Writing & Healing: Using Mindfulness and Creativity to Become Whole Again
By Pamela Post-Ferrante on April 16th, 2014 Categories: The Breast Cancer JourneyMy first diagnosis of breast cancer was a surprise. I was too young. There was no breast cancer in the family, but this rational defense didn’t stop what was to be: four diagnoses and eight surgeries and treatments from 1993-1998, dominating and changing my life.
I am two decades away from that first biopsy surgery. Looking back, and especially looking back through my writing, helps …
Strive to Thrive: Welcome Spring by Letting Spirituality Bloom
By Jean Kane on April 10th, 2014 Categories: Day-to-Day MattersA few days before my scheduled double mastectomy, I begrudgingly allowed a dear friend to take me to a “healing service” at her church. My reluctance grew out of uncertainty — what was a “healing service,” anyway? And, was it worth a precious hour or two of my time while I was busy preparing my family and myself for surgery, recovery, and the months of …
OMG! 2014 Cancer Summit for Young Adults April 24-27: See You in Vegas!
By Claire Nixon on March 26th, 2014 Categories: Events, The Breast Cancer JourneyIf you were diagnosed with breast cancer under the age of 40, then Stupid Cancer’s OMG! Cancer Summit for Young Adults might just change your life.
An oncology conference and social networking event like no other, the OMG! Cancer Summit draws hundreds of young adults diagnosed with all types of cancer for a multi-day experience. The Summit began in 2008 as a 1-day event in …
Living a Breast-Free Life
By Barbara Kriss on March 25th, 2014 Categories: Treatment & Side EffectsWhen I first met my mother-in-law, in 1972, she had recently recovered from her second mastectomy. She was only 46 at the time. She’d had her prior mastectomy at age 31. Reconstruction wasn’t an option back then. I remember feeling sorry for her, but also marveling at her positive attitude. She looked great — she wore breast forms and, had I not known about her …
The Silver Lining: An Insightful Guide to the Realities of Breast Cancer
By Hollye Harrington Jacobs, RN, MS, MSW on March 18th, 2014 Categories: Day-to-Day Matters, The Breast Cancer JourneyAs a healthy, happy, thirty-nine year old mother with no family history of breast cancer, being diagnosed with the disease in 2010 shattered my world.
As a nurse, social worker and child development specialist with experience in an intensive care unit and both adult and pediatric hospice, I found myself in the unique position of moving from the side of the bed as a healthcare …
