This post has been updated; see below for new information.
Liora is a blogging friend of mine. Recently she discovered a lump in her breast; the biopsy indicated it was cancer. This post describes just how aggressive the cancer is. The news is not good. To make matters worse, she’s had a hell of a time getting responses in timely manner from caregivers. After a disastrous first encounter with a rather “out there” doctor she found a good oncologist — but there have been snafus along the way as well, such as being told he’d start her on chemo a week after the surgery, only to learn on that week from the receptionist that he went on a long-planned two-week vacation and oh, by the way, forgot to tell her. Moreover, Liora is single, and like many folks, has a small social circle. Family lives far away. She’s been coping with all this pretty much on her own. One reason her situation resonates with me is that she is only 39; I had a scare with a couple cysts when I turned 40, and it could easily be me in this situation. My heart aches for her.
The recent news about her prognosis has made her aware that she needs more support going through this. If you would, please pop over and read the entry. In the end she asks readers what they have done to cope during times of crisis, and your suggestion might be helpful. Beyond helpful ideas, though, I believe just knowing there’s an ocean of compassion available to her is supportive and healing. That’s something the blogging community (readers as well as writers) is very good at demonstrating.
Liora’s blog is called Steeping, and the particular post I’m referring you to is titled Triple-negative.
Update: Liora’s blog requires you to create a log-in to leave comments. If you don’t want to do that, please leave your suggestions here in the comments and she can read them. Thanks.
[cross-posted at Knit Together]
I guess she doesn’t welcome comments on her blog, having the log-in thingy, or has had some trouble with them.
As a family, we pulled together when our son-in-law went through Hodgkin’s Disease, and, shortly afterwards, non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. There is nothing more I can hope anyone has than a strong, supportive family. It was draining for all of us. We (better half and I) relocated from South Florida to Central Florida to make the group effort easier. It all worked out in the end (although Gerry, same name as me, will never be as strong as he should be due to lung damage). A beautiful child came along. How do I tell anyone to look for the light at the end? That’s really all we could do, and the light did shine at the last.
Pass this along if you want to.
Oh, Liora welcomes comments. She’s had trouble with spambots. I’m sure she’ll come by and read your suggestions and appreciate them. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Hi there,
I’d like to leave a message for Liora…
First – am sending healing energy your way and wish you the very best as you move through this illness.
Second – something Kathryn mentioned in another post resonated with me – that she practices meditation. I wholeheartedly agree. There’s no group that’s near me so I meditate on my own, but prefer guided meditations. I have discovered a wonderful website – http://www.healthjourneys.com – the company creates guided imagery cds for all kinds of health and mental health issues. I’ve found them to be very helpful – especially during times of crisis. If you have the energy I’d recommend checking this out.
Again – sending you healing energy.
I would encourage her to focus on the possibility of success.
The triple-negative is daunting, but there’s nothing to be done about that. On the other hand, the facts of clean margins and no cells found in the lymph nodes leave a lot of room for positivity. So much of medicine is mental, and she really has to keep herself in the fight and committed to success.
kathryn,
sending you the happy 3rd trimester thoughts. thx for posting re liora.
could you pls give liora my email? as an US tech and very experienced person with patients with breast cancer it would be my privilege to support her in any way i can. when i read her path report i saw about as many positive things as she saw negative things, based on my patients. THERE IS ALWAYS HOPE.
love and light
kcd
Thanks to all for leaving comments. Kathleen, I forwarded your email address on to Liora.
This is a comment for Liora… first, I am a 40 year old woman with trip-neg breast cancer. I’ve been treated, and am now considered cancer free. There is great hope!
And there is TIME — to get a second opinion. To check out options for treatments (clnicial trials are THE way to go!), and to make decisions that are good for Liora.
Since you’re both web-savvy, I hope you have found an abundance of information on the web? Specifically, check out http://www.tnbcfoundation.org. It is a website only for triple negative breast cancer patients. Also, Komen website, American Cancer Society, etc. Many exist, and they were a wonderful help for me.
If surgery is the desired course, then they probably would wait a couple of weeks before starting chemo anyway — give Liora’s body a chance to heal before being zapped by the chemo. In my case, I had chemo before surgery in an attempt to shrink the tumor before surgery. This is an option to consider.
Best wishes to you both! Take care!