Good Friends, Healing Tinctures

 Life brings you gifts in random ways : more than twenty years ago, summer camp counseling brought @jeniferhughs into my life. 

Through careers, marriages, kids, homes, moves, and across many miles we’ve stayed friends. In 2021, my most challenging year yet, I am so grateful for the people who have supported me on this journey. 

Jenifer is helping me crush cancer with these homemade mushroom extracts. There is some really interesting and solid data on the anti cancer properties of certain mushrooms (for real, I read the papers) so I’ll be incorporating these tinctures in my recurrence prevention strategy. 

Thank you so much Jenifer for the incredibly thoughtful gift and for decades of friendship. Love and gratitude ❤️

#lobularbreastcancer #breastcancerprevention#magicmushrooms #turkeytailmushroom #reishimushroom#anticancer #cancerrecurrenceprevention 
#goodfriendsarehardtofind #friendshipgratitude

It's All Starting to Catch Up With Me

The past few weeks have been hard, and I think my meds are finally starting to catch up with me.

The little pill on top with the L is letrozole. It is an aromatase inhibitor, and it inhibits estrogen. All of the other pills that I take are to ameliorate side effects and symptoms from the letrozole.

Biotin to prevent hair loss, calcium and vitamin D to treat osteoporosis, tart cherry supplements and naproxen to treat joint pains. Melatonin and trazodone to treat insomnia. A whole handful of pills just to manage the side effects of one.

I have been on letrozole for seven months, and for the last few weeks, it has been rough. I now understand why women throw these away, preferring quality of life over a small amount of cancer recurrence prevention. I’m not going to stop taking it, but I wish I could.

The foot, hip, ankle and back pains are excruciating. The tendinitis in my shoulders makes it hard to reach for things, swim, or even lift light objects. I’ve aged thirty years in seven months, and it doesn’t feel good. 

Thanks to @plantfusion @solgar @jarrowformulas@devanutrition for making vegan supplements I can actually take, and that are keeping me functional. Otherwise, just getting out of bed would be a struggle some days. 

#lobularbreastcancer #estrogenpositivebreastcancer#aromataseinhibitor #fuckbreastcancer #fuckmenopause#feelingoldaf #somanypillstotake #veganvitamins#vegancancersurvivor #breastcancerfree#breastcancerprevention #recurrenceprevention

There's no Cancer at Disneyworld

Nine months ago today I rolled into an operating room for a double mastectomy. 

Here I am today, flat, fabulous, and alive, about to celebrate this anniversary with my husband and family at the happiest freaking place on earth, Disney World. 

For the next four days, there will be no breast cancer. There will be laughs, rides, songs, and corny Disney theme songs. But no breast cancer. 

This has been one of my happy places since I learned to swim in the old swimming hole with my grandparents in 1979. There is truly no place like it - a perfect escape to reconnect with family and to forget the living hell that is cancer. Here we go for four days of total escapism and fantasy instead of reality. 

#mastectomyanniversary#doublemastectomywithoutreconstruction#lobularbreastcancer #flatandfabulous #noboobsnoproblem#fuckbreastcancer #happiestplaceonearth#nobreastcancerhere #disneyworld #disneyfamily