Counting on Her Fans through Treatment
- Former QVC host Antonella Nester is currently battling breast cancer and previously had breast surgery. Now she’s undergoing chemotherapy before she starts radiation. She also has non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
- Radiation is often used after surgery to kill off any cancer cells that may remain in the breast or surrounding area. However, there have been some debates concerning the proper radiation procedure for breast cancer.
- It’s important to try to build a sense of community while undergoing cancer treatment. It doesn’t have to be big like Nester’s thousands of followers but opening up to others about your struggles during a cancer battle can be beneficial to you and possibly those you reach out to as well.
Nester grew a wide audience for herself by touching people all across the nation with her endearing personality on TV. But her world began to turn upside down when she was fired in July 2020 along with many other popular QVC hosts.
Read More“I’ll tell ya right now that you guys pulled me out of the rabbit hole,” she said. “Last week, Jesus carried me and you carried me. Man, I needed you, and man you showed up. I’m still just blown away.”
She went on to say that the support she’s received from her viewers is “stone cold living proof” of the true bond they have.
“You guys show up every time, you guys are there for me no matter what,” Nester said. “It’s always you guys, and you know what, I’m not surprised. I always felt that way and I always knew that the connection was real. This just proves it.”
And even though she’s already had breast surgery and still has another round of chemotherapy followed by radiation treatment, Nester’s attitude has remained positive. She is determined to have some fun with her next videos by doing a head wrap tutorial, giving viewers a tour of the boat she lives on and much more.
“If you’re looking for gloom and doom and sadness in the next couple videos, you ain’t gonna find it here sista because we are about to have some summer fun,” she said.
Understanding Breast Cancer
The American Cancer Society estimates that about 281,550 new cases of invasive breast cancer and about 49,290 new cases of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) will be diagnosed in women in the United States in 2021. Although most cases are found in women, men can develop this cancer too though it is more rare, in part, due to the simple fact that men have less breast tissue.
There are many treatment options available for people with this disease, but treatment depends on the specifics of each case. Identifying these specifics means looking into whether the cancerous cells have certain receptors. These receptors the estrogen receptor, the progesterone receptor and the HER2 receptor can help identify the unique features of the cancer and help personalize treatment.
The Unique Features of Breast Cancer: Deciding the Right Course of Treatment
"These receptors, I like to imagine them like little hands on the outside of the cell, they can grab hold of what we call ligands, and these ligands are essentially the hormones that may be circulating in the bloodstream that can then be pulled into this cancer cell and used as a fertilizer, as growth support for the cells," Dr. Elizabeth Comen, a medical oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, tells SurvivorNet.
One example of a type of ligand that can stimulate a cancer cell is the hormone estrogen, that's why an estrogen receptor positive breast cancer will grow when stimulated by estrogen. For these cases, your doctor may offer treatment that specifically targets the estrogen receptor. But for HER2 positive breast cancers, therapies that uniquely target the HER2 receptor may be the most beneficial.
Chemotherapy & Radiation for Breast Cancer
Breast cancer treatment can vary greatly from case to case. Some women have chemotherapy and radiation done on their own, but others have it done with surgical procedure like Nester. The purpose of radiation is to kill cancer cells in a targeted way. With breast cancer, it is often used after surgery to kill off any cancer cells that may remain in the breast or surrounding area. But this method is not a top choice for everyone. Some debates focus on whether you should expose the whole breast or part of the breast to radiation. The main goal is to always offer the best outcomes with the least side effects, but some doctors disagree as to exactly how to go about doing that.
Chemotherapy has also always been a hot topic of discussion, but there’s been significant advances to this therapy. Now doctors have the Oncotype DX test to determine if a woman would be able to go through the treatment and avoid serious side effects. If a person's score is low, it tells doctors that chemotherapy is not the best option for them. Essentially, their prognosis will not improve with the treatment, so it’s not worth putting them through the immense physical toll.
Relying on Community
During a cancer battle, it’s important to know that you are not alone. There’s a community out there for you to be vulnerable with, if you’d like, and it’s worth it to at least try to connect with some people as you battle the disease. Antonella Nester has been very up front with how much her viewer community has uplifted her and pushed her through her cancer journey and she’s definitely not the only to build a support system in that way.
Kate Hervey is another cancer warrior who has touched many people by sharing her story. A young college girl, she was shocked to be diagnosed with synovial sarcoma, a rare type of cancer that tends to form near large joints in young adults, after seeing her doctor for tenderness and lumps in one of her legs.
Hervey, a nursing student at Michigan State, had to handle her cancer battle during the COVID-19 pandemic and scale back on her social activities as a high-risk patient. That's when she turned to TikTok as a creative outlet, and inspired thousands.
Inspiring College Student, 20, Builds Community on TikTok Sharing Her Cancer Journey During COVID-19
"One thing that was nice about TikTok that I loved and why I started posting more and more videos is how many people I was able to meet through TikTok and social media that are going through the same things," she says. "I still text with this one girl who is 22. If I'm having a hard time, I will text her because she will understand. As much as my family and friends are supportive, it's hard to vent to someone who doesn't know what it's really like."
Hervey is now cancer-free, and says she couldn't have done it without the love and support of her TikTok followers.
"I feel like I've made an impact on other people and they have made an impact on me through TikTok, which is crazy to say. I can help people go through what I've been going through as well." She has graciously agreed to allow SurvivorNet to use her content in order to help our community.
So while sharing your story for thousands of YouTubers might not be your thing, it's important to consider opening up to others about your struggles during a cancer battle. Even if it's with a smaller group, you never know how much the support can help you or help those you share with unless you try.
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