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Breast Cancer

  • Pathways Study Social Support Webinar Resources and Links

    people places and breast cancer the pathways study and how our communities impact survival and quality of life 500 x 400 px 1 

    On September 21, 2023, we hosted the webinar “People, Places, and Breast Cancer: The Pathways Study and how our communities impact survival and quality of life.” While many webinar attendees asked about how and where to get support, our speakers and panelists emphasized that systems, like our medical systems and community structures, play a large role in what is available and the quality of support during and after treatment. A major point of this forum was that resources vary by place. Where there is more money, more services are usually available. People who live in neighborhoods with others from a similar culture often feel more supported with a greater sense of community.

  • Place Matters by Salma Shariff-Marco, PhD, MPH, and Scarlett Lin Gomez, PhD, MPH

      Salma and Scarlett

     

    Research shows that our zip code can be just as important as our genetic code (DNA) in shaping our health. Where we live, work and learn affects our opportunities for physical activity, access to healthy and affordable foods, potential for social engagement and support, and exposure to stressful circumstances.

  • Reflections on the Dipsea Hike from an Oregonian

    ZBC Dipsea Display Table 

    For the past year I have been working as the Communications Coordinator for Zero Breast Cancer from Southern Oregon. From the start, the mission statement of focusing on breast cancer prevention stood out to me as a unique perspective, as so many breast cancer organizations overlook these root causes. While I have forged strong relationships with my colleagues and an understanding of the organization from a distance, by recently attending the 16th Annual Dipsea Hike I gained a deeper sense of the wonderful work that ZBC does and the people they serve.

  • Research Inspired by Marin Women with Very Low Breast Cancer Risk Could Lead to New Prevention Strategies

    pregnant woman

    Research that began with the Marin Women’s Study has now been duplicated in the larger California Teachers Study, demonstrating that women who develop hypertension in pregnancy and carry a common gene variant have up to a 90% lower breast cancer risk.

    “This research could contribute to understanding the key impact of pregnancy on breast cancer risk, and may help explain why some women are protected while others are not,” said lead researcher Mark Powell, MD, MPH, visiting scientist at the Buck Institute and Director of the Breast Cancer Prevention Project.

  • Self-Care for Breast Cancer Survivors during Covid-19 PART 1: Being Active and Eating Well

    Black woman eating salad

    Anyone who has ever been diagnosed with cancer has had their lives changed and may have needed new ways to cope . The Covid-19 pandemic is also changing lives. Many of us dealt with wildfire smoke in the summer and the shorter winter days can be another challenge. Breast cancer survivors on the Pathways Study Community Advisory Board (CAB) decided that understanding our risk of Covid-19 and taking care of ourselves are important and timely topics for us to address.

  • Self-Care for Breast Cancer Survivors during Covid-19 PART 2: Connecting with Others and Ourselves

    Self care blog part 2

    This is the second of two parts about what we can do for our health and wellness during the Covid pandemic, from breast cancer survivors on the Pathways Study Community Advisory Board. Here they share how they cope: connecting with people; taking a break; breathing deeply, meditating or praying; asking for support; getting sleep; gratitude; and focusing on moving forward. Research has shown that all of these can help our mental and our physical health. (Check out the first part for ideas on moving our bodies and eating well.)

  • Talking About Breast Cancer Risk: It's Complicated!

    Rose blog image

    My favorite way to mix work and pleasure (or work and health if you prefer) is to walk and talk. I can't exactly do that in a digital medium so I am inviting you to sign up for the Dipsea Hike for Zero Breast Cancer and to read more about putting breast cancer risk information into context so that we can talk about it in a realistic way.

  • Talking with … a Cancer Activist with Her Dial at Zero

    rose barlow hth 2015

    J.: Zero Breast Cancer was launched in Marin in 1995. What sets it apart?

    Rose Barlow: It’s a little different from other breast cancer organizations. From the get-go we focused on the environmental causes and risk factors. We’ve been more committed to the idea of prevention than screening and treatment.

  • The #metoo World of Breast Cancer Treatment

    Thanks to Janelle Burchfield for giving us permission to share her story.

    janelle web

     "You're such a delicate creature. You need to think about all the delicacies of being a woman."
    - Random Doctor, after tossing a breast implant at me

    So, this was my most recent Me Too moment - navigating the male-centric world of cancer treatment.

    I'd kept my diagnosis pretty private for the first couple of months while I processed, letting only those closest to me know. Some women are so brave to share their story, I haven't been one of them. I knew I didn't want this disease to own or define me, and so I’ve taken my time in deciding how to speak about it -and Breast Cancer Awareness Month and all the countless other women sharing their Me Too stories gave me some courage.

  • The New Puberty

    new puberty book

    Girls are developing faster and entering puberty earlier than a generation ago. Contrary to popular wisdom, early puberty is not merely a reflection of physical changes-it's deeply psychological with effects that can put a girl at risk for behavioral problems as well as long term health challenges, such as obesity, depression, eating disorders, and even breast cancer.

  • The Tipping Point

    This inspiring post is from our Executive Director's cousin, Jo Gordon, with our thanks.

    Jo Gordon Reflections

    Several months after my dad died – 13 whiplash years ago – I was driving home from the gym one evening when a Josh Groban song began playing on the radio, Where You Are. Sitting at a red light, the mournful music washed over me. One verse gripped my heart, and squeezed and squeezed: Fly me up to where you are, beyond the distant star I wish upon tonight, to see you smile, if only for awhile to know you’re there, a breath away’s not far to where you are.

    I started to cry in a way I hadn’t before – not on hearing the news of dad’s sudden death, not standing at his gravesite on a chilly Johannesburg morning as kaddish was recited, not at the prayer service that evening, not as I waded through his closet, setting aside small treasures and throwing out boxes of boxes and bags of bags; not even that impressive collection of emptiness that he had stored so fastidiously for so long had been my undoing. But this one line in this one song wrung me out.

  • Top 5 Empowering Podcasts for Breast Cancer Survivors in 2021 by Shweta Chooramani

    Black woman with a smartphone and coffee wearing headphones.

    You are not alone if the social distancing requirements and complying with the need of living in a social bubble has left you feeling anxious, socially isolated and feeling depressed. You are among millions of people who are bearing the brunt of Covid-19’s psychological effects. Our exposure to the continuous feed of stimulating news and notifications over wifi devices, television and social media has made many of us, myself included, worry about the future. As a result, it has made us vulnerable emotionally and mentally. Adjusting to the new normal of being isolated was not easy. I found the thought of following the mundane routine daily with little or no avenues of recreation or in-person interaction made me anxious.

  • Waiting: The Hardest Part

    Jo Gordon Reflections

    Waiting to see if your new pain, out of nowhere, will resolve itself. Waiting for the surgeon’s office to return your distress call. Waiting to hear when you can be squeezed into the jammed CT scan schedule. Waiting to eat because if they can fit you in today, you need to be fasting. Waiting in a room filled with other waiters, all stoically counting minutes until it’s their turn to be stuck, probed, imaged. The longest wait – waiting for results. Waiting for the medical team to decide what happens next. Listening to an internal clock, ticking in a terrible silence. Waiting.

  • Website Recommendation: BCERP.org

    BCERP Image composite correct size

    The Breast Cancer and the Environment Research Program (BCERP) website aims to make the latest scientific findings on the relationship between environmental exposures and breast cancer both accessible and actionable. Consisting of a transdisciplinary consortium of scientists, the BCERP is funded by the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Institute of Environmental Sciences (NIEHS) and National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). With community partners, the BCERP researchers look at how environmental exposures during key life stages may increase risk of breast cancer. (Full disclosure: ZBC was a community partner in the past.)

  • Website Recommendation: BreastCancer.org

    breastcancer.org logo blog two

    When dealing with breast cancer, and looking to prevent breast cancer, the vast amount of information and the decisions that need to be made can be overwhelming. In 1999, Dr. Marisa Weiss, a renowned breast oncologist, founded breastcancer.org to address these needs. As a non-profit organization, breastcancer.org is dedicated to providing the most reliable, complete, and up-to-date information about breast cancer. It is an excellent resource.  Their mission is to help women and their loved ones make sense of the complex medical and personal information about breast health and breast cancer so that they can make the best decisions for their lives. The people behind breastcancer.org bring with them a diverse set of skills and experience, from medical experts, writers, editors, and business development experts, to designers and web producers. A Professional Advisory Board (PAB) reviews all the medical information on the website. The PAB includes over 70 practicing medical professionals from around the world who are leaders in their fields. Breastcancer.org also provides a Spanish translation of its pages on the website.

  • What is Breast Cancer-Related Neuropathy? Part 1

    Neuropathy pt 1

    Many people who have had breast cancer experience pain or discomfort caused by damage to the nerves, known as neuropathy. Nerves control our sense of touch, how we feel pain and temperature, and our muscle strength, so these changes can impact our quality of life after cancer. While researchers have much to learn, we know about causes and some ways to manage it.

  • What is Breast Cancer-Related Neuropathy? Part 2

    Neuropathy pt 2

    This is a continuation of the blog What is Breast Cancer-related Neuropathy? Part 1, which describes the kinds of nerve pain and other symptoms and begins the stories of several members of the Pathways breast cancer survivorship study whose stories are told here. The first part also describes how cancer and it's treatment can cause neuropathy.

  • ZBC - One of Eight Breast Cancer Organizations Receiving Grants

    zbc avon walk11th Annual San Francisco Avon Walk Raises More Than $4.2 Million

  • ZBC Featured on 360BayArea Podcast - Beyond the Pink

    catherine 360bayarea

    Zero Breast Cancer is excited to share that our Program Director, Catherine Thomsen, is a featured guest on the November 360BayArea podcast. Titled Beyond the Pink, the episode explores the breast cancer topic from unique angles that go beyond the pink ribbon in order to understand genuine and diverse personal experiences of women who are diagnosed or had loved ones who have had breast cancer.

  • ZBC Honors Fern Orenstein

    HTH Fern et al hats

    From left to right: Britt Thal, Janice Barlow, Roni Peskin-Mentzer, Fern Orenstein, Francine Halberg, Rochelle Ereman

    Fern Orenstein was a founding member of Marin Breast Cancer Watch (which became Zero Breast Cancer in 2006). She retired from the main board at the end of 2015 as term limits finally caught up with her after 20 years! We are grateful that Fern remains a very active and engaged member of the ZBC Scientific Advisory Group. You can read more about this group here.

    Fern has embodied the mission and passion of Zero Breast Cancer with every ounce of her soul and every inch of her petite but mighty body. She served in every conceivable capacity and in every volunteer role during her tenure as a Director of the Board, including serving several years as Treasurer and President.