All I Want for Breast Cancer Awareness Month Is … Day 31
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in the US. What’s on this survivor’s mind? Check back for a bite-sized insight every day from now until Halloween.
October 31 — All I want for Breast Cancer Awareness Month is … a cure.
A cure for cancer.
It’s something we’ve collectively wished for and made uneasy jokes about across the decades.
Why does this beast still stump us?
I want cures for all cancers, not just invasive lobular carcinoma. I truly believe this is possible, too.
We’ve made leaps and bounds from the days when cancers were difficult to detect and impossible to treat. We’ve got an arsenal of advanced diagnostic tools and treatment modalities. Doctors reassure us that so many conditions are ‘highly treatable.’ People are surviving their courses of treatment and living for decades afterward.
And yet, when cancer shows up, it’s still a surprise that just doesn’t make any sense.
A vibrant young woman I knew passed away a few months ago after doing everything she could to beat a rare form of cancer. Today I learned that a beautiful young man I know was diagnosed with cancer. Doctors originally prescribed over-the-counter treatments for indigestion based on the symptoms he described. He’s feeling much better after beginning treatment, and I hope he continues to have a great outcome.
There are glimmers of hope on the horizon.
Norah Ephron died from acute myeloid leukemia in 2012. Her sister, Delia, was diagnosed with the same condition in 2017. Thanks to new treatments that became available in the intervening years, Delia is still alive.
The New York Times recently published a piece about the resumption of research into vaccines for cancer. Could this be a reality in decade? Why not?
I have high expectations for President Biden’s Cancer Moonshot initiative and its aims to reduce cancer deaths by half in the next 25 years and to improve the lives of cancer patients and survivors.
Maybe in 50 years people will look back on what we consider state-of-the-art oncology and compare it to when bloodletting and leeches were high-tech medicine and asking doctors to wash their hands was considered bad form.
A few of my favorite cancer experiences involved kids, who are without a doubt the most incredible cancer survivor role models.
Weeks after my mastectomy I was at my daughter’s rock climbing class. A new girl was climbing that day. She scampered up to the top of a climb and froze. She was yelling to her mom that she couldn’t go down, that it was the scariest thing in her life. Her mom shouted back, ‘Even scarier than cancer?’ The girl responded, ‘Yeah! Much scarier!’ When she was back on the ground we had a great conversation. She had spent most of the year going through cancer treatment. She had no idea that adults could get cancer, too. We got to talk about our operations and shared our scars. She reassured me that I was going to be okay, and that when I got scared, I should just think about things that make me happy.
Two months after chemo and I was going to a new treatment room to get my first infusion of bone strengthening medication. I got off the elevator and noticed that everyone seemed a little cheerier and the décor was a little more fun. I complemented my nurse on her on her Batman scrubs. She said that her team dressed in themed scrubs every day to make it more fun for the patients. I laughed and said I wanted to come back to this floor for all my infusions. Then I noticed a little boy determinedly pushing his wheelchair to his treatment station. He was a bundle of energy, so excited to get on with his infusion. Ohhh, I was in the pediatric center.
I sat quietly, being a boring adult while my IV was doing its thing. The little guy was on the other side of the curtain and he was so excited. His parents had promised him he could finally get a cat after he finished his treatments. It was finally going to happen that weekend. He finished his infusion and practically skipped away, once again pushing his own wheelchair.
More than anything, I want a cure for these kids.
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