Recently, I was scrolling through Facebook and I came across a post in a closed support group for those us living with Stage IV Metastatic Breast Cancer (MBC) that really resonated with me. As I read through the post, I realized that it felt really familiar and by the time I got to the end … Continue reading Attribution
Category: General
ReBlog from Journeying Beyond Breast Cancer: Weekly Round-Up
Time for this week’s round-up of the best of the blog posts which I’ve read over the past week. These are the posts that have moved me, taught me … Weekly Round-Up
Comparative suffering
Recently, during a webinar I was moderating for SurvivingBreastCancer.Org, Jennifer O’Brien said something along the lines of “comparative suffering is a crock of shit.” The webinar was all about the amazing organization Soaring Spirits, which supports people grieving after their person has died and which I encourage all of you to check out and support. … Continue reading Comparative suffering
Results, when do patients want to know?
Recently, a medical oncologist posted on Twitter about how a patient finding out their scan/testing results through their portal was a bad experience for the patient. This doctor, as many do, opined that a patient getting a result outside the doctor’s office created too much anxiety and concern. As I expected, responses to this tweet … Continue reading Results, when do patients want to know?
Days 5 & 6 in San Antonio (crazy late!)
As you probably noticed, I was running out of steam those last few days in San Antonio! Big conferences like the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS) before my diagnosis were a challenge since I have to expend a lot of energy around other people and that struggle has gotten so much worse after I … Continue reading Days 5 & 6 in San Antonio (crazy late!)
Happy New Year, 2023
Each year, I spend some time looking back, not to castigate myself for failures, but to consider what has happened. 2022 has been quite the year, for the entire world. This exercise helps me focus on the year ahead by reminding me what went well and what didn’t. I wrote about my musings previously. Here’s … Continue reading Happy New Year, 2023
6th Bonus Birthday, 2022
I've seen others living with Stage IV Metastatic Breast Cancer (MBC) talk about bonus birthdays, those birthdays after a serious diagnosis, and I've decided to adopt this terminology. I turned thirty-nine (39) a few months after my de novo diagnosis in 2017 and today, in 2022, I'm turning forty-four (44). It's not so much as … Continue reading 6th Bonus Birthday, 2022
Breaking into Advocacy
During the recent San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS), a comment was posted on a post that continued a picture of a few of us hamming it up for the camera with the person commenting lamenting how they weren't part of the "in crowd" in MBC advocacy. The same picture was posted in a few … Continue reading Breaking into Advocacy
Day 4 in San Antonio (a day late)
Can you tell that things get overwhelming at a big scientific conference? My stamina is definitely different these days and I'm glad that things are starting to wind down. I've also learned a little about taking breaks and prioritizing the topics and activities that are the right fit rather than trying to take everything in. … Continue reading Day 4 in San Antonio (a day late)
Day 3 in San Antonio, 2022
After the marathon day yesterday, we got a slower start to the day today. A calm port in the storm of the conference activity is the Patient Advocacy Lounge sponsored by Eli Lilly, which gives those of us who need a break some down time and a place to connect with other patient advocates. Starting … Continue reading Day 3 in San Antonio, 2022
No Half Measures 