The study, which was published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association, looked at data from the U.S. Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results, or SEER database.  Researchers found that in 1976, 1.53 out of every 100,000 American women 25 to 39 years old was diagnosed with advanced breast cancer.  But by 2009, that rate had almost doubled to 2.9 per 100,000 women for the same age group.

Breast cancer in young women is still considered rare.  Currently, about 7 percent of all breast cancers cases in the United States are diagnosed in women under 40.  But researchers warn that it is a trend that requires more research.  Because even though breast cancer is rare for young women, it also tends to be more aggressive.  Thus, survival rates for young women with advanced – or metastatic - breast cancer are much lower than they are for older women.

At this point, researchers don’t want to scare young women into thinking that their risk for breast cancer is high – because it’s not.  But they do want to make sure that young women know that breast cancer can and does happen to young women, too.  So it’s important for women of all ages to get in the habit of performing monthly self breast exams.  And it’s also important for health care providers to be aware of the trend so that they can spot cases earlier in their young patients.

Now that researchers have found this trend in the U.S., they’re hoping that other countries will undertake similar studies so that they can determine if the trend is worldwide, or if it is isolated to the U.S.  And then they need to figure out why.

Have you ever considered taking a break from Facebook?  Last week, I wrote a post on Mother Nature Network about a dad who paid his daughter $200 to stay off of Facebook for five months.  It was an interesting move that’s prompted even more interesting conversation around the web.

Apparently, the “Facebook Vacation” has become the latest trend in social media, with folks hopping off for weeks or months at a time.  Over the course of the last week, I have seen posts from three Facebook friends announcing their intention to take a break from the site and asking folks to contact them elsewhere if need be.

The closest I have come thus far to a Facebook Vacation is when I actually went on vacation last summer with my family – camping in Yellowstone and Grand Tetons National Parks.  It wasn’t really intentional.  There simply wasn’t cell coverage in many of the areas we visited, so over the course of the ten-day trip, I checked in via cell phone maybe two times.  And what I remember from that experience is that it felt pretty awesome to step away from that platform and gain hours back in my day that I have previously devoted to Facebook.

Since then, the idea of a taking more regular breaks from Facebook became more and more appealing to me.  But I have been hesitant to take the plunge for two reasons.  First, I was worried that I would miss an opportunity to use the site for work related purposes.  I am fortunate enough to be a member of several different groups on Facebook whose members I tap regularly for advice, quotes, and thoughts on posts.  And Facebook has also been my connection to a number of recent work-related writing opportunities.

The other reason that I hesitated was that I didn’t want to snub my Facebook friends with an insinuation that I am too good for the site.    I love that I am able to connect with friends all over the world on a daily basis. I love to see the pictures of my old high school friends’ children.  I like knowing what projects my colleagues are working on – especially if I can offer some sort of help on a project that I might otherwise not have known about.  And I love the entertaining and witty memes that circulate around Facebook on the latest social buzz.

The problem is that it is all sometimes just a little too much.  I work from home on my computer, so it is far too easy to surf over to Facebook under the guise of checking in with some green group members about a post I’m working on, only to be sucked into a vortex of scrolling the feed and responding to wall posts that have little or nothing to do with work.  The end result is that I am less productive and the rest of my day suffers for it.

So – in the name of science – I am officially taking a break from Facebook for one week to determine how much more productive I can be without the social media temptation.  I am still available via Twitter (@thegreenparent) and email (jenn[at]thegreenparent[dot]com)  for folks who want to get in touch with me.  But I have removed Facebook from my computer’s toolbar and from my phone.

Wish me luck!

Have you ever taken a Facebook Vacation?  I would love to hear about it!

Has it really been six months since I started my Cinchspiration journey?  I cannot fathom that just six months ago I was at my heaviest weight ever and had fallen so far off of the fitness track that I couldn’t even find my running sneakers.  Yet, here I am just 6 months later at my post-baby weight having completed a TRIATHLON and a HALF-MARATHON and making plans to run a MARATHON in the spring!

When I first started the Cinch program in June, my main goal was to get healthy and fit.  My 40th birthday was fast approaching and I didn’t want to face it at my heaviest weight to date.  I wanted to lose weight, but more important than that, I wanted to change my lifestyle so that I could keep it off for good.  I’ve done the diet roller coaster before.  I’ve lost weight while adhering to a diet, but once the diet period ended, the weight always came back, and it usually came back with a vengeance.

Me, after 3 months with Cinch and right after I completed the Luray Sprint Triathlon.

I’m happy to report that I achieved my goals on both counts.   By the end of September, after three months of using Cinch for weight loss, I had lost 16 pounds to reach my goal “pre-baby” weight.   Then came the bigger challenge.  Keeping the weight off.  For the next three months, I used the Cinch maintenance plan of one shake or meal bar followed by two healthy meals.  This is where things usually go wrong for me.  But this time, it didn’t.  By relying on my Shaklee shake to get started each day, and the immeasurable support I received from the other members of Team Cinchspiration, I continued setting and achieving new health goals over the next three months to maintain my weight loss.

And that’s where I am today.  Fit, feeling-fabulous, and now finally 40 too.  I can’t express how grateful I am to have been part of this Team Cinchspiration experience.  Following the Cinch plan was just what I needed to knock me out of a health and fitness rut and steer me back onto a track of healthy living and eating.

If you are interested in participating in the next round of Team Cinchspiration, I strongly encourage you to sign up for Shaklee’s newsletter as the announcement with details for the next program will be released here.  As part of Team Cinchspiration, I was given Shaklee weight loss and maintenance products to try and review for free for the last 6 months.  But the reviews written (and the pounds and inches shed) were all mine.

This morning was particularly gut-wrenching for me.  To say that my youngest hates Mondays would be a gross understatement.  She loves school.  But she loves days off even more.  And every Monday we deal with tears and tantrums as she adamantly professes that she simply will not go to school.

This Monday was no different.  Except for some reason, her tantrums were replaced by crocodile tears and a solid case of the clingys.  I just want to spend the day with you mom, she cried.  I cried right along with her.  I just wanted her to stay home, too.  But I realized that letting her play hookie today would not be good for either of us.  Because when Tuesday came, we would have to face the same demons.  For my daughter, the desire to simply hang out at home.  For me, the desire to shield her from the world for just one more day.

It’s tempting to pull up the covers and try to shut-out the senseless evils of the world, but we can’t hide, can we?  Try as we might to protect our kids from pesticides, global warming, and high-fructose corn syrup, we simply can’t hide in our homes in fear of every shopping mall, post office, and school classroom.

We have to continue living.  For our own sanity as well as our children’s.

Tomorrow, I will let my daughter stay home from school.  Because in this time of sadness, I really want to be with her too.  I want to snuggle and read stories and soak in every moment of her awesomeness.  But not because I am scared of sending her to school, and not because she just hates a Monday.  I want to do it to celebrate her childhood, not to mourn the loss of another’s.

RIP beautiful children of Sandy Hook Elementary.

Did you have a hard time sending your kids to school this morning?

Photo: babykrul

In Memoriam of the lives lost at Sandy Hook Elementary School

I am absolutely heartbroken this morning.  Trying to come up with words of comfort, words of solace, words of advice to address yesterday’s tragedy.  But there truly just aren’t words that can ease an ache so gut-wrenching.  Instead, my only advice is to hug your children that much tighter.  Allow yourself to feel the pain.  Send your thoughts and comfort in any way that feels right to you – prayer, thoughts, healing vibes – to the families so devastated by yesterday’s events.

At this point, my children know nothing about what happened in Connecticut yesterday.  And if it left solely to my discretion, they never would.  But at a community event last night, I noticed that some of their friends were already talking about it.  So at some point over this weekend, before I send them back to school on Monday with a heavy heart and a shaken faith in humanity, I will tell them that something terrible happened in this world on Friday and answer any questions they might have while still attempting to shield their innocent hearts from the full blow of the pain.

Babble has compiled a good round up of posts from expert organizations like the American Psychological Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics on talking to kids about tragedy.  There’s some good advice in there for those of you, like myself, who simply don’t know where to begin.

Have you talked to your children yet about what happened yesterday?  If so, do you have any advice to share?  I would greatly appreciate it.

If you’re just tuning in, I’ll sum up the last five months in a sentence.  Since June, I have lost 16 pounds, completed my first Luray Sprint Triathlon, reached my goal weight, hit a wall, and bounced back to where I am today – happy, healthy, fit, and hovering close to goal weight.

I’ve also done two pretty amazing things in the last month that I’ve just got to share with you.  I ran a half-marathon.  And I helped to organize a 10K-5K-1K run in my hometown to benefit a close friend whose 2 year-old is battling cancer.  Both of these accomplishments have left me more more inspired than ever to keep working toward my goal of living a healthier life – and that means keeping up with my exercise, making better food choices, and relying on Cinch to maintain my goals.

As I mentioned above, I had a few hiccups this month and I am hovering close to goal weight.  In the last few weeks preceding our local run, I put in countless hours of work which often meant sleepless nights, skipping meals, missing runs, and living off of candy from my kids’ Halloween stash!  But I didn’t go totally over the deep end.  When possible, I started each day with a shake, so that even if I didn’t eat another bite until the kids went to bed – and even if that wasn’t the healthiest food choice – I knew I was at least starting the day with the right nutrition.  I totally credit that habit with keeping me from gaining back every one of those lost 16 pounds over the course of the last month.

The 10K-5K-1K race event was last weekend and it was a big success.  Almost 400 people from our small town came out to enjoy the day. Everyone seemed to have a blast walking and running, cheering on friends and family, and most importantly, supporting our friend and her daughter.

Now that the event is over, I’m back to running, back to making better food choices, and continuing to enjoy my morning shakes to keep me on track.  The holidays are right around the corner – tomorrow {GASP} – but I’m feeling pretty confident that I will soar through with the help of Cinch.

Are you ready for the holidays?

Disclosure: It’s been a while since I said this so I figured it’s a good time to repeat it.  I am part of a team chosen by Shaklee to receive a free 6-month supply of Cinch products to try out.  But all opinions documented here are 100% mine and mine alone.

Earlier this week, I received an email asking if I would like to try out the VIVOBAREFOOT Gobi shoe in conjunction with a giveaway going on over at Planet Shoes.  The Gobi is a men’s boot with an ultra barefoot sole that is as close as you can come to walking around barefoot without actually getting your feet dirty.

Now, before I go any further, I should tell you that my husband is the ultimate green consumer in that he truly never really buys anything.  And say what I want about minimizing packaging or purchasing items made from recycled materials, but you really can’t get much greener than not buying anything new at all.

So a product has to really stand out if it’s going to get the green light from him.  And these shoes actually passed his test.  They are hip and stylish without being overly fussy and pretensions.  He has worn them almost everyday since he got them and remarked about how comfortable and supportive they feel.  He has only had a few days to wear them, so it’s too soon to make any predictions about durability but they look like they are built to last.

I do believe that these Gobis have become my husband’s new go-to shoe for day-to-day wear.  Would he shell out $150 to buy them if they hadn’t been given to him for free?  Indeed he would.  And you just can’t get  better recommendation than that.

Yesterday, I went for a run for the first time in a week.  I also watched what I ate ALL DAY – even opting for a Shaklee shake instead of bday cake at my daughter’s party.  And guess what?  I felt awesome!  For the first time in 10 days or so, I felt healthy and fit again.  Sure, it was only one good day in a lineup of bad days.  But in the grand scheme of things, those bad days were just a blip when it comes to the good progress I’ve made over the last four months.

So I’m going to quit beating myself up and stick with the program that has been working for me for four months.  Now if it would just stop raining so that I could go for a run again!

How have your weight loss efforts been progressing?