A Year of FirstsNow that I'm well out of the first year without my wife (she died from advanced breast cancer in June 2021), I sometimes wonder how I got through it. Seriously...Reactions0reactionsComments0 comments
Hurry Up And WaitRecently I have experienced some things in the medical community and with medical care, inspiring me to write an article about it. The saying "hurry up and wait" could not...Reactions0reactionsComments0 comments
Community Shares: What Was Helpful To You?We work to empower people living with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) and their caregivers to take control of this disease by providing a platform to learn, educate, and connect with...Reactions0reactionsComments0 comments
Mentally Prepping For The HolidaysThe holidays are coming at us faster than a freight train this year. Doesn’t it feel like its happening so much quicker? There is so much going on outside of...Reactions0reactionsComments0 comments
Helpful Gifts (Or Buy For Yourself) During TreatmentA family member recently started an aggressive combination of chemotherapies. She was overwhelmed with her diagnosis, the treatment plan, and keeping loved ones informed. While I have not undergone chemotherapy...Reactions0reactionsComments0 comments
The Miracle Lens"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." - Albert Einstein The...Reactions0reactionsComments0 comments
To My Newly Diagnosed Self: Holidays and CelebrationsTypically, in years past, around this time, I am usually finished with holiday shopping and starting to think about wrapping and scheduling gift exchanges. This year, after a recent bout...Reactions0reactionsComments7 comments
Anticipatory Grief and Internal Loss: What Matters?I am engaged on MBC forums that I find really helpful to me and to others, and I saw someone post a really thought-provoking comment. Well, it was thought-provoking to...Reactions0reactionsComments0 comments
MBC Diagnosis Emotions, Part 1Original dx was cancer of the right breast in 2008. I decided to get a mastectomy, not a lumpectomy and radiation. Radiation 15 days in a row, people jammed together...Reactions0reactionsComments2 comments
Food...Ugh!Vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, lean protein, blah, blah, blah. That’s what the experts told me to eat during chemo. What did I want to eat? Pizza and French fries...Reactions0reactionsComments0 comments
What Is the Social Health Network Community?Like our other Health Union condition communities, the Social Health Network brings people together to drive unique and impactful conversations about health. It also aims to expand opportunities for health...Reactions0reactionsComments0 comments
The Unspoken TruthAuthor's Note: This is an article written from the perspective of the author. This article focuses on heterosexual couples, and men leaving after their wives are diagnosed with MBC. It...Reactions0reactionsComments2 comments
Let's Talk About Chemo and Side EffectsAfter 12 years of fighting cancer and doing countless treatments, I think I've earned my blackbelt. My husband (A.K.A., “The Fallible Caregiver” on this site) and I recently needed a...Reactions0reactionsComments4 comments
3rd Time Around 😞I was diagnosed Stage 2 in 2011. Treated with chemo, then lumpectomy along with 37 zaps of radiation. Was on Anastrazole when I was diagnosed with residual cancer in that...Reactions0reactionsComments3 comments
Prepare For The Worst, Hope For The BestLiving in the country's hurricane capital and watching a severe hurricane on T.V. coming towards my state has me thinking about a few things, like how unpredictable life is, especially...Reactions0reactionsComments0 comments
What Is All This Stuff About Diversity?As anyone who has met me or looked at my picture, I'm as white as it is possible to be as human without albinism. I was raised in the Midwest, Ohio...Reactions0reactionsComments4 comments
Stage 4 ... Just Like ThatI was 10 years out from a bilateral mastectomy. Had lobular, pleomorphic type, Stage 1, left breast. Did 5 years of anastrozole. A year ago in May, I happened to...Reactions0reactionsComments0 comments
Empathy, Cancer, and Caregiving: What Do They Have In Common?Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. I find myself relating to many of the complex feelings and understandings of the advanced breast cancer community...Reactions0reactionsComments1 comments
Missing the Little ThingsSomething that can be amplified during treatment is how much you miss the little things in life. I think it goes without saying that this makes a lot more noise...Reactions0reactionsComments0 comments
My Story - Stage 1 to MBCI was diagnosed with stage one breast cancer. Lumpectomy and radiation. Lymph nodes were negative. Everything was fine. Then, my tumor markers started going up. Fast forward to I have...Reactions0reactionsComments0 comments