Requesting clarification - Christina Applegate interview

The second cancer story I want to comment on is the recent ABC Good Morning America interview with Christina Applegate (August 19, 2008). I believe if Applegate is going to be a spokesperson for cancer that she needs to make it clear that her decision to undergo a double mastectomy was a personal decision made with great care after consultation with her doctors. Given her BRCA1 gene diagnosis, and her mother’s medical history of also undergoing a double mastectomy for breast cancer, I believe Applegate should emphasize that undergoing a double mastectomy was the best decision for her individual case, and not standard procedure or the best decision for everyone with her diagnosis.

In the ABC interview Applegate stated: “I didn’t want to go back to the doctors every four months for testing and squishing and everything. I just wanted to kind of get rid of this whole thing for me. This was the choice that I made and it was a tough one.” Of course it was. I believe people who read the story about Applegate and her treatment decision might think a double mastectomy after a diagnosis for BRCA1 gene is standard procedure. While there is a “reported 87% to 97% reduction in relative risk for development of breast cancer in patients who have had prophylactic [double] mastectomy, not all breast cancers can be avoided in women who undergo prophylactic mastectomy because some will develop breast cancer in residual tissue left on the chest wall” (John Petrek, MD, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY.) After a cancer diagnosis it is not possible to “get rid of this whole thing.” Diligent follow up will continue to be necessary for the rest of a diagnosed person’s life.

While I wish Applegate all the best and a speedy recovery, I would like her to use her platform as a cancer spokesperson to educate the public. What is a BRCA1 gene? (It’s one of 600 identified breast cancer genes. BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes are “associated with hereditary breast cancer, as well as ovarian cancer, prostate cancer, and colon cancer.") I would like her to state that you are not guaranteed to be cancer free just because you have a double mastectomy. Standard treatment following a double mastectomy would include chemotherapy and hormone blocking drug therapy, but probably not radiation. I sincerely hope Applegate does return to her oncologist frequently for “testing and squishing and everything.” It is misleading to state that a double mastectomy left her “100% cancer free.” How does she know? How can she be so sure? Cancer cells do travel to other parts of the body – that’s why most patients undergo chemotherapy following surgical treatment, and are closely monitored thereafter.

This blog is not criticism against Applegate or her choice of treatment for her breast cancer, rather it is a request for clarification and inclusion of other treatment methods in any statements Applegate makes as a spokesperson for cancer. [For more information about my own breast cancer, see my blog immediately preceding this.]

In Support of Elizabeth Edwards

I want to comment on a couple of recent cancer-related stories. My interest in cancer? I was diagnosed with Stage I breast cancer April 2008, and had surgery to remove the tumor which tested as Grade 3 (aggressive). I completed three months of chemotherapy, and started radiation last week. I’ll have six weeks of radiation treatment then begin five years of hormone-blocking drug therapy. How do I feel? I’m tired, the side affects of chemotherapy were manageable with drugs, and I think my hair is starting to grow back. The only long-lasting symptom I have is pain in my legs. Hey, it only hurts when I move! From my online research I think the leg pain is Neuropathy, but I have to check with my doctor to be sure.

I want to comment on the John and Elizabeth Edwards story. Elizabeth was originally diagnosed with breast cancer November 3, 2004, followed by surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. I don’t know what the Stage or Grade was for Elizabeth’s initial diagnosis. March 2007 the Edwards announced that Elizabeth’s cancer had returned and spread to her bones, and would best be treated with anti-hormone drug therapy. October 2007 the National Enquirer broke the story of John Edwards’ affair with Rielle Hunter. February 2008 Hunter gave birth to a daughter and left the father’s name off the birth certificate. John Edwards claimed the affair was of brief duration in 2006 yet he was ‘caught’ (again reported by the National Enquirer) on July 22, 2008 – last month!! – visiting Hunter and her baby in a motel in the middle of the night. Edwards denies he’s the father of Hunter’s daughter (a story no one believes).

When I go for my cancer treatments I see that almost all patients have a partner with them for support. I sometimes feel conspicuous being alone. I thought a lot of Elizabeth Edwards during the height of the stories about her husband’s affair. I thought about how Elizabeth had to deal not only with the return of her cancer - her health concerns and symptoms – but also with small children, a teenager, the loss of thirty years of a trusting marriage, scrutiny by the press, and a husband underfoot who humiliated and shamed her and her family. Hey, I’m glad I’m single! My heart goes out to Elizabeth. I wonder if she also had to worry about getting tested for AIDS and STDs. I would have. Rielle Hunter is skanky, dirty and unclean looking. What was John Edwards thinking? Hunter was quoted saying she only met Elizabeth once and that Elizabeth “does not give off good energy. She didn’t make eye contact with me.” Hey, that’s because Elizabeth Edwards is fifty times more intelligent that you, Skank, and Elizabeth no doubt knew that you were sleeping with her husband and was furious. That’s why you were fired a few weeks after that meeting. What a lot to have to deal with.

I wish Elizabeth Edwards and her children all the best.