The fifth reason that cancer still sucks is that although radiation therapy can be an effective cancer treatment, it may fail to kill some of the tumor cells in its path, or it may miss some tumor cells completely. In addition, while “palliative” radiotherapy can dramatically improve symptoms in some individuals with incurable cancers, it may have minimal impact or provide only very brief relief to others.

In February 2019, five days after my birthday, I found a tiny, split pea lump in my right breast. I immediately went to my GP, who sent me for a mammogram and ultrasound. The first available appointment was the following week. The mammogram went “squishingly” and then I was shuffled off for my ultrasound. Afterwards, the technician told me they needed to review the images with the radiologist to make sure they had everything they needed. I didn’t really think twice about it as that seemed to be the normal practice during my pregnancy.

I am a metastatic breast cancer patient with liver and spine metastases. I am also a mom and a grandmother. One day, I felt a very hard pea-sized lump right under the skin. My family physician sent me for a mammogram and ultrasound. The radiologist came in and said he was concerned and brought me back the following day for a biopsy. I was diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma. I was petrified and scared. Since working at a cancer centre, I had every bad scenario going through my mind. I had a double mastectomy followed by four months of chemotherapy and seven weeks of radiation. It was difficult losing my hair, feeling nauseous and weak but I was determined to beat this horrible disease.

Is there anyone out there who feels like I do? Like they’ve lost a part of their memory to tamoxifen, chemotherapy and/or radiation and will never get it back? If you are like me, do you ever wonder where your memory went, like, is it on the beach in Puerto Vallarta or maybe it took a sabbatical and didn’t provide a return date?

Experiencing side effects from breast cancer treatment is a common occurrence for patients. While systemic chemotherapy, radiation, and targeted therapy are effective treatments for breast cancer, learning to cope and live with their unwanted or unexpected side effects can be challenging. We reached out to breast cancer patients to hear about their experiences with this.

I have advanced stage 4 Metastatic Breast Cancer (MBC). MBC is when breast cancer has spread to other parts of the body. Typically, it spreads to the bones, liver, lungs, and brain. There is currently no cure for MBC but there is treatment, and some women can live for many years.

Don’t curse me if this column sounds crazy. Or do. It’s up to you. But what I’m sharing in this column is true for me and it has changed my life for the good. Trust me, as a single woman who lives alone with her two cats, is constantly hustling to secure editorial work and hasn’t had a single decent “like” on Hinge in well over a year, I’m always looking for the positive. This is my honest-to-goodness M.O.

Breast cancer and its various treatments can change your body in many ways: weight gain or loss, tenderness, lymphedema (swelling in the limbs), partial or complete mastectomies, prosthetic breasts. This might mean that your old or favorite clothing may not fit, or fit properly any longer, and it can be difficult to find outfits that you can feel good in. It may be time to have a heart-to-heart with your closet, and explore some of the options for comfortable, adaptive clothing that can make you feel confident and excited about getting dressed again.

I was shocked to learn I had breast cancer. My previous mammograms had never showed anything. I noticed that one of my nipples was inverted which sent me to my family doctor. I was then referred to the Breast Health Clinic in Ottawa on an urgent basis where I had tests done and was informed I had advanced invasive lobular breast cancer.

In today’s post, we provide the questions that were sent in and asked during the live session of our Questions and Experts session held on February 20th, 2023. In this session, Certified Lymphedema Therapist Marize Ibrahim answers your questions about breast cancer-related lymphedema.

Feel it on the first. Know your lemons. Check your boobies. Get in touch with them apples. I never noticed these catch phrases written on social media to inspire women to do monthly breast self-exams until after I was diagnosed. Well after too, like, when I was recovering from having had breast cancer surgery and treatment. Ironic, isn’t it? More ironic is the fact that I never really did regular breast self-examinations on my boobs and when I did, they were always half-hearted, like an afterthought.

A breast cancer diagnosis comes with so many questions and there never seems to be enough time at appointments to have some of these questions answered. To help address this, we developed a "Q&E: Questions and Experts" series. In this series, a variety of experts spend the entire virtual session answering pre-submitted and live questions from participants. Watching the videos on-demand might be a little difficult to get through. So, we’ve created this guide to help you get right to the questions and answers that matter the most to you

A 3D nipple and/or areola tattoo is an optional last step following nipple reconstruction surgery or as an alternative to nipple reconstruction surgery. If you got a mastectomy and did not get a nipple-sparing mastectomy or nipple reconstruction surgery, then 3D tattooing uses dark and light pigments to create a 3D illusion of the areola(s) and the nipple(s). If a nipple reconstruction surgery was performed, then 3D tattooing would be used to create an areola and/or to enhance the reconstructed nipple.

 In this blog series, we present excerpts from Dr. David Stewart’s book A Short Primer on Why Cancer Still Sucks. The fourth reason that cancer still sucks is that it can recur in some patients even if it appears to have been removed completely by surgery. Surgery is not even an option for many patients. 

A breast cancer diagnosis comes with so many questions and there never seems to be enough time at appointments to have some of these questions answered. To help address this, we developed a "Q&E: Questions and Experts" series. In this series, a variety of experts spend the entire virtual session answering pre-submitted and live questions from participants. Watching the videos on-demand might be a little difficult to get through. So, we’ve created this guide to help you get right to the questions and answers that matter the most to you.

I’ve been watching Harry & Meghan, the documentary series on Netflix. I’m not a royal’s buff or even a fan, well, except for Princess Diana (I thought she was great). No, I started watching the series for boredom’s sake, because I needed a new show. I figured that because I like docu-series and because I couldn’t watch what I really wanted to—the Kardashian’s new reality show because I don’t have Disney+—this was it. So, I clicked play and about five minutes into Episode 1, I was hooked.

This year 28,000 women in Canada will be diagnosed with breast cancer. On March 10^th, 2022, I became one of those women. Disturbingly, within a month of my diagnosis, two more of my close friends received their breast cancer diagnoses. In total, I have 15 close friends and counting who are either breast cancer survivors, or who are currently battling breast cancer. This silent epidemic seems to be growing at an extraordinary pace.

The San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS) is the annual breast cancer conference that brings together researchers, clinicians, patients and manufacturers from all over the world to discuss the latest breast cancer research. Last December, we were pleased to be able to attend in-person, and we'd like to share with you the highlights from SABCS.

The past year allowed us a return to a more normal routine in a lot of ways, and our blogs from 2022 reflect that. Posts about being able to gather for the holidays, get mastectomy tattoos, and having in-person healthcare visits were some of the topics of our top 10 blog posts from last year.

CBCN connects patients, caregivers, health care professionals, researchers, public health agencies and industry stakeholders to improve knowledge translation and promote optimal health outcomes for Canadians with breast cancer. We do this through the promotion of information sharing, education, and advocacy activities. As we look forward to the new year, we would also like to look back on 2022 and share what CBCN has achieved on behalf of Canadian breast cancer patients, their loved ones, and caregivers.