Our new name, Abreast & the Rest, bridges the gap between breast cancer and gynecological cancers. Through misfortune, I have become an expert in not only breast cancer but in ovarian cancer, too. I am a seventeen-year, four-time cancer survivor; two of breast cancer and two of ovarian. Wow! I know.
Breast cancer has been part of my world for 63 years. When I was two years of age, my then-36 year old mother was diagnosed with breast cancer and given the news that her cancer was terminal. At the time, she was pregnant with my younger sister. My mother suffered alone and in silence. At that time, we didn't know about the gene that can put women at higher risk of getting breast cancer although I was eventually told I was in a high-risk familial category.
In 1992, at age 48, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. After surgery, chemotherapy and radiation, I returned to teaching. I was thrilled that the first breast cancer run began that very year and grateful that I was healthy enough to participate. My family and I enthusiastically joined the run; my daughter, my husband and I in Vancouver, my sister in Boston, and my son in Ottawa.
My initial diagnosis was followed in 1995 by a dire stage 4 recurrence in my liver. This was the cancer that had eventually claimed my mother's life. I was determined not to focus on the statistics, though. After six months of treatment, I was in complete remission and I felt relieved. Whew!
I was determined to put my sixties' radicalism back in action. I was not alone. I joined the other breast cancer activists. I could not and would not be silent like my mother had sadly been. I joined The Breast Cancer Alliance and met wonderful women at advocacy meetings. I spoke at the next two Runs for the Cure. I attended and passionately told my story at the many breast cancer breakfast meetings and fundraisers throughout the lower mainland. I attended our local breast cancer support group where I gave and received love and support. A very short six months later, in 1996, I was faced with stage 3C ovarian cancer. For ovarian cancer patients, it is often diagnosed at an all-too-common advanced stage. The prognosis was difficult to listen to because it came with news - once again - of a high mortality rate.
Around the same time, I tested positive for the hereditary gene responsible for breast and ovarian cancer, BRCA1. Being of Jewish Eastern European descent (Ashkenazi), I learned that I had a higher risk of developing cancers that are associated with that genealogy. While I had felt supported when I had breast cancer, this time, with ovarian cancer, I felt alone. Really alone. Where were the support groups, runs and other survivors?
In 1999, I suffered an ovarian cancer recurrence, again an all too common event for women who've had ovarian cancer. After an aggressive treatment regime involving surgery and radiation, I have miraculously been in remission ever since, a rarity indeed. |
Margie and Harvey Ostroff
In 1999, Ovarian Cancer Canada was just forming. I and my husband attended an ovarian cancer conference in Toronto. I was pleased to learn that ovarian cancer survivors and their supporters were beginning to raise awareness about ovarian cancer and raise funds for research, following in the footsteps of their breast cancer "sisters". After the ovarian cancer conference, I realized I was not alone after all.
I was contacted about a planning meeting for June 2009 to decide how to expand the Alliance for Breast Cancer Information and Support to include gynecological cancers. I was energized and grateful to be able to contribute my voice to the planning.
Ovarian Cancer Canada sponsored the fourth Winners Walk of Hope in September 2009 in Vancouver. I was pleased to have the opportunity to inform Ashkenazi women of their higher family risk for breast and ovarian cancer. My family members attended the run with me just as they have since the beginning. My family isn't silent about ovarian cancer anymore. We must no longer allow ovarian cancer to be the silent killer. We must join together to find a cure for breast and gynecological cancers so that our daughters won't live in fear of hereditary cancers.
The women at the planning meeting in June wanted to build on the work of the Alliance for Breast Cancer Information and Support and reach out to women with gynecological cancers. So the name of our newsletter has evolved, just as I have. From Abreast in the West to...Abreast and the Rest. Welcome to the expanded newsletter. I hope you find comfort and support here.
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