Stem cell success

An exciting step in breast reconstruction!  Suzanne Somers found a new method and tried it and is thrilled!  Click here to read about it!

10 types

I'm happy to report that I passed my driver's license renewal with flying colors - primarily because I didn't have to take a test! Did have an eye exam, which was ridiculously easy, even for someone like moi who is blind in one eye!

I did ask the fellow taking my picture to be sure and photoshop it before processing it, which got a big laugh from others waiting, but he said he couldn't help me - beast! So my picture looks like a typical passport photo - hardly recognizable as me. Oh well - we probably don't look our best when we're looking up out our car window at the nasty policeman who pulled us over, so I guess it doesn't matter!

Meanwhile, a friend just passed along this very interesting new research on breast cancer:

Breast cancer rules rewritten in 'landmark' study

By James Gallagher Health and science reporter, BBC News

Breast cancer cells should be classified into one of 10 different diseases, say researchers.

What we currently call breast cancer should be thought of as 10 completely separate diseases, according to an international study which has been described as a "landmark".

The categories could improve treatment by tailoring drugs for a patient's exact type of breast cancer and help predict survival more accurately.

The study in Nature analysed breast cancers from 2,000 women.

It will take at least three years for the findings to be used in hospitals.

Researchers compared breast cancer to a map of the world. They said tests currently used in hospitals were quite broad, splitting breast cancer up into the equivalent of continents.

The latest findings give the breast cancer map far more detail, allowing you to find individual "countries".

"Breast cancer is not one disease, but 10 different diseases," said lead researcher Prof Carlos Caldas.

Analysis: What does this mean for patients?

The potential here is huge and it could have a transformative role in breast cancer care. However, we are a long way from using the new definitions in hospitals and the immediate impact on patients will be limited.

There are clear survival differences among the 10 categories. Clusters two and five seem to have a 15-year survival of around 40%. Clusters three and four have around 75% survival over the same period. This could help better inform patients.

In terms of treatments, there is bad news. There is a targeted therapy for just one of the 10 breast cancers groups. That is Herceptin, which is already used in a targeted group of patients. Other groups will still have "standard" therapies such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy.

The hope is that by identifying the 10 breast cancers it will be possible for researchers to design drugs for each one, but that is still a work in progress.

He added: "Our results will pave the way for doctors in the future to diagnose the type of breast cancer a woman has, the types of drugs that will work and those that won't, in a much more precise way than is currently possible."

At the moment, breast cancers are classified by what they look like under the microscope and tests for "markers" on the tumours.

Those with "oestrogen receptors" should respond to hormone therapies such as tamoxifen; those with a "Her2 receptor" can be treated with Herceptin.

The vast majority of breast cancers, more than 70%, should respond to hormone therapies. However, their reaction to treatment varies wildly. Prof Caldas said: "Some do well, some do horribly. Clearly we need better classification."

His team looked at frozen breast cancer samples from 2,000 women at hospitals in the UK and Canada.

They looked in huge detail at the genetics of the tumour cells - which genes had been mutated, which genes were working in overdrive, which were being shut down.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the UK, with around 50,000 women diagnosed each year.

The study, by researchers in the UK and Canada, showed that all the different ways the cells changed when they became cancerous could be grouped into 10 different categories - named IntClust one to 10.

Prof Caldas said this was a "completely new way of looking at breast cancer".

The study was funded by Cancer Research UK. Its chief executive, Dr Harpal Kumar, said: "This is the largest ever study looking in detail at the genetics of breast tumours.

Analysis: A new beginning

This is one of the prime examples of what could be a revolution in healthcare - "personalised medicine".

Cancers tend to be named after the place you find them; breast, colon, prostate, lung - the list goes on. It has long been known that this is not good enough, that some breast cancers can have more in common with an ovarian cancer than another breast tumour.

This study shows we should be thinking of breast cancer as 10 different diseases. Genes are going haywire in broadly 10 different ways and each category of mistake would require a different treatment.

This is the essence of personalised medicine - tailoring treatments to the genetics of a disease.

Similar studies could break other cancers down into several separate diseases, but the effects of personalised medicine could be much wider.

There are investigations into using genetic tests to predict which patients will respond well, or very badly, to blood thinners, bipolar medication and anti-HIV drugs.

The Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley, has already described the promise of the field as "immense".

There is a long way to go, as only one of the 10 breast cancer categories has a personalised treatment at the moment. But as is so often the case, breast cancer research is leading the way.

"This will change the way we look at breast cancer, it will have an enormous impact in the years to come in diagnosing and treating breast cancer.

"We think this is a landmark study."

He said the charity would begin using the new criteria in clinical trials it funded.

Outside of trials for new cancer drugs, the new breast cancer rulebook could take some time to directly benefit patients.

The researchers need to prove that the 10 classifications actually provide any benefit to people with breast cancer, before they can be used by doctors.

That process is expected to take three to five years.

The chief executive of the Breast Cancer Campaign, Baroness Delyth Morgan, said the study could "revolutionise the way breast cancer is diagnosed and treated".

"Being able to tailor treatments to the needs of individual patients is considered the Holy Grail for clinicians and this extensive study brings us another step further to that goal."

A Department of Health spokesperson said: "We are always looking at new ways to improve outcomes for cancer patients and that is why we are investing more than £750m to make sure people are diagnosed with cancer earlier and have better access to the latest treatments.

"We look forward to seeing the future results of this ongoing work and will continue to work with Cancer Research UK to find the best possible way to improve outcomes for people with breast cancer."

Test time

As my shrunken left boob continues to finally heal, I've been getting check-ups and tests and all the things that determine if I'm still OK.

Saw my cancer doctor for my semi-annual exam - blood tests show that my red and white blood cells are in great shape, but that my vitamin D level is very low. So I'm now taking 4000 iu a day. Thank goodness, those are tiny little capsules!

I've had a chest x-ray and a bone density scan. No results on those yet. But the concern is high against osteoporosis - 'they' call mine drug-induced. Since I've never done any fun drugs (except Jack Daniels), I'm assuming they're referring to all the cancer drugs and hormones and hormone replacement and whatnot.

I've been receiving Zometa, an IV of bone strengthening stuff, every six months for a while now. But my cancer doc has now switched me to a new drug, Prolia, which is showing better results and fewer side effects. And it's simply a shot in the arm!

Always something new going on in medicine - amazing advances. A neighbor of mine was just diagnosed with a small breast cancer tumor. After a number of tests, they determined that a lumpectomy was all she would need to endure. . .no chemo, and radiation is a maybe, but not necessary. What was really neat for her is a relatively new technique of injecting a nuclear dye of some sort, which turns the cancer cells blue, to insure they get it all! And even though tests indicated the cancer might be in a couple of her lymph nodes, they didn't turn blue, so they weren't removed. Oh how I wish that was around two years ago when I went through all this!!!!! Hopefully that will minimize the possibility of developing lymphedema in the future, like I did!

Meanwhile, it's back in the 90s here, and the flowers are still smiling (these are the size of small dinner plates!!), and what I'm looking forward to next is renewing my drivers license - that should be fun!

Happy Easter

All I need to know

I learned from the Easter Bunny!

Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

Everyone needs a friend who is all ears.

There's no such thing as too much candy.

All work and no play can make you a basket case.

A cute tail attracts a lot of attention.

Everyone is entitled to a bad hare day.

Let happy thoughts multiply like rabbits.

Some body parts should be floppy.

Keep your paws off of other people's jelly beans.

Good things come in small, sugar coated packages.

The grass is always greener in someone else's basket.

To show your true colors, you have to come out of the shell.

The best things in life are still sweet and yummy.

May the joy of the season fill your heart.

Happy Easter!

Made it

It was a tough week,

but I made it!

The razor blades are gone, the alien creature is gone, and now there's just a small wound on my poor abused reduced boob that needs to heal. I think I'll make it!

The alien is still lurking

Well, it appears I might survive this latest onslaught against my poor abused body. But it's a slow, very slow recovery.


That silver alginate stuff is really something. It looks and feels like felt, and it is placed dry (or with some Neosporin or something like that if you want) against the wound. It does its magic and pulls the guck and whatnot out of the wound, and when you pull it off, it doesn't rip the wound open again because it creates its own gel around the guck and keeps the wound moist so it can heal.


That and the pills I was taking seem to have been effective. The big wound near the areola is looking healthy and is starting to close up. The littler wound near the base of the breast is not being so cooperative.


In fact, I'm considering going back to see my Nurse Patti who I like so much tomorrow to see what she thinks. That area still hurts like the renowned razor blades are still in action.


It'll be good to see her again anyway. Among other things, she also treated and provided some new bandaging techniques for the MOH surgery wound on my leg and the big hole in my back.


She was concerned that they were drying out too much, no matter how hard I tried to maintain their protection. She suggested another form of alginate dressing, without the silver, so it would provide healthy protection but without the super pulling power that the silver creates.


Plus a hydrogel dressing, designed to maintain a moist surface to promote wound healing. And that stuff (also sold by some pharmacies as a 'moist burn pad' if you'd like to try it at a considerably more reasonable cost!!) is wonderfully cooling and soothing.

All these wound dressings need to be changed once a day, so I am definitely supporting the pharmacies right now, what with fancy bandages and the biggest band-aids I can find, and that lovely stretchy tape that I use on my leg.


The leg would is finally showing some signs of healing - from being the size of a Susan Anthony dollar coin, it's now more egg shaped as it starts to close up from the edges. It's been two months since the MOH surgery for the skin cancer, so it looks like his estimate of four to five months to heal is probably pretty accurate.


Hopefully, the hole in my back won't take that long. Getting a bandage on that sucker makes for a comedy video - it's right in the middle of my back. My right lymphedema arm just won't go back there like it used to, and using my left hand is as effective as putting eye makeup on with the wrong hand!


As far as the poor little boob goes, I just hope to get rid of the infection and move on. I see the doc again in three weeks for his evaluation, and whatever suggestions he might have for tidying up all these various surgeries to achieve something resembling a pair of respectable breasts.

And yes, all the photos are a few of the yard ornaments found around the area where I live. That gorgeous quail stands almost three feet tall, and if wouldn't be quite so obvious when it turned up gracing my yard, I'd bring him home in a minute!

I especially like the folks who happily admit they don't have a green thumb at all and put fake flowers on their artificial agave plant!

Ups and downs!

The weather in Southern Arizona over the last couple weeks has proven yet again the one guarantee we have in the spring - we never have a clue what the weather will be tomorrow!

About 10 days ago, we were seeing record high temperatures in the Tucson area - mid to high 80s! Then big blustery winds blew in a cold front and the temperatures dropped 40 degrees to a high of 45 on Monday, and with it came heavy rains and hail and snow! Of course, it's back into the mid 80s again, just 4 days later!

My body has been reacting accordingly! Which is one of the reasons I've been among the missing again. I have been f*ing miserable, but things are finally beginning to look up a bit.

I had been really pleased with the most recent breast re-build. Other than when it was so colorful, and had normal bruise tenderness, there has been little pain or discomfort at all. The incisions were closed up and healing very nicely.

Then, about 3 weeks ago, one area opened up and was leaking guck. I figured I'd just tossed and turned too much the night before (which I do all the time because of the damned lymphedema compression bandage club that I must wear to bed every night!) and put a little too much pressure on it...that it would be OK.

Another spot opened up a couple days later, then a third and then a fourth. By then I was in major pain. . . the worst since that awful TRAM-flap surgery a year ago. What I told my doctor when I saw him on Monday was that it felt like there was an alien creature in there trying to claw its way out with razor blades in all four hands. (My descriptions do seem to amuse him!)


I was afraid the infection (and I had no doubt at all that it was a serious infection) was inside, and asked if my poor abused boob was going to melt and fall off. He assured me that it would not, that it was just a skin infection that happens sometimes for no apparent reason, and that it would be fine. Easy for him to say - that damned alien was having a field day inside there with his razor blades!

He prescribed a serious heavy antibiotic - keflex, 500mg four times a day for ten days. Then the wounds, which were all on the vertical incision from the middle of the areola down to the bottom of the breast, were dressed with a "Silver Alginate/CMC dressing".

That's interesting stuff - looks kind of like felt, but is a 'highly absorbent...pad composed of a high G (guluronic acid) calcium alginate, carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) and ionic silver complex...which releases silver ions in the presence of wound fluid. As wound fluid (what I call guck) is absorbed, the alginate forms a gel which assists in maintaining a moist environment for optimal wound healing...'

It's meant to be used on moderate to heavily gucky wounds - pulls too much fluid from less gucky stuff and slows the healing in those instances.

The first time I read about silver as an antibacterial and healing tool was years ago in relation to the space program - they used it to purify water!

Anyway, it seemed to get worse and worse for the next couple days - I hurt a lot, and you know I really hate to acknowledge pain. Then, Friday I was able to say that I felt better for the first time. The thing still looks like hell, but most of the pain is gone. I guess they do know what they're doing.

Gonna be an ugly scar though! Instead of just a simple little line, the thing is almost an inch wide now. I see the doctor again on Monday, and perhaps then I'll learn what he thinks of it.


Meanwhile, all the flowers and birdies love the weather - warm or cold!


And the orange blossoms! OMG, the orange blossoms (and grapefruit too!!) - the trees are just covered with blossoms, and bees, and it smells just heavenly to walk the streets.




Birdies are nesting up and flowers just keep popping out...weeks earlier than last year!



The ocotillo are all dressed up in their tiny green leaves that pop out within a couple days of rain, and their spring blossoms!



Even the saguaro are putting out their flowers already, which is way earlier than usual!