Beauty And The Breast | Full Movie Documentary | Movie Health, Wellness, Lifestyle
"Beauty and the Breast" is a 2012 documentary that provides a poignant exploration of the experiences of women living with breast cancer. Directed by a first-time filmmaker, the film features the personal stories of nine women who candidly share their struggles, triumphs, and the realities of coping with the disease. The documentary aims to demystify breast cancer by portraying the emotional and physical challenges these women face, including the impact of treatments like chemotherapy and mastectomies, while also highlighting their resilience and strength.
The film has been noted for its honest and intimate portrayal, blending moments of humor with the seriousness of the subject matter. It runs for 86 minutes and has received positive reviews for its inspirational content, emphasizing that a breast cancer diagnosis does not signify the end of life but rather a transition to a new chapter filled with different challenges and experiences.
The film has been noted for its honest and intimate portrayal, blending moments of humor with the seriousness of the subject matter. It runs for 86 minutes and has received positive reviews for its inspirational content, emphasizing that a breast cancer diagnosis does not signify the end of life but rather a transition to a new chapter filled with different challenges and experiences.
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Short filmTranscript
00:00:30Being a woman is the main risk factor in developing breast cancer.
00:00:41It is the most common cancer and the leading cause of death among females aged 20 to 59.
00:00:50One in nine will develop it, and one in 29 will die of it.
00:00:56How does one deal with this terrifying disease that directly attacks femininity?
00:01:07It begins with the growth and spread of a single genetically mutated cell, like a spelling
00:01:13mistake that can change the whole meaning of a sentence.
00:01:42Soraya is an ex-model who 10 months ago had a mastectomy of her left breast and 24 lymph
00:01:47nodes removed, followed by chemotherapy.
00:01:52She has just completed her last radiation treatment.
00:02:10My sister's neighbor developed breast cancer, she was 36, and she did in vitro fertilization.
00:02:16My sister is convinced that there's a link between breast cancer and in vitro fertilization,
00:02:22so she told me that I should get checked.
00:02:24I should ask for a memo, which I did.
00:02:25I asked for a memo and I didn't have a lump when I went and got my mammogram, so I really
00:02:30didn't think I had anything.
00:02:32And then I did my mammogram and sure enough I had breast cancer.
00:02:36It started with a regular mammogram and then they called me back and they said, um, we
00:02:42think we've seen something, I don't think there's anything to panic about, but I think
00:02:46it would be good if you could go and get your old mammogram so we could compare them and
00:02:49just see if there's something that's changed.
00:02:54I knew it.
00:02:55I'd been aware of the lump for two and a half years.
00:02:58I asked them to keep an eye on it.
00:02:59I got checked every five months.
00:03:01They kept telling me it's nothing serious.
00:03:06I felt pain in my breast for years, but it was because the inflammation was spreading.
00:03:12The tumor was pushing out.
00:03:14My breast was tender and my gynecologist said, cut down on the chocolate and the coffee,
00:03:21but that's not what it was.
00:03:22I had cancer and it was growing.
00:03:27So up we go and I go into Dr. Milne's office and I sit down and you know what, I took one
00:03:31look at her face.
00:03:33I took one look at her face and I knew in that moment.
00:03:37So I said, uh, all right, I said, just spit it out.
00:03:41I mean, don't pussyfoot around.
00:03:42I mean, give me the bad news.
00:03:43And she said, well, she said, um, it's definitely cancerous.
00:03:47And she said, you've got several options.
00:03:49And I said, what are they?
00:03:50And she said, well, I can go back and I can cut some more out or I can do a mastectomy.
00:04:01I got my diagnosis on a Monday at 6 p.m. and by Thursday morning I was on the operating
00:04:06table.
00:04:07I didn't know what kind of operation I was going to have.
00:04:10I didn't know if I was going to wake up.
00:04:13I didn't even think about if I'd still have my breast.
00:04:16I couldn't think about whether or not I'd have breast when I woke up.
00:04:20It wasn't registering.
00:04:22I couldn't process it.
00:04:24My head was spinning like you wouldn't believe.
00:04:27I was in a daze.
00:04:31I went to see my doctor and he advised me to have a mammogram.
00:04:36And he told me that, don't you worry, it's just a cyst.
00:04:41And it's probably like when you have your ovulation.
00:04:45It might be that and not to worry, but we'll monitor it once a year.
00:04:50You know, he told me everything is fine.
00:04:51I'm only 38.
00:04:58Three years ago, I found a small cyst.
00:05:04So I went to see my GP and she told me, it's a cyst, it's not a big deal.
00:05:10I was too young.
00:05:13Then this past July, I noticed the same cyst was back.
00:05:18As soon as I got back from vacation, I went to see my doctor.
00:05:22My allergist had become my family doctor because I could never get in to see my actual family
00:05:27doctor.
00:05:28But with the allergist, I could get an appointment right away.
00:05:32When he saw me, he immediately referred me to the Ville-Marie Breast Clinic.
00:05:36He said it would be much faster.
00:05:38And it was.
00:05:39We had to pay for the test, but it was important I be seen as soon as possible.
00:05:44I put it on my credit card.
00:05:46It's about six, seven months when I start touching my mammal and I had a discharge coming
00:05:53out on the left side.
00:05:56I waited like maybe two, three months before I told my husband, before I told anyone.
00:06:03That was the biggest mistake I did because I should have said at first, but I didn't.
00:06:10Maybe there's a lot of women out there doing the same mistake.
00:06:15My intuition is strong, but I still don't follow it as much as I should.
00:06:21If I'd listened to my intuition, I knew the lump was suspicious.
00:06:27I'd have gone to see someone else.
00:06:29Always get a second opinion.
00:06:31I'm convinced of that now.
00:06:35Always get two opinions.
00:06:37If they had found it a little earlier, things might have been simpler.
00:06:42It was the highest grade of tumor.
00:06:45The most malignant, grade 3, which is the highest grade, and very aggressive infiltrating.
00:06:52But if the biopsy would have been right the first time, I would have had only one operation,
00:06:57not two.
00:06:58In my opinion, the situation is an extremely serious one.
00:07:05Professionals in other fields are subject to disciplinary action.
00:07:11In the medical field, they're allowed to make mistakes.
00:07:25It's nerve-wracking, wondering what the diagnosis will be, wondering what they'll decide to
00:07:29do, and to what extent it will affect my life.
00:07:38It's not just the operation.
00:07:39I have to live with it afterward.
00:07:53Based on the results of the MRI and the ultrasound, the cancer in the right breast covers a fairly
00:07:59large area.
00:08:02It's about half the size of the breast in the upper inner and lower inner quadrants.
00:08:09One of the tumors we biopsied is invasive.
00:08:13The other one is non-invasive.
00:08:15In terms of surgery, we'll have to remove all the malignant breast tissue because we
00:08:20can't go after one tumor or multiple tumors by way of a tumorectomy.
00:08:28We have to take it all out to ensure the margins are safe.
00:08:32So on the right, I'm pretty sure you'll need a full mastectomy.
00:08:37The left will depend on the biopsy results.
00:08:40If we find another cancer on the left, I'd strongly recommend you have both breasts removed.
00:08:47If we do a total mastectomy, we can avoid radiation therapy.
00:08:53And chemo?
00:08:56Whether or not we do a total mastectomy doesn't change anything.
00:09:00It won't affect our decision about chemotherapy.
00:09:04Chemotherapy is a systemic treatment that prevents the formation of metastases elsewhere
00:09:09in the body.
00:09:13We'll take good care of you.
00:09:14I don't want to live like that.
00:09:18I'm a woman.
00:09:19It'll be fine.
00:09:20I'm not strong enough.
00:09:29I know myself.
00:09:30I've been through quite a lot in my life.
00:09:33I know my limits.
00:09:36People always say you're stronger than you think, but I don't think I am.
00:09:43Both of us need to stay strong, right?
00:09:50Without him, I don't know what I would have done.
00:09:56My parents don't live here, so I don't have anyone else but him.
00:10:20It's unbelievable.
00:10:21I said, I told my doctor, I said, what, we're supposed to get our first mammograms at 50
00:10:25years old.
00:10:26Everybody I met was under 40.
00:10:28So I don't understand why, you know, why we don't get tested younger.
00:10:33You know, if I would have waited until I was 50 to get tested, I wouldn't be here today.
00:10:41I never thought it would be me.
00:10:42You never think it'll be you.
00:10:43You come into a foreign country and you don't know the language, you don't know the lingo.
00:10:48You don't know what questions to ask.
00:10:50You don't know where the pitfalls are.
00:10:51You don't know where it's safe, where it's not safe to be at night.
00:10:54You just have a whole team that's basically telling you, OK, this is what's going to happen.
00:10:58This is what to watch for.
00:11:00We're going to do this.
00:11:01I'm really impressed.
00:11:03I think I'm glad that I'm not working because I can focus on this completely.
00:11:11I couldn't find it.
00:11:14Boy, oh, there it is.
00:11:15Look, this is where mommy was born.
00:11:18This is Algeria.
00:11:20I was born here.
00:11:22And when I was a little, little, little, little, little baby, we went to France.
00:11:28That's where your granddaddy is from.
00:11:31My daddy is from France.
00:11:33And then from France, we went to where it's really cold, cold, cold, cold.
00:11:42Canada.
00:11:44That's right.
00:11:46Canada.
00:11:48Yeah.
00:11:53When you first get diagnosed, no, you don't want to talk to anybody because you yourself can't believe it.
00:11:58First, you get very scared and then you get sad.
00:12:04You have to go through the emotions and then you get angry.
00:12:07So it's better not to tell anybody.
00:12:08It's better first to deal with it and then and do the research and know what kind, you know, what stage you're at.
00:12:15And and then when you're ready, then you talk about it or tell someone.
00:12:19You're going to have a mastectomy.
00:12:21You're going to do chemotherapy.
00:12:22You're going to do radiation.
00:12:23You're going to and you're just you're going to take Tamoxifen for two years and then you're going to take Femera.
00:12:27Your hair is going to fall out and you might have to be short of breath in your heart.
00:12:31And I mean, it's so much information.
00:12:52Can you share some of your story with us, Kathleen?
00:12:54You're a role model for many.
00:12:57Well, it all started when I was three and a half and I developed Hodgkin's lymphoma.
00:13:01After that, I went into remission.
00:13:04Then at 17, I found out I had thyroid cancer.
00:13:08I managed to beat that, too, with more treatments.
00:13:12Then at 28, I got breast cancer.
00:13:14More treatments.
00:13:16But two months after the chemotherapy, I found out the cancer had spread to my bones.
00:13:21So we did all sorts of other treatments.
00:13:24That's when I changed the way I eat.
00:13:28Was it hard to do?
00:13:30No, my mind was made up.
00:13:31That was that.
00:13:32When you eat better, you feel better.
00:13:34I've learned that.
00:13:35This is one strong young lady.
00:13:51Three days after our first date, we were at an exhibit, strolling along, holding hands,
00:14:03having a great time.
00:14:04It was still brand new.
00:14:07We had a lovestruck look in our eyes.
00:14:09I was walking on air.
00:14:10I thought she was so beautiful.
00:14:14But I sensed she was holding back a little.
00:14:17Something was bothering her.
00:14:20That's when she told me, hold on, there's something I have to tell you.
00:14:26I've had cancer.
00:14:28I might not ever be able to have children.
00:14:31She wanted to tell me in case it put me off.
00:14:35But it didn't put me off at all.
00:14:37The only thing I said was, stop, don't say anymore.
00:14:45I don't care.
00:14:46I love you.
00:14:47That doesn't matter.
00:14:49Cancer doesn't scare me.
00:14:52From that moment on, it was like a huge weight was lifted, and we could move forward with
00:15:00our relationship.
00:15:01I needed you to know.
00:15:03It means a lot of things.
00:15:05I could feel it was weighing on you.
00:15:07I didn't care.
00:15:08It's not a problem.
00:15:09Love is stronger than anything.
00:15:13Smile, smile to me.
00:15:19Souris et sers-moi pour la centième fois.
00:15:26Love tellement que mon coeur veut plus.
00:15:34Le tien a trop rentré dedans.
00:15:39When the doctor had bad news about the cancer in her bones, Kathleen said it was like a
00:15:44veil dropped over her.
00:15:46She couldn't hear or see anything.
00:15:48Everything was jumbled.
00:15:50But I was right there beside her.
00:15:54I was a little jumbled too.
00:15:55But I was in a better position to pull myself together and listen to the diagnosis, what
00:16:03was happening, what we were going to do.
00:16:05And even though the prognosis was really bleak, and the doctor said, you only have a few years
00:16:12left, it's not true.
00:16:16We'll do something else.
00:16:17We'll do more.
00:16:19We'll get through this.
00:16:20We'll go to the hospital.
00:16:21The doctors will give you radiation therapy, and we'll look into special diets.
00:16:25It'll all work out.
00:16:27I keep telling myself it'll be all right.
00:16:30Hey, Maddox.
00:16:38It's starting to grow a little, but it's still not enough.
00:16:47I was so sure it could never happen to me.
00:16:50I was so sure.
00:16:52Because I'm healthy, I'm a vegetarian, I exercise every day, this, da, da, da, da.
00:16:56But you know what?
00:16:57When you have it in your heredity, it doesn't matter.
00:17:00You're prone to getting it.
00:17:11So, of course, they did the lumpectomy, because at first you're like, oh, take just a little,
00:17:15little, because, you know, it's all new.
00:17:17So you're like, don't take too much.
00:17:19Just take the thing out.
00:17:21So we had the surgery.
00:17:23And, of course, after the pathology report, which was, you know, grade three, the highest malignancy
00:17:28and the most aggressive tumor, I had to go for another surgery to take off more breast.
00:17:33That was February 2nd.
00:17:35Meanwhile, I mean, I'm still working and everything and riding my horses and everything.
00:17:39And even then, I was not more...
00:17:43The doctor was like, listen, you have cancer.
00:17:46Get your priorities straight here.
00:17:47Do you want to live?
00:17:48We're trying to keep you alive.
00:17:50And I was like, Mom, look how he talked to me.
00:17:53Like, he's so mean, you know.
00:17:54And my mother was like, you look like you're shopping for shoes, you know.
00:17:57This is serious.
00:17:58But I was not getting it yet.
00:18:01I always think that, you know, it just takes one escaping cell, one, just one little itty-bitty
00:18:05escaping cell, and it just, it'll go somewhere and it'll attach itself to one of your soft
00:18:09organs or something.
00:18:10And you know what?
00:18:11My thing is, do it, cut them off, lop them off, get rid of them, sew me up, send me home,
00:18:16that's it.
00:18:17That's all.
00:18:18I mean, I am so much more than the sum of my breasts.
00:18:31Avec le cancer, plusieurs d'entre nous se retrouvent mutilés.
00:18:37Cancer leaves many women mutilated.
00:18:41One of the hardest things I have ever experienced was the day they took the bandage off.
00:18:47I was undergoing chemo at the same time, so I didn't have any hair anywhere on my body.
00:18:58You stand squarely in front of a mirror and look at yourself, and for the first time,
00:19:03you see who you are.
00:19:05You discover your body, you discover your thoughts, you discover your emotions.
00:19:12And for me, it was a shock.
00:19:14Well, not a shock, but more like a truth that leapt out at me.
00:19:18Personally, I found it very hard to accept, to realize I don't recognize myself.
00:19:24I don't know who I am.
00:19:27Amba means source.
00:19:29My daughter had this framed and sent it to me as a gift.
00:19:34Even if we lived at opposite ends of the world, we'll always be together, like we are here.
00:19:40I love you, Joëlle.
00:19:43That touched me very, very deeply. It did.
00:19:49I raised her alone for a long time.
00:19:52When she was 13, she went to live with her dad.
00:19:55And because she was a teenager, she was very shy.
00:19:58She was very shy about her friends.
00:20:00She was very shy about her family.
00:20:02She was very shy about her friends.
00:20:04And because she was a teenager, she was very shy about her family.
00:20:07I think that psychologically, it hurt me a great deal
00:20:10and speeded up something that was already inside me.
00:20:13I think that psychologically, it hurt me a great deal
00:20:16and speeded up something that was already inside me.
00:20:19They say we all have cancer, but in some people, it just never develops.
00:20:23That's all.
00:20:28Amba is a very positive person.
00:20:31She's very positive.
00:20:34Amba is a very positive person.
00:20:37That's important in the healing process.
00:20:40You can never give up.
00:20:42You have to keep your spirits up
00:20:44and have faith that you can be completely cured.
00:20:50Between May and September, I did alternative treatments, energy work.
00:20:55I tried all sorts of remedies, juices, vitamins, exercises,
00:21:00even a chlorine-based solution.
00:21:04I suggested fasting
00:21:06because drinking nothing but water helps to detoxify the body
00:21:10and colonic irrigation
00:21:12because it's very important to eliminate toxins from the colon.
00:21:16I have pictures in colour of what can come out of the colon.
00:21:22The first place I went to, the Royal Victoria Hospital,
00:21:26the doctor reacted badly.
00:21:28She yelled at me.
00:21:31I think chemo is a bad idea.
00:21:34It makes people even sicker.
00:21:36I've seen people be cured of generalised cancer.
00:21:39They had tumours everywhere, and they had two or three months to live.
00:21:43They overcame it and were healed.
00:21:45They regenerated all their cells.
00:21:48But I think it's progressing at a much slower pace
00:21:51than if I'd done nothing, like my fast, for example.
00:21:55OK, I lost weight, but I felt strong.
00:21:58The third week, I was singing and dancing.
00:22:00I was full of energy. It blew people away.
00:22:05My next appointment is on November 5th.
00:22:08They'll tell me which cocktail they want me to take,
00:22:11but I haven't made up my mind yet.
00:22:13Kimbra, Mummy's hair is growing, look.
00:22:16Hair grow.
00:22:20My hair is growing.
00:22:22I love you.
00:22:25OK, here we go.
00:22:30My father refused chemotherapy and did naturopathy, natural medicine.
00:22:35He was diagnosed with prostate cancer and he passed away.
00:22:39It went to the bones and he didn't make it.
00:22:41And when I hear people...
00:22:44SHE SOBS
00:22:52That's why I think you've got to do the chemotherapy and radiation,
00:22:57because you can't fight cancer with natural medicine, you know?
00:23:01It's not a cold. It's cancer.
00:23:04So, you know, as much as you don't want to do it, you have to.
00:23:09And if you don't, well, then you've got to suffer the consequences,
00:23:12which could be fatal.
00:23:16That's it.
00:23:18That's the end? The end.
00:23:21OK? Oh, yeah. I can't believe it's over.
00:23:24To think how scared I was at the beginning.
00:23:27And now it's like...
00:23:32No, no, no, it's OK.
00:23:40OK, so I was diagnosed August 19th,
00:23:43and September 15th I was having my breasts removed.
00:23:46But the doctor wanted to do a lumpectomy.
00:23:49And I had nine cancers in my family already,
00:23:51and four of them were breast cancer,
00:23:53so I said, no, no, no, no lumpectomy. I don't like that.
00:23:56Because how many times do you hear of a woman getting a lumpectomy
00:23:59and then it comes back, or...
00:24:02So I said, no, both of them off.
00:24:04Like, these are lighter.
00:24:06I like them better, because the other ones were very heavy.
00:24:09I was a 44DD, and I was always like,
00:24:12look at me sitting up straight now.
00:24:14OK, when I was doing my chemo, you know,
00:24:16they bring the big booklet, you'll get a big book,
00:24:19and it's all about you, and there's a...
00:24:21And I was always looking at it,
00:24:23and reading all the reports and the pathology,
00:24:25I was spending hours on it,
00:24:27so I became quite knowledgeable.
00:24:29Look at me sitting here with my breast in hand.
00:24:32Because I haven't finished my chemo yet.
00:24:35I'm the blonde one, but I'm the smart one, really.
00:24:38Did she just say that?
00:24:40Listen, I didn't tell you...
00:24:42Hey, you didn't tell me how you like my hair.
00:24:44I did, didn't I? I love your hair.
00:24:46It's a wig!
00:24:48Get out.
00:24:50No, get out, it looks just like your hair.
00:24:52Get out.
00:24:54My hair's been growing back.
00:24:56Oh, my gosh.
00:24:58Oh, sweetie.
00:25:00Oh, I feel like crying.
00:25:02This is what I'm going to look like.
00:25:26I didn't dread the double mastectomy,
00:25:28or even the lymph nodes like I've dreaded this,
00:25:31because I think with the double mastectomy,
00:25:33they're taking bad stuff out of your body,
00:25:35and this, they're putting chemicals into your body,
00:25:37and nobody feels good about that.
00:25:39I have no family.
00:25:41That's what's making this really hard.
00:25:43No siblings, parents are gone,
00:25:45all my aunts and uncles are gone.
00:25:47That's what's making this tough.
00:25:49I want you to know the genes.
00:25:51These genes, particular genes, they weigh 20 pounds.
00:25:57Ah!
00:25:59Ah!
00:26:01That's a lot.
00:26:03Should I make it less?
00:26:05Yes.
00:26:07Make it less.
00:26:09I think I'm going to want to make it more.
00:26:15Oh, that's okay.
00:26:17It's all secure.
00:26:25Just for the record,
00:26:27I suck.
00:26:31So, I usually start off
00:26:33with my patients and asking them
00:26:35what they know
00:26:37about their illness,
00:26:39and why they're staying here
00:26:41for three months.
00:26:43Not okay.
00:26:45Not at all.
00:26:47So then, I know it's grade three,
00:26:49which was the most aggressive cancer.
00:26:51It's stage two.
00:26:53Stage one would be just breast,
00:26:55not quite a bit.
00:26:57And so I know I'm not afraid to die,
00:26:59but I don't want to go
00:27:01until I feel like I've got
00:27:03some things that I've accomplished.
00:27:05Yeah, help people.
00:27:21Learning I had breast cancer
00:27:23was hard.
00:27:25My cousin came with me.
00:27:27She lost her mother to breast cancer,
00:27:29so that was big.
00:27:31I'd never, ever leave her side.
00:27:33I'm there for every exam,
00:27:35every x-ray, every treatment.
00:27:37The radioactive treatments
00:27:39and CT scans are very dangerous.
00:27:41When we go, they say,
00:27:43you have to leave.
00:27:45The radiation is dangerous.
00:27:47I say, you don't understand.
00:27:49I'm staying with her.
00:27:51You can't move me.
00:27:53Well, what about her?
00:27:55All you can think about
00:27:57is that you can't move.
00:27:59My teeth would hurt sometimes.
00:28:01The radiation would get sent
00:28:03through my mouth.
00:28:05Through the back of her head
00:28:07and straight through her mouth.
00:28:09It was pretty crazy.
00:28:11It can melt your feelings.
00:28:13Plus, they put a mask on you
00:28:15and strap you to a table
00:28:17because you can't even move
00:28:19It's hard.
00:28:21Yeah, it's crazy.
00:28:23But I had a great team.
00:28:25The radiation therapists,
00:28:27they know me.
00:28:29I'm practically part of the team.
00:28:31I've been there so often.
00:28:33They're wonderful.
00:28:35They keep me calm.
00:28:37And Tony would talk to me.
00:28:39I was always in the back
00:28:41in the control room.
00:28:43He would talk to me from there.
00:28:45I'd go into the control room
00:28:47and say, everything's good.
00:28:49Everything's ready. Let's do this.
00:28:51I do that to keep her spirits up.
00:28:53It's quick.
00:28:55Nobody else ever does that.
00:28:59So I was told it was a result
00:29:01of the AC accumulation,
00:29:03but I think it's also the taxol.
00:29:05So I have to see the oncologist tomorrow.
00:29:07We'll talk about it again.
00:29:09But I have two left.
00:29:11All I want to do is get them over with.
00:29:13Just finish it up.
00:29:15It's weird if you're on a bus
00:29:17or you're out in public
00:29:19and you're walking around thinking,
00:29:21I have cancer.
00:29:23And nobody knows you do.
00:29:25Everyone's just doing their thing.
00:29:27And you're thinking,
00:29:29there should be some sort of sign on me.
00:29:31Be nice to me.
00:29:33Don't yell at me.
00:29:35Don't push me.
00:29:37Don't cross me.
00:29:39And I thought,
00:29:41if a policeman comes and pulls me over,
00:29:43no, but look, for winter.
00:29:45For winter.
00:29:47So cool.
00:29:49And then if you're on the plane
00:29:51and you want to sleep.
00:29:53H1N1.
00:29:57And then the shoulder pads.
00:29:59I heard there's shoulder pads.
00:30:01Shoulder pads are in for spring.
00:30:03If you're with a man and he's about to play soccer,
00:30:05you loan him one.
00:30:07If you have hemorrhoids,
00:30:09very cushiony.
00:30:11If some guy hits on me,
00:30:13I can put one there.
00:30:15Put one there.
00:30:17Say, so, would you like to go out sometime?
00:30:21And he's like, no.
00:30:23Bye-bye.
00:30:39You know, my agents were at first,
00:30:41like, they didn't want to tell anybody,
00:30:43but, you know, when I get into
00:30:45hair and makeup now,
00:30:47of course I have to tell them,
00:30:49look, I have a wig on
00:30:51and I'm wearing fake eyelashes
00:30:53because I don't have any eyelashes left.
00:30:55They know, I tell them,
00:30:57and they're okay, but if they don't see me
00:30:59and they hear I have cancer, they may think,
00:31:01she's going to die.
00:31:03She's finished.
00:31:05Thank God the horses don't care
00:31:07if you don't have eyelashes.
00:31:09Well, actually, you know, at the end of the day,
00:31:11I don't think anybody cares.
00:31:13It's a lot how we feel about ourselves.
00:31:17The chemo was leading my life,
00:31:19in a very good way,
00:31:21because I remember I even did my garden,
00:31:23a big, big garden.
00:31:25And then I said,
00:31:27well, how did I do it?
00:31:29How did I do it?
00:31:31But I didn't want it
00:31:33to just sit in a corner
00:31:35and be unhappy, no.
00:31:37I was going around,
00:31:39I was bald,
00:31:41I lost all my hair,
00:31:43and I felt beautiful.
00:31:45Yeah, it's kind of stage three.
00:31:49But who cares? I'm thin.
00:31:51That's what counts.
00:31:53I'm thin and I'm beautiful.
00:31:55Look at my hair.
00:31:59I love the color of this one.
00:32:01I love the style, too.
00:32:03See, if you go behind the ear,
00:32:05that always looks a little bit better.
00:32:07Once I don't have these on.
00:32:09Do you want to keep this one longer
00:32:11since that one's a bit shorter?
00:32:13I just don't think it looks good long.
00:32:15So yesterday,
00:32:17it was pretty gross
00:32:19seeing my hair falling out everywhere,
00:32:21and I couldn't sleep last night,
00:32:23so around 3 a.m. I got up,
00:32:25I took the kitchen scissors,
00:32:27I sat right here,
00:32:29and I cut it all off just by feel
00:32:31so I wouldn't have to see it.
00:32:33I figured it would be easier
00:32:35if I wasn't looking in the mirror,
00:32:37so I cut by feel.
00:32:39Then when I looked in the mirror,
00:32:41oh!
00:32:47At the end of my chemo,
00:32:49I must say that there was times
00:32:51where I was a bit harder,
00:32:53but I didn't let, and I'm so lucky
00:32:55because I don't think I would have
00:32:57been this way without the horses.
00:32:59I mean, there were some days
00:33:01I could barely ride,
00:33:03I could just stay on, barely stay on,
00:33:05but that was something
00:33:07that I'm very blessed
00:33:09to have.
00:33:15It really got to me.
00:33:17Nobody deserves that.
00:33:21I was really surprised.
00:33:27Yesterday, we went out
00:33:29to eat downtown, and she said,
00:33:31Diane, it's hard for me
00:33:33to go up the stairs in my place.
00:33:35I said, what?
00:33:37And you're going riding?
00:33:39She said, yeah, that doesn't hurt.
00:33:41Okay, good boy.
00:33:47Good boy.
00:33:49Okay, that's it.
00:33:55You're working very hard.
00:33:57You make me work.
00:33:59You know, when you have cancer,
00:34:01a lot of friends disappear,
00:34:03but Jan and Karen were always there
00:34:05saying, oh, you're okay,
00:34:07you need this, you need that.
00:34:09How did it go today?
00:34:11We're going to brush you later.
00:34:13Sometimes I'm thinking,
00:34:15oh, I escaped too much.
00:34:17This is like,
00:34:19I should be more, you know,
00:34:21that's what you do.
00:34:23You try to reconnect.
00:34:31Now I cannot have children anymore
00:34:33because of the chemo killed
00:34:35my ovaries.
00:34:41I'm looking forward to,
00:34:43you know, having hair,
00:34:45just hair.
00:34:47You have eyelashes now.
00:34:49Little tiny eyelashes,
00:34:51and my eyebrows have started to grow,
00:34:53but nowhere else.
00:34:55It's like...
00:34:57That's good, you're saving money.
00:34:59Well, if I wanted to try
00:35:01a zillion,
00:35:03now I know what it is.
00:35:13I did in vitro fertilization to have my daughters.
00:35:15I just wanted a baby.
00:35:17I didn't do any research.
00:35:19I was really gung-ho.
00:35:21I wanted to have a baby,
00:35:23and I believe that there's a link
00:35:25between in vitro fertilization and breast cancer.
00:35:27Women who decide to do
00:35:29in vitro fertilization should really educate themselves
00:35:31and know the risks.
00:35:33I just wish I would have known more.
00:35:35Dr. Kazin is ready to see you.
00:35:37You can come in.
00:35:39When you have your menstrual cycle,
00:35:41there's 12 eggs in one year.
00:35:43I did 22 in 10 days.
00:35:45I wanted to ask you,
00:35:47do you think there's a link
00:35:49between breast cancer and IVF?
00:35:51As much as it appears that it would be intuitive
00:35:53that you would think that there would be a link,
00:35:55these studies have not been able to show that.
00:35:57While we don't have scientific proof,
00:35:59undeniable proof,
00:36:01that would impede somebody getting IVF
00:36:03because they're worried about getting breast cancer,
00:36:05obviously any hormonal manipulation
00:36:07is not recommended
00:36:09unless there's a reason to do so.
00:36:11If you're going to do IVF,
00:36:13it's because that is the last option
00:36:15one has in that particular case,
00:36:17and since there are studies
00:36:19to suggest that that is a safe thing to do,
00:36:21we'll use the same argument
00:36:23for a patient going through difficult menopause.
00:36:25Don't use it if you don't have to.
00:36:27So I would say to a patient,
00:36:29I can't scientifically tell you
00:36:31that there is a definite link there,
00:36:33and I can show you studies that are larger
00:36:35than the ones that show it linking,
00:36:37that show no linking.
00:36:39I think you're right.
00:36:41I think that as this information emerges,
00:36:43it has to be part of the consenting process
00:36:45because everything we do has consequences,
00:36:47and these are long-term consequences,
00:36:49late consequences,
00:36:51not immediately after,
00:36:53even years after.
00:36:55If I would have known a lot more
00:36:57about in vitro, I wouldn't have done it.
00:36:59I would have had somebody else
00:37:01carry my child for me.
00:37:19Would you like to see me without my wig?
00:37:21Yeah. Why not?
00:37:23It's getting really itchy.
00:37:29Is it hot?
00:37:31Is it hot when you wear it?
00:37:33It's a little hot.
00:37:39The second week, I would never have known
00:37:41I was on chemo, ever.
00:37:43I was just so healthy.
00:37:45I felt so healthy, I went out, I was out all day.
00:37:47So I thought, oh, I can do this.
00:37:49So I expected fatigue
00:37:51and maybe possible nausea.
00:37:53I didn't expect,
00:37:55you know, as a musician
00:37:57and as an interpreter for the deaf
00:37:59to have my hand affected.
00:38:01This is a sign of lymphedema,
00:38:03so I may have swelling of the arm
00:38:05from the lymph node removal.
00:38:07I didn't expect the rash and the swelling of the joints.
00:38:09This is a whole other category of suffering.
00:38:11So Friday night,
00:38:13I thought, if it's this painful
00:38:15for the next five sessions,
00:38:17I could just see myself thinking,
00:38:19I think we'll just stop now.
00:38:21Kind of a dark thought.
00:38:23But it didn't feel dark.
00:38:25I just thought, you know,
00:38:27I've got to have quality of life
00:38:29and if this is going to go on for 15 months,
00:38:31I'm just like,
00:38:33I'm ready to go.
00:38:41Ultimately,
00:38:43you have to face your cancer on your own.
00:38:45Even with all the teams,
00:38:47the doctors telling you what to do,
00:38:49the drugs,
00:38:51your parents, your kids,
00:38:53your grandchildren,
00:38:55everyone you love,
00:38:57your friends who say all sorts of things,
00:38:59you're alone.
00:39:01And it's frightening, it's terrifying,
00:39:03and it's such hard work.
00:39:07It's okay to be emotional.
00:39:09It feels good to let it out.
00:39:11It helps to let it out.
00:39:15I continued on that path
00:39:17and discovered how women share things.
00:39:19I saw how other women looked at me,
00:39:21like a role model.
00:39:23They thought, she had cancer,
00:39:25she was operated on twice,
00:39:27she did chemo and radiation therapy,
00:39:29her hair grew back.
00:39:31She's alive, she's cheerful,
00:39:33she's full of hope,
00:39:35so they wanted to talk to me.
00:39:39So I started making connections like that.
00:39:45A woman I had worked with
00:39:47on several projects
00:39:49and who became a close friend
00:39:51referred me to a guru,
00:39:53a yoga master,
00:39:55and that was another part of my inner journey.
00:39:59It's what's called a holistic approach.
00:40:03I worked a lot with him.
00:40:05He taught me how to breathe,
00:40:07how to relax,
00:40:09and he told me that
00:40:11inside each of us
00:40:13there is peace
00:40:15and serenity,
00:40:17that inside each of us
00:40:19we have the power to heal.
00:40:21So with our group of women
00:40:23we set up a foundation which has since grown.
00:40:25It's called the Serenity Foundation.
00:40:27It promotes a holistic approach.
00:40:43Chemo and other treatments
00:40:45ravage your whole body.
00:40:47Like my oncologist used to say,
00:40:49they're not injecting 7-Up
00:40:51into your veins.
00:40:53It's a potent cocktail.
00:40:55To undo the damage
00:40:57and expel the toxins,
00:40:59instead of taking a bunch of natural products,
00:41:01doing yoga
00:41:03gets rid of the toxins.
00:41:05It's a healing process.
00:41:07It's a healing process.
00:41:09It's a healing process.
00:41:11Doing yoga
00:41:13gets rid of the toxins.
00:41:19At one point
00:41:21you start to hear the birds,
00:41:23you start to see the river,
00:41:25you start to notice the trees
00:41:27you never noticed before.
00:41:41I am purifying myself
00:41:43and my karma.
00:41:45I am purifying myself.
00:41:49For about a month and a half,
00:41:51two months,
00:41:53I was hesitating,
00:41:55living in dread.
00:41:57I'd close my eyes
00:41:59and tell myself,
00:42:01do what everyone else does,
00:42:03get chemo.
00:42:05It'll be alright,
00:42:07lots of women get through it.
00:42:09But every time
00:42:11I'd feel the fear rise up in me,
00:42:13I'd start to shake,
00:42:15I was convinced chemo would kill me.
00:42:17It was my intuition,
00:42:19deep down inside.
00:42:21Plenty of people came to see me
00:42:23and called to give me healing sessions.
00:42:25I chose not to do the chemo.
00:42:27I called a psychic
00:42:29and asked him what to do.
00:42:31I kept
00:42:33getting the same answer
00:42:35everywhere.
00:42:37No for the hormone therapy,
00:42:39no for the chemo, loud and clear,
00:42:41and no for the radiation too.
00:42:43I had four months of healing
00:42:45and I'm grateful to everyone.
00:42:47My daughter who stood by me
00:42:49and helped me for a month
00:42:51and gave me her love,
00:42:53there was a lot of forgiveness
00:42:55on both sides.
00:42:57We talked a lot, we cried,
00:42:59we held each other tight.
00:43:01But this time,
00:43:03it was a karmic link,
00:43:05that with her father,
00:43:07and her father wrote me
00:43:09an amazing letter asking me
00:43:11for forgiveness.
00:43:13Forgive me for negating all the energy
00:43:15you put into raising your daughter,
00:43:17our daughter alone.
00:43:19And when my daughter saw that,
00:43:21she understood
00:43:23I hadn't been lying.
00:43:25He had.
00:43:27He had built up this image of me
00:43:29that wasn't who I was, or who I am.
00:43:31So I broke down
00:43:33a lot of barriers and obstacles
00:43:35she had put up between us.
00:43:37Two years ago,
00:43:39I told myself
00:43:41I'd be better off
00:43:43cutting my daughter out of my life
00:43:45because it hurt too much.
00:43:47So that letter
00:43:49made a big difference
00:43:51in a lot of ways.
00:43:53It let me go.
00:44:02I lived here for a month
00:44:04with my mother,
00:44:06but after a month,
00:44:08I decided I needed my space.
00:44:10It was too much for me.
00:44:12I wanted to be close to her.
00:44:14The first month it was natural,
00:44:16she had just had her operation.
00:44:18Nobody can make her decisions
00:44:20for her, not me, not anyone.
00:44:22I had to respect that.
00:44:24I had to support her decisions.
00:44:26I tried to do that.
00:44:28But a part of me was so scared
00:44:30that sometimes I thought,
00:44:32how come she's not afraid?
00:44:34Why isn't she doing all the therapies
00:44:36they want to give her?
00:44:42My mother is strong,
00:44:44but all her friends
00:44:46and all the people around her
00:44:48help her a lot.
00:44:50Without them,
00:44:52it would have been even tougher.
00:44:55I have fun with her friends
00:44:57sometimes, too,
00:44:59with her gang.
00:45:01They're all crazy, so, you know.
00:45:03I mean, it's fun, right?
00:45:05You're never bored
00:45:07with crazy people.
00:45:11I'll support any decision
00:45:13she makes.
00:45:15I mean, whether or not
00:45:17she does the therapies,
00:45:19it'll be fine.
00:45:21In my heart,
00:45:23I was sure it would be okay.
00:45:25I knew my mother wasn't going to die.
00:45:27I was sure.
00:45:29I was absolutely sure.
00:45:53When you're a woman,
00:45:55I don't know why, but you...
00:45:57What you're talking about,
00:45:59that initially you were hesitant
00:46:01to have a total mastectomy,
00:46:03I think that's perfectly normal.
00:46:05And I think it's a perfectly normal
00:46:07process that you go through
00:46:09until you finally reach
00:46:11a position where you can
00:46:13have a total mastectomy.
00:46:15And I think it's a perfectly normal
00:46:17process that you go through
00:46:19until you finally reach
00:46:21a decision,
00:46:23an informed decision,
00:46:25and a decision that you're convinced with
00:46:27that this is the best thing for you.
00:46:29And that's critical,
00:46:31because that's what's going to make you...
00:46:33That's going to increase
00:46:35your chances dramatically
00:46:37of being satisfied with your results
00:46:39in the future,
00:46:41as opposed to if I had told you,
00:46:43you know, you better take out your breast
00:46:45when, in fact,
00:46:47you didn't necessarily have to have
00:46:49your breast removed.
00:46:51So it's okay, you know,
00:46:53we went through a few small surgeries,
00:46:55but I think now you're convinced
00:46:57that that's the best thing for you.
00:46:59There are times I regretted
00:47:01a lot to have my boobs done,
00:47:03even if I made lots of money with them,
00:47:05because it's not...
00:47:07It's something foreign in your body,
00:47:09and I never got used to it,
00:47:11and every time a girl came to me and said,
00:47:13should I get my breasts done?
00:47:15And I would say, no, because then you're stuck
00:47:17for the rest of your life.
00:47:19But I have to say, yes,
00:47:21I made a lot of money with it,
00:47:23but my agent told me,
00:47:25like, it was, you know,
00:47:27the end of the 80s,
00:47:29the supermodel, big hair,
00:47:31big boobs, big everything,
00:47:33and, shut up,
00:47:35there is a lot of pressure.
00:47:37Sybil, you know guys
00:47:39get breast cancer too now, huh?
00:47:41There was two when I was doing my chemo,
00:47:43there was two guys there
00:47:45Are you done now?
00:47:47Well, I did not do radiotherapy
00:47:49because I'm going to have
00:47:51a double mastectomy with reconstruction.
00:47:53What?
00:47:55Yeah, because of my chances of this thing
00:47:57coming back are pretty high.
00:47:59And with that, you have lesser chance
00:48:01to have it reoccur?
00:48:03Well, if I have no more breasts,
00:48:05I don't have any more chances of,
00:48:07well, very, very small chances
00:48:09of the breast cancer coming back.
00:48:11And reconstruction is absolutely
00:48:13Yeah.
00:48:15It's so much a personal issue,
00:48:17it's so much where you are
00:48:19in your life, so much your age
00:48:21or what you do or
00:48:23how you feel about your own body.
00:48:25I sort of like not having breasts, actually.
00:48:27I said to somebody, I can take up archery now,
00:48:29or golf, I mean, nothing gets in the way.
00:48:31For riding, I can see it.
00:48:33I'm definitely not going to have
00:48:35big boobs.
00:48:37Something is for sure,
00:48:39they're going to be small and perky.
00:48:41Small and perky, that's good.
00:48:43Small and perky.
00:48:47So, in terms of reconstruction,
00:48:49there are two main types
00:48:51of reconstruction, right?
00:48:53One is where we use implants,
00:48:55and the other one is where we use
00:48:57your own tissues of your body,
00:48:59so muscle, skin, or fat.
00:49:01And you, I recommend undergoing
00:49:03reconstruction with implants.
00:49:05Okay.
00:49:07And the reason is that you don't have
00:49:09the muscle and skin from your back
00:49:11that I like to reserve as an option
00:49:13if there's a complication
00:49:15or if this doesn't work down the line.
00:49:17Okay?
00:49:19I mean, I'd rather have nothing than have something that
00:49:21looks like I've been injected with cement or something like that.
00:49:23I mean, I'm 63 years old,
00:49:25and I don't want like, you know,
00:49:27remember those old bras, they were like Dixie cups.
00:49:29I don't know, I just don't see,
00:49:31they never look natural to me.
00:49:33First stage, we put the expander in,
00:49:35cover it with the muscle,
00:49:37and the inferior part with the derma matrix.
00:49:39You'll have drains in place.
00:49:41We wait about two weeks for you to heal,
00:49:43and then we start stretching.
00:49:45We start stretching the skin by
00:49:47filling the expander in the office.
00:49:49And all that is, is putting a needle
00:49:51into the expander.
00:49:53And you're not going to feel anything.
00:49:55All you'll feel is just kind of stretching.
00:49:57Every week, expanding a little bit more.
00:49:59As much or as little as your skin can take.
00:50:01And it usually takes about four, five, six expansions.
00:50:03Okay.
00:50:05At this point, we wait three months.
00:50:07And then we do the second stage,
00:50:09where we use the same incision,
00:50:11take that out,
00:50:13and put in the silicone
00:50:15or saline implant.
00:50:17So you really have two choices.
00:50:19If you had radiation, it would change things a little bit.
00:50:21You would still be a candidate
00:50:23to undergo both types of reconstruction,
00:50:25either with your own tissues or with an implant.
00:50:27What it does is it really increases
00:50:29the chance of an implant reconstruction
00:50:31failing, of it not working.
00:50:33Either because of a capsule or contracture
00:50:35that keeps coming back, where the breast
00:50:37is squeezed by that capsule and becomes hard.
00:50:39And it doesn't look as nice.
00:50:41Or by infection.
00:50:43So, the literature shows that about 40%
00:50:45of cases where
00:50:47you do an implant reconstruction
00:50:49in radiated patients, fail.
00:50:51So if that fail rate of 40%,
00:50:53it's pretty high. It's very high.
00:50:55Anyhow, I think it's just important,
00:50:57because I think sometimes women,
00:50:59they have such a fear about what it's going to look like
00:51:01when you have the mastectomy.
00:51:03There's nothing there at all.
00:51:05I mean, there's just nothing, but
00:51:07you know, I don't...
00:51:09And I have a huge rib cage, so it sort of looks like I have breasts,
00:51:11but I really don't.
00:51:13And I'm lucky because I don't scar, but...
00:51:15Yeah, you have no scars.
00:51:17It's just never...
00:51:19I don't even think about it anymore.
00:51:21Breast cancer happens
00:51:23for unknown reasons in most women.
00:51:25I mean, hereditary breast cancer,
00:51:27at least you have some chance of preventing it.
00:51:29You can be told in advance,
00:51:31look, you've got a 50, 80, whatever,
00:51:33percent chance of breast cancer.
00:51:35Do you want to do something about it?
00:51:37I was
00:51:3933
00:51:41when my sister found out she
00:51:43had breast cancer.
00:51:45And
00:51:47we didn't know there was any history
00:51:49in our family at the time.
00:51:51And because she was young,
00:51:53they told her she should be
00:51:55tested for BRCA.
00:51:57And we didn't know anything about it.
00:51:59It never touched our family, so it wasn't something
00:52:01we knew anything about.
00:52:03Well, genes are made out of DNA, and DNA are letters.
00:52:05And you can think about it like
00:52:07the letters in a book.
00:52:09So when you're looking for a mutation,
00:52:11it's the same as looking for a spelling mistake
00:52:13in the text of a book.
00:52:15And that spelling mistake can be very small.
00:52:17It can just be one letter.
00:52:19Because if you're missing...
00:52:21If there's a spelling mistake in one letter in an important word
00:52:23in an important place, that can change the meaning
00:52:25of the sentence.
00:52:27So I got tested, and
00:52:29I found out that I had the gene as well.
00:52:31So
00:52:33I knew before
00:52:35being tested that if I was positive
00:52:37for the gene, that I would have prophylactic surgeries.
00:52:39Like, that was something I decided
00:52:41going in.
00:52:43Because to me, there's no point in being tested
00:52:45for the gene if you're not going to do anything about it.
00:52:47To sit and wait to get cancer is...
00:52:49To a certain extent, many women do feel
00:52:51that their breasts have become time bombs,
00:52:53and they don't want to live with that.
00:52:55And so they decide to have mastectomies.
00:52:57Other women are more comfortable living
00:52:59with this concept, living with this idea.
00:53:01And they decide to...
00:53:03They decide to carry on
00:53:05being screened, usually by MRI,
00:53:07and so on. And they...
00:53:09Sometimes they're fine.
00:53:11In my point of view, you're just waiting to get cancer.
00:53:13So that wasn't something I was willing to do.
00:53:15My sister Marla had died.
00:53:17Her spirit's always with me.
00:53:19Alain always tells me,
00:53:21if you have everything removed
00:53:23and don't do reconstruction,
00:53:25it's OK if you don't have breasts.
00:53:27Isn't that what you said?
00:53:29I did say that,
00:53:31and I'll say it again.
00:53:37I love Lucie for who she is,
00:53:39not the way she looks.
00:53:41Well, you like that, too.
00:53:43Of course, but...
00:53:49If you had your breasts removed,
00:53:53I wouldn't love you any less.
00:53:55Yes, but we'll still have them.
00:53:57We've seen Dr. Schwartz.
00:53:59We'll be fine.
00:54:19Look at all the inspiration here.
00:54:21This is a rare sight.
00:54:23It's the biggest volunteer-organized event
00:54:25in Canada.
00:54:29More than 100,000 people
00:54:31throughout 56 communities participate.
00:54:33You can really feel
00:54:35that something's happening here today.
00:54:37And that everyone is here
00:54:39to support these women
00:54:41who have, unfortunately,
00:54:43been through this ordeal.
00:54:49This is what it's real.
00:54:51You know, when you lose people,
00:54:53we call them our fallen warriors.
00:55:19Some antioxidants,
00:55:21some berries,
00:55:23with a dab of syrup.
00:55:25Plenty of antioxidants.
00:55:27Even today,
00:55:29it's still not enough.
00:55:31Doctors don't talk to you
00:55:33about your diet.
00:55:35I describe what I ate to them.
00:55:37All they said was,
00:55:39eat like you normally do.
00:55:41Well, what if I normally
00:55:43eat McDonald's every day?
00:55:45If I do that,
00:55:47it's not a miracle.
00:55:49One blueberry won't make you
00:55:51cancer-free.
00:55:53It's a lifestyle.
00:55:55It's just logical.
00:55:57Take care of your body,
00:55:59and your body will take care of you.
00:56:13I hope.
00:56:15I'm convinced that one day
00:56:17I'll be cancer-free.
00:56:19I'm absolutely convinced.
00:56:21It might take a long time,
00:56:23but after I've been clear for a while,
00:56:25I'll be able to say,
00:56:27I won, I'm in remission.
00:56:29But in the meantime...
00:56:31But even if you're clear for years,
00:56:33you have to stay vigilant.
00:56:35Yes.
00:56:37You can't ever let your guard down
00:56:39and say, it's all behind me,
00:56:41I'm safe now.
00:56:43It's an extra day to enjoy
00:56:45special moments, like today,
00:56:47or just little everyday things.
00:56:49It's a gift.
00:56:51Every day is a gift from heaven.
00:57:03Almost two weeks
00:57:05before the operation,
00:57:07before I lose my breast.
00:57:09No more breast.
00:57:13I really, really know
00:57:15it's going to be hard
00:57:17in the few months coming,
00:57:19but I know in the long term
00:57:21it's just going to be better.
00:57:43I'm so excited.
00:57:45I'm so excited.
00:57:47I'm so excited.
00:57:49I'm so excited.
00:57:51I'm so excited.
00:57:53I'm so excited.
00:57:55I'm so excited.
00:57:57I'm so excited.
00:57:59I'm so excited.
00:58:01I'm so excited.
00:58:03I'm so excited.
00:58:05I'm so excited.
00:58:07I'm so excited.
00:58:09I'm so excited.
00:58:11🎵
00:58:13🎵
00:58:15🎵
00:58:17🎵
00:58:29Nous avons un cheval,
00:58:31But their spirits continue to fight on in our battle against breast cancer.
00:58:49I'm a different person now, a better person.
00:58:51I mean, my life has changed in wonderful ways, incredible ways.
00:58:55And the people that I've met and what I'm doing with my life and the actual sense of
00:58:59satisfaction that I have, knowing that I'm helping other women, knowing that what I'm
00:59:02doing is going to make a difference.
00:59:04You know, I do this fundraising event, you know, for the Sears Breast Clinic, and it's
00:59:07called Jump for Hope.
00:59:08I truly believe that what we do, and I believe that my darling Susan Johnson, who died yesterday
00:59:13morning, she's my girl who started Jump for Hope, this event.
00:59:19We take breast cancer survivors who have never been on a horse and we train them for 10 months,
00:59:24we put them on a horse, and we teach them how to jump.
00:59:30We're not flying over six-foot fences, I mean, sometimes the jumps are so low it should be
00:59:33called Step for Hope, but it's a symbolic thing.
00:59:38It's the hurdles that we have to face when we're diagnosed with breast cancer and what
00:59:41we have to overcome.
00:59:42And it's the most frightening thing for people to get on a horse.
00:59:44I mean, they're really brave women.
00:59:47There's that bond that they have with that horse, and then they get up and they ride,
00:59:51and they all say, you know, for the two or the three hours, I don't think about anything
00:59:55else than this thing I'm doing with the horse.
00:59:58And it's really changed their lives.
01:00:00It's the most beautiful thing to watch.
01:00:05Winston Churchill had a wonderful thing, he said, the best thing for the inside of a man
01:00:10is the outside of a horse.
01:00:11Yeah, absolutely.
01:00:12And isn't that the truth?
01:00:13Yeah, absolutely.
01:00:14I mean, it really is.
01:00:19When there are the men, the princes, the ones that love you, love you, and it comes
01:00:24as a huge shock because, in fact, they love your internal beauty.
01:00:27They love the essence of you.
01:00:29They love who you are.
01:00:30They don't see you as breasts.
01:00:32They don't see you as hair.
01:00:33They don't see you.
01:00:34They love you inside.
01:00:37And that is the type of man that we want to have in our lives.
01:00:41Raymond is a lover I had ten years ago.
01:00:50He's a lot more reserved than I am.
01:00:52So there were certain aspects of my more outgoing nature that he had trouble living with.
01:00:59So we broke up.
01:01:00He moved to Toronto and lived there for eight years.
01:01:03When we were talking one day, he said, I'd like to come see you.
01:01:08A week later, he was here with his bag and a look in his eyes that told me he was determined
01:01:15to get me back, to win me over again, to conquer my heart.
01:01:21It's like you were a gift for my 50th birthday.
01:01:24A gift from heaven.
01:01:26And he said, every once in a while, I go to the spiritual yoga center in Costa Rica.
01:01:34That place is made for you, Amba.
01:01:37I have to take you there.
01:01:39I had just decided not to do the chemo, so I had no hospital appointments.
01:01:44I didn't need to see the doctor.
01:01:45I had my pills.
01:01:48He said, I'll pay for your trip.
01:01:50You're coming with me.
01:01:53So now we're back.
01:01:55And any doubt that still remained, or whatever cells were in there, I'm sure it was all swept
01:02:02away that month.
01:02:03And all the healers I meet now, they see my aura and say, there's nothing wrong anymore.
01:02:11Some sacred water, darling?
01:02:15The water of love.
01:02:20Full of joy and life.
01:02:24To our health.
01:02:26To love.
01:02:27To love.
01:02:34Jamie?
01:02:37Jamie?
01:02:40Jamie!
01:02:47Jamie!
01:02:51Jamie!
01:02:54Jamie!
01:02:57Jamie!
01:03:00There's so many constants that aren't there during cancer.
01:03:10Everything's variable.
01:03:11You have no idea what's coming next.
01:03:14It's Russian roulette.
01:03:15You're not sure if you're going to be the one who pulls through or the one who doesn't
01:03:18make it.
01:03:19And Timmy's just always there.
01:03:21He's a good boy.
01:03:25A lot of people just, they can't figure out how I'm going through this.
01:03:31And I think they're really wrestling with how they go through their own stuff.
01:03:35And then I get people emailing me saying that this helps them go through their stuff.
01:03:41Partly because they think they don't have it as bad as I do.
01:03:45And partly because they just figure, they laugh, they'll laugh too at their stuff.
01:03:49I get a lot of that.
01:03:51I was feeling so crappy till I read your blog.
01:03:55And now I realize I can just laugh at my stuff because I'm not as badly off as you
01:03:59are.
01:04:00Thanks.
01:04:01That's okay.
01:04:02My dad always said, tu l'aimes de ton destin.
01:04:03He put that in my head since I'm a kid.
01:04:13So I am the master of my destiny.
01:04:16Not a doctor, not statistics, nobody is the master of my destiny.
01:04:21I am.
01:04:22For that, I thank you.
01:04:23You know what also helped me is these guys.
01:04:35Our life has changed.
01:04:37Yeah.
01:04:38Positively, we want to live whatever we have left, the best we can.
01:04:43You know, I don't care what's going to happen.
01:04:46If my time will come, my time will come.
01:04:49I just want to live it and be happy and appreciate it all.
01:04:54Yeah.
01:04:55Yeah.
01:04:56Because I'm moving back to the States, I'm separating from my husband.
01:04:57Oh, you're kidding.
01:04:58I'm okay.
01:04:59I'm good.
01:05:00Everything is gone.
01:05:01The bad thing is gone.
01:05:02You know what?
01:05:03You're so like me.
01:05:04It's amazing.
01:05:05I love strong women.
01:05:06The only time you see what kind of person you are is really in a crisis.
01:05:20You change because you appreciate life more and then maybe you have something to teach
01:05:24others.
01:05:25You could be that or you could be the 50% that falls into that victimhood.
01:05:29You know, I'm the victim.
01:05:31This happened to me.
01:05:33I wrote a beautiful poem when I was, I have to show it to you.
01:05:36And it's about fall.
01:05:40Fall is mother's nature's way of beautifying death.
01:05:44I wrote that, my God, I must have been 14.
01:05:55Get!
01:05:56Chubborn little dog.
01:06:03Good boy.
01:06:04Because now I give him treats when I leave.
01:06:08So he's like, where's my treat?
01:06:12You know, he wants a treat.
01:06:15Okay.
01:06:16What a beautiful day to get surgery.
01:06:26I guess when it comes to their looks, women want to be better.
01:06:31Always reach out for men that are not like that.
01:06:35Women try to be better human beings all the time, you know?
01:06:38This disease is taking enough.
01:06:40It's not going to take my zest for life, you know?
01:06:45It's not going to ruin my life.
01:06:48Right now, I always hung to the hope that it's not in my lymph nodes.
01:06:53It's not anywhere, you know?
01:06:55So after I do all the surgeries and all the treatments, and one day it will be the end
01:06:59of it.
01:07:00But if one day they find it's in my bones, it's in my...
01:07:05That I know that my life is going to be pretty much a question of years, okay?
01:07:12So that will...
01:07:14I don't know how I would deal with that.
01:07:16That would be difficult, very, very difficult for me.
01:07:21Then again, maybe I would be strong and positive and...
01:07:25I don't know.
01:07:26But that is the only thing I'm afraid of.
01:07:29Hi.
01:07:30Hi.
01:07:31How are you?
01:07:32Good.
01:07:33You?
01:07:34You all set?
01:07:35Looks like it, yeah.
01:07:36Okay.
01:07:37Well, this is the first little step.
01:07:38So, okay.
01:07:39Question.
01:07:40Sure.
01:07:41I have to...
01:07:42I took some jobs next week in Toronto, some shoots.
01:07:45Am I going to be up for it or should I?
01:07:47I would play it by ear.
01:07:48Okay.
01:07:49I would play it by ear.
01:07:51So you're not going to be up for a good week before?
01:07:52What about riding?
01:07:53No.
01:07:54No, not for a couple of weeks.
01:07:55So for two, three weeks, no riding.
01:07:56Yeah.
01:07:57Two, three weeks?
01:07:58Yeah, two, three weeks.
01:07:59It's not a big procedure, but it's just kind of to set things into place so that when we
01:08:04put the expanders in, a little bit more easily accept the expanders.
01:08:08But even though it's a small procedure, you need a good two weeks to heal.
01:08:12Two weeks, huh?
01:08:13Yeah.
01:08:14Okay.
01:08:15So because you want to be a little bit smaller, I have to set the nipples at the right height
01:08:20and decrease that skin envelope.
01:08:22So we'll take the implants out, we'll do a redrapage, a mastopexia lift to decrease that
01:08:28skin envelope.
01:08:29So then when we go and put the expanders in, they'll fit perfectly.
01:08:31Otherwise, what would happen is you'd have the expander in place and then too much skin
01:08:36and it would kind of sag.
01:08:38She looks a little bit nervous, which is normal.
01:08:39I am nervous, but I have the best doctors.
01:08:43So I believe that between Carl and Dr. Otaki, I have the best on my side, so.
01:08:51Okay.
01:08:52Okay, doctor.
01:08:53See you soon.
01:08:54Okay.
01:08:55Bye.
01:08:56How long is the procedure?
01:08:57An hour.
01:08:58An hour.
01:08:59Maybe an hour and 20 minutes.
01:09:02I'm going to cut that after.
01:09:03Okay.
01:09:04Yeah.
01:09:05Are you going to put something to save time?
01:09:06Yeah.
01:09:07Yeah.
01:09:08After.
01:09:09I have a checkup.
01:09:10This here.
01:09:12Date of surgery is today, 12?
01:09:15Yeah.
01:09:16My mother's birthday.
01:09:17What's the surgery?
01:09:18Yeah, it's an overectomy.
01:09:19Okay.
01:09:20Removing the ovaries.
01:09:21Do you have allergies?
01:09:22No.
01:09:23No.
01:09:24According to you, why are you here?
01:09:27It's preventative surgery.
01:09:29Okay.
01:09:30Do you have pain?
01:09:31No.
01:09:32No.
01:09:34On the other side, can I?
01:09:36No, because I did 24 lymph nodes I removed.
01:09:39Okay.
01:09:40Okay.
01:09:41Because I did chemo on this arm a year ago, but it should be healed, the veins.
01:09:45But I know they're still a little tough.
01:09:47Yeah, it's hard.
01:09:48Okay.
01:09:49Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow.
01:09:50It's hurting.
01:09:52Okay.
01:09:53Okay.
01:09:54Okay.
01:09:55Okay.
01:09:56Okay.
01:09:57It's hurting.
01:10:27It was 2 in the morning.
01:10:31I was laying in a hospital bed when a doctor entered through the curtain.
01:10:35From the initial CT scan images we got back,
01:10:40all doctors sound the same to me.
01:10:43It appears you have a rather large amount of fluid in your left lung and a massive tumor over your heart.
01:10:53Now, we've seen this over a thousand times.
01:10:56It is very likely lymphoma.
01:10:59We won't know until we do a biopsy and some more tests.
01:11:02But again, it is very likely lymphoma.
01:11:09So, uh, what does that mean?
01:11:12It's cancer.
01:11:15Ha!
01:11:20I'm sorry to have to break this to you.
01:11:22It's treatable, though.
01:11:23And since yours is so aggressive, it should respond better to the chemotherapy.
01:11:28Sounds weird, I know.
01:11:30But that's just how it works.
01:11:32Hey, if you had to choose from a list of cancers, this is the one to get!
01:11:43That was awesome.
01:11:44I totally want to do that.
01:11:47Got it all percolating.
01:11:52I could have a guitar and I could just sort of like go and pick up the guitar and do like a number and then put it back.
01:11:58It's so fun.
01:12:03At first I was so scared.
01:12:04I said, I'm going to wake up and I'm going to have a cut like this.
01:12:07Something, you know, he's going to find complications.
01:12:10But you really reassured me.
01:12:12And you were there when I went to sleep and you were there when I woke up.
01:12:16So I think that human touch is so important.
01:12:19So I really want to tell you that you're a great doctor.
01:12:22And I hope that there's more doctors like you that are human.
01:12:25You're so kind.
01:12:26Thanks a lot.
01:12:27This is what we do, what we do.
01:12:29I mean, you need to be passionate about it.
01:12:31I think that medicine needs passionate people.
01:12:36One person out of three will die from cancer.
01:12:40So that's one out of three.
01:12:41You look to your right, you look to your left, one out of the three will die from cancer.
01:12:47So today we have the technology available, the molecular technology,
01:12:51to find why certain cancers develop, how they develop, and how to cure them.
01:12:56And again, I think that in our lifetime,
01:12:59we will see fundamental changes in the way that cancer is being dealt.
01:13:03The question then becomes, since basically we all are here temporarily,
01:13:09what will be the next thing that will replace cancer?
01:13:13There's always going to be something.
01:13:15Because none of us get out of here alive.
01:13:18But this is good because it puts things into perspective for us also.
01:13:22But the good news is, I think we are at the right time.
01:13:26It's an exciting time to see the development in cancer therapies.
01:13:46I've developed a metastatic lump.
01:13:51It's quite big, about the size of a tennis ball.
01:13:54It's metastasizing everywhere.
01:13:57So they said, your cancer is widespread,
01:14:00you have metastases and lesions on your right hip, on the left side of your groin.
01:14:06Out of the five tumors that were in the breast, two came back.
01:14:10Plus this one that's metastasizing,
01:14:12plus the one left on my throat near the thyroid,
01:14:16plus the ones in my bones, the cancer spread to my bones, on my ribs.
01:14:22And for me, that was too much.
01:14:26Going from one extreme to the other like that freaked me out.
01:14:35All night long, I felt fear in the pit of my stomach.
01:14:38You know that ball in your gut when you know it's near, extremely near,
01:14:44and if you do nothing, it's over.
01:14:48That was a difficult time for me.
01:14:52I'm still very emotional about that period because...
01:15:00Yes, I decided to do the chemo because when I got the news,
01:15:04my daughter Joelle was still with me, and she burst into tears.
01:15:09I said I was still unsure.
01:15:12I told her I have to call my healer first, but Joelle was so upset, so distraught,
01:15:17she said, Mom, no more dragging your feet.
01:15:20You have to do what needs to be done.
01:15:23So I decided to do the chemo.
01:15:27I worship you, almighty God.
01:15:33There is none like you.
01:15:37I worship you, oh prince of peace.
01:15:42That is what I long to do.
01:15:46I give you praise.
01:15:49I'm going to cry a little.
01:15:52I worship you, almighty God.
01:15:56There is none like you.
01:16:12When you're abandoned, so far from home,
01:16:18When you're abandoned, so far from home,
01:16:23God's God is high upon you.
01:16:29And when you have given all that you can give,
01:16:34God's God is high upon you.
01:16:40When you've forgotten your reasons to live,
01:16:45God's God is high upon you.
01:16:50Heaven is only a heartbeat away,
01:16:55And he's always listening whenever you pray.
01:17:01Open your arms, he will hold you today.
01:17:06He's got his eye on you, yeah.
01:17:11God's got his eye on you.
01:17:22I love you. Give me my life. Please.
01:17:41I'm jumping for Lynn Bernard today, who is now an angel.
01:17:46She had breast cancer, and she was very important to me.
01:17:51That's why I'm doing this jump today.
01:17:56I'm jumping for Lynn Bernard today, who is now an angel.
01:18:01She had breast cancer, and she was very important to me.
01:18:06She had breast cancer, and she was very important to me.
01:18:11That's why I'm doing this jump today.
01:18:16She had two back-to-back diagnoses of breast cancer.
01:18:21As a doctor, I see cases every day.
01:18:26Many of my relatives got breast cancer during menopause,
01:18:31lots of cancer in my family, including two deaths,
01:18:36both from breast cancer.
01:18:41So when the girls approached me to raise funds, I told them I was in.
01:18:46I'm jumping for Thérèse Gérard, who has breast cancer.
01:18:51I'm jumping for Émilie Gilbert, who's 23 and has breast cancer.
01:18:57Her name is Françoise Lemay. I love you, Françoise.
01:19:04It's a great feeling of feeling you conquered something,
01:19:07and now you're ready to conquer something else.
01:19:10In skydiving, everybody's afraid.
01:19:13People that are not afraid are missing a great deal of it,
01:19:17because when you're afraid, there is a certain barrier you have to go over.
01:19:24There is a great deal of fear to conquer,
01:19:29but what you're conquering is not skydiving.
01:19:32What you're conquering is yourself when you do that,
01:19:35because you just go beyond something.
01:19:37You go beyond something that's not known.
01:19:40This is a fun thing to do.
01:19:42Have you ever been with someone that at the last minute said,
01:19:45no, I'm sure?
01:19:47Well, you see, at 13,000 feet, when the doors open,
01:19:51and there's a lot of wind and everybody's screaming,
01:19:55no sounds a lot like go.
01:20:08We're doing it for Soraya!
01:20:11Thank you. Thanks, everyone. I'm going to watch you.
01:20:21I'm going to watch you.
01:20:51I wish we would have a world free of those diseases,
01:21:20a healthier world, and it takes all of us.
01:21:26If we could all join together, put our hands together,
01:21:31this world would be a better world.
01:21:50From this nightmare, happy disappear.
01:22:20Standing by the window, embracing faith in life.
01:22:26Everyone is quiet, love speaks through their eyes.
01:22:37On July 24, 2011, Kathleen passed away at home in Tony's arms.
01:22:44Her life is an example of resilience,
01:22:48an inspiration to never give up hope.
01:22:54Amba completed her chemotherapy.
01:22:57She then traveled to India to find a cure.
01:23:02But on September 2, 2011, cancer took her life.
01:23:10At the end of her journey, she wrote,
01:23:14a thousand times abused.
01:23:23Danuta underwent a mastectomy of her right breast,
01:23:26followed by chemotherapy.
01:23:28She then learned that her mother was also diagnosed with breast cancer.
01:23:32She left at once for Poland to be with her.
01:23:38Pamela, a five-year cancer survivor,
01:23:42turned her life around, divorced her husband,
01:23:45and returned to her native Seychelles,
01:23:48fearlessly embracing her future.
01:23:54Valerie is celebrating her seventh anniversary of being cancer-free.
01:23:59She has pledged to continue supporting the breast cancer research for a cure.
01:24:07Wendy underwent a preventive hysterectomy and is now on remission.
01:24:12She found her true vocation in reaching out to others through her comedy shows.
01:24:17She says that cancer cannot take away her love of laughter and life.
01:24:22George, her ex, has always been there for her.
01:24:28Lucy decided to undergo a preventive double mastectomy with reconstructive surgery.
01:24:34Her zest for life shows us that nothing, not even cancer,
01:24:38can stop us from pursuing our passions.
01:24:41Alain supports her unconditionally.
01:24:47Soraya, in an effort to defeat the disease,
01:24:50underwent a preventive mastectomy of her second breast with reconstruction.
01:24:55She now pursues a healthy lifestyle and enjoys every moment with her family.
01:25:02Suzanne has been cancer-free for 10 years now.
01:25:05Although her health is fragile,
01:25:07she has learned to fully appreciate her life through yoga and meditation.
01:25:13She is hoping to establish her own breast cancer research foundation.
01:25:21Each and every journey presented here is a testament to human resilience.
01:25:30But as the fight continues,
01:25:33the wisdom and beauty within us will help us conquer the beast until we find the cure.
01:25:54Good morning, everyone.
01:25:56I'm so excited to see all of your faces out there.
01:26:00Because of you, lives have already been saved.
01:26:06There are men, there are women, there are survivors,
01:26:09and we have to celebrate our successes
01:26:11and continue to give hope to those fighting with this disease.
01:26:26I'm very proud of myself.
01:26:28I'm very proud of this woman I see in the mirror every day.
01:26:36If you're not out there doing something with your life,
01:26:39making a difference in the world,
01:26:41you know what?
01:26:43You're boring.
01:26:44And my biggest fear in life is to be boring and bored.
01:26:48One, two, three.
01:26:54Whether I live another year or five years or 20 years,
01:26:57it doesn't really matter.
01:26:58I need to do what I'm called to do and what I'm meant to do.
01:27:02And it got my mind off the cancer,
01:27:05and it made me realize that it's not bigger than I am.
01:27:12You know, I always said you have to be brave to be happy
01:27:16because to be truly happy and to live according to your principles
01:27:20and to live your life the way you want,
01:27:23the higher the risk, the higher the reward, you know?
01:27:34Breast cancer is not the end of you being a beautiful woman.
01:27:37It's not the end of your femininity.
01:27:39You have to keep positive and you have to keep...
01:27:41Everything grows back.
01:27:43My getting breast cancer just opened a can of worms for me.
01:27:46I'm not done at all.
01:27:53We're savoring life. That's it.
01:27:55We're savoring it.
01:27:57I want to do everything I can to help other women
01:28:00who have breast cancer or any other form of cancer.
01:28:03You're not alone.
01:28:13We will end women's cancers.
01:28:20We will end women's cancers.
01:28:22We will end women's cancers.
01:28:24That's what this is about.
01:28:26We will end women's cancers.