The Hibiscus Coast Breast Friends meet on the third Wednesday of the month at 10am at the Red Beach Methodist Church, Red Beach Whangaparaoa. For more information, please call on 0800 273 222 or
email us.
Latest news: The magnificent lemon! (May)
The magnificent lemon!
This report from Group Coordinator Barbara McLean
We had a great meeting in May with a lively discussion and a few good laughs.
I spoke about an e-mail I had received recently about lemons, using the whole lemon by freezing it then grating it to sprinkle on food and drinks (Deirdre suggested the best way to use the whole of the lemon is to dunk it in a glass of gin!). The email then went on to say that the whole lemon must be used as the skin has 5 times the goodness as the juice, and raved about the marvellous medicinal qualities, everything from treating worms to depression, plus it shrinks tumours, and is 10,000 times more effective than chemotherapy!
This sparked a good discussion on the difficulty of telling truth from misinformation of anything accessed over the internet.
I concluded with my findings on a very preliminary search of the web for information on IPT ( a controversial form of chemotherapy.) which I had heard about and wanted to know more. It turns out I am not the only one utterly confused by claims and counterclaims on different websites, and although we didn't reach much of a conclusion (beyond beware of e-mails that are badly composed or mis-spelt) we had a bit of fun with the subject.
Low key in April - but no shortage of information
This report from Group Coordinator Barbara McLean
Our April meeting this week was quite small and low-key, as it was the school holidays so those attending enjoyed a general discussion.
With our mid-winter lunch approaching we talked over various possible venues with their pros and cons, and also the possibility of having a shared lunch (breakfast, we were all agreed, would not suit most of us).
One of the group talked about how alarmed she had been, reading about the expected side effects of radiotherapy which she prepared for but never experienced, and we discussed how much information is required for informed consent versus information overload becoming alarmist.
We also talked about reconstruction, the 'ins and outs' of various options and the best places (in our personal opinions) to have it done. This led to us realising how normal this has become, with nearly half the ladies present having had some form of reconstruction compared with ten years ago when there were only one or two out of the entire group.
The meeting finished with a discussion about options for speakers for upcoming meetings while the lastest edition of Upfront UKaiora was being circulated, with particular interest in the article about Wendyl Nissan.
A morning in Mallorca!
This report from Group Coordinator Barbara McLean
An informal discussion about breast reconstruction sprang up over morning tea as one new lady was asking about it and the three who had chosen reconstruction spoke of their own experiences. The new lady said afterwards this was very useful in helping her make her decision.
Our guest speaker was Muriel Dentner, a member of our group who we hadn't seen for some time – because she has spent the last winter in Mallorca (or as we call it, Majorca). Muriel gave a great talk about Mallorca, a place which she clearly loves: about its steep terrain, the tiny little bays, the language, the less lovely tourists and the best places to avoid them, about the beautiful cathedral, the fabulous and inexpensive food, the shopping (the vast supermarkets as well as bargain clothes buying), and about the people and their habits, especially their meal-times (incredibly late by NZ standards). It was a fascinating glimpse into an exotic and gorgeous country, and what it must be like to live there. We all had a great time hearing about it, and were greatly boosted by the thought that the world can still be our oyster, regardless of age, breast cancer, or anything else.
'Whee-hee what a ride!"
This report from Group Coordinator Barbara McLean
We held our first meeting of the year in February and it was great to see everyone again.
There was no speaker this month but Co-Coordinator Dianne read out the notices regarding the BCS Mad Hatters Tea Party (18 March) and how women may pass on their unwanted prostheses to Naturalwear and Breast Care Products, which was generally accepted as a brilliant idea. We also briefly 
discussed perhaps having a Mad Hatters theme for our midwinter lunch, perhaps even making that a tea party.She then invited everyone to share their favourite Valentines stories, which gave us a few chuckles.
As we had no speaker (after giving out the BCS disclaimer that what we discussed was not medical advice but rather personal opinion) I spoke about a few diverse subjects ranging from a 110 year old theory on the cause of all cancers, which involves stem cells (although they didn't call them that back then), through to hot flushes and issues raised in the Cancer Prevention article in a recent issue of Upfront U Kaiora. All of these seemed to be of interest and sparked plenty of lively debate, particularly when we got onto the subject of Can Dogs Detect Cancer when it was unanimously agreed we would all rather be sniffed by a dog than squashed by a mammography machine!
We finished up on this thought, garnered from a birthday card:
"Some people think life is a straight line between birth and death, and their object is to arrive at the end in a perfectly preserved body. I plan to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand and wine in the other, body totally worn out, shrieking "Whe-hee - what a ride!"
We all agreed, that's definitely the way to go.
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