosed, fighting, living in your survivorship, or a family member has been diagnosed, there is always more information out there to know, understand, and help spread. The Susan G. Komen foundation reminds us that knowledge is your power and a key device in your treatment and diagnosis. The more you know and understand what you or your loved ones are going through, the more you can feel in control of your life, in control of your diagnosis, and the more you can explain to others to spread awareness. We know this might be your new reality, but it doesn't have to define your whole reality. 

We know that your voice is important. Each of your individual stories is worth telling, saving, and sharing. We know that awareness and what we need to cure breast cancer isn't at the level that it deserves and what it should be. Every day we are fighting to make your voices louder, the cure closer, and helping to educate the world about this horrible disease. While so much of the world just sees Breast Cancer Awareness Month as pink ribbons and fundraisers, we see your stories, your pain, your frustrations, and all that you go through every day. Let us stand together to make Breast Cancer Awareness month more than just a month, and finally beat this disease once and for all. 

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Beauty Regimes During Treatment (Part 1)

7/14/2020

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You fight so hard during your treatment while your body gets beaten up every day. What can you do to make yourself feel better in your daily regime of self-care?

As we've discussed throughout many of our recent blogs, claiming and celebrating who you are is a challenge during breast cancer treatment and recovery. Coming to terms with and allowing yourself to feel positive about how you look, feel, and care for yourself is part of your battle and survivorship journey. Self-care and self-love are just as important to your battle as your doctor's visits are. You might be rolling your eyes as you read that, but think about the days where you felt good or were truly realized through your treatment and recovery. Did you get a good night's rest? Feel like yourself again? Feel good in your skin? Did you take time for yourself and maybe had a bath and a facial?

[Mental Health and How It Feels]
These little moments of good have such a huge and positive effect on your mental health, which is one of the first things affected by your diagnosis and treatment. Improving any part of your health and quality of life during these difficult times can help strengthen your battle. So please, don't turn your nose up at self-care. Before your diagnosis, you had your beauty regime and care that was unique and so wonderfully you. That doesn't have to stop with your diagnosis. It might change and evolve, but that's ok too! In this two-part blog, we are going to be sharing some tips and suggestions on how to have and maintain a beauty regime that celebrates you and is dedicated to making you feel better during and after treatment.

The physical changes that you can see are sometimes harder than the effects that chemo and treatment leave behind. It sinks in when you can see the changes, and not see you looking back in the mirror. Your body hair can be gone, your skin is dry, blotchy and pained, your nails are weak and cracking, the shape of your body can change, and you could have pieces of you removed and then added back, with scars left behind. Every fashion item you used to come into contact with affects you differently than it did before, from how it feels to how it will affect your skin or toenails. Fashion magazines offer little when it comes to positive reinforcements or guidance. Thankfully, designers like Stella McCartney has designed bras for those who have had double mastectomies. Jewelry like statement earrings and necklaces can really pop against scars or bald heads or hide a chemo port. More and more designers are creating comfortable, flattering, and beautiful clothing pieces, head scarfs, and other garments with breast cancer patients in mind. But what about your skin and the rest of your regime?

[Skincare]
Chemo affects your skin in so many ways and can leave your complexion blotchy and even change it completely. Chemo also affects your sense of smell, so anything overly perfumed or has a strong smell can make you sick during or after treatment. Try finding and investing in natural skincare that has little to no fragrance and is paraben-free. Nontoxic beauty products can limit the exposure to harmful chemicals and ingredients while your skin and body are so sensitive and susceptible during treatment. They are also much gentler on the skin, which could have become extremely sensitive as a result of your treatments. This goes beyond facial lotions, washes, and toners. Look into all-natural and fragrance-free nontoxic eyeliners, lipstick, lashes, lash glue, eyebrow pencils, and more. Be mindful, there are toxic ingredients that still exist in manufactured makeup and beauty products that can cause cancer. You don't want to put these in or on your body, as you are already at risk with a compromised immune system. Adding natural deep hydrating lotion and healing ointments can combat whatever chemo does to your skin and soothe it away. Add in under-eye patches, face masks, sheet masks, and at home facial kits to help you relax, care for your skin, and give it a new glow.

When washing, make sure all of your skin is cared for, and not just your face. Use very gentle soaps that also have light or very little fragrance. Avoid products that contain alcohol and put away your antiaging creams and products. Many of which, according to Everyday Health, can irritate your skin even more than it is during treatment. Cornstarch can soothe irritation on your skin, and limiting shaving can help avoid irritation as well. Make sure to limit your sun exposure, and always wear sunscreen. Don't forget to cover your head and always bring your lip balm!

[Makeup Choices]
In the same safe non-toxic and organic world of beauty products, you can add some fake lashes and brows too. The options are staggering when it comes to these products. You can even professionally have sets of eyelashes put in, and you have the option of stencils, stamps, pencils, and eyebrow wigs to fill your eyebrows. Using bronzers and highlight can help with a natural glow without wearing too much makeup, and quartz colors around your eyes and a bold flash of red can make your lips pop!

Please remember, the choice to do any of this is yours and yours alone. Not societies, not a family member, not a friend. Many of our patients use these tips to feel more like themselves, to feel more feminine, and to care for their skin during and after treatment. But, just like your journey through survivorship, it's unique to your personal needs. In the second part of this blog, we will be discussing tips for your nails, regrowing your hair, and hair care.  If you have any questions about this any of our services, don't hesitate to reach out. Continue to fight, be proud of the journey you're on, and be well.

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What Does Survivorship Look Like?

6/16/2020

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Life after treatment looks different for everyone, but what could it look like for you? 

Healing, as we mentioned in our last blog, comes in may waves. Survivorship becomes a way of life, and it looks a little different for everyone. It's a daily battle to deal with but you are strong enough, wise enough, and worthy enough to live with it and through it. You are allowed to claim how you want to live your life. We do offer several services to help your survivorship feel a little easier. After life-changing events, we offer total wellness through IV therapy to help with energy, laser scar revision following surgery, skin resurfacing and rejuvenation using the latest laser technology, dermal fillers for fine lines and wrinkles, body contouring to address unwanted areas of fat with noninvasive treatment, and more. We are here for you in many ways, please never hesitate to reach out. 

What else can survivorship look like? For some, it begins when you've finished treatment, and there are no signs of cancer left. For others, it begins with their diagnosis and continues through a long term treatment that helps manage their illness or helps reduce the risk of it returning. It is a different process, because how you physically and mentally respond is not the same for everyone, and that's ok. Here are some tips and suggestions on how to handle what you might be feeling and going through to provide some peace and guidance. 
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  • Continued Care
For some, continued medical care is needed. Medical checkups, tests, and other health care monitoring recommended and prescribed by your doctor and medical care team needs to be taken seriously and followed. This can range from emotional counseling to physical therapy and all forms of continued care are important to your healing and survivorship journey. These appointments can cause some anxiety and worry. Continued care after your cancer has been beaten into remission can still bring on the worry that it could come back. It can be hard to change care teams and doctors for this continued care when you're already so used to the one you've had this whole time. If you are feeling this way, feeling anxious, or feeling worried, it is important to talk about these concerns with your current care team, family members, and potential new care team. Putting continued care first and making it a priority in your life allows you to stay ahead of what could become. It can also help you remain productive and independent in your life and with your health. Just like chemo and radiation, continued care is focused on keeping you healthy and happy for as long as possible. 

  • Giving To Your Body
Health and wellness have been a part of your battle since your diagnosis, and taking care of your body might move to a whole new level through your survivorship. This might mean embarking on a whole new workout regime with your partner, a trainer, or on your own. This can help build your strength back up after treatment, increase your energy, and make you feel better overall. It can help manage stress and anger, too. Changing your eating habits, eating healthier, quitting smoking, and limiting your alcohol intake can also improve your daily and long term health. It can also continue to make you feel better. Making room and time for your emotional and mental health is very important too. Make sure you have a good support system in your caregivers and with medical professionals if and when it is needed. 

  • Your Loved Ones
As your journey changes, it also changes for your loved ones and caregivers. Survivorship means something different for them, and it evolves as it does for you. They are impacted daily from the moment you are diagnosed and beyond. As you go through and finish treatment, their roles as caregivers change from being involved in every step to being needed less and less. This adjustment can be a hard one for them, as they figure out how and how much they are needed in the next steps of your life. 

  • The Next Challenge
As we've talked about in our last blog, your body may experience long term or permanent changes from treatment. These changes are had to adapt to and to live with. But, knowing what challenges you're facing, knowing how to face them, how to live with them, and how to treat them can empower you and ease your burden. Having the care you need physically, emotionally, and professionally is also very important in making this step successful. You may also be experiencing financial issues, changes in your career, and changes in your day to day living. Talking with your insurance companies, your financial planner, and a career counselor can help you manage these next steps as well. Your body might also take you down a different path than you expected. For younger patients now living with survivorship, infertility and early onset menopause could be something you're now facing. If you are wanting to conceive after treatment, discuss this with your doctor. There are new options that are now available to help with these struggles. 

  • Your Voice Matters
Your journey, your survivorship, and what you want to share about it with others to help comfort them through their journey is valid, worthy, and empowering. Join the movement and help educate others. Share the importance of early detection, share your story, and support when and where you can. A blog, meeting with support groups, becoming a mentor, and sharing what you've been through can make all the difference. It can empower those you meet and it can also empower you. The pen and paper are very mighty, as is the social media world. 

It is common for the first year after your treatment has finished to be the hardest of all the years to follow. Take these tips to heart, and know we're here to help you through your whole survivorship journey. If you are interested in any of our services, please contact us at your earliest convenience and visit our website to request a consultation. We are here when you need us. Your survivorship is as unique as you are, and that is ok. We can embrace it together and give you the best quality of life as possible. Continue to fight, be proud of the journey you're on, and be well. 

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