A chemotherapy myth that I have personally debunked is that cancer treatment makes you lose weight. Like many women, I thought having breast cancer and the side effects of chemotherapy treatment like metallic taste, nausea, and digestion problems would impact the scale. For certain types of treatments like digestive cancers, lung or pancreatic cancer, this… Read More »
“Living flat” is the choice of many women (myself included!) following a bi-lateral mastectomy without reconstruction. Today opting for an aesthetic flat closure that rebuilds the chest wall shape after a single or double mastectomy has become more common. While I was satisfied with my medical decision, I found myself at a loss as to… Read More »
Cancer treatment and recovery doesn’t stop just because it’s winter. Oncology appointments, chemotherapy, and radiation demand that you head out the door despite the harsh cold. It is difficult to leave the house when it’s 10 degrees outside with a wind chill factor that makes it feel like it’s below zero! Does this describe you?… Read More »
Winter has blown in with a vengeance and the thought of going outside is chilling! It would be ideal if we could hibernate like bears and wake up with the first warm breeze of spring! Staying indoors is not an option for women caught up in the rigid schedule of the cancer world; radiation, chemotherapy, surgery,… Read More »
Fall 2008 Thirteen years ago, I was diagnosed with Invasive Ductal Breast Cancer. As I stood in front of the mirror following my double mastectomy (minus reconstruction), the despair I felt threatened to swallow me whole. Like a female humpty dumpty—I didn’t know how to put myself back together again. Drains, scars, body-altering lumpectomies, mastectomies,… Read More »
For some types of cancer, surgery and treatment can cause weight gain. Certain chemotherapy drugs, surgically-induced menopause, and hormone therapy are a few of the reasons that scale needle starts trending upward. During my treatment for breast cancer, I gained fifteen pounds from chemotherapy. A few more, after I had my ovaries removed and I… Read More »
