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…
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Ugliness of the Pink Ribbon
By Lora Harvey As all the air left my lungs, time stood still on June 15, 2017. And I seemingly forgot how to breathe. Only when my respiratory system took over again did I inhale.In that split second, my life began dismantling. Microscopic cracks at first, but those compound and quickly become unnegotiable divides. I was never the girl that was gonna get breast cancer. I was already diabetic; another ailment would be a cruel joke. But here I am. According to some test taken at some point along the way, I had an 11% risk of developing breast cancer over the course of my lifetime. LIFETIME. Neither BRCA1 nor…
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HEALING THE WHOLE WOMAN
One can’t imagine the stigma, loneliness, pain and sometimes embarrassment that comes with cutting off your breasts. Women are “known” for their breasts – after all that’s what makes a woman beautiful and voluptuous, right?! So losing them can be a major blow to one’s heart and soul. There isn’t much, if any, information out there on how to heal one’s soul from the loss of your breasts. It’s just a brushed over subject that no one in the industry wants to entertain. That’s breast cancer information, in general, and so many people don’t realize what women are actually dealing with on a daily basis. There are women walking around…
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THINGS I WISH I HAD KNOWN PRIOR TO MY MASTECTOMY
A mastectomy, either single or double, is a common treatment for women with breast cancer. I asked some of my friends to contribute to the conversation, and this is the information that many from the breast community wish they had known. 1. I wish I had taken pictures documenting procedure and recovery, and journaled. There’s so much I have forgotten! (I am a firm believer that our mind clouds our memory sometimes to allow us to heal from trauma, but there is still so much healing that can come from the remembering.) 2. More support from other women who went thru this…You find out you have cancer and without catching…
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THE GRACE PROJECT AND HEALING MY SOUL
By: Mia Curtiss A few years back I was asked to participate in “The Grace Project” in Chicago. After a comedy of errors it never happened. God knew far better than me I was by no means ready to pose topless without my breasts. Fast forward two years later the opportunity presents itself again and although I’m extremely uncomfortable with how I look I knew I had to show up and own all of the healing “The Grace Project” would give my soul. Of course I thought of 922 excuses to not visit with Sondra and do the project but in the end I got on the plane and…
- BODY POSITIVE, BREAST CANCER, BREAST CANCER AWARENESS, FLAT CLOSURE NOW, FLATTIES UNITE, LIFE AFTER BREAST CANCER, MASTECTOMY, RECLAIMING MY BODY
It Changed Me
I never thought I’d be that girl that would pose topless for photos…..
