You may or may not know that my sister, who walked with me in the 3-Day last year, has a blog. On it, she talks a lot about her dog and cereal (her 2 great loves!) but she also talks about pancreatic cancer. If you’re wondering why someone who walks in breast cancer events is blogging about pancreatic cancer, it’s because her mom has pancreatic cancer. She was diagnosed earlier this year with the cancer, and is currently undergoing chemo.

November is Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month, but we’ve found that most people don’t know much about pancreatic cancer at all. You probably know someone who died of pancreatic cancer in your personal life, and you definitely know of a few famous people who died of it. People like:

• Actor Brock Peters, who played Tom Robinson in “To Kill A Mockingbird” - one of my favorite movies.
• Actor and directory Michael Landon, who played Pa Ingalls on Little House.
• Actress Joan Crawford, one of the greatest female actresses in the 1950’s.

Pancreatic cancer is the 4th leading cause of all cancer deaths in the U.S, but it receives the LEAST amount of federal funding among all cancers.

I already knew that grape juice was healthy for your heart, much like another drink made from grapes…red wine.

A new study from the Journal of Medicinal Foods says that the natural properties of Concord grape juice protected healthy breast cells from damage by cancerous cells. The magical ingredient that did? Anthocyanins. Yeah, I never heard of them either! Anthocyanins are strong natural antioxidants (I have heard of those) present in grape juice.

I’m not sure if this will prompt me to add more grape juice to my life though. Maybe they can take out the anthocyanins and put them in a pill form for lazy people like me?

I’m not ever up early enough to see Good Morning America, but I did hear the news that GMA anchor Robin Roberts has breast cancer.

Robin did a self breast examination recently and found a lump. Her doctor performed a biopsy and confirmed that the lump was indeed breast cancer. Robin will be having surgery and follow up treatment over the next few months, but because she found her lump early, her prognosis is excellent!

While my pet cause is breast cancer, I think all cancer sucks. Early detection is a big hot button for me, and not only where breast cancer is concerned. I was saddened to learn about Tammy Faye Messner passed away yesterday after a long battle with colon cancer. I was crushed to hear that she put off going to the doctor for a YEAR because she was scared.

People - I can’t say it enough. If you are bleeding, if you feel a lump, if you don’t feel right - PLEASE see a doctor! Cancer can be cured, and you have a fighting chance if cancer is found early enough.

I came across a wonderful site this week. I had previously mentioned how music can help with pain management during chemo, and it turns out, listening to anything can help - even a book on tape! With that in mind, and knowing that my sister has someone in her family starting chemo soon, I’m going to suggest that she check out these audiobooks for download. The owner of the site, Jennifer, knows first hand how books can take your mind off things when caring for a cancer patient, or dealing with cancer yourself. She and her mom used the books to take their minds off their troubles when her little sister was going through treatment. Adults going through chemo can download the books and use it to pass the time during treatment. Stuck in a waiting room for hours? Bring an audio book and transport yourself to another time or place with a great work of fiction. Audio books are especially good for sick patients who maybe can’t deal with holding a regular book due to pain or IV’s, too.

I always like to hear about new strides being made as far as cancer goes - any type of cancer too, not just breast cancer. My father had prostate cancer a few years ago, and he had some surgery and some other things done and he’s cancer free today. For him, it was a relatively quick and painless process. I realize that it’s not that easy for everyone though, and that’s why I’m excited that new techniques are always being found. Right now, a new prostate cancer treatment is in its 3rd round of FDA approval - that’s good news! The procedure is called a HIFU, which stands for high intensity focused ultrasound. Like the ablation that women can have, this is an technique that uses the power of an ultrasound to destroy tissue. It’s very targeted so there’s a minimum of damage to healthy tissue, and it’s a one time procedure. Instead of radiation and surgery for days and weeks, with a long recovery period, men can be done in a matter of hours, and just under a spinal, instead of general anesthesia.

Because this technique hasn’t passed the final round of FDA testing at this time, it can not be done in the US, but you can travel to Canada (Niagara Falls, in fact) and see a doctor there. And just like I preach about early detection for women, ALL men should know about prostate cancer symptoms and signs and be aware of changes to their health.

This is a sponsored review.

I don’t normally read the sports page, so I missed this bit of news when it appeared in the St. Petersburg Times last week. Dakoda Dowd is going to be a freshman at my old high school, and her mother, Kelly Jo Dowd, died last week of breast cancer. Dakoda is a golfer, and a good one at that, and Kelly Jo’s dream was to see her daughter compete professionally before she did. Kelly Jo made it long enough to see that happen, and passed away this week, despite a double mastectomy and chemo. There’s a big pink ribbon outside of the Cleawater Hooter’s to memorialize Kelly Jo, who was not only a mother and a wife, but a former Hooter’s waitress, calendar girl, and general manager.

Here’s a direct quote from Kelly Jo Dowd:

“I’m in this boat because I waited too long, ” Mrs. Dowd said in an April, 2006 interview. “Like any disease, breast cancer along with it, the sooner you get it, the sooner you can catch it and be done with it. So don’t wait.”

Don’t wait. Don’t lose out on years with your husband and kids and friends and loved ones. Early detection can give you years of living cancer free. I’m 30, and I’ve already started getting mammograms due to a family history of breast cancer.

If you live in the Tampa area, head on over to Busch Gardens on May 7th for Melanoma Monday. Doctors and staff from University Community Hospital will be at the park to give out free skin cancer screenings. Just stop by the Crown Colony Plaza for your free beer sample, and you can pick up some tips on avoiding skin cancer while you’re there!

If you’ve ever watched Grey’s Anatomy or ER, you may have heard of something called a Gamma Knife. It’s not a real knife, rather, it’s a tool used by neurosurgeons (think Dr. Derek Shepherd) used to destroy brain turmors without invasive surgery. And yes, this blog is about walking to raise money for breast cancer, but cancer is cancer, and it all sucks. I want to help everyone with cancer, be it someone who just had a mastectomy or someone who needs brain tumor treatment.

Sadly, a lot of people who have a brain tumor don’t know, or aren’t told about the Gamma Knife. It’s not a very well known tool or procedure, and that means that people who could benefit from it are not. What would YOU rather have - brain surgery that puts you into the recovery room for days or weeks, or a procedure like the Gamma Knife that uses energy to destroy brain metastases?

For more information on the procedure, visit BrainTumorTreatment.org - get the word out. Don’t accept your doctor’s advice at face value, and don’t be afraid to ask for other treatment options (like the Gamma Knife) or get a 2nd opinion. It’s YOUR health.

An article published in Nature Genetics this month shows that a certain gene found in 20% of women may prove they don’t need chemo to treat their breast cancer. Right now, women diagnosed with breast cancer will usually have 4 treatment options - surgery, chemo, hormones, or radiation. Women with the gene may be able to skip surgery, chemo, and radiation and just use hormone therapy, with a drug like tamoxifen.