Celebrating Impactful Milestones
- Rock legend Melissa Etheridge, 62, is reflecting on the impactful moment she first arrived as an artist, which was her first Grammy nomination in 1989.
- The breast cancer survivor appeared on actor and comedian Kevin Hart’s Hartbeat this week, looking back on the milestone moment of her career.
- Cancer survivors tend to gain an added sense of gratitude along their cancer journeys. Milestone moments before, during or after a cancer battle can have more significant meaning.
- Throughout the course of your life, it is important to recognize and celebrate those memorable milestones. While not all of us are Grammy-award winning artists, we all have those memories, small or grand, that we reflect on, which can do wonders for your mental health.
The “I’m the Only One” singer joined actor, comedian and host Kevin Hart on his SiriusXM show Gold Minds this week for a retrospective conversation on her career.
Read More“It’s still a moment. It’s a massive moment,” Hart chimed in, appearing fully invested in the vision of the female rock legends making milestones together. (O’Connor died in 2023 at age 56 of natural causes and Turner died the same year at 83 from a “long illness” following stroke and cancer).
Etheridge, the 2024 Musicares Person of the Year, who was honored by the Recording Academy at this year’s Grammys, finally got her win for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance for “Come To My Window” in 1995. She has been nominated a total of 15 times over the course of her career.
While she was going through breast cancer treatment, Etheridge made a lasting impression performing on stage at the 2005 Grammys rocking a bald head along with her top hits.
“The cancer diagnosis was probably the best thing that happened to me,” she told Guy Raz in October of last year, noting that at the time, the music industry was undergoing changes and the way she approached her music needed to be refreshed.
“To have something like cancer stop me in the middle of it was profound…then I discovered the stillness where I found a spirituality about life, and it made me understand it’s all about the journey. It’s not about achieving the Grammy, the enjoyable part was about getting there,” said Etheridge, who was just announced as Women Who Rock‘s headlining artist for their annual benefit in August benefiting Magee-Womens Research Institute.
“The effect it had on me, I changed. My writing, my outlook on life and what life is, what is joy and what is happiness and what brings me happiness,” she added.
Etheridge has also endured another tragic time, the unfathomable loss of her son, Beckett, in 2020 to an opioid addiction. He was just 21 years old. “When I lost my son, I learned how much my capacity for love was,” Etheridge told Hoda Kotb on her Making Space podcast.
She says she always feels that he is there for her, watching out for her.
Melissa Etheridge’s Breast Cancer Journey
In 2004, Etheridge was on tour when she discovered a lump in her left breast. A biopsy confirmed her breast cancer diagnosis. Although her exact type of breast cancer is not publicly known, it was stage 2 upon discovery.
“It was a rather large tumor, but had only contaminated one lymph node,” she told ABC News.
Etheridge had a lumpectomy to remove the 4-centimeter tumor from her breast. This procedure involves removing just the cancer and an area of healthy tissue around it.
Her surgery also included the removal of 14 lymph nodes after discovering the cancer had spread.
Etheridge then received chemotherapy, which is designed to kill cancer cells. Chemo is administered orally or intravenously. She also received radiation therapy. This kind of cancer treatment uses high-energy beams such as X-rays to combat cancer cells.
What to Know About Breast Cancer Screening
As for breast cancer screenings, a mammogram is the primary test doctors use to check for breast cancer. The wide consensus is that women should have annual mammograms between the ages of 45 and 54.
And while leading organizations like the American Cancer Society say women should have the option to begin annual screenings between 40 and 45, there is some disagreement among doctors as to whether this is beneficial.
For example, after saying for years that women shouldn’t begin mammograms until 50, an independent panel of experts called the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recently changed their guidelines to say that women of average risk should begin at 40.
Dr. Connie Lehman, a diagnostic radiologist who specializes in breast cancer at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, says when you begin mammograms is a decision you should discuss with your doctor, as they can help you understand your specific circumstances and weigh the benefits and potential risks of earlier screening.
Early Stage Breast Cancer What to Know About Testing
Your mammogram results may lead your doctor to recommend further testing with a diagnostic mammogram, ultrasound, or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). If these tests suggest changes that might be cancer, you’ll need a biopsy a test in which your doctor removes a small sample of tissue and has it checked for cancer in a lab. Only a biopsy can confirm or rule out whether you have breast cancer.
RELATED: Demystifying the Biopsy How Does This Procedure Help With Breast Cancer Diagnosis?
Although it can be frightening to go through breast cancer testing, 80 percent of the time a biopsy comes back benign, or non- cancerous. It is important to busy your mind with activities until you have those results, as worrying over nothing can affect your daily life activities.
What Happens if My Biopsy Comes Back Positive?
If you do receive a breast cancer diagnosis, you’ll learn what type of breast cancer you have and the stage of the disease. The stage means how far in your body the cancer has spread.
Milestones Before and After Cancer
Cancer survivors tend to gain an added sense of gratitude along their cancer journeys. Milestone moments before, during or after a cancer battle can have more significant meaning.
Throughout the course of your life, it is important to recognize and celebrate those memorable milestones. While not all of us are Grammy-award winning artists, we all have those memories, small or grand, that we reflect on.
Acknowledging Milestones: Joan Lunden, 72, Marks 43 Years Since Her Debut on ‘Good Morning America’
Focusing on those moments during or after challenging times can be beneficial to your mental health, by remembering how far you’ve come in your own personal career or health journey.
Questions to Ask Your Doctor About Breast Cancer
- How can I prevent breast cancer?
- Can you order genetic testing to find out my risk for breast cancer?
- How often do I have to screen for breast cancer?
- What are symptoms of breast cancer?
- What are treatment options for breast cancer?
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