October. The month of welcoming fall, orange and black for Halloween and……pink. October is breast cancer awareness month, a focused attempt to ensure women get their preventive breast cancer screenings and raise awareness of the need for research and new treatment options. Did you know that one in eight American women with develop breast cancer
People often don’t understand that although cancer treatment ends, it doesn’t really end. What does that mean? Many of the drugs that work to save your life from cancer can cause other side effects – heart issues, bone degeneration, hearing loss, hot flashes, whatever. So you’re always on your toes, being proactive or managing some
“In a world where you can be anything, be kind.” It’s one of my favorite quotes. I even bought a shirt with the quote. I’ve been thinking about kindness a lot the past few months. I was the recipient of a lot of kindness during my recent breast cancer journey. From receiving funny cards to
You get a lot of advice when you’re diagnosed with cancer. From your medical team to well-meaning people to strangers who don’t have a darn clue about your situation but feel the need to comment anyway. For the most part, I appreciate the thoughtfulness but don’t get stuck in the advice. Not that I don’t
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
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
When I started treatment for a bone cancer diagnosis at the end of my senior year in college, I was grateful to meet other cancer patients who shared their experiences, tips and lessons. While nothing can completely prepare you for the wild ride called cancer, it helped to have some knowledge to lean on, and
Some people may read my headline and think of course I would advocate for cancer survivors because I am a cancer survivor. That’s not the entire reason why I advocate for people facing cancer, including caregivers, family members, friends and others. I don’t advocate because I feel obligated as a cancer survivor, I do it
