A year ago, I focused on how my glass was half full. I was – and am – thankful to be a mom and an educator. Nonetheless, as 2014 drew to a close, there were still a lot of loose ends in my life: Was my breast cyst benign or malignant? Could I physically handle […]
Three years ago, I wrote about my relationship with The Man and had introduced him to my close friends and family. I met The Man at my end-of-treatment fundraising celebration, and our relationship was on the fast track soon thereafter. Just how fast? February 2012: We started dating. April 2012: I had a double mastectomy. June […]
When I found out that I needed to have a cyst removed from my right breast, I had an idea. Since I still have yet to finish my breast reconstruction, I wondered if I could get some or all of the next reconstructive surgery completed at the same time. One operation was better than two, right? […]
True or False: If a woman has a double mastectomy, she can never get breast cancer. False. Despite what is often touted by celebrities in the media, undergoing a double mastectomy does not mean that a woman will not get breast cancer. Think about it from a scientific perspective. Is there such a thing as […]
I tasked my students in my Body in American Culture course with examining their thoughts about the body, beauty ideals and body image. The basic guidelines for this Body Genogram are as follows: Connect your early life experiences with your current understanding of your body and beauty in general. How do they or do they […]
In 2010, I was on a date with a man who wanted to talk a lot about my blog. Him: Your stories would make a great book! Each relationship could be a chapter with the last chapter about the man you decide to marry and spend the rest of your life with! I thanked him […]
When I was younger, I thought that I needed to get one bad sunburn at the beginning of each summer as a “base tan.” I viewed the fact that I looked like a lobster and was in pain for a week as an occupational hazard of being pale and going to the pool. I know […]
I was watching TV when I felt a lump in the middle of my right breast. I raised my arm, and I could still feel it. I looked down, and it was noticeable to the eye. “It’s just scar tissue,” I told myself. But, I immediately reached for my phone. I sent a message to […]
I used to be the girl who was a little too comfortable parading around topless in the gym locker room. Now, I’m the girl who changes in the shower stall as quickly as she can. I used to be the girl who loved her real, full breasts. Now I’m the girl who tries to not […]
When I first began blogging in December 2008, I had a basic WordPress platform. The pale mint green and grey template was neither busy nor fancy. Since I blogged anonymously back then, there were no images embedded in my posts. I appreciate that a strong blog is about the written word, but I also acknowledge […]