Use the promo code 22JOYSALE at checkout to get the sale price now through January 6, 2023!
This is a great deal, as you’ll save over $12 on the Hardback and almost $12 on the eBook. Know someone who is going through breast cancer? This would be a helpful gift. Know someone who’s a science loving nerd? They’ll probably like it, too!
Conquer: The Patient Voice is a fantastic publication for cancer survivors and those living with cancer. I was so grateful for the opportunity to share my story in the October issue!
Stories are powerful. I knew that before I was diagnosed with cancer. As a fiction writer and as a science communicator, I understood the value of stories, the impact they could have beyond facts, numbers, and concepts. Personal stories connect us to the experiences of others like nothing else, and they can inform, inspire, give hope, and educate all in one.
I’m a big fan of stories, and the stories of patients in Conquer Magazine have inspired me, given me hope and insight, and educated me in ways no scientific study or statistical graphic could. No disrespect to science. It’s my bread and butter. But using the power of personal stories to engage people is a gateway to informing them.
I encourage all breast cancer survivors and those living with breast cancer to share their stories. At your level of comfort, of course. Share with your family and close friends. Share with survivor groups. Or share with a wider audience and use your platform to advocate and educate.
It’s day 26 of National Breast Cancer Awareness month! Today, I had the opportunity to appear on the Tampa Reads segment of Fox 13 in Tampa with anchor Linda Hurtado! I was able to share my breast cancer story with a bit about science, about my personal story, and a bit about Talking to My Tatas.
It was a great experience and I hope I convinced some viewers to schedule their mammograms! Shout out to Linda Hurtado, Lisa Emerson, and the rest of Fox 13 News Team!
It’s day 23 of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month! I skipped a few days due to lack of spoons (see my previous post about spoon theory and chronic illness), but I have some extras today and am excited at the prospect of bringing my message to folks in Tampa, Florida, and beyond!
My amazing Literary Agent, Barbara Rosenberg, put me in touch with Linda Hurtado, an award-winning news anchor by day who writes heart stopping thrillers as Linda Bond (and I totally recommend checking out her books!). Linda then invited me to appear on her live show for Breast Cancer Awareness Month! It’s scheduled for Wednesday, October 26, at 12:00 pm EST for her Tampa Bay Reads segment. I’ll be talking about breast cancer from both a patient and research perspective, talking about the book, and hopefully convincing viewers to schedule their mammograms!
This will be my first television appearance and I’m both excited and a little nervous, but I have faith in Linda and I’ll just be prepared to be poised but still be myself as I share my story and hopefully some more information about breast cancer that the public needs to know.
Super grateful for the opportunity and hope it helps me make a difference! Wish me luck!
I’ll be sure to post the link in a future blog post!
It’s Day 20 of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month! Recovery from surgery is a funny thing. One the one hand, I have Wolverine-like powers in terms of physical healing. Most of the time. Except for those days when I’m in a funk. Those days when it’s hard to get out of bed, but I can’t sleep. Or I start falling asleep at my desk and get into bed, but can’t go to sleep there. When I’m excited to do something and then, when it’s time, find myself too fatigued mentally and/or physically to do the thing.
Which makes me sadder. And more fatigued. And it’s harder to get up the next time until and unless I force myself. But I pay for that with interest.
Fatigue, physical, mental, or the horrible double whammy of both at the same time, really and truly sucks donkey balls.
Spoon Theory is a metaphor for illness – originally chronic illness in the form of lupus and then expanded to include mental illnesses like anxiety and depression. It holds that healthy people have an unlimited amount of spoons, or possibilities, or energy—a form of currency—to accomplish their daily tasks with plenty left over for fun. With chronic illness or mental illness, your currency is limited. You don’t have as many spoons. So you have to budget. And you many only have enough spoons one day to shower. Or maybe you can shower and go to work, but you don’t have enough spoons to come home and make dinner or go out with friends.
Some days, you don’t have enough spoons to get out of bed.
Christine Miserandino, who came up with this brilliant analogy, explains it much better and you should totally grab a copy of But You Don’t Look Sick: The Real Life Adventures of Fibro Bitches, Lupus Warriors, and Other Superheroes Battling Invisible Illness to learn more, but that’s where I’ve been for the past several days. I have a friend who has fibromyalgia and other friends who have chronic illnesses who deal with this more than I do, though they still consider me a “Spoonie.” One of those friends once looked at me a few years after my 3rd or 4th cancer surgery and told me I was running myself ragged and was in danger of collecting another chronic illness and, as a result, losing more of my daily ration of spoons.
That hit me HARD. I was and still am a doer, a mover, a shaker. I walk fast. I’m always busy. I get shit done.
I still can, but not at the expense of my precious spoons. So, for the past two days, I’ve spent a lot of time in bed (going to bed early, napping, resting my eyes on the couch) and struggling to not beat myself up for it. It’s okay. Things will get done eventually. The important things. When I have more spoons.
So, dear readers, don’t beat yourselves up. Save yourselves. And your spoons. You’re worth it.
It’s day 15 of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and WHAT A DAY! There is something truly magical, beautiful, and inspiring about being surrounded by a crowd of survivors, their loved ones, and those devoted to the mission of ending breast cancer! Here are some highlights from today!
Shout out to our AMAZING volunteers who organized the event, worked the tents, and kept it going!
Beautiful people doing AMAZING work to raise dollars and awareness for breast cancer!
A GORGEOUS 10 year survivor and her bestie volunteering and supporting all the walkers!Meet The Pink Crusader, who cheers us on and makes us smile at events! Way to Go!
The Incomparable Riley Weston, Actress, Singer, Writer, Author, Activist, and our TOP FUNDRAISER!!!!!
To all those in the thick of it with breast cancer, survivors, their caregivers and loved ones, and those who have lost loved ones too soon – we work for you!
Want to help? Here’s the Link to My Fundraiser! Or donate to your favorite survivor, team, or other nonprofit dedicated to eradicating breast cancer!
It’s day 14 of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Whew, a blog post a day is hard, y’all! But I hope these posts have been informative, entertaining, and full of hope. We all need hope. And we all need to be inspired.
That’s what I’m aiming for tomorrow. Between the pandemic and other turmoil in the world, it’s been over 4 years since I’ve done an in-person race/walk event. I still fundraised and still kept momentum going, but there is just something about seeing a sea of supporters – people with breast cancer, survivors, caregivers, loved ones, and everyone who shows up to raise money and shine a light on this awful disease!
There’s nothing quite like it.
I’ve seen beautiful bald women and women with gorgeous scarves, women with short and long hair spray painted pink, women who’ve traded illness for the graceful bodies of athletes, women with curves for DAYS rocking it, Black, Brown, White, Asian, Indigenous, gay and all the other letters of the alphabet mafia, old, young, and men who’ve also endured this horrible disease and stand in solidarity, not to be forgotten. It’s beautiful. It’s inspiring. It gives me the will to keep going!
Please, keep going!
I walk in memory of my cousin Sherri Killian, taken from us too soon by breast cancer, my uncle Jack, who we lost to cancer, and in honor of my mother, Carol Brantley, survivor. I walk in honor of my bestie Pam Jasper, and my friends Sue Daugherty Draughn, Linda Horton, Janet Piper, Karen Pugh, Tanisha Jones, and so many others who are more private about their cancer stories. So many family members, friends, colleagues, and acquaintances have been touched by cancer. We all know someone.
Sometimes we are that someone.
I walk for you. I may not know you personally, but we are connected. I work for you. I will not rest. If I can help one person, it is worth it. We fight cancer by holding one another up, celebrating victories, and witnessing and remembering those who leave us too soon. We fight.
It’s day 13 of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month! Today, I’m taking a break from the usual programming to talk about my breast reconstruction journey, which I hope is (finally) over. I had the misconception that breast reconstruction was relatively simple, one or two procedures and done!
Image Source Here. Also has information about different types of reconstruction!
Yeah, that was before I got breast cancer. Oncoplastic reconstruction (lumpectomy followed by reduction and lift) was a one and done, as is (or can be) aesthetic flat closure (going flat). But building new breast(s) after mastectomy is complex and involves multiple surgeries/procedures to achieve symmetry and an aesthetically pleasing result. That’s where I’m at in the process.
I talk about this in Talking to My Tatas, and include pictures of where I was in the process as of 2021, but it might be useful to include a timeline and description of the various procedures I’ve had. Everyone’s reconstruction process is unique and tailored, but it should give you an idea of how involved the process can be and often is for people who’ve been diagnosed with breast cancer.
June 2018 – Tumor removal from left breast by lumpectomy and oncoplastic reconstruction
September 2018 – Radiation therapy on left breast
February 2020 – Diagnosed with residual disease in the left breast (at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic)
May 2020 – Unilateral mastectomy to remove left breast and to implant expander
(Involved several intervening procedures like 3X saline fills for expander and physical therapy to regain mobility after mastectomy, which was compounded by radiation damage to the skin over my left breast and breast tissue)
November 2020 – DUG flap reconstruction (grafting of thigh and muscle/skin tissue from right thigh to build foundation of left breast plus mastopexy (reduction and lift) on right breast
(Required lots of at home massage therapy on irradiated tissue to soften it)
February 2021 – Liposuction and fat grafting into left breast + more tweaking on the right breast
(Required lots of at home massage therapy on irradiated tissue to soften it)
July 2021 – Liposuction and fat grafting into left breast
(Required lots of at home massage therapy on irradiated tissue to soften it)
December 2021 – Liposuction and fat grafting into left breast and scar revision on right breast
(Required lots of at home massage therapy on irradiated tissue to soften it)
October 2022 – Liposuction and fat grafting into left breast and minor scar revision on right breast
Image Source Here. Also has information on thigh flap reconstruction procedures.
That’s seven procedures, not counting biopsies and a lumpectomy from 2016 to remove a benign papilloma, in two years since residual disease detection. It’s a LOT! I count myself lucky to have a brilliant surgeon who has worked with me at my pace to get symmetry between a mostly natural right breast and reconstructed left breast, which is no easy task. And I have a great support system. But it’s a LOT. Each surgery involves recovery from anesthesia, incisions, bruises a plenty (lipo is brutal) and the mental and emotional impacts (which included depression and hypervigilance that made me feral). That required therapy, another part of the process.
Is it worth it? For me, the answer is yes. I’m almost back together and beyond amazed and pleased with how I look and feel. I am whole. Not the same, never the same, but whole. It’s a process. Remember that when you’re checking in with your survivor friends who may be waiting for follow-up procedures, tattoos or surgical nipple-building procedures, trimming of excess skin around incision areas, etc. It’s a process. Be kind. If you’re a survivor in the thick of reconstruction, remember to be kind to yourself and that YOU ARE WORTH IT!
It’s day 11 of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month! I’ve been so inspired, entertained (laughter is often the best medicine), and filled with pride by social media activity showcasing people working hard to raise breast cancer awareness, celebrating survivors, and sharing their stories!
Here are a few of my favorite videos for National Breast Cancer Awareness Month!
Indigenous Peoples Reminding Their Loved Ones to Book Their Mammograms!
This video featuring funny stories from deaf breast cancer survivors lit me up!
Funny stories from 4 deaf breast cancer survivors!
On of my favorite comedians, the incomparable Tig Notaro, tells us how to make breast cancer funny!
Tig is the BEST!
And last but not least, here’s a great story from another favorite comedian, the amazing Wanda Sykes!
It’s nice to not need a bra!
Got any favorites? Send me links! Sharing is caring, and we could all use a laugh!
It’s day 10 of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month! Today is all about raising funds to support the vital mission of non-profits devoted to eradicating breast cancer! This year, I’m raising funds for Susan G. Komen through the Greater Nashville More Than Pink Walk!
Help me reach my goal!
***Note: I am a Komen employee, but my fundraising is part of my personal advocacy work outside of the organization, and opinions expressed in this blog are my own. I do not speak for Komen here.***
You can support my fundraiser HERE! My goal is to raise $1,000!
Why fundraising? Because I understand how important the mission is for patients, survivors, caregivers, and loved ones who have been affected by breast cancer. As a breast cancer researcher, funding was the number one priority for me in my lab. Without funding to pay for qualified personnel, supplies, infrastructure, and other items necessary to keep a state-of-the-art laboratory running, innovations and treatments of the future can’t happen.
As an advocate and survivor, I understand how important advances in screening, diagnostics, treatments, and survivorship are for survivors like me and for future survivors. I benefitted from advanced surgical and molecular diagnostic technologies, and I know that if my cancer comes back, there are so many more treatment options to keep me alive and thriving.
Being in the field, I understand that inequities and inequalities in breast cancer screening and care plague our nation in communities of color, in LGBTQIA+ communities, in people with disabilities, and in poor and un/underinsured communities. Fundraising for organizations that make eliminating disparities a vital part of their mission is key to make sure everybody has an equal and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible.
Fundraising also helps me feel empowered. Everyone’s breast cancer experience is unique. For me, the feeling of helplessness was one of my biggest challenges. Working to eradicate breast cancer through advocacy and fundraising has helped me take back my power. And it gives me hope! We could all use that!
Please support your favorite breast cancer charity for National Breast Cancer Awareness Month! Every donation matters!
And stay tuned for pictures from the More Than Pink Walk. I’ll be rocking pink hair and a pink boa to celebrate!
Talking Tatas 