Women Celebrities and Breast Cancer

Most recently, the wife of a presidential candidate - Ms Edwards, spoke out about her journey as regards breast cancer. And we have had other celebrities invited to the media and talk shows to speak out about their experiences.
As usual, the world took note, because of the "celebrity" status of the person dealing with the crisis.

Breast cancer knows no social boundaries, the disease can affect anyone at any age, from teenage to adulthood and beyond.

Many women whose lives have been touched by breast cancer include those whom we know as celebrities, for example,singers (Olivia Newton John, Patti Labelle...) actresses (Diahann Carrol, Shirley Temple Black, Lynn Redgrave, Suzanne Somers...),former First Ladies (Betty Ford, Nancy Reagan), etc.

This is a disease that has plagued women for centuries. The mother of Louis XIV of France died of breast cancer in 1666. These high rates of breast cancer are not acceptable to the women of the world and must be met with scientific research that provides results. Yet the world seems fascinated with the famous women and celebrities and their management of the dis-ease.(source:http://understandingbreastcancer.blogspot.com/2007/01/breast-cancer-cure-with-power-of-fame.html)

Ordinary women, whom I call women-in-the-street celebrities, are also grappling with the seriousness of such a diagnosis and the challenges of navigating the roadblocks along the path to healing. However, hardly any one knows of their stories. The housewife, the secretary, the nurse, the plumber, the electrician, the teacher, the university professor, the student, the bus driver, the cook, the mother, the aunt, etc . . . all of them have stories of bravery and courage which should be told.

Muriella's Corner would like to hear from all these women, since she, as editor, has been on the same journey as Ms Edwards, after a diagnosis in 2000. I am one of the women-in-the-street celebrities and my journey on the road to healing approximates that of some celebrities and many courageous women (lumpectomy, a radical change in diet and thought processes, deep work at the cellular level where change and transformation occur . . . faith and trust in a team of medical specialists alternative healers and the divine healer, as well as a solid social support system, and so far, so good . . . ).

It is as a result of breast cancer that Muriella's Corner was created to give back to those who helped me along the way. Life is ever more meaningful as gratitude, compassion, generosity of spirit have now become daily affirmations and experiences.

Muriella's Corner - where ideas, issues and solutions meet online - is a free, online, weekly newsletter, shared with our readers and supporters.

Muriella's Corner would like to hear about your stories, as we all have earned celebrity status in the way we navigate the pathways to healing and our lives. We have earned the right to share with others where we are along the journey and the hurdles we have overcome, or are still overcoming, or do not yet know of . . .

Email us at customerservice@clik-n-shoppe.com or leave a comment below. Muriella's Corner will arrange to have a webinar or to send your stories to CNN, MSNBC, Larry King, Oprah, Ellen, Nightline, the Daily Show, et al . . . for the world to know that many brave women too have also earned celebrity status in dealing with this disease.

As the saying goes, character is formed not by how we confront and deal with challenges, but how we are molded and transformed as we come out of the fire. And believe me, any diagnosis of ill-ease and dis-ease can be destabilizing, but a diagnosis of cancer is extremely chilling. The lights seem to go out, everything becomes dark, the mind is on overdrive with thoughts of how, why, why me . . .

Looking back, I can proudly and safely say, I have benefited extremely from the experience, and am becoming a better person on this side of it.

P.S.:

Women are diagnosed with cancer every day. Their reaction varies depending on many things - and outcomes vary depending on many things.

Moreover, many women do not want to concern themselves much about their health as they are afraid of dealing with the consequences, thus they can be afflicted with cancer or other dreaded diseases and not want to know about it. And many of them are managing despite the odds.

We need to know what else is being done at the individual level to deal with this disease, what is underground, what else women around the world are doing along the way to healing.

For example- how many use prayer and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). CAM is a group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not presently considered to be part of conventional medicine--that is, medicine as practiced by holders of M.D. (medical doctor) or D.O. (doctor of osteopathy) degrees and their allied health professionals, such as physical therapists, psychologists, and registered nurses?How many use traditional medical services? How many use both? How many use neither of those above? What do you use? What do you do?

Share your journey with Muriella's Corner. We admire your courage and you have earned the right to be a celebrity dealing with breast cancer.

Let us throw a lot of light on this disease. Let us talk about it freely and in doing so gain support of others and provide support to others