Mother Loses Custody Battle For Having Breast Cancer

Judge Nancy Gordon of North Carolina ruled last month that Sofia, 11, and Bud, 5, should be raised by their father, Kane Snyder, rather than their mother, Alaina Giordano. The main reason? Giordano has stage four breast cancer that, though currently stable, has metastasized in her bones. Giordiano’s breast cancer was not the only concern–Giordano [...]

Breaking the Breast-Cancer Stigma in Saudi Arabia

In October of last year, more than 4,000 women in black abayas topped with pink ponchos gathered together in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to form a giant ribbon in support of breast cancer research–the largest human awareness ribbon to date. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the country–nearly one-quarter of all cancers–so the campaign [...]

Alternatives to Planned Parenthood? Not in Texas

The House and Senate are expected to vote on Thursday on stand-alone bills that take away all federal funds from Planned Parenthood. Without Planned Parenthood, alternatives for women are lacking, as reporter Andrea Grimes found in her account below, originally commissioned and published on April 5 by RH Reality Check. Before I met with Texas State [...]

Women CAN Handle the Truth–About Cancer OR Alzheimer’s

The BRCA genes were discovered in 1994 and 1995, but when you visited your doctor anytime from 1995 through the early 2000s, chances are that she or he did not recommend that you test for a mutation on the genes that would indicate an increased chance of developing ovarian or breast cancers. Why not? Because the paternalistic [...]

Mikulski Quietly Makes History

Largely lost in the coverage of the wave of new congresswomen who arrived in Washington two weeks ago was the story of re-elected Democratic Sen. Barbara Mikulski of Maryland. When she was sworn in, she became the longest-serving woman senator in U.S. history. The previous female record-holder was Republican Sen. Margaret Chase Smith, who represented [...]

Surviving Breast Cancer: 24 Years Later

“The good news is, you’re a candidate for a lumpectomy!” With those ten words, my surgeon told me I had breast cancer. I didn’t understand the “good news” part. But he cheerfully handed me a brochure filled with pictures of lumpectomies, mastectomies and reconstructed breasts. Then he told me to go home and come back [...]

Living Lopsided in a Symmetrical World

When I first saw the silicon breast shells that I had bought at My Secret mastectomy boutique on Manhattan’s Upper West Side for sale at Lord and Taylor, I was stunned. One of those shells—called in medical parlance a prosthesis—had been a secret part of my life for years, from the time I surrendered half of my [...]

Did You Know It’s Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer Week?

Today, September 30, is the last day of Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month; tomorrow, October 1, is the first day of Breast Cancer Month. Are they connected in any way other than the fact that they are both (mostly) women’s cancers? Absolutely. Those of us who carry mutations on the genes known as BRCA1 and BRCA2 [...]

Boobies, Birthers and WikiSexism: Editors’ Picks 8/29-9/3

Just in time for the long weekend, Ms. brings you the must-reads you might have missed this week–from a Pocahontas-poetry mash-up, to gender inequality on Wikipedia, to live reporting from Glenn Beck’s Restoring Honor Rally. Happy reading, and enjoy the holiday! The Wall Street Journal talked to Sylvia Ann Hewlett, founding president and chairman of [...]

Lynn Redgrave, RIP

Lynn Redgrave, youngest daughter of the famed Redgrave acting family in England, has died after a seven-year “journey” with breast cancer, as her family’s statement put it. She was 67. Redgrave first rose to fame for her portrayal of Georgy Girl in the 1966 film, and while never as prominent as her sister Vanessa, tackled [...]

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