Hello Lori, this is Elonna, Lorraine's "cleaning girl". I hope it was not too forward to approach you at the store a couple of weekends ago. I recognized your face from the book and of course from pictures I see at the Hightowers. I loved your book.

My Mother passed 3 years ago from lung cancer. (after being misdiagnosed) for 2 years. How I wish I would have read your book prior to her diagnosis. Cancer is something that I used to think happened to other people. Then, cancer struck my maternal Grandmother, (colon, uterine), my maternal Aunt, (breast) and my fraternal Aunt and her daughter both with breast. All but my Grandmother survived. So, cancer to me is just as common as someone coming down with the flu. You just hear of so many people that are currently going through it or have died from it or they are a "cancer survivor". I read your book and was truly in awe of your strength, your grace, your composure and above all your faith.

Dearest Lori,

I just felt I needed to send you a hand-written note
to thank you again for all that you have done for the
Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center. You are a special friend
to all of us here and we look forward to many collaborations
with you in the future!

Best Wishes,

Jill Boy

You won't know us, although you may recall a few weeks ago we came over to Kansas City to see my wife's friend Audrey and we came over to Russ and Linda's house. Just before we left Kansas you had a book signing and Linda kindly bought your book with a message from you which was very kind indeed. On reading your book you must be a very special lady indeed to have such a positive outlook and to be so very brave to accept the situation and endure all the treatment that is necessary for your well being. We are so sorry we did not get to meet you, but maybe next time. My wife Joyce and I send our very best heartfelt wishes to you, Lori, and of course to all your family. Kindly remember us to Russ and Linda and, of course, dear Audrey.

Thank you for sending me "Bigger Than Pink", I so enjoyed it. I, too, am a breast cancer survivor and it's five years - how lucky we are. You are a breath of fresh air. I wish you all the best in the years ahead. Go for it.

Fondly,
Peggy Griffin
(cousin to Betty Meyer)

Wow! You shared a message of hope and healing in your wonderful story "Bigger Than Pink". I couldn't lay it down until I had finished reading the whole thing. So glad I met you in SF.

"God is Good"!

Blessings, Quana Williams

Lori~

Just wanted you to know I sent your autographed
book to my friend Carol Sue. Your inscription
to her was lovely and comforting. She has started
chemo and is handling the treatments pretty well.
You are a blessing and the world is a better place
for having you.

Continued good health to you. After reading your
book and meeting you, you will never be far from
my thoughts.

Thank you Lori for sharing so much of your
vibrant life!

Warmest regards,
Sheila C.
(Eclectics)

Lori~

Thank you for your continued support and for being a true Champion!

` The Cone Yoplait Team

Lori~

We are so sorry that you will be unable to attend our
fundraising cocktail party. Your beautiful presence
will be greatly missed. Thank you so much for your
generous donation. Your kind, generous spirit is legendary.

We are so proud to have it touch us. OXOXO

Bruce, Kirk & Marty

Lori~

Congratulations on a terrific book signing!

Love,

Sandi Shaw

Lori~

My heart is so richly blessed because of you.

Thank you for your wonderful book and for all the
information. With much appreciation,

Linda Jenkins

Dear Lori,

Thank you so much for the book you sent to Barbara.
Thank you for going that extra mile to get it to her!
I truly appreciate it! You are the greatest Lori!

Fondly,

Judy O'Brien

KNOW YOUR OPTIONS

Monthly breast exams, continual clinical exams, cyst aspirations, pathology reports, breast biopsies, lumpectomies, mammograms, sonograms, and MRI's. Does it sound time consuming and overwhelming? That has been my life for 32 years and I believe that way of life saved me as I am a breast cancer survivor!

Since I was 20 years old and had my first lump removed, I have been educating myself on breast health. I would pick up every magazine that had an article regarding breast cancer and screening and read it. I found a doctor who specialized in breast disease and breast oncology surgery. I stayed with the same radiologist for all of my scans. I believed it was important for these doctors to know my breast health and not just treat it. I learned that only one area of screening is not enough. I knew that mammograms were only 85% effective in detecting breast cancer in non-dense breasts and between 50-60% in dense breasts, therefore having cystic breasts (dense) I always added a sonogram with my mammogram. In the last several years digital mammography has been adopted by many hospitals and imaging centers and is now the preferred tool for screening and diagnostic mammograms. Also, it increases the accuracy in detecting abnormalities from 50 to 60% to 75% to 80% for women with dense and cystic breasts. Even with digital mammography, breast sonograms are also still recommended for women with dense or cystic breasts as part of their yearly screening. Therefore before scheduling your yearly mammogram, check with your hospital or imaging center to be sure that they use digital mammography. If you change imaging centers, be sure to have your previous mammogram films in hand to be used by the radiologist for comparison. You should always follow up with your doctor after every screening as I did.

Another screening is self breast exams. Since I had such breast density as a result of many cysts, it was difficult but not impossible to examine my breasts, therefore I would consult my breast surgeon every three months for a clinical exam to determine any abnormalities. Many times this would lead to a cyst aspiration and depending on the pathology report, a breast biopsy was done. Later, when one of my many breast biopsies came back atypia-hyperplasia (pre-cancer), I had a lumpectomy and started having MRI's yearly. MRI’s are considered the newest line of defense for high risk patients and are especially effective for women with cystic and dense breasts. I also consulted an oncologist at a high risk breast cancer and breast cancer prevention center. I never deleted anyone from my team of breast specialists only added to the team as this was imperative to my overall breast health.

When I was diagnosed with breast cancer (ductal carcinoma in-situ high grade), it was not found on a MRI, mammogram or sonogram but on a self breast exam. I found a lump on my breast and my breast surgeon aspirated it. The lab report came back again with atypia-hyperplasia (pre-cancer) and a lumpectomy was done. Not to my surprise, cancer was found on the margins. I was faced with the choice of a lumpectomy (breast conservation surgery) or a mastectomy (complete breast tissue removal). To me, the decision was easy. With my history of breast problems, I chose a mastectomy. Since the other breast was known to have atypia-hyperplasia (pre-cancer), I decided to have it removed as well. For added safety, I had the sentinel node on each breast removed and biopsied. The pathology report came back favorable. My cancer was found to be confined to the ducts and the sentinel nodes were clear. After the mastectomy, there was no need for radiation or chemotherapy.

My many years of educating myself and covering all the steps for proactive breast health paid off. My cancer was detected early. I did everything I could using the many tools now available to care for and save a women’s life. However, there is no one kind of screening that does the job alone. Many cancers are found with mammograms, sonograms or MRI's. These are all excellent screening tools but they didn't catch my cancer so don't forget to add self-exams and include a breast specialist who when necessary, will do those occasional aspirations and send that fluid for pathology screening. And if you find a solid lump, remove it always.

Candy Warinner
Breast Cancer Survivor

Dear Cindy,

I hope you received my e-mail with my story
and article regarding ovarian cancer I found in MAMM
magazine. I have read Lori's book. It was excellent.
In fact I sent it to my cousin who is battling lung
cancer that has metastized to some skeletal areas and
the brain.

When I read her story about her two years of
being told not to worry that the lump she was feeling
was fibroid cystic disease and quite common, I became
so angry and more determined that my story needs to be
told.

Thank You
Candy