Facing a Breast Cancer Recurrence
- “Dancing With The Stars” alum Samantha Harris was first diagnosed with breast cancer at age 40. This past year, marking 10 years since beating the disease, she was diagnosed with breast cancer recurrence and underwent a partial mastectomy. Now she’s reflecting on her health journey and moving on with gratitude, while wishing others “zen” in the New Year.
- In a previous conversation with SurvivorNet, Pioneer of mindfulness Deepak Chopra discussed the health benefits of checking in with your body, practicing mindfulness techniques, and, perhaps most importantly, learning to address stressors.
- “You perceive stress emotionally or you imagine a super stressful, threatening situation, it doesn’t matter. It will create the same biological responses,” Chopra explained. Learning to manage stressors can help in a myriad of ways.
The 51-year-old fitness guru, who learned she had a recurrence “in the same exact location” of her initial breast cancer several months ago, shared a photo of herself in the hospital to spread awareness for the disease and the American Cancer Society’s fundraising efforts.
Read MoreShe continued, “The giving season is winding down, but it’s not too late to make a difference. And today, all gifts to the American Cancer Society will be TRIPLED.View this post on Instagram
“If you’ve seen me post before but weren’t ready or able to give, today’s the day to truly make an impact. cancer.org/match #EveryCancerEveryLife.”
The American Cancer Society commented, “Thank you for sharing your journey and fundraising.”
As the New Year is upon us, Harris also took to her Instagram story to say, “In 2025, I hope you just find your bliss and your zen.”
She also shared an uplifting video clip on her Instagram story, of a little girl dancing, alongside the words, “Don’t make yourself small for anyone. Be the awkward, funny, intelligent, beautiful little weirdo that you are.
“Don’t hold back. Weird it out.”
We love how Harris, who has dubbed herself a “two-time breast cancer thriver” continues to inspire others to make time for their physical health and be aware of their breast health.
She recently advised her followers that “FOOD is everything!” revealing her diet focuses on “whole, natural foods like fruits, veggies, grains, and nuts,” adding, “Choosing ORGANIC has also been key for me—it feels incredible to fuel my body with clean, wholesome food.”
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Samantha’s Breast Cancer Journey
Harris was diagnosed with breast cancer in March 2014 despite finding nothing during a mammogram.
“It missed the cancer in my right breast,” Harris said on her blog. “Two doctors told me the lump I found 11 days later was ‘nothing.’
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“Finally, four months after finding that lump, I went to see a breast cancer specialist (a surgical oncologist), someone whose main job it is to look at breasts all day and specializes in the detection of breast cancer.”
After a follow-up MRI, biopsy, and ultrasound, Harris’ cancer was still not found. But doctors decided to remove some of her breasts for further testing because they could tell “something was not right.”
“We decided to take it out,” she explained. “Thank goodness, because when the pathology from that lumpectomy came back, it was indeed invasive carcinoma, in addition to the less concerning ductal carcinoma in situ.”
She treated her breast cancer with a bilateral mastectomy, also called a double mastectomy, which removes both breasts. After that, she underwent breast reconstructive surgery.
During reconstruction, plastic surgeons can reconstruct your breasts with implants or with your tissue taken from some other place on your body, such as your back, your abdomen, or your inner thigh.
Harris’ cancer did spread to one lymph node, but doctors decided she didn’t need chemotherapy or radiation.
The mother of two was ultimately declared “cancer-free” with close monitoring “for the rest of what doctors tell [her] is sure to be a long, healthy life,” however, on August 14, she went public with a second breast cancer diagnosis.
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She explained in a video clip shared on her Instagram page, Harris explained, “But I have a recurrence of breast cancer. And I feel so fortunate to have been able to guide, support and lead so many of you and I will continue to do so — and I will fight on. And I will be okay.”
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“And I am so grateful for my family and my close friends,” Harris added. “And as I lean on them, I reach out to lean on you during this time and I will continue to share more as my treatment plan unravels and … see you soon.”
Expert Resources to Help Patients With Recurrence
- Finding a Way to Live, Learn, and Cope With a Cancer Recurrence
- NATALEE Trial Supports Use of Kisqali with HR+/HER2- Early-Stage Breast Cancer at Increased Risk of Recurrence
- 1 in 5 Cancer Survivors Believe Taking Supplements Will Prevent Recurrence; Don’t Rely on Alternative Medicine
- Exciting New Option For HR+, HER2- Breast Cancer Recurrence: With the Approval of Truqap, More Women Can Be Treated With Targeted Therapy
- How To Reduce the Risk Of A Breast Cancer Recurrence
- New Studies Suggest Breastfeeding, Which TV Personality Coco Austin Did For Years, After Breast Cancer May Reduce Recurrence Risk or New Breast Cancer Diagnoses
Tips On Reducing Chance of Breast Cancer Recurrence
As triumphant as breast cancer survivors can feel after learning they are cancer free, many worry about recurrence.
While the chance of recurrence varies based on the biology of the tumor, the stage it was when diagnosed and the treatment received, according to the Susan G. Komen organization, “Most people diagnosed with breast cancer will never have a recurrence.”
Dr. Erica Mayer, a breast cancer medical oncologist at Dana Farber Cancer Institute, previously told SurvivorNet, “Once a patient has finished his or her active therapy for breast cancer, we will often refer to that time as breast cancer survivorship.
RELATED: To Reconstruct or Not: After Mastectomy, Two Women Take Very Different Paths
“This is a time when patients are still being actively monitored by their treatment team, not only to ensure that they remain healthy and cancer-free in the years ahead, but also making sure that they have recovered from any side effects of their initial treatment, and that they are pursuing healthy behaviors for example, getting regular exercise, eating a healthy diet, and keeping up with all their other routine medical care.”
But recurrence does happen, so it’s important to do everything you can to reduce your risk.
Here are some tips:
1. Follow Treatment Guidelines
“The best way to reduce your risk of recurrence with breast cancer is to follow treatment guidelines and complete the course of treatment that’s given,” says Dr. Port, who sat down with SurvivorNet and offered the following advice.
For example, she says many women have breast cancer that’s hormonally driven, and there are treatments that they give, such as pills like Tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitors, to reduce the risk of these hormonally-driven cancers coming back. The issue is that the course of treatment may call for patients to take the pills for 5-10 years. While some have no side effects, others may experience a host of unpleasant side effects, even to the point where they’re severely debilitated and have no quality of life on these medications.
“So the challenge is to work with every individual person to make sure we give her the best chance of getting through these treatments and enjoying the benefits of these treatments, which is the lowest rate of cancer coming back,” Port says.
2. Maintain a Healthy Weight
Maintaining a healthy weight may also reduce the risk.
“We know that obesity or being overweight can increase the risk of cancer recurrence in breast cancer,” Port says. “And so I say, maintaining a healthy body weight, whatever that is for the individual… You know, we talk a lot about healthy body weight, and there’s a very big range of this, but there are certain numbers beyond which it does affect one’s health. So we try to keep people within a range of a healthy body weight.”
3. Limit Alcohol
Port says the other lifestyle factor that may increase one’s risk of breast cancer recurrence is heavy alcohol intake.
“We say alcohol in moderation is probably fine, which is defined as three to five drinks a week,” Port told SurvivorNet. “More than that can also potentially increase the risk of recurrence. So the big lifestyle factors are healthy body weight and moderate alcohol intake.”
4. Eat a Healthy Diet
She says there’s no one dietary element that you can eat or consume to give you an edge against breast cancer recurrence. It’s not eating more broccoli or eating more blueberries or becoming a vegetarian. She says the fact that sugar feeds cancer is a big myth too. However, everything you eat does contribute to your overall health.
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“These things are all really helpful in maintaining an overall healthy well-balanced diet and also to maintain healthy body weight. We know that diets that are heavy in sugar content are also usually unhealthy and can lead to weight issues. So it all really funnels back to maintaining a healthy body weight when it comes to lifestyle factors.”
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Helpful Meditative Practices
Pioneer of mindfulness, Dr. Deepak Chopra, previously sat down with SurvivorNet to share some insight on how he guides mindfulness beginners, saying his personal journey started by learning about himself, and asking himself a series of questions.
“Are you changing the experience with the body, changing the experience of the mind, changing experience with emotions?” Dr. Chopra asked. “Are you aware all this change is happening? Have you ever been intimate with your own self? Do you even know who you are other than your name and your story? So it’s time to ask yourself, who am I?”
WATCH: A Guided Meditation for the SurvivorNet Community.
Chopra started his journey of mindfulness at the age of six, when his grandfather passed away suddenly. That experience made him want to experience life and understand the meaning of existence, which prompted him to attend medical school.
“If we can combine our actions in the world with reflective self inquiry, love and compassion, and a state of secure, stable, ornamental, peaceful being without the addictions that humans have, then we can begin our journey of healing,” Dr. Chopra explained.
Learning to Manage Stress
One of the fundamentals that Chopra discussed was learning to get stress under control.
“Stress is nothing other than the perception of threats,” Dr. Chopra said. “Whether it’s real or imagined doesn’t matter.
“You perceive stress emotionally or you imagine a super stressful, threatening situation, it doesn’t matter. It will create the same biological responses, compromising your immune system to basically offset its fine tuning and also increasing inflammation … so to the degree that you can manage your lifestyle, it’s good news for a lot of people,” he added.
In addition to meditation, mindfulness can also be practiced by simply answering questions your body might be asking. In order to address anxiety, experts say a person must identify what questions their body is asking and where in the body the stress is coming from.
In his work, Dr. Chopra not only practices mindfulness for himself, but takes into account how others are feeling and what they are doing.
In a recent documentary, The Mindfulness Movement, he and his collaborators follow the lives of people who have experienced hardships ranging from chronic illnesses to addiction who have been actively practicing mindfulness.
“In my mind, I think being comes first, healing comes second, thinking and reflecting comes third, and doing comes last,” Dr. Chopra said.
“But in our societies it’s the opposite, doing, doing, doing without thinking, So I said, why not let’s listen to the doers as well. It’s an experiment. If it works I’ll continue to do it and if it doesn’t, I’ll abandon it.”
Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
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