Thursday, August 26, 1999
'Resource Guide' offers breast cancer network
BY SUE MacDONALD
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Sara Paxton of Wyoming barely remembers the words that informed her she had breast cancer, but she wishes the words would have been followed by something more tangible.
That's why she pored for hours over health and self-help books at bookstores and wrote brief reviews of each for the newly published Greater Cincinnati Breast Health Resource Guide.
“It would have been so great if the person who gave me the diagnosis — the person who said to you, "It's cancer,' — would have been the person to put this in my hands,” says Ms. Paxton, 59, a three-year breast cancer survivor.
“You're so overwhelmed with all the decisions you have to make. You don't know where to go, and this is the most wonderful resource to have.”
The 72-page booklet is a guide to medical, self-help and community services for anyone dealing with breast cancer. Fifteen thousand copies have been published by the Greater Cincinnati Race for the Cure (Sept. 12) and the YWCA, with funding provided by Zeneca Pharmaceuticals, Lilly Pharmaceuticals and the local American Cancer Society chapter.
“I wanted something that would be specific to our town,” says Susan van Amerongen, the nurse who compiled the guide. She moved to Cincinnati more than two years ago and became involved in the project because of her volunteer work with the Race for the Cure in Baltimore and Cincinnati.
“There are a lot of really good books out there on breast cancer, but many of them are big and complicated,” she says. “I wanted to make something smaller — something you could throw in your purse to give you little bits of information at the time you need them.”
Organizers worked hard to make the information inclusive for women of all ages throughout the Tristate who are facing breast cancer.
In addition to national hotlines/resoures and easy-to-read descriptions of breast cancer diagnosis and treatment, the guide specializes in regional information — a chart of Tristate hospital services, physician referral numbers, support groups, legal/insurance issues, breast reconstruction options, complementary therapies, Internet resources, wig and mastectomy supplies, suggested books, home and hospice care, clinical studies and other community services.
Quotes and vignettes from breast cancer survivors are scattered throughout for a personal touch (“breast cancer ... has caused me to look at life and slow down and enjoy each passage more thoroughly,” wrote one survivor).
Ms. Paxton, outgoing president of the Breast Cancer Alliance, says the guide will help woman learn about the numerous options, decisions and choices they face. She doesn't want women to face breast cancer blindly or with limited information and resources.
“Today, we know that not all doctors are equal, and not all doctors are going to be right for us or have the experience that will mesh with ours to be able to diagnose and treat our condition,” says the retired human resources manager.
“We've got to go out there and find the right person, and you have to know who and what the local resources are.”
WHERE TO FIND IT
• What: Greater Cincinnati Breast Health Resource Guide, a free 72-page booklet of local and national resources for anyone dealing with breast cancer.
• Where: Available at 18 local hospitals, most mammography sites, Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, or by calling the American Cancer Society (891-1600) and YWCA Breast and Cervical Health Network (241-9990).
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