Cancer survivor educates Natives

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There was a time when being diagnosed with cancer was the same as being given a death sentence. Unfortunately, that idea still persists in society, even though medical advancements mean that many forms of cancer are treatable and survivable. The fear of cancer means that many people don't want to deal with it in any way, and their ignorance could kill them. In Canada, one woman in nine will develop breast cancer in her lifetime, with one woman in 23 dying from the disease. But many women are dying needlessly because they don't have access to information regarding breast cancer.

The problem is much worse in Aboriginal communities where the resources and information are not easily available to cancer victims. Jacqueline Davis is a breast cancer survivor and knows how fear and ignorance are the greatest inhibitors to surviving the disease.

Davis is a Cree woman from the Peguis First Nation in Manitoba who now lives in Vancouver. For her, getting as much information about breast cancer, and insisting on getting all the medical treatment she needed, saved her life.

She discovered a lump in her breast that felt painful. She had a mammogram, an x-ray of the breast, which didn't show anything unusual. A needle aspiration, in which fluid is drawn from the lump and analyzed, proved inconclusive. When the lump was removed, it was discovered that it was cancerous, and that the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes. Davis was next treated with chemotherapy and radiation, and has lived cancer-free for more than seven.

But Davis discovered that breast cancer was more prevalent in Native communities than she had originally thought. She didn't know about it, because it was taboo topic.

"When I went home, there was no information for the women," she said. "It's only now that when I started to speak out about breast cancer that I learned that many women back home had it, but it's been kept quiet."

People associated cancer with death and didn't want to talk about it, she continued, and that caused needless deaths.

This motivated Davis to create the First Nations Breast Cancer Society, which provides Aboriginal women with educational materials concerning breast cancer. She wanted women to know that cancer can be defeated, and to be fully aware of all of their options.

"The First Nation Breast Cancer Society does not offer medical advice. We offer education to all Aboriginal women in Canada," said Davis. "We'll be there and let her know she's not alone."

Dr. Ivo Olivotto is from the British Columbia Cancer Agency and the chair of the breast tumor group. He said the options available to breast cancer patients now is vastly different than 20 years ago. For one thing, the radical mastectomy, which is the total removal of the breast and underlying muscle tissue, and the lymph nodes under the arm, plus the skin, is no longer the only option available to the patient. The sooner cancer is detected the more options remain available for the patient and her doctor.

Another change is that the woman now has more say in her treatment. But Olivotto warned it is essential that the patient be given as much information about breast cancer as possible, so they can make informed judgments.

According to the National Cancer Institute, there were about 18,400 new cases of breast cancer in 1997 in Canada, and about 5,100 deaths attributed to the disease. Olivotto is quick to point out that those deaths were not only from the newly diagnosed cases, and that the breast cancer survival rate is increasing.

Davis and Olivotto are adamant that women should learn breast self examination and have an annual mammogram, especially if they're over 50. As a woman gets older, the potential for her to develop breast cancer increases.

Davis has also produced a video documentary, Echoes of the Sisters, that details First Nations women with breast cancer. It is available through the First Nations Breast Cancer Society.

The First Nations Breast Cancer Society ca be reached at (604) 875-3677. The Canadian Cancer Society can be called toll free at 1-888-939-3333. The Breast Cancer Information Exchange Project Infoline can be reached at 1-800-555-8698.