Touch Your Own Boobs – Be Self Aware

I received an email this morning (August 25, 2011)  from someone purportedly from the Communications and Information Branch at the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care  (MOHLTC). In it, she writes the following:

“Ontario has one of the highest survival rates for breast cancer in the world, with nearly 90 per cent of women surviving the disease. Yet research provided by Cancer Care Ontario (CCO) reveals that more than half a million women eligible for Ontario s Breast Screening Program (OBSP) are not getting screened.

You can do your part in ensuring your loved ones aren t part of this statistic. The province of Ontario is encouraging early detection by expanding the OBSP. Women between the ages of 30 and 69 who are at high risk for breast cancer because of genetics or a personal or family history are now eligible to receive an annual breast screening MRI and a mammogram through the program.

Women over 30 are encouraged to talk to their family physician to discuss what breast cancer screening option is right for them, and for their mothers, friends and loved ones to do the same. Regular screening, combined with greater self-awareness and improvements in treatment, has been shown to save lives.

Women can visit www.ontario.ca/screenforlife and complete the  Time to Screen  tool to find out when it s the right time for them to get screened. They can also view videos of a former cancer patent outlining the importance of screening and Dr. Rene, a radiologist detailing the screening process [URL added by BloggerBarb - it's the only video I could find on screening]. Please feel free to include any of these links in your blog …” [added by BloggerBarb: here is a Google link to lots of videos on breast cancer screening]

Sage words indeed.

I have been getting mammograms for at least 10 years and although they didn’t catch my breast cancer, I was a pesty patient in my doctor’s office wondering what the pain was … so please, please, if you are reading this, talk to all the women you love in your life (sister, aunt, lover, wife, significant other — young and old alike) about self-examination if they are in a non-risk group and those over 40 who are at risk just for being alive at that age to get a mammogram.

And if you are in Canada and don’t have a family doctor … my question is why? Get yourself a doctor today! Don’t wait until you’re sick … don’t go into an emergency room … don’t use walk-in clinics all the time … they don’t know your history and may not think of cancer when you walk in with swollen glands or a lump that could also be a cyst.

Can’t find a family doctor? Did you know that you can check your local hospital’s web site to find new doctors accepting patients? Yes, it’s true … that’s how I found mine about 6 years ago when my other doctor left her practice to pursue environmental medicine: I stupidly waited too long to find a new doctor and yes, it was not easy — I think I interviewed about 3 or 4 doctors before finding the one I have now … who hopefully will be around long after I’m gone

Oh, I’ve got such a mad crush on my surgeon, Dr. Ewan … but that’s another story.

[The photo is of the real Ewan McGregor -- lucky me that my surgeon has the same twinkle in his eye. The photo was taken at a charity event called "Not Another Burns Night" in London, UK, which has some meaning that I dare not divulge]. Check out a pretty good photo gallery of the actor at WireImage.

I had my final follow-up with him on Friday the 24th and he discharged me from daily nursing. Hallelujah It’s been 2.5 months and it was such a great feeling and rush to know I don’t have to deal with the daily drama also known as nursing homecare.

All is not lost though. Dr. Ewan told me that he’ll be my doctor for the next few years … I think I said woohoo out loud

The next day I woke up feeling fabulous and wanted to head out to get a new bra and find out how all this prosthetic stuff works. I ended up waiting until Monday.

It was quite easy, and fast! Within 2 hours, I was out of the store wearing my custom-fitted new tit.

I was under the impression that lots of measurements would be taken and it would be a few weeks before I got a prosthetic, so I was pleasantly surprised it was so fast.

I was also pleasantly surprised to find out that the Ministry of Health (Ontario) has a Breast Prosthesis Grant: they pay $195 for each new breast. Although I had to pay the entire amount up-front to the retail store, the store owner gave me all this information I never knew before, in an organized presentation folder, along with multiple copies of my receipt so I can apply for the Grant and eventually submit the remainder balance to my insurance company. The new bra was $105 (it has pockets to fit the new tit – it is NOT part of the Grant and is paid 100% by the cancer patient) and the new tit was almost $400.

I found the PDF file for the Breast Prosthesis Grant online [link opens Ministry of Health site directly].

If you’re in the Mississauga, Ontario area, I recommend Susan’s Fine Lingerie: she’s fantastic and incredibly caring and helpful! [link opens her web site]

It’s only been a few days with the new tit and I’m not quite accustomed to it yet: it weighs about 10 pounds and I feel the need to adjust it in public … which would be socially awkward and inappropriate

It’s nice to start feeling like a girl again …