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Eighteen years ago the wife of a highly respected Seattle oncologist died from ovarian cancer. I didn’t know Marsha Rivkin, but the people who did tell me she was dynamo. She left a hole in the ...

Annette Leal Mattern commented on Anonymous' post A Husband’s Passion to Cure Ovarian Cancer Inspires Thousands

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I recently attended the First International Granulosa Cell Tumor Conference, a gathering of women and caregivers of a rather unique subgroup of ovarian cancer know as GCT Survivors. Conceived by ...

Annette Leal Mattern commented on Annette Leal Mattern's post The Mystery of Granulosa Cell Ovarian Cancer

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I recently attended the First International Granulosa Cell Tumor Conference, a gathering of women and caregivers of a rather unique subgroup of ovarian cancer know as GCT Survivors. Conceived by ...

The Mystery of Granulosa Cell Ovarian Cancer

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Can our diets and the amount of exercise we get lower recurrences of ovarian cancer? That's the question posed by a new study being investigated by the Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG), a ...

Can Diet and Exercise Reduce Recurrences of Ovarian Cancer?

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The American Society of Clinical Oncologists (ASCO), recently issued a report recommending that when patients are diagnosed with advanced stage cancer, the physician initiate discussions about ...

End Of Life Discussions With Patients With Advanced Cancer

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Jack LaLanne transformed his body and his life through exercise and nutrition long before studies proved their relationship to wellness--actually before there was a notion of wellness. One of the ...

Jack LaLanne Lessons of a Lifetime

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In yoga class, the teacher instructs us to assume the tree pose--Vriksasana it’s called in Sanskrit. Perched on one leg like a flock of flamingos, the other cancer survivors and I find our balance ...

The Beauty of Survival

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A caregiver called me recently to ask about the holidays, struggling with how to balance her partner’s needs with the family’s plans for the holidays. The patient is in treatment for ovarian ...

Five Holiday Tips For Caregivers

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I’m a true believer in investigating ways to improve one’s self. Once called “self help,” I think of this exploration as self investment. So, the Women’s Conference, the shining achievement of ...

A Day Of Transformation

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After many years of medical treatments, I’ve collected countless stories about how doctors treat their patients. They cover the gamut: kind, sympathetic and gentle to blunt, brutal and harsh. Some ...

Six Best Practices From A Patient View

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Women’s health is a hot topic these days. Unfortunately, gynecologic cancers still lag in their ability to create media buzz. Paradoxically, gynecologic problems just aren’t sexy. How can we ...

United States Of Teal Brings Ovarian Cancer Advocacy To Your Neighborhood

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Everyone has heard that eating healthily is better for you, but according to research by the University of Illinois at Chicago, eating your fresh fruits and vegetables could very well be a matter ...

Annette Leal Mattern commented on Joanna Karpasea-Jones' post Ovarian Cancer--Why Eating Healthily Could Save Your Life

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As an ovarian cancer survivor and advocate, I tell everyone who will listen about the symptoms of the disease, hoping that some woman will recognize them and get diagnosed early. I’ve given out ...

Is Denial Killing You?

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During Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, in September 2010, a teal ribbon was hung in the portico of the White House in recognition of the disease which took the life of President Obama’s mother. ...

Annette Leal Mattern commented on Pat Elliott's post Annette Mattern: Cancer Survivor Gets The President's Attention

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The term “psychosocial” is a psychological description of the way we relate to and interact with our social environment. It is the sense of self that we acquire though life experiences – from ...

The Importance Of Psychosocial Support To Ovarian Cancer Survivors

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It’s been a hotly debated issue for families who carry a genetic predisposition to develop ovarian and/ or breast cancer. Should women who have the genetic mutation undergo aggressive surgeries? ...

Can Preventive Surgery Save You From Ovarian or Breast Cancer?

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For chemotherapy patients, things are changing in a good way and it’s because of a new individualized approach called “personalized medicine.” The traditional method of classifying and ...

Personalized Treatments Are A Game Changer For Cancer Patients

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I recently attended a cancer conference that included a session on doctors who write poetry. How strange, I thought, that physicians were also poets. I was curious about their slant, wondering if ...

A Humanizing and Surprising Discovery of Physician-Poets

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When we are faced with a medical crisis, our world turns upside down. Even if we had hints of a problem, the eventual diagnosis can be a crushing blow. Many patients feel as though they are in a ...

Gaining Control During a Medical Crisis

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EmpowHER members - We've received the following "Ask" and I'd appreciate your help in supporting this daughter as she supports her mom. ----------------------------- We think that my mom is ...

Annette Leal Mattern commented on Pat Elliott's post Member asks: How do you help someone who may have cancer?

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Inflammation is part of our immune system, a key ingredient in an intricate recipe of life-sustaining responses that heal our bodies, fight infection and kill dangerous intruders. When it works ...

Chronic Inflammation Links To Cancer

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Imagine being able to turn off the valve that feeds tumors just like we turn off the water at a hose bib when we need to. A therapy called anti-angiogenesis does just that. To understand how ...

Stopping Cancer: How Anti-Angiogenesis Starves Tumors

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For those who think there are no scientific studies of nutritional effects on diseases of the body, think again. Nutritional genomics science is doing just that: examining the relationship between ...

Nutritional Genomics: Nutritional Medicine on the Horizon

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We all want to stay healthy and one step ahead of cancer - that’s no surprise. Here are some of the foods you should be eating to do just that: 1. Tomatoes. Tomatoes contain lycopene, an ...

Annette Leal Mattern commented on Cat Lugo's post How to Get the Top Ten Cancer-Fighting Foods into Your Diet

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Someone you love gets diagnosed with cancer and suddenly, unexpectedly, you become a cancer caregiver. Without any preparation or planning, you are now responsible for shepherding someone through ...

Cancer Caregiver Clues To Survival

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The evidence is overwhelming: eating foods rich in phytochemicals can reduce your cancer risk. But, what are they and how do they work? And, most importantly, which foods deliver them to our ...

Phytochemicals: An Answer To Cancer?

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In celebration of Women’s Health Week, the Surgeon General, Dr. Regina Benjamin, issued a press release encouraging women to take steps to a healthier lifestyle, such as getting regular health ...

Make Women’s Health A National Priority--Editorial

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Asking women to exercise more and eat less is just too simplistic. Although many diseases are linked to things we seemingly control, to assume that women aren’t healthier because they are either ...

Four Keys To Women’s Health

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EmpowHER members - We've received the following "Ask" and I'd appreciate your help in supporting this daughter as she supports her mom. ----------------------------- We think that my mom is ...

Annette Leal Mattern commented on Pat Elliott's post Member asks: How do you help someone who may have cancer?

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Hens (yes, as in chickens) are the only animals besides humans known to spontaneously develop ovarian cancer. This makes them a superb study subject for preliminary research into a disease that ...

Hens, Flaxseed, Ovarian Cancer

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I wrote earlier about using food as medicine based on an article highlighting nine foods that Prevention magazine listed as boosters to our immune system. The first three are yogurt, ...

Post Cancer: Boost Your Immune System

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Cancer patients are often left with a compromised immune system which makes them more susceptible to infections and disease. Resources designed to defend our bodies are stymied by the cancer ...

Post Cancer: Boost Your Immune System

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Cancer is such a personal journey that sometimes we think we need to go it alone. Some patients feel that no one quite understands their pain or anguish. Some think it’s their responsibility to ...

Cancer: You Don’t Have to Do it Alone

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The Ovarian Cancer National Alliance held a seminar on Healthcare Insurance Reform and its impact on women, but especially focused on the ovarian cancer community. There has been so much confusion ...

Cancer Patients: How Healthcare Insurance Reform Affects You

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Most women don’t think about ovarian cancer. With no family history for roughly 90 percent, they know little about it. Consequently, few ever think to take protective measures that could lower ...

Annette Leal Mattern commented on Annette Leal Mattern's post Ovarian Cancer: What Would You Do To Lower Your Risk?

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Most women don’t think about ovarian cancer. With no family history for roughly 90 percent, they know little about it. Consequently, few ever think to take protective measures that could lower ...

Ovarian Cancer: What Would You Do To Lower Your Risk?

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Because I’ve lived with ovarian cancer for 23 years and survived breast cancer along the way, people often ask me what I would attribute my survival to. When I start listing several things they’ll ...

Annette Leal Mattern commented on Annette Leal Mattern's post Synergy of Survival: It Takes More Than One Thing

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Because I’ve lived with ovarian cancer for 23 years and survived breast cancer along the way, people often ask me what I would attribute my survival to. When I start listing several things they’ll ...

Synergy of Survival: It Takes More Than One Thing

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The possibility of using food to influence our health and halt cancer has intrigued patients and researchers for years. New, science-based studies are revealing remarkable links between ...

Annette Leal Mattern commented on Annette Leal Mattern's post Anti-Cancer Diets- A Personal Account

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The possibility of using food to influence our health and halt cancer has intrigued patients and researchers for years. New, science-based studies are revealing remarkable links between ...

Annette Leal Mattern commented on Annette Leal Mattern's post Anti-Cancer Diets- A Personal Account

10 comments

The possibility of using food to influence our health and halt cancer has intrigued patients and researchers for years. New, science-based studies are revealing remarkable links between ...

Annette Leal Mattern commented on Annette Leal Mattern's post Anti-Cancer Diets- A Personal Account

10 comments

The possibility of using food to influence our health and halt cancer has intrigued patients and researchers for years. New, science-based studies are revealing remarkable links between ...

Annette Leal Mattern commented on Annette Leal Mattern's post Anti-Cancer Diets- A Personal Account

10 comments

The possibility of using food to influence our health and halt cancer has intrigued patients and researchers for years. New, science-based studies are revealing remarkable links between ...

Anti-Cancer Diets- A Personal Account

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Washington D.C. – January 19, 2010. For the fifth year in a row, the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance has teamed up with dozens of the most celebrated women chefs from Washington, Maryland, ...

Annette Leal Mattern commented on Ovarian Cancer National Alliance's post Ovarian Cancer National Alliance Event Celebrates Life, Celebrates Chefs

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I ask this of cancer patient who are suffering from the intense effects of cancer or treatments. Are you doing everything you can to help your body with the incredible challenge it’s facing, ...

Annette Leal Mattern commented on Annette Leal Mattern's post Are You Doing All You Can To Help Your Body Succeed?

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I ask this of cancer patient who are suffering from the intense effects of cancer or treatments. Are you doing everything you can to help your body with the incredible challenge it’s facing, ...

Are You Doing All You Can To Help Your Body Succeed?

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For the record, most husbands are fantastic support when their wives are diagnosed with cancer. They help with chores, bring home gifts, take their wives to treatment . . . all the things you ...

READ THIS Before Your Cancer Crisis Becomes A Marriage Crisis

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Cancer patients are often so overwhelmed by the disease and harsh treatments that they have trouble finding a path that will return them to a state of wellness. Many expect their oncologist will ...

Annette Leal Mattern commented on Annette Leal Mattern's post Build a Path to Wellness During Cancer Treatment

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Cancer patients are often so overwhelmed by the disease and harsh treatments that they have trouble finding a path that will return them to a state of wellness. Many expect their oncologist will ...

Build a Path to Wellness During Cancer Treatment

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We all carry baggage that we’ve collected over the years, problems that others or we ourselves created. We pack them up and haul them around as evidence of the wrongs done to us. As a cancer ...

Letting Go