Nice Going, AACR (Salt on the Wound)

I didn’t plan on writing two blog posts in one day, but here we are. Because of my second diagnosis with breast cancer, I have to adjust my life and schedule to accommodate surgery, reconstruction, and other treatments. I had planned to attend the annual American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting in April so […]

DIY Therapy for A Geek

I’ve come to terms with the fact that I’m not done with breast cancer yet. But I don’t have to like it, and I don’t have to pretend that I’m entirely okay. I need help. Still in therapy, meeting with my care team on Thursday to come up with a game plan to get rid […]

And The Bottom Drops Out…

It’s been one of those days. Last week, I had my 6th biopsy. I actually blogged (read: bitched) about it in a previous post. CNN version: when I went in for my routine mammogram, which turned into four separate boob squishes and an ultrasound, a spot showed up in my left boob – the one […]

Advocacy 101 – What I Learned from Training

I learned so many new things today at Patient Advocacy Orientation! My best days are when I’m learning new things. It’s one of the things I love best about being a scientist, and it’s a great foundation upon which to build for my new work as a Patient Advocate. What exactly are advocates and what […]

Show off Your Bikini Clad Girls for the Cure!

Like a lot of women, I’ve struggled with body issues. Throw in conservative parents who wouldn’t let me buy a bikini as a teen, a patriarchal society that would LIKE me to wear a bikini so it can ogle or slut shame or fat shame me and then sell me products to literally diminish my […]

Scanxiety: My Left Boob Just Won’t *&^#ing Behave!

Warning: This post is full of swears. It’s been a total shit day. Getting “normal” annual mammograms after breast cancer is nerve wracking. I get that. Literally. Today was my second routine mammogram after completing surgical and radiation treatments. What (I’d hoped) would be an hour long visit followed by an, “All clear! Go, and […]

Screw The Woo Woo: Essential Oils Won’t Cure Your Cancer

Essential oils. They’re EVERYWHERE! Articles and posts touting their alleged benefits are all over social media, some news media, and the Internet. A Google search I performed today yielded 1.7 billion results. 1.7 BILLION! Yup, there’s a LOT of buzz about the wonders and medicinal benefits of essential oils. And almost all of it 100% […]

Fixing Mistakes – Putting Action Behind My Big, Fat Mouth

Yesterday, I wrote a post about scientific fact checkers and how scientists interact with them, using Dr. David Sabatini as an example. I did NOT expect the attention it garnered, but I do hope that Dr. Sabatini (if he read it) took it in the spirit in which it was intended. Like I noted in […]

Being a Great Scientist – How to (and NOT to) Handle Mistakes

In the age of the Internet, trolls and trollish behaviors have multiplied exponentially. Science is not immune. Many of us were late coming to social media, but more and more laboratories, institutions, programs, scientific organizations, conferences, professional organizations, and journals are engaging in Twitter and other outlets. Overall, this is a great thing! It is […]

Do clams get cancer? Questions from High School Freshmen

One of my favorite outreach activities is volunteering at public schools. Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to speak to and work with elementary, middle, and high school students – doing everything from dry ice demonstrations, mini anatomy labs with fixed mouse organs, microscopy labs with tissue sections, and career talks. Most recently, I […]