If you have been diagnosed with breast cancer, chances are you’ve had to make a decision about surgery – either a lumpectomy or a mastectomy. I chose to have a bilateral mastectomy (meaning I had both of my breasts removed). It’s such a personal decision and not one that I took lightly. By choosing a…
cancer survivor
Redefining Love
When I was diagnosed with breast cancer, Steve and I had been married for 10 years and 2 months. We had already weathered a few storms together, including job loss, two miscarriages and the deaths of my father and both of my grandmothers, as well as his grandfather. We knew life could hand out downs,…
Travel: Take The Trip
When I was diagnosed with breast cancer, the first thing my then 8 year old daughter asked me was “Will we still get to go on our trip and have Christmas?” Knowing that our family vacation to Destin, Florida was just a week away, I had wondered about that too. I asked my cancer surgeon…
The Kids are Okay
My mom died two months before I turned 8 years old. Just two months after my oldest daughter turned 8, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Then I became a parent with cancer. Life sometimes feels like reliving past trauma in a cruel pattern, only with slight variations. As I child, I spent countless hours…
Cancer Gift Guide: Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy. One of the big scary words that comes along after you hear the words “you have cancer.” Something you may not know about it is, there are countless types of chemotherapy. How someone is effected by chemo will depend greatly on the person and also on which type of medications, infusions and treatment plans…
Growth: Good Things Take Time
I have this quote in my home that gives me a dose of hope every time I see it. It’s in our family room/kitchen area so it’s easy to see but also easy to miss, because it’s always there. It hangs on the wall, in a place I walk by a thousand times each day….
What Matters Most
We forget that waking up each day is the first thing we should be grateful for. The days and moments of my past now serve as a constant reminder to me about just how precious this life is. And for that, I am forever grateful. “The most phenomenal occurrences of all time and eternity—the most…