Staying Positive During a Cancer Battle
- Miranda McKeon, the 19-year-old actress best known for her role in the television series Anne With an E, was diagnosed with breast cancer in June, and she's getting real about the highs and lows of treating this disease. She says she has two more chemo treatments remaining.
- Chemo drugs for breast cancer are typically given into a person's vein, either as an injection over a few minutes or as an infusion over a longer period of time. The drugs are given in cycles typically 2 to 3 weeks at a time, depending on the drug followed by a rest period.
- Maintaining a positive outlook on your situation can contribute to survival as well, Dr. Dana Chase, a gynecological oncologist at Arizona Oncology, tells SurvivorNet.
While some celebrities choose to keep their cancer battles private, (Norm Macdonald died this week after a nine-year battle with cancer most people didn't know about) McKeon is using social media to share her cancer battle with the world. Most recently, the actress underwent her sixth round of chemotherapy, she wrote in an Instagram post Wednesday, and shared some of the not-so-pretty details of going through treatment.
Read MoreView this post on Instagram"My first go with Taxol was much kinder to me than my AC chemo regimen," she writes. "Lots of weird shooting leg pain + fatigue but other than that we're cruisingðŸ‘ðŸ‘ðŸ‘"
"For my friends going through this: keeping active on Taxol + going on long walks has been helpful for the leg pain natural instinct is to stay in bed but finding that keeping moving is best (for me personally of course!!!)"
McKeon is about 75% done with her chemo treatments, according to the post. She has two more treatments to go.
Chemotherapy Treatments for Breast Cancer
If you're not familiar with common chemo treatments for breast cancer, you're wondering what an AC chemo regimen is, as referenced in McKeon's post.
AC, or Adriamycin and cyclophosphamide, is considered the "red devil" it's the strongest chemo treatment available to treat breast cancer, and it also treats other cancers as well. The "red devil" nickname can be intimidating; as McKeon referenced, the AC chemo treatments weren't kind to her.
But the AC combination is considered a "tried-and-true" regimen to treat localized breast cancer; it's used to treat early-stage localized breast cancer that may or may not have spread to the lymph nodes. (It's unclear what type of breast cancer McKeon has, or what stage.) The AC regimen is usually followed by weekly paclitaxel (Taxol, which is what McKeon says was "much kinder" to her than AC) or docetaxel (Taxotere).
Chemo drugs for breast cancer are typically given into a person's vein, either as an injection over a few minutes or as an infusion over a longer period of time. The drugs are given in cycles typically 2 to 3 weeks at a time, depending on the drug followed by a rest period to give the patient some time to recover from the drug's side effects.
An Overview of Breast Cancer Treatment
Finding a Treatment That's Right For You
Finding a treatment plan that works for you is very important; finding a good time to receive your treatments is important as well, McKeon says.
"Also: finding a treatment time that works for you is so important," she writes on Instagram. "The early mornings are a no-no for me. I like to get all cute and feel like me before I head in for a day of feeling very much not like me. It's crucial for my mental health and as I discovered last time heading in feeling prepared and in a good mental space is so so important."
Staying Positive During a Cancer Battle
McKeon's glass half-full approach has been working for her, though it's understandably unrealistic for her to act like she's un-phased by all she's faced with right now, which would not be authentic for her to present while sharing her story.
"For the most part, I think I've been a positivity machine," McKeon says. "Honestly, it's expected and would be strange if I didn't have dark days. I think on the days where stuff gets really challenging, I really do rely on friends and family to cheer me up. I've had tons of long conversations with my mom about natural fears throughout this whole process, but I have a really great support system surrounding me, which I think is critical for anyone going through something like this."
SurvivorNetTV Presents: Maintaining a Positive Headspace Through Cancer
Maintaining a positive outlook on your situation can contribute to survival as well, Dr. Dana Chase, a gynecological oncologist at Arizona Oncology, tells SurvivorNet.
"We know actually, from good studies, that emotional health, quality of life, is associated with survival," Chase says. "Meaning, better quality of life is associated with better survival, better outcomes."
"So definitely working on your emotional health, your physical well-being, your social environment, your emotional well-being, definitely working on those things and making them better are important and can impact your survival."
Contributing: Marisa Sullivan
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