I was listening to the NYT Audio Digest like I do everyday, and they mentioned a book that I thought would be great reading for anyone, not just breast cancer fighters, that need to be inspired. It is called Ice Bound: A Doctor's Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole.
Basically, this female doctor going through this horrible divorce volunteers to be a doctor at the South Pole over winter. While she is there, she discovers a lump, does a SELF BIOPSY (really hard core), and finds out she has a really aggressive fast growing cancer. And she can't leave. No flights can get in or out of the South Pole during winter. Not exactly the situation that you want to find yourself in.
When I was diagnosed with my aggressive fast growing cancer, the doctors didn't even want to wait 10 days for me to freeze embryos. She has to wait 6 months with no surgery/chemo/hormonal therapy/herceptin/nothing. So she looks at all the rudimentary tools she has (rudimentary in relation to breast cancer) and she begins to treat herself!
It is only 1 cent used (of course shipping is $4) on Amazon, so treat yourself! And for those non-readers, you can get the DVD staring Susan Sarandon;)
Breaking News!
There is a pill for breast cancer if you are genetically predisposed. Yes! A pill. If you test positive for BRCA1 or BRCA2, you can take a PARP inhibitor called olaparib that shrinks inoperable tumors! And it doesn't make you sick! Here is the article if you want to find out exactly how it works. And here is the original study that appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine three days ago. Here is how to enroll in the clinical study.
PS: Olaparib did not help 41 other patients with tumors that were not associated with BRCA mutations. But they are working on it! Any breakthrough is a breakthrough for everyone.
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