Fatigued by Being Affected by Breast Cancer?

People are affected by breast cancer in many ways. A person diagnosed can be fatigued from treatments. Some effects may seem short-term after finishing chemotherapy, radiation, or having surgery. Those in the metastatic breast cancer community have life-long effects they face for the remainder of their lives. I am speaking of the long-term effects of fatigue and being affected by breast cancer in both of these groups. The Fatigue that Effects Daily Living        Fatigue from breast cancer can come in many forms. You may feel physically fatigued from having surgery or undergoing treatment. It disrupts your body’s system causing it to work overtime during the healing process. As you sit in your chair feeling this way, you may become sad, feeling helpless, as you watch others trying to take care of you when perhaps a week or month before surgery or treatment you were the one taking care of others. Continue Reading →

Episode 17: Journey of the Caregiver

Caregivers are called upon in the most unexpected ways through disease, an accident, surgery, or treatment. This is the story and journey of a thousand miles, two breast cancer diagnoses, multiple surgeries, and the story of how my son, Brian, taught me more about this role and what it means to be a compassionate caregiver on Episode 17: Journey of the Caregiver, on the DiepCJourney podcast. No Instruction Book for a Caregiver When a friend or loved one faces a health event and you know they will need assistance, your call to duty to be a caregiver begins. There is no payment for this role and certainly no instruction book. Both the patient and the caregiver shift their daily routine and begin to think in terms of strategy to help the patient. Considerations can include any or all of the following: This can all become overwhelming and require a great Continue Reading →

Episode 24: Sexual Health Program for Cancer Patients

Sharon Bober, PhD, Psychologist, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Assistant Professor in the department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, chats with us on this episode of the DiepCJourney podcast. I met Sharon through the Scientific Network on Female Sexual Health and Cancer where she is the current chair of this organization. Our topic in this blog summary of the podcast; sexual health program for cancer patients. Why Sexual Health is not Often Talked About I feel the intimate and sometimes uncomfortable nature of the topic, sexual health, is one of the major reasons it is not often talked about at consult for cancer patients. Dr. Bober points out very few medical professionals have formal training in sexual health. Further, she points out managing sexual disfunction remains outside the bounds of normal conversation. A noticeably clear statement she makes is, “We live in a culture that is suffused with images of Continue Reading →

My DIEP Flap Breast Reconstruction Seven Years Later

This morning I began my usual morning routine. I am an early riser. I open my laptop, check my phone for messages, begin sorting out emails to respond to, and begin my workday. But this morning marks a day on my calendar I never forget, or more appropriately, always remember. December 1, 2014, I was sitting on a gurney being marked up for my DIEP flap breast reconstruction. Writing about my DIEP flap breast reconstruction seven years later? How is that possible? Where did the time go? The Days and Months Leading up to my DIEP Flap My coffee is fresh and warm and my thoughts flood through my mind as I recall the events of the morning I showed up at the hospital. Yes, I showed up. But boy did that take a lot of decision making, planning, and a strong dose of physical and emotional fortitude in the Continue Reading →

How Are you Feeling Toward the End of The Year?

Are you feeling anxious? Peaceful? Introspective? Determined to roll into the New Year with some novel ideas and changes in your life? It is the time of year when we can feel any, and all of these emotions and they can change within a moment, a day, or a week because of an unexpected circumstance. As we roll into the month of December, it is time to ask, how are you feeling toward the end of the year? End of the Year Holiday Celebrations There are holiday celebrations in December like Hanukah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Las Posadas, and similar celebrations around the world. I recall the excitement of children in my classroom during my years as an ESL teacher honoring each of these holidays. Students loved learning and experiencing the difference and similarities in all of the holidays. This was during a time when families were allowed and felt comfortable bringing Continue Reading →

The Most Difficult Part About Deciding to Have DIEP Flap Breast Reconstruction

I always appreciate hearing patient stories and true feelings about why women choose to have DIEP flap breast reconstruction. The decision is not an easy one to make with many factors involved. I recently asked the women of the private Facebook group DiepCJourney, what was the most difficult part about deciding to have DIEP flap breast reconstruction. Here is what they shared. Consideration of Family and Work During Diep Flap Breast Reconstruction Many women who choose to have DIEP flap are mothers, wives, and working full time either at home or outside the home. Imagine their thought process prior to surgery. “How will I handle activities of daily life knowing I will have incisions from hip to hip and at my breast area?” For women with children there are going to be limitations from those activities we do frequently as mothers, bending, lifting, and twisting. When we are used to Continue Reading →

Trusting your Body after Breast Cancer and Breast Reconstruction

I hear it so often from those affected by breast cancer or breast reconstruction. They experience weakness, loss of muscle mass, sense of balance, and overall strength. I know this feeling. It’s frustrating, feels like a true sense of loss, and sometimes even feels a bit hopeless as if you will never return to the person you were prior to treatment and surgery. I want to share my own experiences, provide hope and why trusting your body after breast cancer and breast reconstruction can be an important part of physical and mental recovery. Loss of Strength after Breast Cancer A breast cancer diagnosis is shocking for most. It is both physically and mentally challenging depleting the body and mind. I remember the absolute fatigue I felt from hearing about the diagnosis, crying, telling my family,  and going to all the subsequent appointments following my first diagnosis. After I had two Continue Reading →

Episode 6: Living Flat after Breast Cancer

Juliet Fitzpatrick is a breast cancer survivor and patient advocate from the U.K. who chose aesthetic flat closure  after breast cancer. She writes about her experience at Blooming Cancer, Living Flat and Recovery after Breast Cancer. In Episode 6: Living Flat after Breast Cancer, on the DiepCJourney podcast Juliet and I chat about her decision to remain flat. She asked a lot of questions and did her research after her breast cancer diagnosis before making this choice. We chat about prosthesis, support groups, blogging, and of course, our combined interest in gardening. These are all on the list of things Juliet is doing since her diagnosis and through her continued recovery, finding the simple passions in life that are important to her. The Breast Cancer Diagnosis Juliet was diagnosed with breast cancer in her left breast after having the second routine mammogram she ever had in her life. She was Continue Reading →

Cancer Survivor’s Day: Thoughts from Personal Journeys

Days on the calendar reminding us of what we love, embrace, are actively involved in, and remind us that these commemorative days fill us with emotions, good and bad. There are holidays that have been on the calendar throughout history. Social media has caused new and interesting ones celebrating food, fun, and other trivial items uniting those who join in. Cancer Survivor’s Day, from my research, began in 1988. What does it mean to those who have survived? I decided to listen to those in my community and share thoughts on Cancer Survivor’s Day and some thoughts from personal Journeys. DiepCJourney: Thoughts on Cancer Survivor’s Day I began the closed Facebook group, DiepCJourney: Breast Reconstruction after Mastectomy in May of 2015 after my successful DIEP flap breast reconstruction. Being a two-time breast cancer survivor impacts my life daily. I decided support, finding resources, providing education for others would be my Continue Reading →

Breast Cancer: Is it Ever a Side Note?

A breast cancer diagnosis changes life forever. There is no instruction book on how to deal with a diagnosis, only the glut of information that one attempts to digest after being told they have breast cancer. It can feel like drinking from a fire hose sometimes. Can breast cancer ever be a side note? The diagnosis feels like being sucked into a vortex pulling the patient in along with their family, friends, and caregivers. The cavernous vacuum fills with emotions, appointments, unknown treatment, costs, lifetime side effects from surgery, and create unintended changes in most people’s lives. Unknowns lurk around dark corners. Some are agonizing to deal with. Other unknowns of a breast cancer diagnosis can be quite transforming in an enlightening way. Long lasting impact of Breast Cancer How do you set it aside, so it becomes a side note? Can a breast cancer diagnosis be a less important Continue Reading →