With no family history, 32-year-old Jeannine found a lump in her breast. After getting a mammogram, she was 1) notified that she had dense breast tissue, and 2) the lump she found was diagnosed as a cyst. No further information.
Four years later, with the guidance of her primary care physician, as well as her physician sister, Jeannine was faced with the news of finding something 'concerning' - with question if she wanted the small lump to be biopsied. With a firm YES to get biopsied, she quickly heard another yes (again) when she was notified, on Christmas Eve, that yes, she did indeed have breast cancer at age 36.
Hovering at stage 2 and knowing there was a 3-6% chance of reoccurrence if she chose chemotherapy as treatment, Jeannine chose not to have chemotherapy, adding an additional complication of cancer... thoughts of being a fraudulent patient loomed as not being serious. Because of her cancer, Jeannine and her husband were forced to discuss child planning, which wasn’t something they were ready for.
DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Mammograms save lives, they just don’t save everyone’s lives.
- Jeannine doesn’t believe in the pink bullshit. Stop trying to fit breast cancer into a pretty pink box.
- Victim blaming
- Holistic treatment- oils & Jesus
- Breast cancer-It didn't run in my family either
- Do you have dense breast tissue? My cancer did not show up on my mammogram because of dense breast tissue. Watch Jeannine's video here.
- Estrogen
- Don’t trust the internet
- Time doesn’t always heal
- Don't be stupid
- Cancer ruined Christmas
METAvivor is dedicated to the specific fight of women and men living with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer. At the time of METAvivor’s founding, no organization was dedicated to funding research for the disease and no patient groups were speaking out about the dearth of stage 4 cancer research. While more and more people have taken up the cry for more stage 4 research, METAvivor remains the sole US organization dedicated to awarding annual stage 4 breast cancer research.
(https://www.metavivor.org/) #stage4needsmore
Think Before You Pink®, a project of Breast Cancer Action, launched in 2002 in response to the growing concern about the number of pink ribbon products on the market. The campaign calls for more transparency and accountability by companies that take part in breast cancer fundraising, and encourages consumers to ask critical questions about pink ribbon promotions.
(https://www.thinkbeforeyoupink.org/) #thinkbeforeyoupink
EACH ONE. TELL ONE. Our mission is simple, Each One… Tell One… give a voice to each person to tell their friends, family, neighbors the importance of knowing their breast density and offer education about additional screening options. It’s every woman’s right to know their density.
(https://eachonetellone.org/) #eachonetellone
Breast Cancer Awareness Month (BCAM), also referred to in America as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM), is an annual international health campaign organized by major breast cancer charities every October to increase awareness of the disease and to raise funds for research into its cause, prevention, diagnosis, treatment and cure. The campaign also offers information and support to those affected by breast cancer. Breast cancer awareness month is a yearly campaign that intend educate people about the importance of early screening, test and more. This campaign starts on October 1 and ends on October 31 every year.
