Jennifer was diagnosed at 39 with Stage 3 Breast Cancer.  Jennifer is a wife to Chris and a mommy to 2 beautiful daughters, Grace and Phoebe, ages 10 and 4.  She underwent 4 months of chemotherapy, a double mastectomy, radiation, bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy and will have adjunctive therapy for the next 5 years.

“I was diagnosed on November 15, 2010 with no family history.  They say you become a survivor the day you are diagnosed.  I didn’t feel like a survivor but I was determined to be one.

Unfortunately cancer was something all too familiar to my family; my husband, Chris, battled and beat Hodgkins Lymphoma about nine years ago. You would hope that once your family has been rocked by such a terrible disease that somehow it insures a free pass for the future.

In March of 2010, we had finally finished paying off Chris’ medical bills.  I was excited to start a new venture with a baking business in October and then the bottom fell out a month later.

This experience has taught me that there are no guarantees in this life.  This experience has also taught me to appreciate what a wonderful support system I have, to never miss the opportunity to tell someone that I love them, and to cherish every single second with my children and husband.   I have kept my friends and family up to date with my journey through a blog. http://jennifermiceli.wordpress.com/. It has not only been informative but it has also been quite cathartic for me.

I was invited to attend the Beauty Ball 2011 while still going through treatment.  They wanted to help me but I didn’t think I needed help.  I thought getting help would mean that I was weak and unable to do it all.  I was wrong.  The Beauty Foundation was a constant source of encouragement.   It is so nice to know that there ARE people out there that want to help.

Today, a close family friend is having a mastectomy.  I hope that one day there is a cure for cancer but, in the interim, I am glad that I am able to now “pay it forward” to her how The Beauty Foundation has helped me.

Much health and happiness to all.”

Please read this and pass it along to as many people as you can.
You may just save a life.

My name is Joan Mantone. I am 49 and the mother of twin, ten year old girls. It has been one year since my surgery and diagnosis of ovarian cancer. I have been through chemotherapy, tests, doctor’s visits and a lot of soul searching. Over the journey of the last year I have met many cancer survivors and all of their stories are both inspirational and heart wrenching. The key is that they are Survivors.

In order to have more Survivors we need continued research and vigilance against this disease.

Ovarian Cancer more often than not goes undetected until it is advanced. Women need to be familiar with the symptoms and the risk factors.

In my case I had endometriosis and underwent fertility treatments ten years prior to my first symptoms.

I have spoken with several other women who underwent fertility treatments and also were diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer.

The incubation period is very long. Initial studies that were conducted did not follow the subjects long enough. A recent study conducted in Europe concluded that IVF does increase a woman’s chances of contracting Ovarian Cancer.

Some other risk factors are heredity (from either mother or father’s side)
Never using birth control pills
Never having children

Symptoms can include abdomen distension, gastrointestinal changes, tiredness, pain in the groin and abdomen.

Not everyone may experience all of these symptoms. Please visit the National Ovarian Cancer Alliance website (www.ovariancancer.org) for more information regarding risk factors and symptoms. Be sure to visit your gynecologist for an annual exam and if you have risk factors make sure your doctor orders appropriate testing immediately.

Not every woman that undergoes fertility treatments will get cancer BUT every woman who is considering fertility treatments should be made aware of the potential risks. This should be front page news as now that insurance covers these treatments many more woman have these treatments available to them.

An early detection test does not currently exist but with more research hopefully one will be developed.

Please remember to wear the color teal on February 29th for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Day.

My hope is that more women’s lives will be saved and that this disease can one day be eradicated.

Thank you,
Joan Mantone

Since that introduction in 2008, Beauty Pearls for Chemo Girls and The Beauty Foundation have worked together to directly and positively impact individuals and families facing cancer. At events for chemo girls, on the air with our radio show, and when speaking at fundraisers, our mutual message to those on the cancer journey – that you are not alone – that help is here for you – continues to make a difference every day.

The Beauty Foundation provides financial assistance to individuals and families dealing with cancer. Since 2007, they have helped 125 families with everything from childcare and transportation to cleaning services, groceries, and cash to cover the never-ending onslaught of bills.

They also give all their women grantees a copy of Beauty Pearls for Chemo Girls, spreading the knowledge we gathered in its pages and delivering it no cost right into a chemo sister’s hand.

Each of their grant winners has a story to tell. We are honored to offer them another venue in which to share the experiences and emotions of those with whom we share a deep bond: people fighting cancer, and those who love and support them.

We welcome The Beauty Foundation to the Beauty Pearls for Chemo Girls blog, and invite our fans and visitors to come back each month to receive another dose of the insight and inspiration these brave and beautiful cancer warriors have to offer.

To learn more about The Beauty Foundation, please visit them at www.beautyfoundationnj.com

Z. Heidelberg

Visit the our homepage and click the link in the header to download your copy.

LBCTV, a Government public access channel operated for the City of Long Branch, N.J. Cable TV Commission on Comcast TV channel 20.

It can also be viewed at http://LBCTV20.angelfire.com/ during airing dates and times.

Here are the air dates & times:
Mon. July 25th at 8 p.m.
Sun. July 31st at 4 p.m.
TimeWarner Channel 34
RCN Channel 82
Verizon Channel 33

For those of you who do not live in Manhattan, you can view the show via the Internet at: http://www.mnn.org/ You just have to click on the appropriate channel at the time it is on (this is on the right side of the page).
If you need to update your media player you can obtain a free download at: http://www.real.com/

Click here to watch the show on YouTube
Click here to watch the show on blip.tv

Sit back, relax and enjoy the show!

And I certainly had been there. Originally diagnosed in early 2006, I was treated with chemo and in remission for six months before “Fred,” as I had named my cancer, came back. I then had further chemo and an autologous stem cell transplant in 2007. This time I was in remission for a year. When it came back in 2008 I had chemo followed by an alogeneic stem cell transplant at Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.

Sure, I was experienced, (not the sort of thing one really cares to be experienced at), but I didn’t realize how important my practical knowledge was until I started rattling off a list of things for Georgette to pick up from the store. With a few exceptions (you can’t exactly run to CVS for barf bags) most were easily store bought items, but ones that I could not have done without. Suddenly it became very important for some else to have these items. “Don’t come back until you’ve got everything on the list”, I told her half jokingly. I even texted additional items while she was running around.

I was working on my Master’s Degree in education. I wanted to teach but I wanted to teach kids, and here I was, teaching a young mom how to alleviate dry mouth, get rid of “chemo smell” and keep a journal of her treatment, symptoms, and side effects because if there was one thing I learned through my treatments, it’s that chemo has a pattern and the sooner you learn your chemo’s pattern, the sooner you can take back some control of your life.

I was in remission for 2 1/2 years. During this time Georgette approached me with the idea of starting a business. “ Friends and family want to help when you’re going through a difficult time”, she explained, “and while fruit and flowers are nice, what you brought to Cindy is what a patient really needs.” It took I lot of convincing (truthfully I thought she was nuts, we were both teachers, what did we know about running a business) but using her desire to help people and my experience with a wide assortment of treatments and chemo’s, we created Liz’s Chemo Survival Kits. www.LizsChemoKits.com. It’s so practical, that aside from the more than a dozen items we’ve included, even the tote bag is washable. What I’m most proud of is “Liz’s Chemo Survival Log.” It’s a simple way to keep track of your treatments, symptoms, and all the questions your health care professional will ask you each time you see them.

As it turns out my cancer has returned yet again, and I’ve been in treatment for the past three months – and just got a clean bill of health! Looking at it from the practical side of things, I used this as an opportunity to test out and review new chemo alleviation techniques.

~ Liz

Understand your diagnosis
Locate a navigator
Coordinate with a surgeon
Coordinate with an oncologist
Review and understand your treatment plan

We spoke with Patient Navigator Nurse Betty this past Sunday on the Beauty Pearls For Chemo Girls Radio show! Tune in to the podcast here!