How to Prepare for Mastectomy and Reconstruction
In this post I share a checklist for how to prepare for mastectomy and reconstruction surgery. This is a combination of my own advice and th
What I would tell myself during treatment
While talking about some of my darkest moments during cancer treatment, my therapist asked me what I would say to myself if I was able to talk to her (me) in that moment. I would tell myself that it’s a hard, scary road but I DO get through it. From the start, I was told I would get better, but that is so hard to believe after so many complications and things going wrong during chemo. I wasn't that afraid of the cancer - I always felt confident that treatment would be effecti
6 Months Post-Treatment: Follow-ups, Scares, and Progress
Still working on that Mastectomy checklist post - it's taken longer than expected! In the meantime, I thought I'd provide an update on how I'm doing 6 months post-treatment and share a little bit about a health scare I had last week. Right now, I'm about 15 months post-chemo, 13 months post-surgery, 9 months post-radiation, and 6 months post-Herceptin. Because my tumors were hormone receptor-negative, that means I'm basically finished with all treatments specifically focused
My Boobiversary and One Year NED!
Today marks one year since my double mastectomy. Although I didn't find out until I received my pathology results the following week, this is also technically the anniversary of when I could say that I was NED - No Evidence of Disease. At least with breast cancer, I think most oncologists won't use language like "cure" and "remission" - instead, NED is the technical term, which indicates that there's no sign of cancer according to all of the tests they've run. I am incredibly
More than a pink ribbon - How to really support breast cancer awareness
it's more than just a month, a color, or a ribbon. To me, it's about making smart investments with the money you donate, knowing and
