The Realities of Cancer and Covid During The Holidays

12/18/2020

The 2020 holidays have been and will continue to be difficult for all of us. Not being able to travel, see our loved ones, or do many of our favorite traditions is going to be strange. While it might be hard, it might be incredibly beneficial for everyone going through and living with a cancer diagnosis.

Hello, warriors, friends, and dear readers! We know the holiday season can be incredibly difficult for you and for many reasons. While going through your cancer treatments you begin to ask those dark lurking questions; how will this affect my family? How long do I have left? Am I going to beat this? When the holidays come around, these questions tend to get a little darker; what will the holidays be like after I'm gone? Is this my last Christmas? How many more holidays do I have left? While we will try to do everything we can to help comfort and support you on this difficult journey, we also know that sometimes even the most comforting words and actions can't touch those dark places and dark thoughts. However, that doesn't mean we are going to stop our positivity and hope that we want to share with you anytime soon. This blog is going to be a few different things; something to help cheer you up, give you some hope, provide some insight to your loved ones and our readers, and to give everyone a little perspective. We've now all heard it one too many times, that this year is going to be different from all the rest. Through all the difficulties this year has given us, and the fact that this will be hard to spend the holidays apart, this might be something good for all of our warriors going through their treatments, diagnosis, and those living in their survivorship.

The holidays without cancer are already hard difficult; you're constantly running around, shopping, worrying about seeing everyone, making plans, cooking, attending all the holiday events, and trying to make everyone happy. The holidays with cancer are even more difficult. Its all of your normal holiday stress combined with always being tired, feeling sick, having to say no to things and dealing with the guilt that comes with that, being sick, not being able to taste or eat your favorite foods, not being able to participate in your favorite activities, and more. It's a lot, and when your family and friends outside of your close and supportive care group and team don't quite understand this, it makes it even more difficult. We don't need to go into any more detail, because you already understand this. You're living this right now and you've been going through it ever since you were diagnosed. However, this year might be a little different

A Holiday To Pause
For the past nine months our lives, what's safe, and how we are living has all changed. For our warriors and those in survivorship and remission, you've had to be extra safe, as have your immediate members of your bubble and everyone who lives with you. You are making even fewer trips outside of your house, you could be working from home, seeing a very limited amount of people, you may have been going into doctors appointments and treatments alone, faced canceled and rescheduled doctors appointments, spent a lot of time on Zoom, and more. Now that the holidays are here and the pandemic numbers haven't improved but have instead continued to grow, everyone is starting to see changes. Our favorite Christmas gatherings have been canceled or made virtual, large gatherings are still not recommended, traveling is still not recommended, and it is still recommended that you limit your exposure and stay home as much as possible. While this is devastating for so many, this is something that needs to be observed by our warriors and their families.

While choosing to be healthy and staying healthy, you are also protecting others by limiting your exposure. You can take the opportunity of not being able to gather and travel this year to rest and enjoy the holidays how you choose instead of stressing yourself out. You can slow down and create new traditions with your loved ones inside your bubble and create unique ones with all the family you'll be seeing virtually this year. If your treatments are difficult over the holidays and you're sick, feeling ill, or are exhausted you don't have to make up any excuses or feel bad about not being able to attend a holiday function. As difficult as the holidays are, as difficult as this year has been, take this time to rest, recover, fight, heal, and keep yourself safe while the world is on pause. We do urge you to remember this: please understand to be even more conscious for our warriors who don't have the immune system or strength to battle off what we are all trying to fight off and avoid. Remember, they are already fighting a battle. Don't give them another one to fight.

Remember, Please
To our dear care teams and family members who make up the family bubbles for all of our warriors, we know this time of year is difficult for you as well, and that 2020 has not made that any easier. Please continue to be safe and to practice all of your safety measures because this isn't just for you. You're doing all of this and being safe for them and everyone else you see this holiday season. Even if it is difficult to say no and you choose to celebrate safely this year, that is the best gift you can give to everyone. With that on your mind, we also wanted to share a few more ideas on how to help your loved ones going through this holiday. We also wanted to share some ideas and tips for our warriors to remember, too!

Remember to set goals that are realistic for you and your loved ones to reach and for this current situation. The holidays won't be perfect, but you still have a holiday to share.
Finances have already been difficult this year. Set an actual and reasonable budget and stick to it. Taking financial stress off of your loved ones right now is very important and needed. Minimize what they have to worry about right now.
Instead of buying a bunch of expensive gifts, change it up this year. Do a secret Santa, do homemade gifts, donate to a cancer organization or food bank, be honest with your loved ones about what you financially need, and let them help you. Don't stress about giving, stress about being there, and loving one another.
Without big gatherings and parties to worry about, create holiday menus full of food that your loved ones going through treatment can eat and enjoy without any difficulties.
Don't be afraid to ask for help. Make sure that if you need anything, that you ask for it.
Find creative ways together to create special moments and a creative new fun and meaningful traditions.
Continue to be open with one another about what you need mentally and physically.
Continue to celebrate every triumph together big and small, and to cheer one another on through the hard days.
With the ongoing and unknown future of cold weather and how that will affect cases, be prepared for your appointments to be changed and moved around for your safety.
Be prepared. Avoid going out as much as possible. Have enough over the counter and prescription medications to last a month just in case, and stock up on all supplies and food in your home as well.
Medications might be prescribed to help in between treatment appointments, as they might be spread out even more than they have been.
Create a backup emergency contact list just in case. Include a few more names in different circles than you normally would.

Recap
We know this time of year is difficult. We know this blog might come off a little strangely, but we are searching for and highlighting all the silver linings that we can find. We are here for you, fighting for you, and very much in this boat with you this holiday season. If anything, please remember these things when walking away from the blog today:

Know and understand your risk
Choosing to stay apart is choosing to be safe and choosing your loved one's safety
Keep in communication with your loved ones. A virtual relationship might be strange, but they need it as much as they need you.
If you are celebrating the holidays together this year, wear masks, keep your visits short, maintain social distance, and consider bringing your own food to avoid contact with others.
Don't try to make the holidays any more than what they need to be for your family or children. They are just happy to have you during the holidays.

Through the difficulties of this year, your battle with breast cancer and remission, the holidays, the pandemic, and everything in between, we are here. We are here to help comfort, help with your healing, and help you feel better in as many ways as possible. Keep searing for your silver linings and let's carry them into the new year!

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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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The Mysteries of Breast Pain

9/30/2020

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Sometimes your breasts can ache or hurt, and the cause behind them can be a multitude of strange and unknown reasons. We will be exploring all of this today!

Hello, warriors! Today we are going to be talking about breast pain. While we are on high alert to breast abnormalities and lumps that appear in the breast sometimes overnight, not all breast pain is caused by or linked to breast cancer. It is of course, very important to stay very aware of this pain, and if it continues. As we've mentioned before, any changes to your breasts need to be brought to your doctor's attention right away. They could be an early sign of something potentially very dangerous or something that has no explanation at all. Breast pain, technically called "mastodynia", often has no known cause. Your breast tissue is affected by many things like your hormones, your stress, infection, or illnesses elsewhere in the body, and your caffeine intake. Breast pain can be intermittent, sharp and shooting, dull and constant, or a burning sensation. While breast pain isn't necessarily a sign of breast cancer, it is a sign that something abnormal is going on.

Breast pain can be sharp, dull, constant, or intermittent. Breast pain can have a multitude of causes including but not limited to stress, caffeine intake, hormone imbalances, musculoskeletal trigger points, and abnormal changes to the breast tissue. There are several ways to investigate causes like lab work and imaging. If you are experiencing breast pain, contact us for a consultation to discuss potential causes and treatment options, and to have a clinical breast exam with a licensed provider. Here at TBP, a clinical breast exam, imaging, and lab work are often tools we use to find out what's causing that pain and what you can do to alleviate it. If you are experiencing breast pain, we are happy to see you in the office for an exam and work up. Today we are going to be expanding on what breast pain could and could not be, and diving more into mastodynia.

Your Period
First and foremost, breast pain is common and something many women go through. It can be a consistent pain or it can only happen occasionally. One of the most common occurrences of breast pain is in the few days leading up to your period. This is a normal occurrence and this mild or moderate pain can appear in both breasts. According to Healthline, the fluctuating hormone levels that appear in your body during and leading up to your period are what's to blame. Your breasts can feel tender and even swell during these times. You will have a spike in your estrogen and progesterone production levels during your cycle. Estrogen will cause you breast ducts to enlarge and progesterone production will cause the milk glands to swell. Both of these reactions will cause soreness in your breasts. The pain can be felt throughout the month too, and have no connection to your period.

Menopause
Breast pain can also occur during menopause. During the twelve months leading up to menopause, a woman is in a transitioning period called perimenopause. During perimenopause, your levels of estrogen and progesterone fluctuate. Although, these fluctuations are much more dramatic during perimenopause compared to your menstrual cycle, according to Medical News Today. The dull and sore ache that comes from the side effects of these fluctuations can escalate to more of a burning or throbbing. Once you do officially reach menopause, the pain should be finished, but your risk of breast cancer does increase. If you are experiencing strange pains, your doctor needs to be alerted right away.

Reasons Behind The Pain
There are also many other reasons why your breasts could be hurting.

Breast cysts. The formation of a cyst can cause the milk ducts or glands to change and can cause your breasts to be sore. The cyst itself can also be painful. They commonly get larger during your cycle and shrink back after. This fluctuation of size can cause tenderness and pain, too. It can become precancerous, but it is not very likely.
Breast Surgery. After having surgery on your breast, it is possible that scar tissue can form and lead to nerve damage or inflammation. Both will make your breasts tender and can be very painful.
Fibrocystic Breast Changes. These changes can make the breasts lumpy, swollen, and very tender. The cause is linked to a build-up of fibrous tissue and fluid-filled cysts and can cause nipple discharge. It is a harmless and common condition. It is not linked to a high risk of breast cancer. A healthy diet with a low intake of sodium and caffeine can help prevent or alleviate it.
Medications. Some medications are linked to causing breast pain. According to Medical News Today, these medications include reproductive hormones, contraceptives, mental health medication, steroids, cardiovascular treatments, and more.
Cancer. Breast pain is rarely linked to cancer, but it is still a possibility that needs to be mentioned. Inflammatory breast cancer and some cancerous tumors can lead to breast pain. If you have pain or a lump that doesn't leave after your cycle, pain that has no clear cause or doesn't go away, or any pain symptoms connected to infection are some of the most common signs that your pain is connected to cancer and needs to be checked out right away.

Remedies
Since breast pain is so common and is something many women will have to deal with, what are some ways to deal with the pain? Some of the best management steps are all linked to self-care.

Keep a low-fat diet full of grains, fruits, and vegetables.
Wear a supportive bra during the day, a sports bra while you're active, and if needed wear a bra while you sleep.
Limit your caffeine intake; coffee, soda, chocolate, and tea along with salt all need to be used in moderation.
Stay active and keep a healthy weight.
Apply cold or hot compresses to the sore area on the breast.
Over the counter pain medications.
Try and keep your stress and anxiety levels low.

Breast pain can be scary if you don't know what's going on. We hope this blog sheds some light on what you're going through, and we hope it calmed your nerves. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns please feel free to reach out. Be well out there, we know that you're fighting hard. You are not alone in this, and you never will be!

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TBP Blog

TBP Blog

The Realities of Cancer and Covid During The Holidays

What Breast Cancer Awareness Means To Us (Part Two)

The Mysteries of Breast Pain

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