Health
Breast Cancer Risk Drives Lifestyle Changes for Charlotte Maxwell Clinic Volunteer
I’m so blessed to have my breast doctor, Dr. Consorti. I can tell I’ve had three breast surgeries but nobody else can tell outside of me and my doctor.
Part II
I’m so blessed to have my breast doctor, Dr. Consorti. I can tell I’ve had three breast surgeries but nobody else can tell outside of me and my doctor.
When the test results came back at Stage 0, Dr. Consorti went in as if I had full on cancer and was like a plastic surgeon at the same time. She did a clean-around and took anything that looked abnormal out. She said “I don’t want you to go through what other women have gone through.”
Initially, I felt like I was cheating on my doctor for seeking second and third opinions about the surgery she did. I went to Stanford and to UCSF and they both said the same thing—that they would have let the abnormal cells progress to cancer then would have gone in and been super aggressive in treating it.
I find that’s really an awful way to handle cancer. I don’t care how young you are, you should have a higher chance of living and recovering from breast cancer if you catch it early. Again, I feel blessed my doctor did not wait and that’s why I’m an advocate for regular mammograms.
I’ve also done acupuncture, acupressure, massage—I recently came across a massage that works with my breasts through my homeopath. I believe in western medicine 100% but I think you should be able to do both. You need both to feel balanced, to have a sense of natural treatment. So, I see my acupuncturist regularly.
Changing your bra really helps with your breast health. I got rid of my underwire bra years ago.
I researched and learned there are cancerous ingredients in beauty products—whether it be for your hair, your face, your body. There are websites where you can look up the products and see what’s in them (e.g. EWG Skin Deep® Cosmetics Database]. I dumped basically all of my products, especially deodorant with a key ingredient [aluminum], and switched everything to organic.
So, I’ve completely changed my lifestyle, including my bras, beauty products, food, and deodorant. People say, “Oh you’re so bougie because you only go to places that are super expensive.”
I look back at the many conversations with my breast doctor who said. “I want you to be healthy enough to have a long life on this Earth with your son.” I only have one child and I feel that I had to change the way I eat and the things that I do so that I can be healthy for myself and those that I love and especially for my son.
For the past 30 years, Charlotte Maxwell Clinic (CMC), the Oakland-based nonprofit women’s clinic, has been supplementing Bay Area low-income women’s standard cancer care with complementary therapies, free of charge—including acupuncture, herbs, homeopathy, massage, guided imagery, movement, nutrition advice, and self-care education.
These services are made possible by a network of dedicated volunteers that include practitioners of holistic modalities, language interpreters, and drivers who use their own vehicles to transport clients to and from their CMC appointments. Michelle Meza has been a driver with CMC since 2017. Melbra Watts is CMC’s executive director.
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