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 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!

Last month, the house voted on the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP). The Senate still needs to vote on the companion bill, so this is a great time to send a letter to your senator and make your thoughts known.

What is NBCCEDP? It provides uninsured women across the USA access to breast exams and mammograms that they would otherwise not be able to afford. The program has screened millions of woman and diagnosed thousands. We are looking to increase funding to $275 million per year to reach even more woman.

This is huge news for the fight against breast cancer – the FDA has just approved a new drug to fight advanced cases of breast cancer, cases that other drugs have failed to help. The new drug is called Tykerb and is being manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline. It’s a one daily medication (pill) and can be used in conjunction with chemo. While it’s too early to know how this will affect the survival rate for those with aggressive forms of breast cancer, it’s an important step towards finding a cure.

Two of my three pregnancies were considered to be high risk. I developed gestational diabetes with my first child, and prior to that, was SO sick from morning (really, all DAY) sickness that I lost weight. With my third, I had preterm labor at 30 weeks and spent a long weekend at the hospital to stop it, and then went home to be on bedrest.

More and more pregnancies are considered high risk these days, as stated in this recent article in a San Diego paper. One reason? More cancer survivors. Women who had cancer are beating it AND are able to get pregnant and carry the baby to term. While considered “high risk”, most of having healthy normal babies.

Definitely good news