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

  In a great space at the moment, giving back is always a great thing. I have been overwhelmed by invitations to events. I am always very happy to appear and speak on behalf of any event to help others or blog to help others. I spoke at the Salvation Army Red Shield Appeal breakfast, it was an amazing event for 140 people at Mingara. I was the guest speaker they normally raise $50,000 at that event. This year saw $65,000. What a great cause. Life is good. It's rewarding helping others....

Report from October 2006: Farrah Fawcett and John Forsythe are both battling cancer.  John is battling colon cancer and was treated this week and is recovering at a Los Angeles hospital,.  Farrah's is battling intestinal and had a tumor removed from her lower intestine and is expected to have more radiation treatment and complete a course of chemotherapy. Both of her Charlie's Angels co-stars Jaclyn Smith and Kate Jackson have faced cancer. Jaclyn was treated for breast cancer in '02 while Kate battled two times with breast cancer in the late '80s. Farrah's sister succumbed to lung cancer, prompting Fawcett to do fund-raising appearances for the American Cancer society. Ryan O'Neal also fought leukemia in 2001 and is reportedly in remission. The original cast all got Cancer....

This is a tricky subject. Lots of people get on their high horse about what a wonderful health system we have in Australia. Its Fabulous until you need it! Facts: My first cancer was at 24 I had 8 weeks to live intensive Chemo that failed. Bill $10,000 a week. I was in MBF they covered it all this was in 1989. I was very happy. Then Changes to the health system saw me pay $5,000 out of my pocket for each of my boys even though I was in a health fund. WOW! Are they for real. My friends had my doctor under medicare... At 43 - 2008 I am not in a health fund, but know and have met so many woman that are. We all have bills from Cancer at $30,000 to $40,000. I am saying read the fine print on your health fund as you will be surprised what you see. Most of the tests say down the bottom of receipt : Out of pocket expense not covered by medicare or health fund. Why is this?? Also I have not had Radiotherapy but the ladies on the Central Coast cannot get this for free its $...

I think we are all different, we all cope differently with life situations. I am not afraid to die. I think we are guaranteed 2 things in this life that is paying taxes and death. So all of us are going to die, I want to die when I am old in my sleep, that rarely happens but how good would it be. We will all die alot before their time, Cancer a big factor. I am however frightened to leave my 3 boys without a mother, I guess I know this pain and it's a hard one. Loosing your mother is really hard. I am really proud of my 3 boys, I want to be here for them and that makes me tough enough to fight to be here. Here is some interesting information on Cancer: Cancer is a disease that affects people of all nationalities and age groups. Rich or Poor. Cancer cells do not respond to signals that usually regulate cell growth and division. These cells  grow unchecked, producing more and more cancer cells. Just as signals regulate cell growth and division, signals control cell death...

About 5% to 10% of breast cancers are thought to be hereditary, caused by abnormal genes passed from parent to child. Genes are particles in cells, contained in chromosomes, and made of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid). DNA contains the instructions for building proteins. And proteins control the structure and function of all the cells that make up your body. Think of your genes as an instruction manual for cell growth and function. Abnormalities in the DNA are like typographical errors. They may provide the wrong set of instructions, leading to faulty cell growth or function. In any one person, if there is an error in a gene, that same mistake will appear in all the cells that contain the same gene. This is like having an instruction manual in which all the copies have the same typographical error. BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes Most inherited cases of breast cancer are associated with two abnormal genes: BRCA1 (BReast CAncer gene one) and BRCA2 (BReast CAncer gene two). Everyone ha...

LONDON -- Scientists have mapped the complete genetic codes of 21 breast cancers and created a catalogue of the mutations that accumulate in breast cells, raising hopes that the disease may be able to be spotted earlier and treated more effectively in future. The research, the first of its kind, untangles the genetic history of how cancer evolves, allowing scientists to identify mutational patterns that fuel the growth of breast tumors, and start to work out the processes behind them. “These findings have implications for our understanding of how breast cancers develop over the decades before diagnosis in adults and might help to find possible targets for improved diagnosis or therapeutic intervention in the future,” said Mike Stratton, who led the research team. Breast cancer kills more than 450,000 women a year worldwide and is the most common cancer among women, accounting for 16 percent of all cases, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). A study last year by...

It is not uncommon for more than one member of a family to have cancer. Cancer can occur in families: just by chance (mostly the case) because family members have environmental and lifestyle influences in common (eg. too much sun or smoking) because there is an inherited faulty gene causing an increased chance of cancer (uncommon) Trying to find information about cancers in your family and how to deal with them can be difficult. The following pages provide simple information about what it means to have a family history of cancer, some different types of family cancers and who you can contact for further information. I have a family cancer, I really only found that out 3 years ago.