BCAM: October 13th

Today is the ONE day during Breast Cancer Awareness Month allocated to those of us who are Stage IV. When I was diagnosed, I was astonished to learn that we get one day. We are dying 365 days of the year, 24/7, and we get ONE day in all of October?! Frankly, it feels like … Continue reading BCAM: October 13th

BCAM: October 12th

This is one of the things that causes me, as a daughter, wife and mom some sleepless nights. My diagnosis is happening to me, but it is also happening to everyone around me. I'm sure no parent will misunderstand when I say that I would rather take all the pain on myself rather than see … Continue reading BCAM: October 12th

A Pinktober Contest and #4forStageIV

#4forStageIV Four word for stage IV metastatic breast cancer: these four important words describe only the tip of the psychosocial iceberg that is …A Pinktober Contest and #4forStageIV

BCAM: October 11th

Death, is a really hard subject to talk about. Our culture does not give us a language and we, as a culture, tidy death away from from sight. Because of that, we've lost the ability as a culture to really support one another when we have to face it. Here's what Adiba has to say … Continue reading BCAM: October 11th

BCAM: October 10th

Before breast cancer, I took a multivitamin (maybe) and that was it. At various times, I took some supplements when a vitamin or mineral showed up as lacking, but I generally eschewed medication and pills if I could. When I was trying to get pregnant, that changed and throughout pregnancies and breastfeeding, I started to … Continue reading BCAM: October 10th

BCAM: October 9th

Before I was diagnosed with breast cancer, I had no idea that men could get it. And yet, they do. Adiba shares some statistics: Another note about men, as fathers, men carry the genes that can be passed on to their daughters and sons and raise the risk of developing breast cancer. Often, women believe … Continue reading BCAM: October 9th

BCAM: October 8th

When I was bald and my skin was literally gray from chemo, people stopped to help me. They opened doors (more than when I was hugely pregnant), they let me go in front of lines, they didn't give me weird looks when I parked in handicapped parking spots, etc. When I used a walker to … Continue reading BCAM: October 8th

BCAM: October 7th

Those of us with Metastatic Breast Cancer (MBC) live our lives in three (3), six (6) or twelve (12) month increments. What does that mean? We receive a scan in one of those increments, which tells us how our cancer is behaving. Traditionally, the first pattern is every three months. Adiba has this to say … Continue reading BCAM: October 7th

BCAM: October 6th

I am asked regularly -- "when will you be done with treatment" or "How are you recovering" or something similar. In my view, the fact that I'm asked these questions comes from two places: 1) people don't know what to say/ask, so they say/ask something that comes to mind; and 2) there is a fundamental … Continue reading BCAM: October 6th

BCAM; October 5th

The median age of diagnosis with breast cancer in the US is 61 and anyone who has seen a parade or group of women with breast cancer will note that the age trends towards the post-menopausal. However, the a growing segment is those of us diagnosed with breast cancer pre-menopausal. Many of us were told: … Continue reading BCAM; October 5th