Tag: metastatic breast cancer

Episode 12: Patient Advocacy and Health Disparities

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Roberta Albany is a formidable breast cancer patient advocate and spokesperson for health disparities. Her work with Living Beyond Breast Cancer and in her own community at Cancer in the Know has gained her great respect and why I am excited to interview this friend and colleague in the breast cancer space for Episode 12: Patient Advocacy and Health Disparities for the DiepCJourney Podcast.  The Making of a Patient Advocate Roberta did not set out to be a spokesperson and patient advocate for the breast cancer community. Her diagnosis defined her role and lead her to this work. She describes her experience with the diagnosis she received in October of 2013. Bobbi found a lump while training for a half marathon with her running group, Black Girls Run. She could not remember if she had done her monthly self-breast exam. She recalls her breast had been bothering her, especially the left side. Upon doing her Continue Reading →

Honoring My Sweet Friend Valerie Hewson Wright

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Today I honor the passing of a life well-lived. Valerie Hewson Wright lived a life a love and vibrancy through a breast cancer diagnosis and most recently, metastatic breast cancer. I am angry, pissed to be quite honest, and deeply saddened at losing a friend to this insidious disease we have yet to find a cure for.  Val and I never met in person, but I feel so very close to her and why I weep today at her passing. Our Nonprofit Connection When I began thinking about opening my own nonprofit Foundation in 2017, I would call Valerie and ask her questions about the logistics of running an organization to help others. She successfully opened VforVictory Foundation to mail drain holders out to breast cancer and breast reconstruction patients after their surgery. She worked tirelessly for these women and why I leaned on her for her advice. Her famous Continue Reading →