a look into surviving, thriving, and moving forward from breast cancer
Once I had gotten my drains out, finished my tissue expander fills, and my incisions had healed, I couldn’t WAIT to get back to exercising. I’d become really consistent in working out with Recovery on Water, and I missed my team, working hard, and feeling fit. But where was I supposed to start? How do … Continue reading Prehab, Rehab, and Rebuild – Part 3
I remember when I woke up from my mastectomy I was overwhelmed with this incredible sense of RELIEF. Relief that I had woken up on the other side. Relief that I wasn’t in horrendous pain. Relief that I had faced this beast head on, and that I DID IT. But once that started to settle, … Continue reading Prehab, Rehab, and Rebuild – Part 2
When I first had my mastectomy and reconstruction, I wasn’t sure I’d ever be comfortable being upside down again. Let me back track for a second. I love gymnastics. I’ve never been good at it, but I competed in high school and at the club level in college. When I was diagnosed with breast cancer … Continue reading Prehab, Rehab, and Rebuild
Ah well, another October is here. For many of you, it simply means the start of Fall, apple picking, tailgates (Go Blue), and sweater weather. But for those of us affected by breast cancer in any way, we often recognize October as “Pink-tober”, or what you might call Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Stores will have … Continue reading The Pink Dawning of October
I promise I’m not here to lecture you, and certainly not here to take you on a journey through academia, but I am here to remind everyone just how important research is when it comes to healthcare. To start - research is literally the reason why we have the treatments that we use today. That … Continue reading The Importance of Research
One of the biggest things I noticed after my diagnosis and during treatment was how much cancer changed my relationship with my body. I’ve personally gone through a lot of highs and lows with my body and the way that I think about it and view it. I’ve fought through disordered eating, poor body image, … Continue reading Exercise and Cancer
When someone says, “tell me about yourself”, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Do you identify mostly with your job? What about with your diagnosis? For me, I think one of the biggest struggles I’ve had since finding out I had breast cancer was figuring out how I really see myself, and how … Continue reading Finding Your Identity Post-Diagnosis
Yesterday my husband said to me, “I just need to go home and forget the world exists for awhile.” I realized how much I also felt like this, and reflecting on that made me think about how I really feel like I’ve been burning the candle at both ends lately. This really got me thinking … Continue reading Practicing Self Care
So this past week I had a really great experience. I spent nine days in a course to become a Certified Lymphedema Therapist (CLT), and successfully completed the course and passed all the tests! Becoming a CLT is not something I ever thought I’d do, but after my own breast cancer journey, I became more … Continue reading Top 5 Things to Know About Lymphedema
Affirmations From Cancer 