When I received my medical diagnosis in 2010 a spiral of negative thoughts began to overwhelm me. “What’s going to happen next? How will I pay my bills if I can’t work? How will I tell my friends, my loved ones?” I felt caught in a web of inertia — a tire stuck in the […]
I was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer on October 1, 2009. I don’t think anyone wants to hear those words but I knew I would beat it. The gloves were on and I was ready to kick butt. After nine months of chemotherapy, surgery, radiation, I thought I knocked it out. To my […]
My first diagnosis taught me that I needed to be vulnerable. With my second diagnosis, I am learning HOW to be vulnerable; to embrace all its power, its strengths, its beauty and its full potential…that being vulnerable actually makes you stronger.
On June 20, 2016, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Driving home from the doctor’s office upon diagnosis, I knew in my gut that I’d be able to fight this, that I’d do it with community and family, and that this was somehow a culmination of certain ways of being that I needed to transform […]
It’s as if something inside me got re-calibrated. My perception of my role in my family and my priorities and duties shifted entirely. I began putting myself first with ease. I tapped into that reserve strength we rarely get to use and I activated my healing, transforming from an off-kilter person to being intensely aware […]
Breast cancer has given me many gifts. I am the best person I have ever been. I have learned that I have the strength and courage to accomplish any goal I set for myself; including earning an AA, BA, and Master’s degree…during two battles with breast cancer, a mastectomy, chemotherapy (both times), radiation, and eight […]
At 21 years old, being diagnosed with cancer and putting my life on hold was scary. I felt that I didn’t deserve this diagnosis, I didn’t deserve to be scarred in this way. Now, a year and a half in remission, I value my scars and thank cancer for what it gifted me. Cancer, surprisingly […]
Cervical cancer has given me the precious gift of time. Time to self-reflect, connect with survivors and cancer fighters, acquire knowledge, act on that new knowledge, and improve how I care for and nourish my body, mind and spirit.
As I took these photos I cried tears of anger, sadness, fear, strength and gratitude. So many emotions mixed into one and I’m reminded that I’m alive to be able to take these photos. I struggled for a long time to figure out what in heaven’s name could breast cancer have gifted me?!! Then it […]
