Celebrate Volunteers Working for the Breast Cancer Community

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April is  Volunteer Appreciation Month. As the Founder/Director of DiepCFoundation I dedicate this blog to celebrate volunteers working for the breast cancer community. These are the people who through their unwavering spirit of volunteering make a huge difference in the work and mission of the Foundation. Global Volunteers Spreading Awareness Having established the Foundation in 2016 I reflect on a wide network of people across the world who are spreading awareness about all options for breast reconstruction for those facing mastectomies. Corporate giving and corporate social responsibility come in various forms. Benevity is a global platform managing corporate giving. My work with the companies that use Benevity has reached global volunteers and donors. I make yearly presentations at our local Microsoft campus. The individuals who attend these meetings have shared their time and talent volunteering to bring awareness to the services and support we provide. Volunteers at AT&T did a Continue Reading →

Waiting, Wondering, Pivoting and Patience

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I listen to the community that is DiepCJourney every day unless my wonderful volunteers and admins are helping me. I could produce many anxiety-related words to describe what it is like to go through breast cancer and breast reconstruction. Waiting, wondering, pivoting and patience are four of those words. There are many more because this is an emotional roller coaster. Hang on tight and let’s talk about what each word is. Waiting You have just been newly diagnosed. You are sitting in front of a genetic counselor who reveals to you that you are at high risk of getting breast cancer due to a genetic mutation. Let’s push the rewind button. Before you found out about either of these scenarios , you were waiting for the results. It consumes your life emotionally, physically, and otherwise. You have heard it before; breast cancer does not discriminate. Young, old, single, in a Continue Reading →

Stacked Flap in Breast Reconstruction for Radiated Skin and to Achieve Volume

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Listeners of the DiepCJourney podcast are familiar with the DIEP flap breast reconstruction. This is a procedure where the abdominal skin, tissue, and underlying blood vessels are used to replace the breast tissue lost due to mastectomy after being affected by breast cancer. This is a summary of the podcast entitled, “Stacked Flap in Breast Reconstruction for Radiated Skin and to Achieve Volume.” Introduction to Dr. Matatov Dr. Tim Matatov is a returning guest and for good reasons. He is a highly skilled, board-certified surgeon who is specifically trained in microsurgery. It is the specialty of microsurgery that is required to perform a stacked flap procedure. Dr. Matatov and his team perform these and why I reached out to him for this interview. It is important to remind readers that at Southwest Breast and Aesthetics they practice the co-surgeon model in autologous breast reconstruction. They have added new team members Continue Reading →

The Warmth of the Traveling Pashmina

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The warmth of the traveling pashmina is not a title I thought I would be creating for a blog post. This is what I love about writing. You can take the smallest gestures of kindness and share those most meaningful stories from them. This story spans both time and space. You must read this to the end. It promises to warm your heart. The Gift of the Pashmina The days leading up to my double mastectomy were filled with emotion, planning, preparing, and letting go. This was my second breast cancer diagnosis. I was no stranger to the shock of multiple doctor’s appointments, coordinating care between my health care team, and the understanding that my body was about to undergo an assault of surgical treatments and recovery I wish I did not have to think about. The biggest of those changes was losing my breasts. My first diagnosis involved lumpectomy. Continue Reading →

Women’s History Month 2025: Enriching our Communities

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I am sitting at my desk today on March 1, 2025, the first day of Women’s History Month 2025, contemplating the events of this past week. The highlight of my week was attending the Bellevue Chamber of Commerce, Women’s Leadership Conference. Empowering women leaders strengthens our communities. The women role models I encountered this week and every day in my nonprofit work deepens my belief in the role of women in our society.   What Constitutes a Woman Leader? Women leaders may or may not be publicly visible. I want to explain the word “leader” in the context of this blog. Women are characteristically care givers who foster friendships, families, and communities. Leading by example and lifestyle is a daily responsibility in personal and professional life for them. They could be someone who raises independent, respectful, strong children and community leaders. My own mother grew up on a farm in Continue Reading →

A Young Nurse and Her DIEP Flap Story

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This episode of the DiepCJourney podcast shares a fascinating story of a young woman who graciously and professionally takes us through her Journey from being diagnosed with breast cancer, cold capping, the effect on her family and young daughters, and to the story of her DIEP flap breast reconstruction. You can sit and watch our conversation on the DiepCFoundation YouTube channel. Lacey is a dear friend, and I am honored to share the story of a young nurse and her DIEP flap story. Meet My Guest Lacey I am speaking with Lacey Terpstra-Reid. She is a registered nurse residing in Guthrie, Oklahoma. In November 2022 she was diagnosed with triple positive breast cancer at age 33. Lacey has over 10 years of bedside experience as a nurse from working in a cardiac ICU where she cared for countless ECMO patients to her current role as an outpatient surgery recovery RN. Continue Reading →

World Cancer Day: United by Unique

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February 4, 2025, marks a notable day in the community I serve at DiepCFoundation.org. Along with the hashtag it is World Cancer Day: United by Unique. I have been receiving emails announcing this day. But, I learned of the hashtag, #UnitedByUnique from a friend and fellow patient advocate, Luan Lawrenson-Woods, who resides in Australia. What I decided to do next is reach out to my community at DiepCJourney, a private Facebook group I set up as part of the services provided by my nonprofit Foundation. Thoughts from the Breast Cancer Community on World Cancer Day I asked “Journey members,” the name I refer to when I address the group, to comment on what the hashtag #United by Unique meant to them in our community. What I read gave me time to contemplate the impact of community and the bond that unites us, breast cancer. The Facebook group I established in Continue Reading →

Dealing With The Overwhelming Feeling of Loss

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This week has been challenging for so many and for many reasons. The news in the U.S. has focused so much attention on the massive losses in the Los Angeles area from the wildfires. Loss is part of life. But how do people deal with it? This is not a blog to share what you have lost. You will understand why if you read to the end. How are you dealing with the overwhelming feeling of loss? Losses in my World I have received texts every day this week from friends who have loved ones directly affected by the fires in Los Angeles. There have been no lives lost from those I heard from and for that, I am grateful. It began early Monday morning when a dear friend of mine was coping with the news of the fire in the area where her daughters and young grandchildren live. They Continue Reading →

The Gift of Patient Advocacy Wisdom

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This episode of the DiepCJourney Podcast recorded in December of 2024 is a discussion across continents with two women leaders I admire who engage in patient advocacy and the patient story. I invite you to listen to the podcast embedded in this blog. Together we produced the title, “The Gift of Patient Advocacy Wisdom.” What a gift for me to sit with these two amazing women, Marie Ennis O’Connor and Sue Robins. What Does Patient Advocacy Look Like? Patient advocacy at its very core is giving voice to patients, no matter what healthcare diagnosis or treatment they are facing. “Voice” can take the form of speaking engagements at conferences, writing blogs, consulting, nonprofit work, making policy changes, and much more. All forms of patient advocacy begin with a story. Patient advocacy is also demanding work. To be effective one must commit to this. It means long hours of navigating a Continue Reading →

The Story and Tradition of Our Christmas Poinsettia

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This week my husband walked in the door with two beautiful poinsettias to add to the Christmas decorations in our home. It always makes me smile because it is tradition in our home and has been since December of 2014. This is the story and tradition of our Christmas poinsettia. A Look back to Christmas 2014 December 1, 2014, was a significant day in my life. I was wheeled into surgery to have my DIEP flap breast reconstruction with a highly skilled microsurgeon, Dr. Minas Chrysopoulo. We did a special interview looking back at that day that you can listen to on this episode of the DiepCJourney podcast. My husband and I got up before dawn that morning and made our way through the maze at the hospital parking lot and halls to check in. We traveled from Arizona to San Antonio by plane for my surgery. I booked us Continue Reading →