I love my boobs but they have to go

watch this short, moving video

Here's some news from the Guardian.  Claira Hermet, 27, decided to undergo a double mastectomy as a preventative measure as her Mum and sister died of breast cancer and she didn't want to die of it too.

Brave girl letting the cameras see her, firstly topless and secondly, after surgery.  She is a courageous person who has taken control over an 85% chance of getting breast cancer.  Good for her.  I like her plain, direct speech.

Alternative cancer cures

 

http://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2015/mar/04/why-media-coverage-of-alternative-cancer-cures-is-dangerous?CMP=fb_gu

It's true, when you get a life-threatening disease, the thought of not treating it in the conventional way is attractive.  No blood, no scars, no radiation burns, no chemo!

However, alternative remedies do not work, as this article explains.

I remember seeing a Facebook post from a woman who had burnt her skin with black salve and apparently removed a tumour in her breast by herself.  I don't know what happened to her but it was so misleading the way she presented it with before and after photos.  Look, it doesn't hurt!  I'm sure it hurt like hell and for all sorts of reasons it probably didn't work.

When we are desparate, we are vulnerable and we grasp at straws.  Journalists should behave responsibly when talking about alternative 'cures'.

This is what the American Cancer Society says about black salves:

http://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatmentsandsideeffects/complementaryandalternativemedicine/manualhealingandphysicaltouch/cancer-salves

Basically, don't go there.