Grief Tourists Who Go TOO Far

I am thankful to Chelsey Gomez and a recent Journeying Beyond Breast Cancer weekly blog roundup for learning this term: "Grief Tourists." You should check out her writing and follow her as well as the weekly round-up of blogs. I also like the definition below from BladderCancer.net, a HealthUnion site like AdvancedBreastCancer.net, for which I … Continue reading Grief Tourists Who Go TOO Far →

A follow up to billing issues …

I wrote a blog post recently about feeling in the middle between my insurance company and my cancer center this week and you can access that here if you are curious about that. In the midst of that experience, I had multiple conversations with people in my life about medical billing issues AND received bills … Continue reading A follow up to billing issues … →

305PinkPack

As many of you know, I currently live in Miami, Florida and I've posted/talked about my involvement with the 305PinkPack at various times. The Pack, as we often term it, is the brainchild of Rosemary Carrera, a breast cancer survivor, a medical professional, and all around amazing person. Here is how she describes her experience … Continue reading 305PinkPack →

BIG NEWS!!

It's with many many many mixed feelings that we officially announce our move from Miami back to Orlando in June of this year after the boys finish the 2021/2022 school year. As many of you know, when I was diagnosed with Stage IV Metastatic Breast Cancer back in 2017, we moved to Miami to be … Continue reading BIG NEWS!! →

I don’t want to be in the middle!!!

As the eldest of six (6), I've never experienced the woes of the middle children, but I think I might be starting to understand a little of how/why they tend have some objections to the way they are treated. My experiences aren't the result of family dynamics, but the experience of being a patient who … Continue reading I don’t want to be in the middle!!! →

When you feel brushed aside … a bit of a rant …

I’m not habitually a complainer. My main focus for most of my life has been to be a planner, a caregiver, a problem solver. I was the person that others asked for help with legal issues in my professional life and that definitely affected my personal life as well. Sure, there were always stressors and … Continue reading When you feel brushed aside … a bit of a rant … →

Patient Centric

For the last five (5) years, I’ve been an active patient. This means I see a plethora of doctors regularly in a variety of places/states/types of offices, I have a pharmacy in my bathroom for cancer treatments and all the side effucks, and I’m in infusions centers, phlebotomy labs and hospitals regularly. I also ask … Continue reading Patient Centric →

Tumor Heterogeneity

"Tumor Heterogeneity" (TH) is a phrase that often comes up in discussions with my medical team and with researchers as we all attempt to understand and anticipate the behavior of the cancer cells. From some of my discussions with other patients on social media, there does seem to be a lot of confusion about this … Continue reading Tumor Heterogeneity →

Book Review: Hope Rising; How the Science of Hope Can Change Your Life

Recently, a dear friend and fellow MBC'er Andra Kalnins and her sister, Ilga Leimanis, began posting about their project entitled "Sister Hope." I was intrigued and followed how they presented the culmination of their discussions and activities as they worked together to process Andra's recurrent Stage IV Metastatic Breast Cancer diagnosis. As I did, I … Continue reading Book Review: Hope Rising; How the Science of Hope Can Change Your Life →

Guilt vs Shame, Part II

In Part I, which was published last week and you can access here, I examined whether a person struggling with what they are labeling "survivor's guilt" are actually experiencing shame. My conclusion, based on the definitions, my own experiences, and some research, was that there is a combination of both. One element that I believe … Continue reading Guilt vs Shame, Part II →