Posts Tagged "aging"

Cancer…it’s still personal

Posted by Liz on Apr 28, 2011 in breast cancer, emotions, Inspiration | 20 comments

Two years ago, I wrote a post about breast cancer and the fact that it was personal. Very personal. I want to share a portion of that post today and also add a few thoughts. The reason? It’s personal. Again.

Location: Department Store dressing room stall. Circa: late 1960s, early 1970s.

The characters: Me and my mom.

Scene: She is covering herself as she removes her shirt. I notice the scars. Lots of scars….to the side of one breast. I meet her eyes and she meets mine. Then I learn what the term ‘ breast cancer’ means.

My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was 30. Thirty. Even today, less than half of women under the age of 40 are likely to develop breast cancer and the majority of cases are diagnosed after the age of 50. So, imagine the shock. What’s more, imagine the time. 1960… when breast cancer awareness wasn’t at the fore and people didn’t discuss it, when breasts and surrounding muscle were literally hacked off rather than carefully removing the tumor with clean margins, when many men left their wives after they became disfigured.

My dad didn’t leave. And my brother learned about it through a ‘friend’ in school who was teasing him.

I’ve spoken to my mother about her cancer, about the fear of it returning, and about how she feels about not being able to wear sleeveless tops or strengthen/firm those muscles even though she has exercised regularly her entire life. How she felt when my brother came home from school and asked her about it. How she feels now when a friend is diagnosed with cancer. Her answer is always pretty much the same.

But cancer can return. And even though this time it’s not in her breast, it looks like she’s may go down that road…again. And my heart is breaking. Because the fear in the tone of her voice says more than any words can.

She is afraid.

I don’t blame her. I would be afraid too.

Only this time? She’s 80, not 30 and although she’s tough as nails and very, very active, cancer has an insidious nature, sometimes too insidious. And even though in my heart of hearts I believe that she will be fine, I still feel awful about it.

In the past two years, I’ve had two friends who’ve been diagnosed with breast cancer, not for the first but second time. Recently, another close friend developed a very rare form of cancer and despite its severity, emerged in one piece and better than ever. Others in my life are four-, five-time survivors. Hell, even my dad has had bladder cancer since the early 90s. People survive. People move on with their lives. And yet sometimes, we lose people that we love.

Although it may be too early for a Mother’s Day post, it’s never too late to let someone know how you feel about them.

So Mom?

Thank you. The relationship has been a difficult one for most of our lives, threatened by personality and character and actions and words. Often, this road has not been an easy one. But you brought me into this life and I want you to know that despite all, the forks we’ve taken to get to this place have converged and our road is paved with mutual love and respect. I. Love. You. That is all.

And the cancer, I am not certain of the outcome this time. But I am certain of one thing: a mother’s love, and my mother’s love, is one of the most important gifts.

This one’s close to the bone. It’s close to my heart. It’s personal.

50. Ain’t dead yet.

Posted by Liz on Apr 22, 2011 in Inspiration | 29 comments

I was originally planning on writing a post about diet and exercise today. But a few things have transpired this week that pushed some deep buttons so I’ll save that post for Monday. Meanwhile? I have a wee bit of wisdom I’d like to impart:

50 ain’t dead yet.

Yup, I am well aware that 50 is past middle age for most people. And, if you are in your 20s or 30s or even early 40s, man, 50 is fucking old. Fifty is past its prime, ignorant of current developments in technology, politics, community, media, you name it. Fifty is mired in (dare I say it?!) the 1900’s; you know, the century before the Interwebz explosion, smart phones, tablets, Facebook, Twitter, Skype, Instant Messaging, email…

Fifty is just, well, O.L.D.

Guess what?

Beliefs like these are incorrect. In fact, if you are under the age of 50, you’ve got a whole lotta living to do and you ain’t done hardly any of what you will do…yet. Yeah, really.  Hell, I’ve only done a small portion of what I intend to do before I leave this journey.

I turn 50 in less than a month. It’s been an interesting year, this 49th of mine. It’s been a wake-up call and I’ve approached it in ways that I’ve never approached anything…ever. I’ve gone from shock to defiance in less than a year. And I’ve finally embraced the following from every female friend of mine who’s turned 50 before me: you stop putting up with the shit. You don’t need to and you don’t want to and you don’t have to.

Fifty ain’t just a number; it is indeed past midlife. But if you think for one minute that anyone who is 50 or older is dead, think again. Because I’ve got a little secret:

Fifty is when you truly grow into yourself.

Since embarking on the Flashfree journey, I’ve written about the incredible disappearing woman. I’ve talked about appropriate dress for “women of a certain age” (which I continue to argue, is absolutely ridiculous). I have alluded to career opportunities being taken away as women grow older, especially in the film and entertainment industries. This topic is not new nor was my ire inspired by one individual, but actually, many. And so, do you wonder why women feel a wee bit angry when they receive the message — either indirectly or directly —  that they’ve crossed the finish line?

Naysayers? Ignoramuses? Men who think 50 is past their prime and only date women whose ideal is so mismatched with the ideal of themselves?  Take a look in the mirror; dare you! Especially you!

Guess what? I look in the mirror all the time. And while I don’t always like what I see on the outside, I do like what’s happening on the inside.  A lot. So…50? It’s not the next 30, or 40; it’s the the next 50. And it’s pretty fucking phenomenal. Fifty is beautiful in ways that can only be understood when you reach that milestone.  Just open your eyes and your hearts. ‘Cause you can’t take away my joy. Nuh uh. No way.

I ain’t dead. I’m just getting started.

Body image and self esteem: what would you sacrifice to achieve the ideal?

Posted by Liz on Apr 8, 2011 in appearance, weight | 7 comments

What would you trade to reach what you considered your ideal body weight and image? How much would you sacrifice?

The question seems absurd doesn’t it? However, researchers from the University of West England, in partnership with The Succeed Foundation, that body image is a major issue for women of all ages.

Although this survey of 320 women mostly comprised university-aged women, the breakdown did skew as high as 65 years. Moreover, the majority were of normal (i.e. BMI 18.5 to 24.9) weight.

Of all the women surveyed, 93% said that they had had negative thoughts about their appearance and nearly a third, several times daily. Approximately 80% said they would like to lose weight, even though about 78% were of normal weight or underweight. What’s more, the women said that on average, they would like to lose about 16 pounds. However, most importantly, 30% of women said that they would trade at least a year of their lives to achieve their ideal body shape and weight.

Other sacrifices to achieve the ideal included:

• losing over $8,000 from their annual salary
• giving up time with their partner
• forgoing a promotion at work.

Numerous studies and reviews have documented the association between age and body image but have mostly focused on adolescents and teens. In recent years, more and more reports are emerging that demonstrate that eating disorders and issues with body issues is not necessarily age-centric.

There’s no doubt that images of young models dressed and made up to look like women  and airbrushed celebrities the permeate the media scape have contributed to if not exacerbated the problem. However, what is it the makes women consistently strive for an unreasonable ideal throughout their lifetimes, so much so that they are willing to sacrifice basic necessities and relationships to achieve this goal?

As women, we’ve come very far. But clearly, many of us clearly continue to give their power away when it comes to self-image, self-esteem, achievement in the workplace and even in our relationships. This study is a wake-up call, not only to our generation but to generations of women who are following in our footsteps.

So tell me, what would you sacrifice to achieve the ideal?

Your bone health: the role of diet

Posted by Liz on Mar 11, 2011 in bone health | 1 comment

Osteoporosis. That scary condition that can result in bone fracture in up to 40% of US women after the age of 50. In the UK, it’s been estimated at least half of women over age fifty will have some sort of osteoporotic fracture. So it’s truly no laughing matter.

I’ve tried to cover osteoporosis extensively since starting Flashfree and you can find many of those posts here. However, I am especially intrigued by novel research that demonstrates that dietary pattern, that is, particular combinations of foods that we eat, may influence bone turnover, a term used to describe the balance between bone formation and bone loss (a process that goes on constantly through our lives) resulting in a net loss or gain in bone tissue. Moreover, dietary pattern may also specifically influence bone resorption, i.e., the process by which cells called osteoclasts break down bone so that minerals (like calcium) can be released into the bloodstream.

The researchers, who studied 3,236 postmenopausal women between the ages of 50 and 59, say that to date, most research has focused on link between specific nutrients and bone health, nutrients such as vitamin D or calcium. However, they point out that most individuals eat a variety of foods the contain combinations of nutrients. Therefore, they believed that there might be value in actually examining how the whole diet and the presence or absence of certain nutrients, affects the skeleton.

Consequently, they took initial body mass index measures, bone mineral density measures, assessed dietary habits by consumption of 98 foods, how often they were consumed and by portion size, and then, based on evaluation of how often these foods were consumed by the participants, further characterized them as the following dietary patterns: “healthy,” “processed,” “bread/butter,” “fish and chips” (the study took place in Scotland!) and “snack food.”

Overall, the women in the study actually consumed a large proportion of fruits and vegetables and on average, at least three cups of tea daily. Bread and potatoes tended to comprise the greatest source (at least percentage-wise) of “energy” to the diet. To a lesser extent, yogurt, cream, fats, oils, biscuits and milk also contributed a substantial amount of energy to the diet. However:

• Of the five types of dietary patterns, a healthy diet was most associated with better bone health, and specifically, a reduction in bone resorption. Specific foods included fruits and vegetables, white meat, white and oily fish and dairy, all nutrients that have been previously associated with beneficial bone health.This combination of foods also provided adequate protein.
• Conversely, eating mainly a ‘processed foods’ (i.e. cereal, processed meats, cake, desserts, dried fruits, soup, bread, and fats and oils) diet, and a “snack foods” diet (i.e. candy/cookies, potato chips, sauces) were both associated with reductions in bone mineral density.
• The results didn’t change when factors, such as whether or not women were taking drugs to fight osteoporosis, were taken into account.

The bottom line is that when it comes to bone health, it’s important to eat healthy, pack your diet with fruits and vegetables, and stay away from junk and processed foods. Focus on foods that are risk in calcium and balanced levels of good protein. Although this may seem intuitive, the findings emphasize that  a poor diet may ultimately result in poor bone health and increase fracture risk as you age.

Time to restock the fridge? No bones about it!

Mirror, mirror…your aging skin

Posted by Liz on Feb 18, 2011 in appearance | 5 comments

Ugh. Talk about a red flag topic. I can barely look in the mirror these days without cringing! Sure, years of tanning (read: burning) in the sun without the proper SPF cream and lots of time outdoors hasn’t done me any favours. But, it’s difficult to deal with the changes that I see in my skin. And while I truly believe that my wrinkles have been well earned, there are times when I would like to turn back the clock and regain some of that suppleness that 20-somethings take for granted. Uh-oh; is that my vanity showing?

In any case, we’ve explored some of the ‘wrinkles’ in the search for the fountain of youth, dispelling claims that hormone replacement therapy may improve skin appearance or that regular use of over the counter moisturizers can actually melt away the years. In fact, only topical preparations containing antioxidants such as retinoids are believed to help the skin to repair itself; antioxidants have been proven to do this by preventing the activity of of chemically reactive oxygen molecules that live in the body, are promoted through ultraviolet light exposure and attack healthy cells.

However, retinoids are not the only antioxidants that may improve the appearance of photodamaged skin. Indeed, researchers have started to look into the potential of another topical antioxidant — idebenone complex — which is the biologically engineered (and possibly more effective) form of coenzyme Q-10. At last month’s American Academy of Dermatology meeting, Dr. Michael Gold from the TN Clinical Research Center in Nashville presented findings from a study of 32 women (ages 25 to 65)with moderate to severe photodamage who were asked to used a facial cleanser, skin brightener, eye serum and moisturizing cream containing 0.5% idebenone complex. This regimen was used twice a day for 8 weeks and the women also added an SPF 30 sunscreen during the day.

The results are fairly impressive. Not only did rough/dry facial skin, fine lines and wrinkles and patchy skin improve by 36%, but the researchers also reported a 41% improvement in skin elasticity and tone, a 42% improvement in skin brightness and a 42% improvement in skin radiance. Similar reports were made by the women in the study as well.

Thus, it appears that when used consistently, topical skin preparations containing idebenone complex may significantly improve the appearance, texture and tone of photodamaged, prematurely aged skin. Overall, 42% of participants had a global improvement in their appearance.

Is idebenone complex the fountain of youth? Probably not, because as the American Academy of Dermatology recommends, fighting photoaged skin is a multi step process that also includes avoiding sun exposure at certain times of the day, using sunscreen/protective clothing. However, even with the small number of women that have been treated with idebenone so far, I wouldn’t be averse to trying it.

These wrinkles might build lots of character and I’ve earned them. But sometimes a little help can’t hurt, can it?

Hat tip to Journalist Bob Finn,web content editor of the International Medical News Group for pointing me to this study. You can find their coverage of it here on the Internal Medicine News Digital Network.