What a couple of weeks it’s been! How are you doing this week? I hope you’re hanging in there. I’m still navigating the Stages of Grief from finding out I have Stage 2 metastatic breast cancer. My third round of breast cancer. I did learn, from my endocrinologist of all people!, why this third round … Read more
A few days ago, October 20th, 2023, was the 19th anniversary of getting word that I had breast cancer for the first time. In 2004, I was 39 and it was a shock to learn that the lump I had found in my right breast was cancer. Granted, it really wasn’t a shock as I … Read more
I mentioned a few weeks ago that I went in for a PET scan to see if the 5 nodules on my lungs, one of which had grown a little over the past year since they’ve been tracking it, were cancer. That PET scan was held on August 25th. I went in to meet with … Read more
A few days ago I saw a post on Instagram asking what our favorite diabetes focused blogs were these days. A bunch of people replied saying their favorite diabetes blogs no longer exist. Maybe people are tired of blogging about the endless ins and outs of living life with diabetes. As you know, I’ve been … Read more
Breast Cancer Awareness Month has arrived in one of the weirdest years ever. We are still in a worldwide pandemic and it’s not safe to gather in groups. This is the first year since 2013 that I have not spent most of the year and the month of October organizing Personal Ink Tattoo Day. Like … Read more
“Endurance is a decision, not a quality.” ~ John Munger What is endurance? How does one endure? How much can one endure? These questions have entranced me for much of my life. It’s what drew me to Vipassana meditation almost 20 years ago. It’s what captured my imagination and my body when I discovered my … Read more
It’s the day after October 20th, my 15th cancerversary, as I write this post. Yes, I was diagnosed with breast cancer for the first time on October 20th, 2004. I’m still alive and I’m still working to help women transform their lives after going through a mastectomy. After all I have survived, I am profoundly … Read more
“What is love? Gratitude. What is hidden in our chests? Laughter. What else? Compassion.” – Rumi I have profound gratitude for the presence of one teacher in my life. Her name is Ki Ki Gore. She was the daughter of Greek immigrants. She was my high school Spanish teacher. I attended three high schools over … Read more
Do you like to volunteer? I’ve noticed that I tend to make close friendships with people who enjoy volunteering. I was assessing my current volunteering efforts, and I realized that one of my current all-time favorite volunteering efforts is with Personal Ink, P.ink Tattoo Day MSP. Personal Ink is a program of FCancer (let’sFcancer) that … Read more
On Sunday, October 14, 2018, 14 women who all had mastectomies as part of their breast cancer treatments, got a complimentary tattoo over her scars as part of the Minneapolis – Saint Paul P.ink Tattoo Day. P.ink, pronounced pea ink, stands for Personal Ink. P.ink is an organization that is 100% volunteer run, and here … Read more