Proclamation claims Oct. 13, 2020, as Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day in Iowa

mymedicplus — Fri, 16 Oct 2020 05:49:06 +0000

Source – https://businessrecord.com/

We’re midway through the middle of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Thanks to an increase in awareness campaigns over the last 35 years, public knowledge about the disease has increased. Perhaps lesser known, though, is Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day, which falls on Oct. 13.

Metastatic breast cancer, also known as stage IV breast cancer, is cancer that has spread to other parts of the body outside of the breast.

Approximately 250,000 Americans are diagnosed with breast cancer each year, with between 7,500 and 15,000 of them identified as being initially metastatic. While many treatments for breast cancer exist, once the cancer metastasizes, there is no cure.

For Celeste Lawson (pictured left), who is a substitute teacher in the Des Moines area, this issue became personal when her mother, Lois E. Spinks-Lawson (pictured right), was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014 and lost her battle with the disease on Jan. 19, 2019.

“Anyone who knew my mother knows that she was a very strong-willed individual. She did everything she could to combat the effects of metastatic breast cancer, even though there is no cure,” Lawson said.

Black women in particular are disproportionately affected. While white women have the highest incidence rates, Black women have the highest death rates. Breast cancer is also more likely to be found at an earlier stage in white women than in Black women.

“I had not heard of metastatic breast cancer prior to my mother falling ill with it, and I was not aware of the devastating impact it has on women of color, particularly African American/Blacks, and women who live in rural Iowa where health care is more of a challenge,” Lawson said.

She decided to do something about it. Lawson first reached out to her state representative with ideas to raise awareness about metastatic breast cancer and the effect it has on women of color and women in rural areas.

Lawson worked with the Iowa Legislative Black Caucus and developed a house resolution for Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day, which was ultimately sidelined due to COVID-19. She then turned to Gov. Kim Reynolds, who signed a Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day proclamation on Oct. 1, declaring Oct. 13, 2020, as Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day in Iowa.

Lawson and Reps. Ruth Ann Gaines and Phyllis Thede recorded a video reading the proclamation, which was posted to the Susan G. Komen of Greater Iowa’s Facebook page.

She hopes to continue working with the Iowa Legislative Black Caucus to make it an annual observance in the state.

“We need to reduce, and hopefully negate, the impact of metastatic breast cancer, especially the disproportionate impact it is having on African American/Black women. The first step, it seems to me, is raising awareness of the illness. To that end, there is much yet to do.”

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Wirral author publishes new book to support breast cancer patients

mymedicplus — Tue, 13 Oct 2020 05:42:44 +0000

Source – https://www.inyourarea.co.uk/

Award-winning Wirral author and breast cancer survivor Estelle Maher, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2019, is preparing to lift the lid on her own experience with the publication of a new book.

The Killing of Tracey Titmass is the author’s third novel and it will be officially launched during a virtual event on October 29 to coincide with Breast Cancer Awareness Month which runs throughout October.

The book, which is written in diary format, re-tells Estelle’s own roller-coaster journey of living with cancer, through the eyes of fictional character Jo Kearns and it’s hoped it will help others suffering with the disease.

Both humorous and poignant, the inspiring tale covers the raw emotions and physical discomforts associated with diagnosis, surgery, treatment and life post-cancer.

In the story Jo’s cancer tumour is given a life of its own and is personified through the character Tracey Titmass – an unwanted housemate, who has long overstayed her welcome.

Esther, says she hadn’t planned on turning her own experiences into a book.

I kept a diary because writing helped me to come to terms with my own emotions. It helped to stop my head feeling so fizzy and was to some extent, medicinal. I hadn’t planned on turning it into a book but then friends suggested that it might help others going through a similar experience.

“It took me several attempts. It sounds daft but at first I didn’t feel comfortable with inflicting cancer on a character. I know it’s all fictional but it just seemed too cruel and emotionally I found that very difficult.

“But, once I’d decided to write the book in diary format and attribute my own timeline of events to the character, it became a bit easier to write. It was more personal and all the interactions and hospital appointments are all based on true events and things that really happened to me.

“I want people to read it and not feel isolated. Many of the emotions you experience through something like this are normal and I want people to know they’re not on their own. Cancer never really goes away and learning to live with that and cope with life afterwards is an important part of the message within this book. Cancer doesn’t define you but it does become a part of your identity in so many ways.”

There will be a virtual Q&A session with Estelle on October 29 at Write Blend bookshop on South Road, Waterloo, Liverpool, Merseyside, as part of the official book launch.

Bookshop owner Bob Stone will interview Estelle during the Facebook Live session and fans will be invited to ask questions.

The book, published by Southport-based publisher Beaten Track Publishing, will be available to purchase from Write Blend and also online at Amazon. Her debut novel Grace and the Ghost is an Amazon Bestseller and also won the award for Best Spiritual Fiction Book at the 2018 Soul and Spirit Awards. Sequel Angel’s Rebellion was published in 2018.

For more information about author Estelle Maher visit her website

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Proclamation claims Oct. 13, 2020, as Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day in Iowa

Wirral author publishes new book to support breast cancer patients