Lessons from a 10-Year Breast Cancer Survivor to Her Younger Self

Lessons from a 10-Year Breast Cancer Survivor to Her Younger Self

– and to those facing the breast cancer journey You’ve just been diagnosed with breast cancer and you are numb and scared. Your world just turned upside-down. Let me help you set it right. I am 10-year survivor, diagnosed August 6, 2009. I was in your shoes that day, shocked, freaked and little ashamed that I’d allowed my health to get away from me. You see, I am a control freak in so many parts of my life. Yet, my world then felt spiraled and out of control. But not for long. The few people I told at first all had

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Fearless Fabulous Women: Wit & Wisdom from a Young Breast Cancer Survivor

Fearless Fabulous Women: Wit & Wisdom from a Young Breast Cancer Survivor

Imagine. You are young, married with four sons, full of energy and gorgeous. You find a lump on your breast. It tests positive for cancer. Your world turns upside down. You feel lost. You have radiation, reconstruction, complications. It’s all complicated. Where do you turn for support? It happens more than you think. Breast cancer affects women (and men) of all ages and ethnic backgrounds. It’s hard on everyone, but especially hard for younger women who may be of childbearing age or raising children, or who are single and dating, or starting a new career. You feel shot down in

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Fearless Fabulous You!  The Show Must Go On

Fearless Fabulous You!  The Show Must Go On

I wrote this watching the Tony Awards. It was a joyful night of celebrating amazing live theater. Sadly, a real-life tragedy played out in Orlando, Florida, less than 24 hours earlier, marking another black spot in America’s history. We ask “Why does this happen?” But there is no suitable answer. We ask “How can we continue to let this happen?” But there is no suitable answer. We ask “When is it going to stop?” But there is no suitable answer. What we do know is the show must go on. Bad things happen. But we must not let them stop

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A Bad Break Should Not Put the Brakes on Your Outlook

A Bad Break Should Not Put the Brakes on Your Outlook

At least once in your life you may experience a bad break or a traumatic experience. It could be a cancer diagnosis, the death of a loved one, a marriage gone sour, or loss of a job or business. Setbacks and stumbling blocks are facts of life. Some situations are more difficult than others, and the healing process may take more time and effort for some. Survivorship has many faces and paths, but there is one common destination: recovery. There was a point in my life where I faced a fork in the road after a series of setbacks that could have stopped me in my tracks.

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Fearless Fabulous Women: Judy Pearson & Karen Shayne

I have a special place in my heart for four kinds of women: Dreamers, Doers, Do-Gooders and Survivors. Judy Pearson and Karen Shayne are all four rolled up into two beautiful bodies of energy with huge hearts and super-sized souls. They are co founders of the Women Survivors Alliance and the annual National Women’s Survivors Convention (“Survivorville”) and publishers of Nou Magazine. Their mission is “to establish a network where women affected by cancer can find their voice, improve their quality of life and embrace their second acts.”

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