A little over nine (9) years ago, my husband and I became parents for the first time after some struggles with infertility (I had a hormonal imbalance). That day feels like 100 years ago and yet yesterday. Prior to our eldest son's birth, we spent a lot of time talking, thinking, and reading about parenting … Continue reading Book Review: The Gardener and the Carpenter
Recently, I was talking with someone who doesn't have a genetic propensity for cancer while her sister not only inherited the propensity but also has de novo Stage IV Metastatic Breast Cancer (MBC). In discussing how this dichotomy is dealt with in their family versus my own, she mentioned that she has had to deal … Continue reading Guilt v Shame, Part I
Back in January, I had a biopsy done of two of the three largest liver mets that were part of the progression found by the January PET/CT. I wrote the following three (3) posts as we learned more about the first soft tissue metastases that we've ever been able to test: Brace, Brace, BraceReceptorsMutations Become … Continue reading Genomic Testing of Liver Tissue
Recently, the world was rocked a little when Will Smith slapped Chris Rock on live television. My husband told me about it around the time that it happened and I watched social media explore the issues for the next few days. There are many strong views offered up on all sides of the issue, many … Continue reading The conundrum of Will Smith’s slap
One of the scariest side effects of ongoing cancer treatment, for me, is the affect on my cognitive abilities. There's a fancy term for this -- treatment related cognitive impairment -- but most people call this "chemo brain." For me, it was years after IV chemotherapy when a physical medicine doctor finally noticed that I … Continue reading Aging and Cognitive Decline
Reading has often been an escape for me. I learned to speed read at some point in my schooling years and part of that experience is to immerse myself wholly in whatever I'm reading. Since my diagnosis with Stage IV Metastatic Breast Cancer (MBC) in 2017, reading has become even more important. From learning about … Continue reading Book Review: The Gifts of Imperfection
Recently, a dear friend, Megan Claire Chase a/k/a Warrior Megsie, shared the below video on her social media channels during the month of February, which is also known as Black History Awareness Month. If you don't already follow her on social media, you should definitely do yourself a favor and follow her now -- outside … Continue reading Expert Level: Oppressed
Recently, I picked up Peace is a Practice; An Invitation to Breathe Deeply and Find a New Rhythm for Life after following the author, Morgan Harper Nichols on Instagram for a bit. She's an amazing poet, artist, writer and activist who also happens to be on the autism spectrum. From following her and reading her … Continue reading Book Review: Peace is a Practice; An Invitation to Breathe Deeply and Find a New Rhythm for Life
We lose friends and acquaintances and people we’ve never met daily to metastatic cancers. Many of us talk about how we are often scared to open social media because of how often we see notices of hospice or decline or death. Some of the last pictures of people we love are horrifying. The suffering we … Continue reading To Bear Witness
I've worked with quite a few patients with Stage IV Metastatic Breast Cancer (MBC) over the past several years who were attempting to address and educate insurance companies, health, life and disability, as well as governmental entities like Social Security and even their own doctors. One of the first things I tell each person I … Continue reading Taking my own advice …
No Half Measures 