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
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
Today I received my 19th infusion… that’s just insane to me. I remember when I was facing 6 rounds of chemo, and a year of infusions and it seemed like I’d never get to this point - yet here we are. The original plan was for one full year of infusions (~17-18 depending on how … Continue reading Chemo Must-Haves
I’ve only slightly begun to recover from my weekend at Camp Breastie (going right back to work at 7am the day after you get back will do that to ya), but I’ve finally had enough processing time to share some reflections on my time at Camp. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity … Continue reading Reflections from Camp Breastie
With Camp Breastie just a day and a half away (eeeek!) I thought I’d share my packing list for the weekend, however… this is not your typical packing list. What is Camp Breastie, you ask? It’s a weekend retreat at Camp Lindenmere in the Poconos Mountains, hosted by The Breasties (one of my fave support … Continue reading Camp Breastie Packing List
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 - yesterday was a day. I was really burning the candle at both ends, and by the time I got home, I was having difficulty trying to recognize that there wasn’t actually anything “bad” about my day, but I realized that I’d spent the day taking care of everyone except me. There’s nothing wrong … Continue reading Learning To Live My Best Life – Lessons in Self Care
Affirmations From Cancer 