Most people either know someone or know of someone who has suffered from Breast Cancer. Within my family, in the Navy, and in my business career, I have known several courageous women diagnosed with this horrific disease. All made the decision to undergo surgical procedures from lymph node dissection to a mastectomy. Thankfully, all are survivors over 5 years; the longest post-surgery is 40 years, which speaks volumes for advances in treatment.

The Scar is a poem about meeting someone, falling in love, marrying, being diagnosed with Breast Cancer, and seeing cancer not as an end, but as a new beginning. I write poetry about Breast Cancer from my perspective as a male and my belief most men respond in a like manner. The Long Ride is a reflection of The Scar from a different perspective and Walk With Me is a poem of love and a journey to understanding. Rounding out this series of poems is my personal favorite Love Remains True.

The Scar

When first we met,
I marveled at your flawless flesh; nary a wrinkle or blemish did offset.
Until cancer took your breast,leaving a scar, obvious as a mountain range upon your once flawless flesh. The scar a reminder of what had been and a symbol, not of an end, but a new beginning of life again.

The Long Ride

It is not outward appearance whereby love does survive it is inner beauty takes love for the long ride

Walk With Me

•    Walk With Me
•    What started on our first day
•    Will stay to the last
•    Walk With Me
•    Feel the wind upon your face
•    No urgency now
•    A gentle pace
•    Walk With Me
•    Along the beach
•    With golden sand beneath our feet
•    As the sun dips into the sea
•    Tears well
•    Emotions deep
•    Breathtaking, unable to speak
•    Walk With Me
•    Among the trees
•    The rustle of leaves
•    The groan of limbs
•    As wind swirls
•    Squirrels scurry for protection
•    Loving arms hold you near
•    Until an unwelcome presence passes
•    Away from here
•    Walk With Me
•    Through valleys lush and green
•    Crested by majestic peaks
•    Covered with ice and snow
•    A final journey for the weak
•    A comfort for us below
•    Walk With Me
•    As we have
•    Your hand in mine
•    Forever through the span of time

Love Remains True

•    The Initial Reaction Repulsive
•    Depression For The Unknown
•    Dissection Takes Away Disease
•    Healing The Process Of Time
•    The Scar A Reminder Of What Was Endured
•    Becomes Insignificant Through Understanding
•    Love Remains True

"Cancer Survival Rates" indicate the current 5-year breast cancer survival rate for women is 86% and the 10-year survival rate is 76%. These rates include women of all ages and at all stages of cancer. To narrow the statistical figures, the survival rate for women whose cancer has not metastasized, that is whose cancer has not moved into the lymph system or the other parts of the body is 96%.

Strength provides the component for the will to survive. Belief, for many, is the component providing the strength to prevail and overcome. Research and medicine provide the treatments that allow high survival rates, and hope for the eradication of this horrific disease. The future, is in this life.

In This Life

In this life, I do not lie in darkness, I am immersed in light.
"Cancer Survival Rates" may be found at: http://www.cancersurvivalrates.net
No matter what you write, someone will love it.

By Mac McGovern

I put UPLIFT: Secrets from the Sisterhood of Breast Cancer Survivors together because, as a survivor, I saw the need for a book that treated breast cancer as a do-able experience—and, indeed, the response to it has been remarkable. The book contains useful woman-to-woman hints—things the doctor doesn't say—practical advice on topics ranging from what deodorant to use during radiation, to what minimizes nausea during chemo, to how to feel feminine and upbeat. This advice comes first-hand, in the words of 370+ breast cancer survivors, their sisters, children, parents, lovers, and friends. The new 3rd Edition adds updates, five years later, from many of the original contributors.

The following are some uplifting tips from breast cancer survivors.

The Worry Box
"I found a box and glued colorful scraps of wrapping paper on the top. Inside it, each morning, I tucked handwritten notes about my worries and fears. Nancy Burgess, in the "TAKING THE REINS" chapter.

The Art of Healing
"Go to a theater, a museum, a concert or ballet. Art can take us out of ourselves, lift us beyond our immediate environment, enrich us spiritually and aesthetically. Opening yourself to great beauty is always a life-enhancer. In times of crisis, it's also healing."
Susan Stamberg, in the "TAKING THE REINS" chapter.

Pins and Needles
"Apparently, there is a dressmaker in Chicago who had prostheses made out of her pin cushions, so that she could conveniently stick her needles and pins into her chest when sewing and making alterations!"
Darlene Jurow, in the "HUMOR" chapter.
Eating With Friends
"I found conventional support group meetings difficult, so I formed my own support dinner group. We dine out every couple of months to discuss having breast cancer. We also share stories of our spouses, children, and travels."
Deborah J.P. Schur, in the "SUPPORT GROUP" chapter.

Drinking Helps
"Someone told me my chemo symptoms sounded like a really bad hangover! Their suggestion that Gatorade was good for hangovers led to my drinking gallons of it, which helped steady that queasy shakiness."
Jane Vaughan, in the "CHEMO AND EVERYTHING ELSE" chapter.

Accentuate the Positive
"Perhaps the most significant outcome of my battle with breast cancer is that I have changed my outlook on life. I now regard life as precious and try not to focus on negative things. Eliminating stress and resentment from my life and concentrating on the positive things has become my goal. "
Sandy Mark, in the "PURE UPLIFT" chapter.
I'm exercising more now. I really found out how good it was after my surgery and I got into a program for cancer survivors. I only wished I had started earlier in life. Judy Peterson, in the "FAST FORWARD" chapter.

For more tips and quotes visit Barbara Delinsky's site at http://www.barbaradelinsky.com/uplift/uplift.cfm
Barbara Delinsky is a bestselling author. Her novels are highly emotional, character-driven studies of marriage, parenthood, sibling rivalry, and friendship. They regularly appear on the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Publishers Weekly, and USA Today Bestseller Lists. UPLIFT: Secrets of the Sisterhood of Breast Cancer Survivors is Barbara's first non-fiction work.

Barbara donates all of her proceeds from the sale of UPLIFT to her charitable foundation for breast cancer research. So far, the sale of the book has allowed the Barbara Delinsky Charitable Foundation to fund three years of a breast surgery fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital. The focus of the fellowship is to launch the career of a surgical oncologist with an additional year of training focused on innovative breast cancer treatments and research, hopefully offering returns to the field of cancer research for decades to come.

Breast Cancer Survivor
Nearly everyone knows a friend or relative who has been stricken by breast cancer and who have succumbed to the disease. Breast cancer remains the most common of cancers affecting women. It kills more women than any other kind of cancer, except lung cancer. About 150,000 women in the United States develop breast cancer each year, and 25 percent die of the disease.

Women whose female relatives have had breast cancer or have a breast cancer survivor in the family are more likely to be victims than women from families in which breast cancer is not present. The disease appears to be linked statistically also to women who do not have children before their 30s or who do not have nurse their babies; to women who reach the menopause later than normal; and to women who began menstruation earlier in life than normal.

There is increasing evidence also that ovarian activity may play an important role in the development of breast cancer. Women with ovarian tumors and women who use supplementary estrogen have been shown by some studies to be at increased risk, while the process of having many children and nursing them, which suppresses estrogen hormone activity, is associated with a decreased risk of developing breast cancer. However 55 percent of the diagnosed cases are for women who have no known risk factors.

Cancer of the breast may occur as early as the teens, but this is rare. It is generally not found before the age of 30, and the incidence peaks around the time of menopause. Then there is a second period after the age of about 65 when the incidence of breast cancer rises again.

A breast cancer survivor would have a real change in his or her life. Surviving this deadly disease would make them realize about a number of things that they have done with their lives and they would have a second look about their lifestyle and ask why they had had acquired this kind of disease.