I remember my NOLA oncologist, Dr. Gurtler, being very opinionated, forceful, and persuasive about a number of things in regards to my diagnosis and treatment: She thought I should have reconstruction. She considered exercise as being extremely important and I was truly impressed with her personal exercise regimen–she walked her talk. Alcohol is really, really […]
Category Archives: Action & Activism
Sex? Seriously? Let’s Talk About Sex Salt-N-Pepa Yo, I don’t think we should talk about this (Come on, why not?) People might misunderstand what we’re tryin’ to say, you know? (No, but that’s a part of life) Come on Let’s talk about you and me Let’s talk about all the good things And the […]
According to the Metastatic Breast Cancer Network, today, October 13, 2018, marks the 10th Anniversary of National Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day. We often forget in this era of Susan B. Komen, Ford’s Warriors in Pink (don’t get me started on that one today–I’ll write a Think Before You Pink post later), pink ribbons, and […]
Susan Silk and Barry Goldwater’s 2013 Op Ed sums up the idea of comfort going into your world while heart ache, drama and pain are heading out, in this great piece. I wrote a blog post about it in 2013 and also again 2 years ago when my sister was dealing with pneumonia. 5 years […]
Tamoxifen 6 years. 8 months. 8 days. The gold standard of treatment for those diagnosed with ER+ breast cancer. My safety net. Do the benefits outweigh the risks? The goal was 10 years, but might 5+ be enough? Risks: blood clots, hot flashes, stroke, endometrial cancer, polyps. Benefits: significant data that it reduces bc recurrence […]
Seriously???? Why is it that my medical team here in Chicago is starting to resemble a charter school staff with it’s obnoxiously high turnover rates? No one sticks around for any extended time!!! In 2017, my oncology primary care physician of 2.5 years jumped ship to become the director of another university’s adult cancer survivorship […]
I was at a professional development this past year where our ice breaker was to identify the main reason we loved Chicago. What popped out for me was one word: LIGHTS. I love Chicago’s lights. Flying into O’Hare or Midway Airports after dark, the lights laid out underneath, guiding the way, so precise. Sailing into […]
