These words of wisdom and encouragement from cancer survivor and caregiver Jeff Scott are born of hard-won experience. A survivor of male breast cancer, his family has faced myriad cancers – his wife Penny, daughter Carrie, sister-in-law Victoria, and brother-in-law John are all cancer survivors. “If I hadn’t had all these experiences, I’m not sure I’d be any good at helping.”

Jeff was diagnosed in 2007. “After having some discomfort from my seat belt, I became aware of a nodule in my right breast.” His doctor ordered an ultrasound, followed by a mammogram when masses were detected. “Yes! Men can get mammograms.” That mammogram showed two distinct masses in the right breast. An excisional biopsy revealed Ductal Carcinoma In-Situ (DCIS) “DCIS is basically breast cancer that hasn’t spread but would if not treated. My doctor said that a lumpectomy was possible, but if I chose that, I would need regular mammograms going forward. The other approach was to do a radical mastectomy on the right side and possibly a simple mastectomy on the left for prophylactic reasons.”

Jeff celebrated his October birthday by having surgery, including a Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy. Happily, his margins and the harvested nodes were clean, meaning he wouldn’t need radiation or chemo.

A self-described man of action, Jeff began his journey of healing by joining the DEFEAT Cancer (Diet, Exercise, Family, Education, Attitude leading to Thriving) group at St. Charles Hospital in Bend, Oregon. He trained as a Support Brother volunteer and later as a CHN Support Volunteer when the programs began partnering.

His reasoning was simple. “Early in this journey I had some thoughts of embarrassment because I, as a man, had what is generally considered a woman’s disease,” he recalls. “The more I thought about it though; I realized that I could perform a service for all men by being very open and honest about being a male breast cancer survivor. So today, pink is my second favorite color and I am not shy about telling my story. If I can help one person by telling my story, it makes me feel good.”

It hasn’t always been easy. Jeff acknowledges the challenges of life after treatment. “I am still self-conscious of my physical appearance. Women have cover-ups that hide the scars and obvious signs of breast cancer – swim tops, bras, etc. For the longest time, I have been reluctant to take my shirt off in public places. We started to do water aerobics recently and most of the participants are women. They have accepted me and shown little concern that I have a loss of tissue and am missing a nipple.”

Today, Jeff is retired and has fulfilled a lifelong dream of becoming a HAM radio operator. Always a helper, he is the secretary for his HAM group – COARECT (Central Oregon Amateur Radio Emergency Communication Team). COARECT is dedicated to helping provide emergency communication during times of natural disaster. The group partners with local health clinics to help provide emergency radio services and is even converting a donated ambulance into a MICU (Mobile Interagency Communications Unit).When not working in his community, Jeff is helping patients and caregivers across the nation.
His advice to newly diagnosed patients and their families is simple – ASK. ASK. ASK. “As a CHN volunteer, we can’t give medical advice, but we can let people know that there are a lot of questions to ask. Make yourself as knowledgeable as possible. Have your doctor stop if you don’t understand. Make them repeat what they’re saying. Ask for more information in layman’s terms.”

“People get scared and concerned when they don’t have enough information. Talk to your doctor if you’re having side effects. They can often prescribe something.”

“Experience teaches you a lot of things. The thing it’s taught me is that just because a person is diagnosed with cancer doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world.”

The post Hopelight Spotlight: Jeff Scott appeared first on Cancer Hope Network.

She’s a survivor, a caregiver and an advocate who’s started a radio show to share stories of hope and recovery. She fought through death (literally!) and depression.

Today, Malisa’s blog, Embracing Our Scars encourages women as they travel the ups and downs of breast cancer. She’s turned her “pain into purpose” and is “living the best of my life today.”

“I wasn’t expecting that diagnosis,” she recalls. “There was no history of breast cancer in my family. I always was the one who got her mammogram done, so when I got the news I was shocked and in disbelief. This was hard for my family and to everyone who knew and loved me. I was diagnosed in August 2015. I had a double mastectomy on October 19^th, 2015, only to die a few hours after a successful surgery. Till this day the doctors do not know what have caused me to die, but thank God, I’m still here.”
As a patient herself, and a caregiver for loved ones who had cancer, Malisa understands the view from both sides of the sheet. “I have learned that when a person is sick all you can do is show them love and compassion by being of service to them. They need a lot of tender care. There were times when the person I was taking care of just wanted me to sit with them and not say anything. A caregiver must have patience!”

She fondly recalls one of the most surprising ways a friend helped during her own post-treatment bout with depression. Rather than spend weeks planning a visit from out of state, he waited to call until he was nearly to her house. “After he talked with me for a while, he made me get dressed and go out…I did not want to go because of how I was feeling about myself. Before treatment, I had always been very confident in how I looked. That was gone. I was not ready to go out in the world and allow people to see me without any breast. By the time we were halfway through our meal, I began to feel comfortable. That was the beginning of me moving out of my depression into embracing my scars and seeing myself as being a woman and still beautiful.”

Although caregiving and support often includes touching, heartwarming moments like that visit, Malisa also recognizes the reality of caregiving. “Sometimes, they are going to have bad days and they might take it out on you. When this happens, we must remember that it is not personal, it is not about us.”
Malisa shares her hard-won wisdom with others, “The best advice I received was to not allow what I had gone through to take over my life. My experience with breast cancer was that it could hold you hostage. You may feel like your life is over and that you are not a woman. That’s not true.” She urges the patients and survivors she counsels to remember “You have a life to live. Live like there’s no tomorrow.”
Need perspective? Looking for some encouragement through a tough diagnosis or into survivorship? Get matched with Malisa – or another Support Volunteer who has been where you are.  Click HERE or call 877-HOPENET (877-467-3638) today.

The post Embracing our scars appeared first on Cancer Hope Network.