Category: Emotional Recovery

Your spouse/partner; telling your children; telling your parents and siblings; reaching out to friends; friends who latch on for the drams of it all; when to ask for help; how to be grateful for help

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 →

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 →

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 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 →

The Emotional Connection of a Few Drops of Ink

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Ink has long been used to draw, write, create, and document words and pictures. Since ancient times ink has been developed for different purposes. Some inks throughout history are made to be permanent while others, especially today, are disposable, like the ink used in writing tools in distinct types of pens. Consideration for the material the ink is placed upon became a science to create lasting historical documents. What if the “material” the ink is placed on is your skin? I want to share with you the emotional connection of a few drops of ink. Ink Used in Tattoos Let’s talk about the canvas, the material I mentioned, your skin. One of the first tattoos discovered on a human body date back to a mummy found in the Alps. Among the many uses of ink in tattoos, history tells us they were used to mark criminals, recognize a tribe of Continue Reading →

Art Series by Beth Gainer

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The creative work of Beth Gainer is featured in this summary of the DiepCFoundation educational channel interview we did together. I invited Beth to put together a presentation for the interview to share slides featuring some of the art that she hopes to have in a public space or gallery someday. The title is so inspiring and fitting: Breast Cancer, Female and Young – Art Series by Beth Gainer. Meet Beth Gainer Beth is a breast cancer survivor, a mother, an English professor, writer, book author, and an artist. Her creative writing and artwork speak to so many of us and has been a healing mechanism in her own Journey. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in her thirties and something she found in a self-exam. A mammogram and doctors exams had missed it. What Beth noticed upon self-exam was a slight dimpling. When she brought it to the attention Continue Reading →

Sunflowers and a Tribute to Passion and Purpose

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Each morning when I wake up, I enjoy coffee my husband makes. He’s pretty sure he is THE coffee aficionado in our home. A retired engineer, he carefully crafts the delicious cup of roasted beans I enjoy upon waking up. I open the kitchen window blinds and look out at our garden. He has been planting sunflowers in a spot that frames that window because he knows how much I enjoy looking at them. During the dog days of summer, I offer you my thoughts on sunflowers and a tribute to passion and purpose. Sunflowers and Nature’s Beauty I was born and raised in Kansas. The state flower is the sunflower. This quote is from the Kansas Magazine: A cultural symbol throughout the ages – of faith, longevity, healing, happiness and good luck… The sunflowers in our garden rise to as tall as nine feet, reaching to the sun for Continue Reading →

A Patient Story: Transitioning from Implants to DIEP Flap

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Whether you have had a breast cancer diagnosis, have a genetic mutation placing you at high risk of getting breast cancer, have had or are facing a mastectomy due to either of these situations you will want to listen to this episode of the DiepCJourney podcast, A Patient Story: Transitioning from Implants to DIEP Flap. The time has come to share a personal story of a woman I interviewed twice about her decision to have a prophylactic mastectomy and implant reconstruction. This is the continuation of her Journey. She came to a decision to exchange the implants she never quite felt comfortable in and transition to DIEP flap breast reconstruction and use her own tissue this time around. An Unexpected DIEP Flap Reunion with a Friend Margaret Tueller Proffitt has a delightful Instagram account and describes herself as a lover of books, learning and travel. She is a Mom to four, Continue Reading →

Can the Emotional Toll of Breast Cancer be Measured?

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Measured how you might ask. In number of years, you survived? Perhaps it is the impact of the treatment and how you are called to endure discomfort, pain, and loss you did not know you would experience? Measured by the times you survived breast cancer? Can the emotional toll of breast cancer be measured? 2002: The Emotional Toll I had breast cancer in 2002 for the first time. The simple description: left breast lobular carcinoma with no lymph node involvement. The emotional toll kicked in for me on three strong fronts: There is no way to describe the moment you hear the words, “You have breast cancer,” or for that matter any kind of cancer. Telling your immediate family and beginning phones calls to extended family and friends caused me to cry endlessly. I lost weight without even trying. Sitting in an oncology office in front of a stranger listening Continue Reading →

Challenges, Accomplishments, and Understanding the Worth of Being A Caregiver

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A guest blog by Richard A. Coutee I asked our oldest son to write a guest blog about his experience with both my breast cancer diagnosis and my recovery through DIEP flap surgery. I cried when I read it. He hit the mark on the challenges, accomplishments, and understanding the worth of being a caregiver. In his words… My First Challenge as a Caregiver In 2001, I was a freshman at Washington State University. I remember a chilly day in January, I was in class shortly after returning from Christmas break. The professor teaching the class that day paused when a teaching assistant came in and handed her a note. “Richard Coutee? You need to call home as soon as you can.”  I was embarrassed that I was called out in front of everyone and wondered what news was so important that it couldn’t wait for me. That’s when I Continue Reading →