Adjusting Perspective.
Well, that certainly didn’t turn out the way I thought it would. Not at all. I didn’t realize it until after the fact, but, like my husband, I had been telling myself a certain story about how all of...
View Article(Please) keep your “cures” off my cancer.
Since my cancer diagnosis a year ago, I’ve received countless recommendations for purported cures and treatments for cancer. Most of the recommendations have been respectful and well-intentioned, from...
View ArticleWhy I feed my toddler an anti-cancer diet.
Can you imagine if you had never put anything unhealthy into your body? No fried foods, candy, caffeine, soft drinks, alcohol, drugs, red dye #40, processed foods, chemicals, hormones or any of that...
View ArticleI got tested and found out I have the cancer gene.
I recently made the decision to seek genetic counseling and testing to determine if, given my history of cancer, my daughter was also at risk for contracting the disease. Turns out, she very well may...
View ArticleI’m having my healthy breasts removed.
I recently found out that I have the BRCA1 genetic mutation. And even though I’ve recently gone through a hell of a year of intense treatment for widespread gynecologic cancer, I am now facing the fact...
View ArticleThe third option.
A fellow cancer fighter, the badass Kaylin Andres, wrote recently in the Huffington Post about her ongoing battle with cancer. Her perspective really resonated with me, now more than ever. She said, “…...
View ArticleLetter to my daughter at 16 months.
I don’t know what it feels like to have a child and not have the dark cloud of cancer hanging over my head. I was diagnosed with Stage 3C widespread gynecologic cancer when my daughter was just five...
View ArticleAny port in a storm (or why I love my port).
So I’ve had my port-o-cath for a little over a year now. It’s literally a part of me. This little medical devise was implanted under my skin last spring to enable my medical team to obtain easier...
View ArticleWhat ‘National Cancer Survivor’s Day’ Means To Me As A Survivor And A Mom
A year ago I had never even heard of National Cancer Survivor’s Day, a celebration of life held around the world. This year, however, it’s an incredibly important day for me. What a difference a year...
View ArticleMe and Angelina: Why I Stand By My Decision to Have Preventative Cancer Surgery
What do I have in common with Angelina Jolie (besides oversized lips that are apparent even in our baby photos)? We’re both moms. We both discovered through DNA testing that we carry the BRCA1 genetic...
View ArticleMe and My Foobs: What It’s Really Like Post-Mastectomy
Before my surgery, I spoke openly about my decision to undergo a prophylactic bi-lateral mastectomy in the wake of a BRCA-1 diagnosis. I’m now about six weeks post-surgery, the (proud?) owner of two...
View ArticleYour Cancer Is Not My Cancer: The Danger of Comparison
Teddy Roosevelt is quoted as saying “Comparison is the thief of joy.” I’ve found this to be particularly true in the area of my own personal journey with cancer. I learned the hard way that comparing...
View ArticleBe Your Own Advocate (If You Don’t, Who Will?)
I always had difficulty asking for what I wanted or needed. I never wanted to be a bother, or cause anyone any trouble. Even when asked if I wanted something, or if someone could do something for me,...
View ArticleTaking My Vagina To Boot Camp
I just had sex with my husband and it hurt like hell. It’s not because of anything he did; we’ve always had great sex. It’s just that intercourse has been painful since my cancer surgery, which...
View ArticleRight On Time
I wrote recently about having auditioned to participate in Nashville’s first production of Listen To Your Mother, a live staged reading of essays written by real people about motherhood. The event took...
View ArticleMy Second Act
I recently had the pleasure of helping produce a live staged reading of women survivors talking about their second acts. The production closed out last month’s Second Annual National Women’s Survivors...
View ArticleAvoiding Negative Self-Talk: Why the Phrase ‘F*ck Cancer’ Is No Longer in My...
You know that icky feeling you get in your stomach when you’re fighting with someone … when the conflict hangs over your head like a dark cloud, robbing you of feeling joy at any given point in your...
View ArticleThe Cure for Cancer? Why False Claims Are Dangerous
A couple of years ago, I published a blog on Huffington Post, imploring well-meaning (and sometimes not-so-well-meaning) folks to refrain from telling me what to do to “cure” my cancer. The premise of...
View ArticleH-T-W.
Some of you may of you be familiar with the game K-F-M (http://killfuckmarry.tumblr.com), where one is given three hypothetical options and has to pick who among them they’d, respectively, kill, f*ck,...
View ArticleAlive and kicking.
I haven’t posted any status updates since leaving the hospital a week ago, mostly because I’ve spent the week surrounded by my wonderful family, in my own home, and it has been extraordinary. But I...
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