Danielle Thurston

Have you sought out a second opinion? Perhaps even a third, or fourth? Living with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer means there is no stage 5. Our treatments are what...

Danielle explores the topic of hospice care with a former hospice nurse who was also diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer (MBC). It's a place where people go to die. That...

Radiation oncology is a powerful tool, especially in the metastatic setting. There are various types of radiation, or radiotherapy, to treat metastatic breast cancer. I personally have had it to...

Having brain metastases, routine brain MRIs are the norm for me. But never did I think one would discover an old hemorrhage. It was then I was told I would...

Editor's note: Connecting and sharing with others can be helpful in navigating a metastatic breast cancer diagnosis. Danielle shares different quotes from an interview that provides perspective on a de...

"Mom is sick again", I heard my eight-year-old proclaim a few days ago, the day after I had chemo. The week before, I was so sick I was denied chemo...

"It's just hair." "You have a nicely shaped head." "It will grow back!" We have heard these things and more, right? What a lot of people fail to comprehend is...

Do you ever wonder what it is truly like to be in hospice care? It is a thought that crosses the mind of most metastatic patients at one point or...

Being young and active, I'll admit that I cried the first time I realized I fit the criteria of "permanently disabled". Me? Permanently Disabled? I looked at my handicap placard...

It has been my sixth hospitalization in four months when it finally happened. When I was not okay. Not even remotely close to okay. That hospitalization began like all the...

It is an unusual thing, to be thirty-seven years old and watch so many of your peers pass away, one after the other. I am reminded of my Grandmother. She...

The air was crisp, the sun was bright, and the sound of laughter ringing like an echo. It was me, my children, and our dog, Star, on a narrow canyon...

Living with chronic pain isn't fun for anyone, but it is especially difficult when you are already living with a cancer diagnosis, too. Metastases can cause various degrees of pain...

I was at chemotherapy when a friend opened my straw for me and touched it with her hands. "This is awkward, but...I can't use that straw now. You haven't washed...

In women who have had early-stage breast cancer, about 20-30% of them will go on to become metastatic, meaning the breast cancer has spread to another part of the body...

There is a Greek proverb that says, "Society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they will never sit in." This beautifully illustrates my feelings toward metastatic breast...

Anyone living with metastatic breast cancer will tell you that a common phrase they hear is, "You are so strong!" But where do we find our strength? Some days it...

According to Oxford Dictionary, integrative medicine "is a form of medical therapy that combines practices and treatments from alternative medicine with conventional medicine." Since cancer treatment can cause a myriad...

Dear Stage II Danielle, I know you have breast cancer and you're freaking out, but don't be! You will be okay. The next few months will be hard, but take...

Even the most seasoned cancer patient may feel anxious when it is time for "the next line" of their cancer treatment. When one starts their next line, it typically means...