Welcome!  Thank you for being a part of our first M:TA newsletter.  It is an exciting time for this project.  For those of you reading this who may not be familiar with Myself: Together Again (M:TA), it is a project dedicated to empowering young women through the breast reconstruction process.

M:TA was created about a year and a half ago when, I, a young breast cancer survivor myself, was diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer at age 32.  I was newly engaged and planning my wedding and felt desperate to know what I would look like through the process of breast reconstruction following a double mastectomy.  I decided to do a double mastectomy because of the history of breast cancer in my family.  I could not find any pictures that satisfied my need to know how my body would look rebuilt.  Feeling frustrated and angry I decided it might be worth my while to have myself photographed so that other young women could see what would lie ahead for them through the difficult months of expanding their chest to prepare for permanent implants.    

I have to give credit to the M:TA team who walked me step by step through the picture taking process as well as what has ended up to be a 32 page booklet, website, and full time mission to educate women about breast reconstruction as well as sharing my experience along the way.  The photographer, graphic designer, writer, web developer, web designer, Cornucopia House Cancer Support Center, Susan G. Komen NC Triangle Affiliate and all who have made M:TA what it is today deserve the credit for making this such a wonderful resource for young women.      

When the booklet was in production during the spring of 2006, we decided to change my name in the booklet to “Denise” to protect my privacy.  We knew the booklet could end up being all around the state of North Carolina and at that point I was not comfortable acknowledging that it was my body going through such a difficult transformation.  Today, the M:TA team has decided it is time to take “Denise” out of it and I will from this point on be using my name in the booklet and on the website.  Changes will probably not take affect until the Fall of 2006.    

I feel proud of this decision and I have all of you to thank.  The family, friends, colleagues, health care professionals, breast cancer patients, and survivors as well as many of you who I have met along this journey - it is you that has given me the strength to show what my body has been through and feel comfortable with how I look today.  Thank you.    

I encourage you to read through this first newsletter and really become a part of what the M:TA team is up to.  If you are not interested in receiving these newsletters, please just reply and ask to be removed- we will happily erase your e- mail from our list.  

~Debbie Horwitz, M: TA Project Creator and Breast Cancer Survivor

The Myself: Together Again booklet first came out in April of 2006.  The weekend before it came out there was an article in the Raleigh paper, (The News and Observer), that told my story mainly, but the writer also touched on who the booklet was intended for.  (Visit this link to view the article online:  News & Observer Article, April 9, 2006)  The writer who wrote that story did a wonderful job of telling how I was affected through my breast cancer and most importantly through the reconstruction.  However, much of the story about how the booklet came to be was not mentioned in that article.  For example, Cornucopia House Cancer Support Center, a 501 C-3 organization in Chapel Hill, North Carolina helped this project in a tremendous way.  They partnered with us in the beginning so that we would be able to write a grant to Susan G. Komen.  Their partnership and support has allowed M:TA to do things that otherwise would have taken years to happen.  Also, the writer who co-wrote the booklet with me, Beth McNichol was not mentioned in the article and she was a wonderful person who really gave the booklet a lot of depth and perspective.

It has been difficult not being able to tell those of you who have been following M:TA’s progress, that there were so many people integral to this process - so thank you for letting me share a few names.  Also, when the booklet came out in April, many of you on this list serve e mailed us wanting copies of the booklet sent to you.  Unfortunately, the grant was written in such a way that the booklets are only to be distributed to health care settings and providers such as hospitals and physicians offices, so we were unable to ship them out to folks directly.  The counties we focused on in this grant are Wake, Durham, and Orange so we have made a big effort to get them in as many places as possible for patients and caregivers to be able to pick them up.    

Currently the booklets can be found at the following locations*:     

• Rex Cancer Center, Raleigh, NC

• UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Ctr./ Patient and Family Resource Center, Chapel Hill, NC  

• Durham Regional Hospital/ Dr. Lee Wilke, Durham, NC  

• Duke Hospital/ Dr. Linda Sutton and Dr. Lee Wilke, Durham, NC  

• Duke/Raleigh Hospital, Raleigh, NC  

• Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, Winston Salem, NC  

• Dr. Donald Oschwald/ Specilaist in Plastic Surgery, Raleigh, NC  

• American Cancer Society/ Look Good Feel Better Coordinator Greta Schiffman  

• Dr. Faust/Wake Surgical, Raleigh, NC  

• Cancer Centers of North Carolina/ Cary office, Cary, NC  

• Dr. Graham’s Office/ Waverly Hematology/ Oncology, Cary, NC  

• Angel Hair Wig Gallery  

• Cornucopia Cancer Support Center  

• Atrium OB/GYN/ Dr. Zimmerman, Raleigh, NC     

* There are a few other physicians who have booklets as a reference, but they do not yet have quantities to distribute.   

We hope you will visit one of these locations if you are interested in getting a booklet.  If you do not see your doctor or practice on this list please write to me at info@myselftogetheragain.org  and we will contact that office and ask them if they will carry the booklets.  We still have some visits to make in Durham and Orange County so we will update you as we add to the list.  

Noticias Emocionantes!  The booklets will be available in Spanish in August.  

Because we want all women who are considering breast reconstruction to have access to the booklet, the M:TA team developed a website.  In early June of 2006,  we officially launched www.myselftogetheragain.org.  Please visit the website to see the booklet on line and to learn more.  The pictures that you see on the website are the same pictures that exist in the booklet, but we feel it is easier to view the booklet then it is to see the pictures on the website.  The detail in the pictures looks better in the booklet and there is a little more text in the booklet as well.  We are pleased that the website is available and we hope you will review it and give us feedback.   

In the next few weeks, Ivanhoe Productions will be sending out the story they did on M:TA to their 250 affiliate networks.  Those networks will air the story at various times.  To see if you are in a city that is affiliated with Ivanhoe, go to their website at www.ivanhoe.com, scroll down, and click on the left side where it says “Our TV partners.”  We do not know when the stories will air, but we have been told to regularly Google Myself: Together Again to see where the story was shown.  We are excited about this.  It was fun to do the story and it will be M:TA’s first TV appearance. 

The networks that run the " Smart Women" series are the ones that will feature M:TA. We are trying to keep track of where the stories have run so far; we know on July 12th the story ran in West Palm Beach Florida, and July 20th in Austin, TX. 
Click here to see story.

We recently have had some other requests from magazines and television shows but so far we have not committed to anything.  Stay tuned…. We will keep you in the loop!    

On September 14^th at Angel Hair Wig Gallery in North Raleigh, Debbie will be speaking about her experience and giving out copies of the booklet to women.  All are welcome.  The event is from 7-9pm.    

So, the M:TA project team has a lot of wheels spinning, but we think that is a good thing.  It has been a fun and exciting 2006 so far and we will continue to present the booklet and get it into as many places as possible.  Please contact us at info@myselftogetheragain.org if we can be of any assistance to you.      

Thank you for you support,    

Debbie