Breast cancer is ubiquitous. With nearly 3 million survivors in the United States alone, we all know someone who has, or had, the disease.
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Living Beyond the Fear
“Do you want them?” the doctor asked. I was 19 weeks pregnant with twins in 2000 and a doctor had just discovered a complication.
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Egoticity vs Authenticity
As for me - I've never met you, I'll be damned if I let you hurt anyone that way ever again.
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Peace Pirates
Sometimes they show up dressed in the form of a lie your 3 year old self begins believing as a result of you witnessing the strongest person you know shattered from the pain of the heartache they felt. Sometimes they show up in the form of childhood illness and surgeries and trauma on your little body. Sometimes they show up in the form of the trauma from being sexually abused by a family member and you being punished for it by another family member. Sometimes they show up in the form of a spouse that cheats over and over again, even while you are pregnant. Sometimes they show up in…
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Living Beyond The Color Pink: An Organic, Evolving Journey
Hey y’all… it’s me… JoJo… yep… it’s me. I am quite literally shaking as I sit in front of this very blank screen. It’s been awhile, my friends, I don’t think I even know what to say or where to start. I guess I will start with this… cancer is fricking hard, hard as balls! So I guess let’s start from where we left off, pondering existential questions of being happy and living in joy, is all of this crap worth it, and embracing my A/A combo therapy. Well, I am just gonna chuck that shit right out the window because cancer done blew up again and everything went to…
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I Love Being Flat, Not That I Had an Option
By Leeza Long & Melanie Long I have an extremely extensive breast cancer history, but that is not going to be the focus right now. My focus is going to be my second breast cancer diagnosis. I found a grape sized lump about three inches away from the site of my first cancer diagnosis. My initial battle with cancer began in November 2010, and I discovered my next lump in January of 2015. The surgeon scheduled a lumpectomy to be done the following week. The intent for the lumpectomy was twofold. One was the biopsy. The second thought was that if the lump were benign, the stress factor of worrying…
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My Recommendations for Patients (& Caregivers) Newly Diagnosed with Cancer
By: Leah Taylor An interesting blog post caught my eye over a month ago. I did a quick read over it and went on. It was a list for newly diagnosed cancer patients and caregivers. Far be it from me to say: “Excuse me, I have issues with your list.” But, I guess I really am saying: “Excuse me…” After some mulling over things, I want to issue my list. Warning: mine is different. My Recommendations for Anyone Newly Diagnosed 1. Stop. The tough reality is that anyone hearing “You have cancer” needs a bit to process and internalize what you just heard. Very rarely is a cancer diagnosis a…
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Who or What are You Fighting For?
By Leah Taylor I’ve thought about this for a long time. We all need a target. Especially when we are fighting cancer, we need a reason to achieve or reach for that next rung in the ladder. Are you fighting for family, or friends, or an ideal? Do you picture a child or grandchild? Do you picture an idea that makes you stronger? When the day is over, every CT, MRI, or blood test has a reason or person or ideal attached to it. You can deny it, but not me. I can absolutely confirm it as a reality for me. I have a reason or, multiple reasons. For me,…
- BREAST CANCER, BREAST CANCER AWARENESS, COMMUNITY, MALE BC, MEN GET BC, MENT GET BC TOO, metastatic breast cancer
A Thought On Divisions: A Day In The Life of a Stage IV Breast Cancer Patient
A Thought on Divisions October 31, 2018 By Leah Taylor I’ve been thinking about an issue I’ve noticed in the breast cancer community over the last eight years. Eight years you say? Yup, eight years. Interesting story… about 5 months after diagnosis #1 in my breast cancer story in the fall of 2010, I went to a famous breast cancer website and went to the stage IV area to ask a valid question. (I went to the stage IV area because I was told I had an 87% chance of a second primary diagnosis or a very high chance of mets, etc…due to a BRCA mutation issue.) At that time,…
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Wow, Was I Wrong: A Day In the Life of a Stage IV Breast Cancer Patient
Wow, was I Wrong An Oncology Floor at 2:45 a.m. By Leah Taylor BC (before cancer), I had a lot of preconceived notions about life with cancer. I thought it was all chaos and drama and scary and sad. Wow, was I wrong. Those times I can’t sleep on an oncology floor, due to pain, or nausea, or an over thinking mind, or a “code whatever” on the intercom, or those relantless IV pole beeps, I use distraction as a form of coping. What follows is a few glimpses of 2:45 a.m. on an oncology floor. This morning, I walked to the ice machine to add to my bottomless cup…
