MSI Press Blog

  One of the most famous people I have ever met -- and a very lovely person at that -- is Shirley Temple Black, who passed in 2014 after making the world better in several areas of using her talents at acting, diplomacy, and just good people skills. She genuinely liked people. I remember her taking time from a busy schedule to spend a break period from language studies to talk to my 10-year-old, a conversation he obviously will never forget, about our planned move to Monterey and about how she loved Monterey so much that she got married there. I bring her up in the Cancer Diary post because her birthday would be this coming Saturday (April 23, 1928), and, more important, because she was a breast cancer survivor. Her openness about cancer may have saved millions of lives. The more survivors, the more doctors learn. The more survivors, the more hope for others with breast cancer. And the more survivors, the more we realize that breast cancer does not take sides or pick victims -- eve...

  Recently on Twitter, a cancer victim complained that friends kept elatedly sending her information about a potential cure for rectal cancer. She suffers from breast cancer! Sort of like rubbing salt in a wound, but the confusion is understandable for those who know little about cancer. Our vet (oncology expert) suggested that we ask Carl's oncologists to consider immunotherapy for Carl. We clung to that possibility initially since immunotherapy had thrown our little Snyezhka into full remission after having been given a maximum of four months to live. Nearly two years later, she is still with us and is healthy.  Carl was given just days to live when he was diagnosed with advanced metastatic cancer involving five organs. We clung to the hope that Stanford University Cancer Center might recommend immunotherapy; that was one of the possibilities the oncologist mentioned. Yes! However, immunotherapy is highly targeted -- against the source cancer. Test after test ruled out each ...

  Today’s entry is for those whose cancer journeys don’t end with one diagnosis—or even one kind of cancer. My friend has been battling breast cancer for over five years. She’s endured a double mastectomy and the removal of all reproductive organs. Now, she faces surgery for melanoma. I, too, have had cancer—adenocarcinoma removed from my face. But our paths, while both marked by courage, stress, and trepidation, differ in ways that matter. 🔍 Understanding the Differences Type of Cancer : Breast cancer and melanoma are biologically distinct. Breast cancer originates in breast tissue, often hormone-sensitive. Melanoma begins in pigment-producing skin cells and is known for its potential to spread quickly. Adenocarcinoma is a type of cancer that forms in mucus-secreting glands. Mine was localized and removed surgically. Extent of Disease : My cancer was caught early and treated definitively. My friend’s experience is systemic and ongoing. Her body has endured multiple ...

  Thanks to Ritta Blens, Carl's Cancer Consortium just received a lode of links to resources, gathered by Elly Hancock, for breast cancer that can be of great value to breast cancer patients. Here is a link to the list: Global Breast Cancer Resources for  Patients, Survivors, and Their Loved Ones Happy time parsing through it! It has also been added to the CCC. Blog editor's note: As a memorial to Carl, and simply because it is truly needed, MSI Press is now hosting a web page,  Carl's Cancer Compendium , as a one-stop starting point for all things cancer, to make it easier for those with cancer to find answers to questions that can otherwise take hours to track down on the Internet and/or from professionals. The web page is in its infancy but expected to expand into robustness. To that end, it is expanded and updated weekly. As part of this effort, each week, on Monday, this blog will carry an informative, cancer-related story -- and be open to guest posts:  Cancer ...

  When Angelina Jolie shared that she carries a BRCA1 mutation and chose a preventive double mastectomy, she did more than tell her story—she shifted the behavior of thousands of women worldwide. Rates of risk‑reducing mastectomy rose sharply after her announcement, especially among women with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations, who can face a lifetime breast cancer risk of 60–70% or more. The “Angelina Jolie effect” is real: more women are getting tested, more are offered options, and more are choosing aggressive surgery to lower their risk. For many, that surgery does exactly what it promises: it dramatically reduces the chance of developing breast cancer. Studies show that bilateral risk‑reducing mastectomy in BRCA1/2 carriers can cut breast cancer incidence by about 90% or more. For some women, that reduction in risk feels like the difference between living under a constant shadow and finally being able to exhale. But there’s another part of the story that doesn’t fit neatly into he...

  This is not the first time we have written about cat cancer in a Caturday post. We learn more about it over time, and it seems that more in general is learned about it over time.  Blind Cat rescued share the following interesting and information post about cat cancer:  Feline Carcinoma (blindcatrescue.blogspot.com) . Cat cancer not only occurs, but at least in our household has become common as our cats have aged. Among our cats, three have died of it, and two are living with it. The breed does not seem to matter; it appears that cancer is blind to breed. Intrepid was the first to be diagnosed with cancer and the first to die with it. In his cancer, it was small cell lymphoma. He lived only a few months after diagnosis. His vet missed the cancer -- that happens with people, too. After describing Intrepid's late night howling to a friend who works at the SPCA, he gave us the name of a vet with excellent diagnostic skills. She immediately intuited the problem, scoped Int...

  This interview of Nanette Hucknall, author of  How to Live from Your Heart  and co-author of  The Rose and the Sword ,  who survived breast cancer, is not entirely recent, but for anyone staring a breast cancer diagnosis in the face and trying to look beyond the medical issues to the life issues, it is worth listening to. Listen here:  XETV-TV San Diego Living, How To Live From the Heart (youtube.com)                                    How to Live from Your Heart  has won the following awards: Book of the Year finalist Best Books Award finalist Book Excellence Award Pinnacle Book Achievement Award Readers' Favorites Book Award finalist Kops-Fetherling International Books Legacy Award: Self/Help For other Cancer Diary posts, click  HERE . Blog editor's note: As a memorial to Carl, and simply because it is truly needed, MSI Press is now hosting...