Living with a breast cancer diagnosis is complex, and surreal. With it comes an inevitable loss of control. The experience, as I’ve discovered, can feel like navigating through unknown territory without a map. You suddenly find yourself in the driver’s seat of a confusing medical journey and you’re asked to make crucial decisions in a …
Advocating for Yourself During Breast Cancer
Every woman’s journey with breast cancer is unique, much like a fingerprint, no two are the same. From the moment of diagnosis, there’s an overwhelming surge of emotions – anxiety, fear, bewilderment. Many of these sentiments originate from feeling a loss of control, feeling at the mercy of a relentless healthcare system. Despite the terrifying …
Options for Nipple Restoration After a Mastectomy
While I did not choose nipple reconstruction after my double mastectomy, I am familiar with the process, and I’m happy to share my understanding of it. I want to stress that every woman’s path to healing is unique and highly personal. I believe that it’s important to make these decisions with the help of trusted …
The Financial Burden of a Breast Cancer Diagnosis
At the onset of my breast cancer journey, I was alerted to the realities of the financial burden that a breast cancer diagnosis brings. Indeed, the financial aspects can quickly become a formidable aspect of the cancer experience that can feel equally as daunting as the physical and emotional contours of this disease. When I …
Why Might a Woman Choose to Remain Flat after a Mastectomy?
Many of us carry this erroneous assumption that a woman’s wholeness is somehow attached to her physical attributes, especially her breasts. But when you walk through the overwhelming ordeal of breast cancer like I did, your perspective changes – shifts – you begin to see yourself and others through the eyes of survival and strength, …