COOKING UP FUNDS TO FIGHT BREAST CANCER

I have always feared breast cancer and always expected to get it since my mother and my grandmother have it. Lucky for me, they are both survivors. I routinely examined myself and had mammograms but still my worst fears were confirmed in May of 1999. I was 39 years old and faced with many choices.

I was walking by the mirror naked one day and noticed an odd dimpling on my skin, over my right nipple. The next day I went in and had a mammogram and sure enough something suspicious showed. The radiologist confirmed a one centimeter tumor and said it would not have been picked up on mammogram if I hadn't shown him exactly where it was.

I went in for a biopsy and it came back malignant. I then scheduled a lumpectomy and had the procedure done but was told that I would have to come back for a mastectomy. The one centimeter tumor ended up being 8-10 centimeters. My tumor was called "lobular" and the chances are great that my healthy breast would become infected so I opted for double mastectomies. My lobular cancer was not detectable by mammogram or ultrasound. It was very scary, that being so careful for so many years that I didn't find my cancer until it was 8-10 centimeters. My husband, Brett, who is a Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon, placed expanders at the time of my mastectomies. I went through a round of chemotherapy, which was one of the most difficult things I have ever done.

While recovering, I thought a lot about my 7-year-old daughter, Sia. Her great grandmother, grandmother and mother could very well have given her the breast cancer gene. What was I going to do to save her from the ravages of this disease as well as maybe saving her life. I decided to put together a cookbook and called it " Recipes for Research ". I enlisted the help of friends, family, and celebrities and asked for everyone's best recipes and compiled an awesome cookbook to sell. 100% of the net proceeds are being donated to Breast Cancer Research.

The foreword for my book was written by the creator of the Breast Cancer United States postal stamp. Our local Congresswoman, Ellen Tausher has a wonderful recipe in the book, and Terry McMillan, author of "Waiting to Exhale", also contributed her favorite recipe. We have had wonderful letters from United States Senator Barbara Boxer as well as Senator Richard Rainey. I'm not sure how they found out about the book, but I was so pleased that they were so concerned about this disease and felt compelled to write me.

I never realized what an outpouring of support I would get from the community in which I live. The book has spread to five states and is displayed in over 40 offices. I have also had the chance to touch the lives of women recently diagnosed with breast cancer and help with their recovery process. My hope is that everyone reading about my story will join me in my fight against breast cancer by purchasing the book for themselves or a loved one. Tell 10 friends about us and lets build a pyramid of cancer-busting cash so that women in the future will not have to go through what so many of us have.

Thank you, in advance, for your support.

Janice Stompro
Breast Cancer Survivor

Questions or Comments:
Janice Stompro