Speakers Promote Cancer Awareness

Two survivors of breast cancer advised a half dozen students last night to use preventative care and not to shy away from radical treatment when necessary.

The Harvard-Radcliffe Cancer Society sponsored the guests as part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Breast cancer affects about one out of every eight women.

Theresa Muxie and Elizabeth Byrne, breast cancer survivors, told personal stories of how they beat the disease. They were joined by Mary Knust Graichen, a registered nurse at Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Graichen began by stressing the importance of regular mammograms and selfexams. Using proper self-examination techniques is crucial for early detection, she said.

"If you have a lump in your breast, it needs to be evaluated," she said. "Nobody can tell by a [physical] examination that a lump is not breast cancer."

When Byrne and Muxie were patients, the culture of treatment was different, they said.

"There was no holistic sense of women's health then," Byrne said, referring to the early '80s when she was diagnosed. "There weren't the options there."

Byrne said that at the time of her diagnosis, she was working with children as a cancer nurse. She was married with two young sons, and she credits her family for giving her a will to survive.

When she first learned she had cancer, Byrne said, "I looked at my kids and I went for broke. My immediate thought was 'I want every day that I can have with my kids.'"

Byrne underwent radical mastectomies as part of aggressive cancer treatment. Muxie also chose to undergo the same surgery when she was diagnosed at the age of 39. Both women said they were glad they chose that particular route.

"I just feel lucky that I made the decisions I did," Byrne said.

Byrne and Muxie also talked about the importance of being an active participant in one's own cancer therapy.

"You have to be pushy," Muxie said. "Cancer doesn't wait on you to act. Don't panic, but act decisively... Especially these days, with the health care system functioning like a Banana Republic, you've got to get that done."

Despite the serious subject matter, the speakers tried to keep things light with humorous stories of their treatments. Muxie spoke about wearing a wig during her chemotherapy.

"I looked better in that then I ever did in my life," she said.

The event was the first in a speaker series hosted by HRCS, a group that strives to "promote cancer awareness at both Harvard and in the greater Boston community," said Daniel J. Cappello '99, co-president of the group.

HRCS was founded in 1995 and directs its energies towards fundraising, volunteer projects and public education. Some of the organization's projects include an annual Marrow Drive and volunteering at Ronald McDonald house and with Chilton House Hospice.

The speaker series is intended to educate, Cappello said.