October is complicated for me. Breast Cancer Awareness Month (BCAM) always brings mixed feelings. Six years, and I still can’t stomach pink! As I have mentioned here before, breast cancer ruined the color pink. I am thrilled with BCAM’s awareness of the disease but appalled at all the “Pinkwashing” that major brands embrace. If you are unfamiliar with the phrase pinkwashing, see the definition…
Unexpected triggers hit me when I feel great, so I never know how to handle them. Does this ever happen to you? I am ok if I go to a cancer fundraiser because I know something there will trigger me. But the trigger that hits when I’m out enjoying myself is a real challenge. My heart races, I become lightheaded, and I often cry—no easy explanation for…
Aside from January, the anticipation of September might be my favorite time of year. Are you excited about the change of seasons? September marks the start of a new school year. Yes, it forces us to say goodbye to Summer. However, it lets us say hello to Fall, sweater weather, apple picking, and pumpkin-flavored everything. Who doesn’t love that? For me, September is more exciting than the…
“Your hard matters,” according to Nancy Stordahl. How true! We all experience hard things in life, albeit to varying degrees. Emerging is the new book you need to read. I could not put it down. Typically, I am not enamored by others’ cancer stories. It is sort of a been there, done that scenario. However, Emerging is different. It hit me hard, so I wanted to write…
The tragedy is over, so you should feel euphoric, right? Being a survivor is not as easy as you think. You are alive and undoubtedly grateful; however, survivorship is highly complicated. Currently, I am in my sixth year of breast cancer survival. Cancer treatment was a harrowing experience, but that’s not what I want to write about today. I want to explore what it’s like to…
I bet you are very curious about this headline. I’ve never had the threesome you are most likely imagining. Six years ago was my last radiation treatment. Yes, I refer to it as my last threesome since I had two male technicians manipulate my breasts daily, Monday through Friday, for 7.5 weeks. That is a long time! Every day, these men strategically placed my breasts so the…