Birthdays are a big deal in my family. This was true long before cancer touched my family but especially now. As a three-time cancer survivor, I don’t take these opportunities for granted. I am grateful for the gift of another day. As I turn the page of another year, I wanted to pause to share
My cancer anniversaries are moments to acknowledge the journey. And lessons learned. Surviving three cancers brings many experiences and lessons. Some ugly, some beautiful. With that in mind, I want to share 10 lessons from surviving 3 cancers, focusing on the strength found in this journey. This new road in life I thought I had
Today I celebrate 21 years since finishing treatment for my first cancer. Two weeks ago, I celebrated the end of treatment for my third cancer. I guess June will be a month of celebrations and recognition going forward. When I walked out of the hospital, done with a grueling 13-month treatment that included inpatient chemo
I’m honored and excited to share that I will be again joining LIVESTRONG at the annual One Voice Against Cancer lobby day in Washington, DC. I’ll be joining other cancer advocates to meet with our federal legislators to talk about cancer research, access to care and more. You all know I’m super passionate about cancer
When you hear the words “it’s cancer” (or whatever your doctor said to change the course of your life), there are a lot of emotions and thoughts that collide in the seconds, hours, days, months that follow this news. I first heard a variation of those words when I was 21, three months shy of
Being outdoors has always been one of my favorite places. From simple play in my childhood backyard to trail rides on horses to fishing on a quiet lake, being in nature seemed like ‘second nature’ to me. I didn’t think much about it because my parents were always encouraging us to ‘go outside and play.’
You’ve probably seen a lot of people recently posting on social media about gratitude and giving thanks. Many of my friends do a gratitude countdown to Thanksgiving in November. I love reading these, as I’m a big believer in expressing thanks and gratitude. To people, as it means much to hear kind words. To yourself,
Being a cancer advocate to help others is one of my greatest passions. As a bone cancer and melanoma survivor, and daughter who lost her dad to cancer, the fight against this disease is very personal. However, this fight goes far beyond my family’s story to also include dear friends and family, and their family
I’m sorry that I’ve been a little quiet on the blog lately. I’ve been recovering from unexpected surgery to my leg. Many of you know that I’m a bone cancer survivor. Along with aggressive rounds of chemo, I underwent a limb salvage surgery (thankfully) that removed and replaced most of my femur, knee and upper
I had the awesome fortune to spend last week in Iowa with friends from Team LIVESTRONG. We biked across the state, dipping tires in the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers, to raise funds and awareness of LIVESTRONG‘s programs and services for people facing cancer. Sixty-five teammates raised more than $180,000 and created some amazing memories through
