The age of nine was significant (you can read more about it in my post The Age of Nine). We witnessed remarkable growth, several setbacks, and the beginnings of independence in our amazing LM. He became more aware of the world, specifically world problems. He carried a grave concern for children displaced from war, and he worried about the state…
Breast Cancer
October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. It is a time when we collectively raise awareness for breast cancer prevention, treatment, and research. In previous years, I would often use this time to write a post reflecting on my own experience with breast cancer in hopes to raise awareness among a younger audience of women. Why? I was 40 years old…
There is a precious moment of parenting that I am all to aware will soon come to an abrupt end – bedtime stories. Fortunately, for now, my LM still enjoys being read to. It calms his active mind and restless body, and readies him for the land of sleep. We read chapter books, picture books, comics, or kids graphic novels,…
So here I am. Sitting in the waiting room. One year has passed. Eight years since diagnosis. Scanxiety. It doesn’t get any easier. Time may distance you from the events that altered the course you thought your life was taking, but the scars, the scars never fade away. They are always visible, always present, always in the mind’s eye. Those…
I wish I could say that this has been a good month. It truly should be. It’s June! The skies are blue, the flowers are in bloom, summer is in the air, days are getting longer, and I just returned from a magnificent adventure across the pond and have wonderful new memories settling within my heart. I should feel carefree…
It has been a season of good-byes, as I had previously confided in my post Love and Loss; and here I am enduring yet another difficult parting. My Physiotherapist of 7 years has moved on. She is leaving the city as well as her practice. Although I wish her nothing but love and happiness as she embarks on her newest…
These past few weeks have been emotional. I said my final good-bye to someone I loved, and then I learned of the abrupt loss of a beautiful friend. Two people whose light has forever dimmed, and my heart aches for the loss. “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” – Dr. Seuss I have always been mindful of…
June was challenging. I slept walked through most of it, working hard at keeping emotions, memories, and phantom sensations at bay. Seven years since diagnosis. Seven years since multiple mammograms, ultrasounds, scans, blood work, biopsies, and a mastectomy all in a span of 22 days. And my journey has not ended. The healing begins after the trauma. And healing takes…
Last June I composed a list of six – six natural deodorants I have personally tried since my breast cancer diagnosis, where I highlighted the pros and cons of each deodorant in hopes to share some insight. You can view that list in my post Hot Time Sweating in the City . However, a year has since passed. I no…
Cancer. It is a foreboding word. When spoken aloud, the word cancer can elicit an array of powerful emotions – shock, dread, fear, isolation, loneliness, terror, panic, anger, sadness, anguish… Cancer. I remember vividly, the multitude of overwhelming emotions I felt when I knew the radiologist found cancer in my breast. I remember the icy sensation that seeped through my…