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
Eight years ago this month, I found out I had breast cancer for a second time. In August of 2010, I had the cancer infested breast cut off. I tend to be a minimalist, so I only had the one breast removed. I don’t have any genes that say I’m at genetic risk for breast … Read more
Every once in a while I write about my breast cancer experience and the scar on my chest. Because I live day in and day out with type 1 diabetes, which consumes my attention, it’s easy for me to forget that I survived two grueling rounds of cancer. Then I look in the mirror and … Read more
You all know that I have been living with diabetes for 37 years and that much of my life and drive to keep up with endurance training is because my diabetes management is exponentially better when I regularly exercise. (oh yes, turns out that’s true for most of us, diabetes or not!) I don’t talk … Read more
After living with diabetes for 36.5 years and after surviving breast cancer twice, I’ve come to prioritize self-care. What is self-care you ask? Well, in my world it means that I pay attention to the basic things I need to stay healthy, fit, calm, centered and productive. It means that I make it my Number … Read more