Hi Everyone,

This week at Driven by Heart, Melissa Studebaker ARNP is coming to chat with us….6pm Wednesday February 19.  Please rsvp….you are going to want to be a part of this discussion.  Almost all of us have some sort of “leftover” effects of breast cancer treatment…..I don’t know about you all but I find some of them a little challenging to deal with!   I told you already about Alyssa Hullinger our only oncologically certified massage therapist and how she helped me….after 10 years of numbness.  I believe Melissa is another person who can shed light on some of the things we have to deal with….like sexual dysfunction….and side effects from 5 or 10 years of hormone blockers……we are going to have an informal event at Driven by Heart on Wednesday February 19 at 6pm….please rsvp at eventrsvp@drivenbyheart.org or email either Barbie or me…. barbiebraden@drivenbyheart.org or sherrypalmer@drivenbyheart.org or give us a call 321-474-6900.

Have a good week…..see you all soon.

Sherry

And……the office is open this week Monday and Wednesday from 9 to 2pm ….Tuesday and Thursday by appt.

Driven by Heart’s office will be open Wednesday February 12th 9am to 2pm.   The “Over 50’s” will be meeting at 6pm on Wednesday February 12.
February 19 at 6pm Melissa Studebaker ARNP will be coming to chat with us about those “everlasting” side effects of chemo and breast surgery that you might not be talking to your Doc about….this is going to be a really good conversation…..bring your questions and thoughts!

See you there.

Sherry

I think most of us have “left over ” effects from breast cancer treatment.  I have learned from listening to everyone that the side effects are all the same mostly but the degree varies….a lot.   In my heart, I don’t really feel like these topics are ever addressed head on…actually from where I am it seems like they are rarely discussed so I think I am making it my new mission to be able to get us some answers and I think the best way is to start with a woman who can sit down with us and just chat about this stuff, so we invited Melissa Studebaker ARNP to come and have a sit down with us.  She will be joining us Wednesday February 19 at 6pm.   Melissa talks to lots of women in the course of a week so I am hoping her knowledge is going to be the first step of us continuing to help ourselves after breast cancer.  We are more then happy to get a speaker on any topic you want to talk about regarding breast cancer, we just need to know what you want to hear.   I hope you will mark your calendar and join us.

We are making alot of changes with Driven by Heart….all coming from the heart and we are trying to do what is going to help everyone.   I am going to blog (and Facebook) instead of sending a weekly email which will mean I will do this more often then just once a week.   You all know I have tons of thoughts rolling around in my head….so stay tuned!!   We are also working on this website to make it more user friendly and have the content that will be most beneficial to everyone ….but be patient…it takes time!   We are in the process of adding more shelves in the wig room because our inventory is growing….we are very fortunate to have so many people thinking of us!

We are starting to run short on Shower Shirts so we will be looking into grants for that…..remember, of everything we give our gals, the shower shirt is the one thing that you can return and we can pass on to someone else to use.

This is a beautiful day so go out and enjoy it!!

Good morning!

We are happy to announce we now have copies of “The Breast Cancer Treatment Handbook” Recurrent and Metastatic Breast Cancer” available for our Metastatic patients.   This book is by the same folks as “The Breast Cancer Treatment Handbook” that y’all recieved.

Last nite Dr. Jose Reilova came and talked about breast cancer pathology….it was a great presentation and time flew by….he started taking questions right from the beginning and it was enjoyed by all.   Dr. Reilova regularly lends his ear for pathology questions.  We are very fortunate in our oncology community to have so many Doctors who take part in answering our questions.

Our next speaker will be Wednesday, February 5 at 6pm   Susan Moore will be here to talk about Beach Organics products….yes she is the lady behind the products you receive from here and she is instrumental in helping us learn to get rid of the toxins in our bodies.

We work really hard to try to bring all of this information to you so if there is anything of particular interest that we might not have thought of please let us know.

Talk soon!

Sherry

Hi Everyone!  Last nite we did our first session of Touch, Caring and Cancer Massage.  It was amazing….you will want to watch for when we do it again.  This is a great way to help your patient thru breast cancer.   I am going to have Steve come next time because I think it is very relaxing….and just because you are done with treatment, we all know the “after effects” hang on.   Relaxing is hard for all of us due to our busy lives, but most important that we remember to take time for ourselves.   I have struggled making time for myself but I am making an effort to “take care of me” and I hope you will start “taking care of you” ……this is the perfect thing to start with.  If you have any questions, please give us a call.   Talk soon!

Sherry

The words no one ever wants to hear “you have Breast Cancer”.   I am pretty sure at the moment every sense we have comes to a screeching halt as we try to wrap our heads around those words.   I know for me it was like a cartoon…..I could see mouths moving but I heard absolutely nothing after “you have breast cancer”.   I was diagnosed on September 18, 2008…there were no support groups and the only person I knew that had breast cancer lived 1500 miles away.  I feel very fortunate that we now have Driven by Heart to help our gals make some kind of sense out of what is going on.   I wish every single woman diagnosed in Brevard County could come thru our doors and be able to use all of our resources.  No one should have to do this alone.  It seems like these days everyone knows someone who has breast cancer (or will have)…..be sure to let them know about Driven by Heart….we are here to help, answer questions, share our resources and give a good hug….that is always a good start…because then we are beginning on the same page…you need help and we want to give help.

Hi Everyone,

Many of you have heard me talk about Alyssa Hullinger …(she has alot of initials but I don’t have her card here:))…she is our only oncologically certified massage therapist in Brevard.  You also know that I don’t randomly throw names out there for resources unless I checked them out myself….and I did.  I have known Alyssa for about 6 years and yes, shame on me I didn’t take time to go get a massage before this, but I finally did!!  I had some numbness in my upper arm and onto my breast area since I had a mastectomy 10 years ago…..and like everyone else, I thought it was just what I was going to have to “deal with” as a result of breast cancer….but no!!  There is help!   I went to Alyssa for my first massage and after she did a very thorough evaluation of my medical history, we got started.   Purposely I did not tell her of any areas particularly bothersome ….but she found them…and I no longer have numbness in that area after a few massages…..but here is the thing….she is going to come to Driven by Heart and teach you and your  “person” how to do effective relaxing techniques at home…it isn’t a body massage but focuses on relaxation and comfort.   We have limited space because she is the only one teaching but I think it is going to be awesome and if you love it, we will do it again!!

And….we are going to start blogging regularly….so watch for all kinds of random thoughts and information and probably some laughing.

Have a great day, keep warm

Sherry

Hi, everyone. I hope your holiday shopping is almost finished and wrapping has begun. I just wanted to share some information we received at the office today about breast cancer.  If you would like to look at the different free online discussions that are offered, go to sharecancersupport.org/calendar/online-education.

Sherry & Barbie

Hi, everyone.  The office is open Monday and Wednesday this week from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. We know everybody is getting ready for the holidays, so drop in and say hi if you are in the area.

Beginning in January, stay tuned for some great speakers and a ton of good information.  As we continue to fight breast cancer together and make sure nobody goes through this alone, we are going to expand our topics to include survivorship.  If you have any ideas, please feel free to stop in and chat with Barbie and Min.

Don’t go it alone. We are here to help!