October 28, 2018 By Leah Taylor There is a harsh reality in all of our lives. No matter what is going on, life goes on. I have been in the hospital since last Thursday, October 24, 2018. This blog breaks my past pattern of listing hourly glimpses as it covers a few days. I spent Thursday morning in the ER getting evaluated for pain control and evaluation to determine the source of the pain. By Thursday afternoon, I was admitted to the oncology floor at Harris, Ft. Worth. My pain was at a 9 level. I was at the “crying from extreme pain” stage. Let me explain: I.am.not.a.crier. It is…
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A Day In the Life of a Stage IV Breast Cancer Patient
Thinking About Cancer Patient Safety October 20, 2018 By Leah Taylor Today’s edition of A Day in the Life of a Stage IV Breast Cancer Patient is me thinking about patient safety and three stories about this issue rather than the usual timeline. I saw a question asked by a cyber friend wondering what the “worst” thing that has happened since “my” breast cancer diagnosis. I found myself thinking of an issue that I discovered early on in my breast cancer experience, patient safety. It’s something commonly dealt with but I have not seen discussed openly. It’s a fact that a cancer diagnosis opens the patient up to being victimized…
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A Day in the Life – Stage IV
By: Leah Taylor What you are about to read is my experience from September 25, 2018. It could be quite difficult to read for anyone dealing with breast cancer. It is raw and real. 6:15 a.m. I wake up. The bed leaves me stiff but I am grateful for my son and his family and their extra bed. So, I slept reasonably well considering I wasn’t in my own home. I stopped at my son’s after being released from the hospital last night. After a four day stay, it was too late to make it home without it getting dark on the drive home. I can’t drive safely after dark…
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Kristen’s Legacy
By: Joseph Jennings On 9-27, Kristen would have been 42, had her life not been cut short because of breast cancer. There is hardly a day that goes by that my mind doesn’t goes back to Nov 9. I see Abigail crying while giving her mom a kiss and telling her one final time “goodbye mom, I love you”. It is etched in my brain. Hardly a day goes by that I don’t hear Katlyn screaming “mommy please don’t go, I love you so much”. It is etched in my ears. Hardly a day goes by that I don’t watch Kristen struggle to breath as I see a tear fall…
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The Breast Advocate App: A Review from a Patient Advocate
Breast Advocate is an app for any woman or man affected by breast cancer, or at high risk of developing breast cancer. I write this review as a patient advocate and two-time breast cancer survivor.I have been an educator my entire professional life. I combine my training as an educator with my current role as a patient advocate providing information and resources about breast reconstruction options after a mastectomy. The term patient advocate has a broad definition, so I want to be clear why I am reviewing this app.Patient advocates work in communities specific to their expertise. Like educators, patient advocates inform their community, empowering them with information to improve…
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A Day in the Life of a Stage IV Breast Cancer Patient
By: Leah Taylor Before being diagnosed with cancer, I could not fathom what it would be like to live with cancer. I had preconceived notions about it. Even with an aunt being diagnosed with cancer when I was fourteen, I lived so far from her that her experience wasn’t on my screen. My concept of cancer was heavily influenced by the movie Brian’s Song. I honestly had no clue. None. What follows is a rough glimpse of my experiences on September 18, 2018.5:45a.m. When I woke up, I turned on the news to catch up with what is going on in the world. I make a cup of coffee and…
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Stand Up For Your Beliefs
By: Steve Del Gardo For the last several years, well mostly the last 5 years, I have read many articles, posts on social media on how people are imposing their beliefs on others when it involves cancer. Telling us how to use certain words to describe our cancer journey or how we should feel. Telling us not to use certain words or how we should live our lives. I have also come to realize that there are lot of negative people in our cancer circle more than the positive ones. And sometimes, well most of the time, these two forces fight against each other. IT NEEDS TO STOP! ALL…
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Life As a Flat Woman
I love having no breasts! 5 words that I never in all my 56 years thought that I’d think, let alone put down on paper.
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Reinventing Yourself After Cancer: What is Your Passion?
By: Steve Del Gardo It has been 5 ½ years since I have been diagnosed with breast cancer and since then I have been advocating for my cancer foundation, Protect The Pecs, in an effort to raise awareness about male breast cancer. It hasn’t been easy but yet I have found it has been rewarding in knowing that the message is finally getting received globally through speeches to writing articles for various blogs…..however, I want to do more with my life. It has been established that Steve Del Gardo is a breast cancer survivor, but I don’t want that to define my existence. I am more than that. I am…
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The Pitfalls of Dating After Cancer
By: Steve Del Gardo Dating after cancer? As one man to another, one breast cancer survivor to another, let me tell you: It’s been awful. After my cancer journey was over, I waited three years to get back in the game, because I was taking Tamoxifen and it had several side effects that wouldn’t work well with dating. You know, attractive things like … hot flashes, rage, hormonal issues, weight gain. None of those are good on a date. A woman would think I was insane, an idiot, or an insane idiot. Not good! In September of 2016, I decided to get off Tamoxifen, so I could finally reclaim…
