natural girls

I also think we need a concise mission statement. Vivre, do you have anything yet like this on your up and coming Web site? Maybe we need a brainstroming session? 

About that wine thing (posted on last page so I forget the poster's name!) I really wonder if alchohol is safe. If you think about the bottom line, the reason we avoid a fatty body (lower BMI) to reduce estrogen in our bodies. Also, exercise metabolizes estrogen (besides glucose, which reduces insulin reaction, also very good). but Alchohol, as I understand it, gives you a surge of estrogen.

As much as I would love a glass of nice red wine, I am just not going there until I hit 5-6 years out from diagnosis. My tumor was Estrogen 90%. That's just me, we all have to do what gives us peace through this friggin breast cancer journey!!!

Deni, I liked the logo! 

That is an excellent point Spring. I think you are right. We probably should be more subtle and not confrontational. Being confrontational will not help the cause. We need to ditch the "radical fanatic" reputation and get people on board because we are promoting a sensible approach. I will see what I can come up with to tone it down. Any ideas?

I have a mission statement written already, no problem there. As for the pink copyright, I know they have a copyright, but we can change it a bit, maybe with an outline of another color and it should be okay. I like the sink the pink campaign, I think it should be part of our prevention convention, but it will not be the only topic.

Carol, come on down-and bring lots of Canucks with you!

Oh, and here is something that is amazing. I found the best contact yesterday AND by sheer coincidence (or fate) I will be right in their neighborhood next week, so I am going to see if we can join forces. This is going to be a lot of work, but I think it just might happen.

I also got a response from Dr. Northrup. Wouldn't that be something if She came to speak? She is the one who got me started on this whole path to natural health.

robyn, that is just SAD but I still chuckled .

Shepherd, I still enjoy some organic red wine. I have stopped freaking out about every little thing. Moderation is key (except for heroin, lol fairy). Besides it has resveratrol in it so I know I'm being cured every time I drink some, lol. I don't know about that study, if I did I would probably drink more!

Patty

one alcoholic beverage increases your circulating estrogen by 400%.........yikes!

I think to avoid any conflicts, mixed messages, and copyright issues, we should re-think the pink ribbon on the logo. There is a ribbon for every type of cancer, so maybe we can come up with something totally different??

vivre ~  I like the idea of a new direction.  Everyone knows the status quo re. how bc is dx'd and treated hasn't changed much in spite of a sea of pink each October, and a new direction (prevention) sounds fresh and positive. 

I know it's not your emphasis, but I also see better screening and better medical education as such important related issues.  There are far too many women on this site who kept up with annual mammos (me included), yet whose bc was at least Stage II when it was finally seen, frequently only on MRI.  That's just unacceptable, as are doctors who send away young women because they're "too young" to have bc, or because they don't recognize the early signs of the more rare forms of bc, such as IBC. 

Just some additional thoughts that keep rolling around in my head, although I don't know if they'd be better addressed separately; or, if along with prevention, might help paint a more complete picture why "awareness" as it exists is letting us down.  But I wanted to throw them out there for possible brainstorming...    Deanna

oh.......good point Meg, I always assumed it would have showed up on an MRI as "they" were always watching my calcifications.

L

ox

The phamphlet sounds like a good idea. If I ever get my website up, I can post something that people can easily download and hand out with the green ??? The point will be to tell women to ask more questions and demand answers.

Anom-I think you are so right to emphasize turning the attention to a new direction. That is where I am headed with trying to get speakers. The whole- mind -body -soul approach that Dr. Northrup first brought attention to but seems to constantly be pushed off as nonsense by the money behind big pharma. We need to get past the whole take a pill mentality and into doing individual chemical analysis of our bodies and putting things back in order. If I ever get to the point where this movement gets big enough and we can earn money, it will go towards seminars for professionals. If they can teach each other, then we have hope.

Interesting new "BC Awareness" thread developing in the Stage IV forum... According to the original poster, 50% of the $7 million raised by the Avon BC Walk "to find a cure" went to "awareness!"  WTF?!??!  

D- the "awareness" amounts to reminding women to get their mammos and in some instances, paying for them. In essense, the money is actually going to cause cancer will excessive mammos. I still bet that most people who are dx'd with mammos, went to the doctor, like me, wanting to find out about a lump. Mammos do not find cancer as much as they just verify it, and sometimes they still miss it. They say it takes 8 years for a tumor to show up on a mammo, well I guess that is why they saw nothing in mine the year before dx. I felt the lump and because I had just lost a relative to BC I did not mess around and got to the doctor. I did not need some campaign to remind me. I had a real life experience, just as most people do. It is hard to find anyone not touched by bc in some way. I was dx'd in Oct. not because of the pink everywhere, but because I took the time to address my health after a very stressful summer.

BTW-isn't it a shame that Avon continues to sponsor these walks, as if they really care about women, and then still sell cosmetics full of carcinogens?

vivre, your posts are always the very voice of reason. When you say: isn't it a shame that Avon continues to sponsor these walks, as if they really care about women.....

This is so true! And the thing is, many people only join the bandwagon in order to be nice to someone else. I did just that for a while, but the last time I received the dreaded email from that friend proclaiming: "....I am doing the Avon Walk again, please sponsor me..." I just deleted it. 

how about a big red or black X over the upside down ribbon LOL

I just discovered on the label of my favorite lotion, Lubriderm, that it has one of the parabens in it.  I am told that that is the same as estrogen???  So, even though I have been slathering it all over myself by the gallon for the last 40 years, I am trying to stop.  Should I use organic expeller pressed coconut oil or should I use something else?  After showering, I must have something to coat my back,   legs and feet and also something to use on my hands throughout the day.  This avoiding estrogens sure gets tricky!  Thanks for any suggestions.  Cleaning up my act is becoming a full time job.

Lun5, totally agree that avoiding estrogens is tricky. Even though I buy my products at Whole Foods and similar stores I still read the label to see what is and is not in the product.  If I am not sure I don't buy it but I will write down the ingredient and google it later to figure out if it is ok or not.  

In one of the magazines I was browsing through I noticed an ad for a website called saffronrouge.com.  According to their site they only sell (online) organic/natural products.   I did a quick browse through their site and they do seem to carry some very good products.

deni - I have not tried the evo coconut oil.  While I love coconut to eat and coconut milk, I don't like the smell of coconut in products - go figure. Same thing for almond.  Love almonds, can't stand the smell in products.  

Luna and purple-As Deni said, I do not notice the smell much either, and it dissapates quickly. I had one brand that did not smell at all, but I cannot remember which one it was. I also use it on my face, just a dab goes a long way. Here is something I am beginning to be careful about though: I read that coconut oil raises metabolism and has even been touted for weight loss. A couple of people on the iodine group were saying it helped them to lose weight by raising their metabolism. They took it orally. I think the weight loss is a great side effect if it works, but I noticed that I had trouble falling asleep sometimes after a long bath and then using coconut oil all over. Since it is readily absorbed into the skin, I was wondering if it got my metabolism so revved that I could not fall asleep. So I am experimenting with this idea. Let me know if any of you notice this effect. Nonetheless, I swear by the stuff, and it is the only moisturizer and cooking oil I use these days.