The View October 17th Recap: Breast Cancer Awareness Special Preempeted
Today The View finally had a topic more relevant than fall fashion or Britney Spears, but the first 2/3 of the show were unfortunately preempted by President Bush. As of right now there are not video clips of the episode available on the ABC website, but I will let you know if I see them pop up there. Below (in blockquotes) is the official recap from ABC. Below that are my thoughts on the part of the episode that I was actually able to see.
We welcomed the woman who wrote the Bible for women battling breast cancer, President and Medical Director of the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation and author of Dr. Susan Love’s Breast Book, Dr. Susan Love. She joined the ladies at the Hot Topics table. For more information about her foundation, go to dslrf.org.
Then, newswoman René Syler, author of the book Good Enough Mother, came by to reveal why she made the controversial decision to have a double mastectomy even though she didn’t have breast cancer.
Next, we welcomed Lori Benson, who was loving life as a mom of a 14-month-old baby when she suddenly found herself fighting for her life. As a love letter to her daughter, she decided to film her battle with breast cancer. Now, that love letter has turned into the award-winning documentary Dear Talula. For more information, visit deartalula.com.
I caught the tail-end of the segment with Lori. Her daughter, now almost six, was adorable and had made cards for each of the hosts. They showed a clip from the movie in which Lori made a joke while reading the side effects of treatment. She said that you have to find humor in situations when you can. They also showed a clip of Lori’s devastation when she could no longer breastfeed her daughter following her mastectomy. She said that she felt that it took some power away from her as a mother to no longer be able to have that part of their relationship.
Donna Bruck was 24 years old when she heard a commercial saying that women over 20 should do self-breast exams. That night she did so and found a marble-like lump which was later diagnosed as breast cancer. She had a mastectomy and five months of chemotherapy. She does not know if that will prevent her from having children in the future.
After her diagnosis, her mother was also diagnosed with breast cancer. Dr. Love said that it is not common for women in their 20s to get breast cancer, although in women who have it in their family, like Donna, it is more common. Donna’s grandfather also had breast cancer. Dr. Love said that the average age of breast cancer patients in this country is 64.
Donna has been recognized as a Yoplait® Champion for helping other people to fight breast cancer. She has a team called “Fight like a girl” that raises money for the American Cancer Society. She also has a local project called “cancer connection” where she goes with people to their treatment appointments.
For more information on breast cancer awareness, check out Discussing Breast Cancer.
Donna Bruck, The View, breast cancer, Dear Talula , Lori Benson, Rene Syler, Dr. Susan Love, breast cancer awareness
October 21st, 2007 at 5:09 pm
I caught much of this on The View/ABC’s site and liked it. They all brought good questions, and for the first time ever, I didn’t mind EH’s. Maybe this should do more of these one-topic-per-show episodes.
October 23rd, 2007 at 10:42 pm
How can I sign up for ” Subscribe to Watching The View. It’s Free!”
I can’t seem to pass the section putting my email address it.
October 29th, 2007 at 9:19 am
Hi Winnie.
First of all, thanks for the link back to my site where I’m always Discussing Breast Cancer (thus the name!).
On the show today (I don’t always catch it) they showed a pink ribbon mug for breast cancer awareness.
Did you see that? We need to get one!!
October 3rd, 2008 at 7:01 am
[...] View had a similar breast cancer awareness episode last year, but you may recall that the live episode was pre-empted by a speech by President Bush. Hopefully this year’s special will not face the same fate as [...]