Jillian Barberie on Support during Cancer
- Jillian Barberie, 55, recently took to Twitter to send well wishes to Helen Miller Walsh, wife of politician Joe Walsh, as she battles cancer. She also said that the love of a spouse, or in her case her kids, can help so much during a cancer journey.
- Many women develop breast cancer every year, and the disease is the subject of much research. There are many treatment options out there, but treatment paths depend greatly on the specifics of each case.
- Telling your children about a cancer diagnosis can be really hard, and some parents consider it to be the hardest part of their cancer journeys. That being said, it’s important for both parties to try to express their feelings because not doing so can cause us “to feel dysregulated (unable to manage emotional responses or keep them within an acceptable range of typical emotional reactions) and anxious,” according to one of our experts.
Barberie, 55, took to Twitter to retweet a post made by politician Joe Walsh about his wife, Helene Miller Walsh, undergoing cancer treatment.
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“This will be the last picture I post of my bride with hair on her head for quite awhile,” he wrote in his tweet. “That's okay. It just means for the next however many months, I'll be married to a beautiful bald woman. I'm fine with that. F– cancer. â¦@Helene731 is a fighter.” Barberie then retweeted his post with her own remarks. Her words reflected on the lovely show of support from Joe for his wife and how it was her children that supported her during her cancer journey.There is nothing better to help the fight against cancer, than the love of your partner (in my case kids) a good attitude and chemo. My hair has grown back thicker than ever. And yep #fuckcancer is right. @helene731 we are all here for you. Late night Twitter was my go to. Xo https://t.co/dpE7ej8REP
Jillian Barberie (@askjillian) March 10, 2022
“There is nothing better to help the fight against cancer, than the love of your partner (in my case kids) a good attitude and chemo,” she said. “My hair has grown back thicker than ever. And yep #fuckcancer is right. @helene731
we are all here for you. Late night Twitter was my go to. Xo”
Jillian Barberie’s Cancer Journey
Barberie was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018 during a routine mammogram. By the time it was detected, the cancer had already spread to her lymph nodes which prompted Barberie to take an aggressive approach with her recovery.
Two weeks after the mammogram and with her oncologist’s recommendation, she underwent a double mastectomy shortly followed by chemotherapy and radiation.
She previously told SurvivorNet she first found out she might have the disease while co-hosting a breast cancer screening party for friends in Beverly Hills Mimosas, Mammograms and Massages.
"I kept getting called back down to the screening room," Barberie, who hosts a podcast called Ask Jillian, said. "The last time I went back, they did a sonogram and said, 'We just want to look at some things.'"
At that point, Barberie knew something was wrong.
"The radiologist said, 'Please get a biopsy tomorrow.'"
And through it all, her main concern was that of many a mother: her children.
"My experience with cancer was not a bad one," Barberie said. The only thing I was concerned about were my kids."
Understanding Breast Cancer
Breast cancer is a common cancer that has been the subject of much research. Many women develop breast cancer every year, but men can develop this cancer too though it is more rare, in part, due to the simple fact that they have less breast tissue.
Screening for breast cancer is typically done via mammogram, which looks for lumps in the breast tissue and signs of cancer. And while mammograms aren't perfect, they are still a great way to begin annual screening. The American Cancer Society (ACS) recommends women begin mammogram screening for breast cancer at age 45. Even still, we know that a breast cancer diagnosis can come at any age.
When Should I Get a Mammogram?
It's also important to be on top of self breast exams. If you ever feel a lump in your breast, it's important to be vigilant and speak with your doctor. Voicing your concerns as soon as you have them can lead to earlier cancer detection which, in turn, can lead to better outcomes.
There are many treatment options for people with breast cancer, but treatment depends greatly on the specifics of each case. Identifying these specifics means looking into whether the cancerous cells have certain receptors. These receptors the estrogen receptor, the progesterone receptor and the HER2 receptor can help identify the unique features of the cancer and help personalize treatment.
"These receptors, I like to imagine them like little hands on the outside of the cell, they can grab hold of what we call ligands, and these ligands are essentially the hormones that may be circulating in the bloodstream that can then be pulled into this cancer cell and used as a fertilizer, as growth support for the cells," Dr. Elizabeth Comen, a medical oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, told SurvivorNet in a previous interview.
One example of a type of ligand that can stimulate a cancer cell is the hormone estrogen, hence why an estrogen receptor positive breast cancer will grow when stimulated by estrogen. For these cases, your doctor may offer treatment that specifically targets the estrogen receptor. But for HER2 positive breast cancers, therapies that uniquely target the HER2 receptor may be the most beneficial.
Navigating Cancer with Your Children
Telling your children about your cancer can be heartbreaking. But, as we’ve seen in the case of Barberie, sharing the news with your children can help both them and you throughout your cancer journey.
Breast cancer survivor Victoria Rego previously told SurvivorNet that having to tell her daughter about her diagnosis was one of the hardest things about her cancer experience.
"My biggest issues were telling my teenage daughter. That was probably the hardest thing because I'm a single mom, and she had just lost her idol, her great grandmother, a few months before," she said.
Survivor Victoria Rego explains how tough it was to talk to her daughter about cancer
"Telling her that this was happening was just beyond my understanding of how I was going to do it, but I did it, with the help of her father," she said. "I can only imagine that it was frightening for her, even though she didn't let up on that it was frightening for her. But she was happy to step up whenever I needed her.
"After everything was done, my daughter turned to me one day [and said], 'I don't think I ever told you how proud I am of you just because of your strength.'"
Telling your children about a cancer diagnosis is tricky enough, but it's also crucial to make sure they have the resources they need to move forward after that news.
Licensed clinical psychologist Marianna Strongin has previously explained the importance of expressing your feelings in her advice column for SurvivorNet.
"Talking about difficult things does not cause more anxiety," she said. "It is NOT talking about the very thing that we are all afraid or worried about that causes our body to feel dysregulated (unable to manage emotional responses or keep them within an acceptable range of typical emotional reactions) and anxious."
Addressing people with sick parents, Dr. Strongin says, "I encourage you to talk about your feelings with your immediate family as well as your parents."
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