1 in 2 Australians will be diagnosed with cancer by the age of 85

1 in 2 Australians will be diagnosed with cancer by the age of 85, with more than 60% of cancer patients surviving more than five years after diagnosis. This makes Australia one of the best places in the world to be diagnosed with cancer; follow up support however may not be being optimally received. According to a recent US study the hidden psychological scars caused by the diagnosis of cancer can leave scaring akin to that inflicted by war, with the impact in some cases lasting for years. Given these facts it is vital that medical practitioners and networks of support are put in place to ensure survivors continue to obtain adequate medical care.

Cancer care must include the psychological as well as the biological. According to Sophia Smith, lead researcher of the Duke Cancer Institute, one in ten cancer survivors stated that they were still plagued by symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, more than a decade after being diagnosed with the disease. Symptoms include avoiding situations related to the trauma, being continuously plagued by thoughts about cancer and its treatment and feeling emotionally numb towards friends and relatives. The psychological and mental shock of having a life-threatening disease, of receiving treatment and living with the repeated threats to one’s body and life are traumatic. Because the cancer experience involves so many traumatic events, it is much more difficult to single out one event as a trigger of stress than it is for other traumas such as war or rape.

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Kate Jackson Breast Cancer a flash back

THE MOST MOMENTOUS CHANGE IN Kate Jackson's life began early one morning in January 1987, during her fourth season on the hit TV series Scarecrow and Mrs. King. After a phone call informed her that the show's taping was canceled because costar Bruce Boxleitner had the flu, Jackson went back to sleep. When she woke several hours later, "It was out of the blue, but perfectly clear," she recalls. "I sat up in bed and literally said, 'You have to have a mammogram.' " She did, and two days later a biopsy confirmed her vague fears: A minute growth found in her left breast was determined to be malignant. "I was forced to face, squared up, my own mortality," says Jackson. "I had to decide whether I wanted to live or to die. And if you choose life, as I did, it's never the same." For three TV seasons 16 years ago, she was famous as Sabrina Duncan, a girl-next-door gone glamorous and the character critics dubbed the brainiest o

The four stages of breast development

In Stage 1 shows the flat breasts of childhood. By Stage 2, breast buds are formed as milk ducts and fat tissue develop. In Stage 3, the breast become round and full, and the areola darkens. Stage 4 shows fully mature breasts. (Illustration by GGS Information Services.) period begins. Usually these signs are accompanied by the appearance of pubic hair and hair under the arms. Once ovulation and menstruation begin, the maturing of the breasts begins with the formation of secretory glands at the end of the milk ducts. The breasts and duct system continue to grow and mature with the development of many glands and lobules. The rate at which breasts grow varies significantly and is different for each young woman. Breast development occurs in five stages: Stage One: In preadolescence, the breasts are flat and only the tip of the nipple is raised. Stage Two: Buds appear, breast and nipple are raised, fat tissue begins to form and the areola (dark area of skin that surrounds

"Hard nipples" - areola or nipple skin

Someone once wrote"... when i get really cold, or get goosebumbs all over my body, the whole things really scrunch up, like, my entire areola scrunches itself up into a wrinkled little mound. it looks really weird and ugly, and i haven't ever seen other people's breasts do it. what is wrong with my areola/nipples??" The answer: Well nothing is wrong. This is what my areola does too. It's a normal reaction to the coldness or to irritation / stimulation. The little muscles in the areola do a similar goosebump thing as your other skin can do. People often call this phenomenon "hard nipples". Also note that skin on areola has less feeling or sensation to it than other areas of your body. If the areola was very sensitive, then breastfeeding would probably be quite uncomfortable because the baby pulls and tugs it! The nipples are sensitive but the sensitivity changes with hormonal changes, such as occur at mestrual cycle or pregnancy. Also this v

I am still a woman - Confessions of a twice cancer survivor - my journey by Nina Ann McCurley

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