[ad_1]
MILLSBORO, Del. – When she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2012, Denise Valley did everything for October – think of brunches organized with drag-queen artists and at parties in town with a pink stretch limousine.
She participated in all the breast cancer walks and the 5 km race. When she saw an article bearing the logo of a pink ribbon at the grocery store, she bought it.
But then, she learned that her cancer was metastasized to the lungs in 2013. For the first time, Valley saw October differently. She has not been to an event since.
"I realized that there was no victory for me at the end," she said. "I can" fight like a girl "whatever I want … but I'll never stop treatment. There is no ring tone to ring.
October can be a month of empowerment, reflection and fundraising for those affected by breast cancer. But for some women with stage IV breast cancer – in which cancer has infiltrated other parts of their body – the "pink month" can not end soon enough.
For these women, metastatic breast cancer is often overlooked throughout the month of October, especially in terms of funding research. Unlike people with an early stage of the disease, the end of their course of metastatic breast cancer is not perfectly packaged in a pink ribbon, they say.
Women with stage IV breast cancer will receive treatment for the rest of their lives. And finally, the disease will kill them.
It is estimated that 40,000 people die each year from metastatic breast cancer.
In 2017, the National Cancer Institute released a study that reveals that more women than ever are living with metastatic breast cancer. This is largely attributed to early detections and medical treatments that allow people to live longer with the disease.
The number of patients with metastatic breast cancer has increased by 17% between 2000 and 2010, the study says. It is expected to increase by 31% between 2010 and 2020.
More services and research are needed for this growing population, the study said.
Merry Jones of Dover was diagnosed for the first time with an early stage of the disease in 2006. She was cancer free for years, but she was diagnosed with stage IV in 2015. She knew almost nothing about this stage of cancer – and learned that most people did not have one.
"You do not realize that your diagnosis is to last a lifetime," she said.
The Metastatic Breast Cancer Alliance, a rights organization, found that only 7% of the $ 15 billion invested in breast cancer research funding from 2000 to 2013 was spent on cancer-related work. breast stage IV.
Beth Fairchild, president of METAvivor Research and Support, a non-profit association, is suffering from stage IV breast cancer. She said that although the disease as a whole earns more money than any other cancer, metastatic cancer is often "written off".
Most of the money goes to sensitization and early detection, she said.
"I heard someone say," Why shut the door when the horse is out of the barn? ", She said. "They think we are a lost cause."
Some women with stage IV breast cancer say they feel isolated. Large breast cancers often involve women who are at an early stage or who are considered survivors.
A handful of women interviewed by The News Journal knew only two other Delaware women with metastatic breast cancer.
Barbara Westfall of Greenwood has attended several breast cancer support group meetings over the years. She never becomes a regular member.
The experiences were too different, she said.
Many women with stage IV often have to stop working to navigate the meanders of clinical trials as they adapt to the idea that their time is probably limited. These topics are not generally discussed, she said.
"It's not something you go through and get out of," she said. "For me, it was very different. They had the idea and perspective of "OK, I have to go out and it's a temporary thing and I can finish and I can continue the rest of my life".
"I do not really know what's going to happen," Westfall said, "but I know it will not happen."
The Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition has not put in place a support group for stage IV women until this year. This new group held its first meeting in September, said Lois Wilkinson, Program Officer for the Coalition for Education and Survival.
Wilkinson, a Stage II breast cancer survivor, said she did not fully understand the different experiences before leading the support group. It's obvious in the smallest details, she said.
She recently learned that most women with metastatic breast cancer do not like to be called "survivors". As a woman will probably not be able to defeat the disease, they prefer the term "survivor," she said.
"I had breast cancer but I do not quite understand," she said. "These ladies do."
Denise Valley of Millsboro fears that the October festivities will spread "false hope" to some women. At first, she thought that her cancer would always be temporary. She never thought it would come back.
Until she was diagnosed with stage IV, Valley said she was unaware that about 30% of women with early stage breast cancer would develop a metastatic disease.
She no longer participates in events related to breast cancer, but has found refuge in private Facebook groups aimed at women with stage IV.
These are the only people to have it, she says.
"We are trying to keep one step ahead," she said. "I have this bus on my (asterisk) every day.
"And it's going faster and faster."
___
Information provided by: The News Journal of Wilmington, Del., Http://www.delawareonline.com
Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, disseminated, rewritten or redistributed.
[ad_2]
Source link
