Integrative Oncology: Tending to the Inner Self, a reflection During the 2026 Living Beyond Breast Cancer MBC conference, which was the 20th anniversary of that particular conference this past weekend, I had the distinct honor of serving on a panel during a breakout session organized by Project Life and brilliantly moderated by April Stearns from Wildfire Community. My fellow panelist, Nikoo McGoldrick, a bestselling author who is also living with Stage IV Metastatic Breast Cancer (MBC), and I answered a few questions about how writing has helped us to cope with the diagnosis, but the real highlight of the session for us and the the attendees, were the writing prompts.

Integrative Oncology: Tending to the Inner Self, a reflection

During the 2026 Living Beyond Breast Cancer MBC conference, which was the 20th anniversary of that particular conference this past weekend, I had the distinct honor of serving on a panel during a breakout session organized by Project…

Late post but in Los Angeles it's still #flowerfridayfamily Day!

We're still having bsky tech issues so you're not all receiving notifications from the tags. If you don't receive one, pls report it to bsky feedback

It's definitely Jacarandá blooming time! They make a sticky mess but oh so pretty!

ReBlog: Weekly Round-Up from Journeying Beyond Breast Cancer

Fred Hutch funds 10 Washington state initiatives to expand cancer prevention Fred Hutch Cancer Center’s Community Grants Program has recently awarded 10 cancer prevention projects across Washington state up to $15,000 each, for a total of $145,500. These dollars will support c...

10 Washington state health orgs just received @fredhutch.org community grants to support their community-led solutions 4 #cancerprevention #screening & #education. Kudos - this is how you @enddisparities.bsky.social in #cancer! #CanSky #IDSky

www.fredhutch.org/en/news/cent...

Finding Glimmers in the Weight of Metastatic Breast Cancer (MBC) Recently, in a support group I’ve been moderating with my Dad, a mental health therapist, since the long blur of COVID, I offered a small piece of homework—something I rarely do. But sometimes you can feel the shift before anyone names it, the quiet sag of spirits, the way the room grows heavier even through a screen, sometimes entirely unspoken. And in those moments, my instinct is to place something steady in our hands. So I asked them to look for the good. To notice what is meaningful. To gather the small, stubborn glimmers.

Finding Glimmers in the Weight of Metastatic Breast Cancer (MBC)

The Hidden Burdens of Cancer Care: When Insurers Override Doctors - Becker's Oncology Every 30 seconds, someone in the U.S. hears the words: “You have cancer” – a moment that changes life in an instant. Yet, too often, the greatest struggle isn’t always the disease itself, but the maze...

"Drug denials by private insurers are up 25% since 2016, creating access barriers across #cancer & other chronic conditions. Further, a 2023 analysis of coverage policies found that comm'l health plans’ use of restrictions on onc drugs nearly doubled – from 17.6% to 33.5% btwn 2017 & 2021." #CanSky

Hate this for you.

My patient would rather take a peptide than a statin. That reveals an uncomfortable truth in medicine “The volume of evidence behind a therapy has become inversely correlated with public trust in it,” writes Vikas Patel.

"What is happening right now is ... the wholesale substitution of consumer enthusiasm 4 clinical evidence. My pt is refusng a drug studied in 170K people because of side effects that a 124K person analysis just confirmed do not exist — while injecting a compound studied in 14 humans ..." 1/2 #CanSky

Pros and cons of a small(er) life Over the last few years, I’ve carried the quiet, disorienting sense that my life has been reduced—pulled inward, pared down to something smaller than I once imagined, something I didn’t recognize at first as my own. I fought it. I grieved it. I raged against the narrowing, cried until the edges blurred, mourned the life that felt like it had nothing to do with what I'd been building for the first 38 years of my life. And then, this past week, I heard it spoken back to me in a different voice, which happens often to me.

Pros and cons of a small(er) life

Over the last few years, I’ve carried the quiet, disorienting sense that my life has been reduced—pulled inward, pared down to something smaller than I once imagined, something I didn’t recognize at first as my own. I fought it. I grieved it. I raged against the…

The Erosion of Hope in Terminal Illness There is a quiet, particular grief in watching the scaffolding of the health care system meant to hold you sway, splinter, and give. Not all at once, not dramatically enough to draw alarm—just a subtle leaning at first, a hairline fracture you convince yourself can be repaired. Until one day you realize you are carrying weight that was never meant to be yours to carry, that shouldn't be on any patient especially those of us already living with a terminal illness. Coordination, communication, remembering the specifics of a treatment plan; I've lost count of the number of errors, medical mistakes, that I've found, corrected, and addressed since my de novo Stage IV Metastatic Breast Cancer (MBC) diagnosis in 2017.

Losing Faith in the Healthcare Systen

A tale of two lives It was the season of knowing and not knowing. The doctors said the word terminal, repeatedly, and then time began to move in three directions at once—forward toward progression, forward in all the ordinary days and also backward through memories of what life used to be. Each scan carries the question of how much had grown, what had spread, what had been lost since the last scan or intervention. My body changes every time, quietly and sometimes more dramatically. Ordinary days continue —coffee in the morning, sunlight through the window, carpool to drive, or not as we head into Spring Break—but they unfold beneath the steady knowledge that the disease is advancing, marching towards the inevitable.

A tale of two lives

When Treatment Delays Impact Life: A Personal Account I’m a pretty resilient person. I’ve faced a lot and retained my sense of humor (albeit more dark these days), my ability to see silver linings, the ability to keep going despite hardships, despite set backs, despite bad news over and over. It’s not been easy but I’ve developed a lot of tools to keep going. But some days, it seems too hard. Some days, it’s just too much. I had a day like that a few weeks ago when I showed up for my Zometa infusion. For those of you who aren’t familiar with this medication, Zometa is a bisphosphonate, given for the affects of bone metasteses in an IV (intravenous drip).

When they beat you down …

Finding the Magic, Just in Time (Published 2025)

Another amazing life story cut short by inflammatory breast cancer. I found Clare’s NYT podcast and article unexpectedly, while scrolling last year. I loved hearing she had found love. And I’m so sorry she didn’t get more time. Rest in peace Clare. #IBC #cansky
www.nytimes.com/2025/01/08/p...

Do you know your health care rights? In recognition of National Health Care Rights Day on March 22, we’re highlighting three important rights that can help people diagnosed with cancer navigate work, insurance, and access to care. #CanSky

Appreciate you commenting! I write to get out the emotions that fester otherwise and I’m glad it resonates with you.

The Loneliness Experienced During Forever Cancer Care At first, there so much noise. Phones ringing, kind and supportive messages flooding in. Appointment after appointment, preparation for surgery after surgery. Fitting it all in becomes a full time job. Information is a flood, coming at you faster than you can process it, like drinking from a fire hose. People are everywhere, offering a hand, food, respite, coffee. Health care workers asking question after question after question. You feel at the center of a very large, uncontrollable storm. And almost immediately, you are isolated, alone. Because even surrounded by people you love, something irrevocably separates you.

The Loneliness Experienced During Forever Cancer Care

At first, there so much noise. Phones ringing, kind and supportive messages flooding in. Appointment after appointment, preparation for surgery after surgery. Fitting it all in becomes a full time job. Information is a flood, coming at you…

🤦🏻‍♀️

Chronic v. Terminal

Navigating Grief and Support for MBC Patients In my circles of good friends living with Stage IV Metastatic Breast Cancer (MBC), there is a great deal of suffering at present and that weighs on all of us. It is not abnormal to get on a zoom call ostensibly about the "business" of advocacy and talk mostly about these personal struggles because we lean on each other in big and small ways. We notice small and large changes, sometimes before anyone else because we're tuned into each other in nuanced ways and are more vulnerable with each other than most in our real lives.

Navigating Grief and Support for MBC Patients

In my circles of good friends living with Stage IV Metastatic Breast Cancer (MBC), there is a great deal of suffering at present and that weighs on all of us. It is not abnormal to get on a zoom call ostensibly about the "business" of advocacy and talk…

Things to know when you are getting a port, from a patient’s perspective After receiving three different ports after my de novo Stage IV Metastatic Breast Cancer (MBC) diagnosis in 2017, I've collected a few important things to think about along the way that I'd like to share. Not everyone living with MBC has a port and not all patients living with MBC desire one. It is important to consider the pros and cons of every decision, keeping in mind those things that are important to each individual person; at the same time, it’s hard to know what to ask and when. Port #1 (non-power port, no name)

Things to know when you are getting a port

Clinical Trials, Part II: Informed Consent During the 2025 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS), I had the privilege of participating in a panel discussion that was a collaboration between the Alamo Breast Cancer Foundation, the Metastatic Breast Cancer Alliance (MBCA), the American Association of Clinical Research (AACR) and the Advanced Breast Cancer Global Alliance (ABCGA). Dr Fatima Cordoso and Teri Pollastro were the moderators, Dr. Mariana Chavez MacGregor from MD Anderson was the keynote speaker, and in addition to myself, Kirstin Spencer from METUPUK was a panelist. The title of our discussion was, in part, Demystifying Clinical Trials.

Clinical Trials, Part II: Informed Consent

During the 2025 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS), I had the privilege of participating in a panel discussion that was a collaboration between the Alamo Breast Cancer Foundation, the Metastatic Breast Cancer Alliance (MBCA), the American…

There are some processes at different institutions and some differences across state lines but nothing consistent that I’ve seen.

ReBlog: Journeying Beyond Breast Cancer’s Weekly Round-Up

As a lawyer, I have lots of concerns about AI — although most of what is available now is more machine learning than true AI. Patients absolutely need to be part of the conversation at all levels.

Finding Clinical Trials: A Patient’s Guide During the 2025 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS), I had the privilege of participating a panel discussion that was a collaboration between the Alamo Breast Cancer Foundation, the Metastatic Breast Cancer Alliance (MBCA), the American Association of Clinical Research (AACR) and the Advanced Breast Cancer Global Alliance (ABCGA). Dr Fatima Cordoso and Teri Pollastro were the moderators, Dr. Mariana Chavez MacGregor from MD Anderson was the keynote speaker, and in addition to myself, Kirstin Spencer from METUPUK was a panelist. The title of our discussion was, in part, Demystifying Clinical Trials.

Finding Clinical Trials: A Patient’s Guide

During the 2025 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS), I had the privilege of participating a panel discussion that was a collaboration between the Alamo Breast Cancer Foundation, the Metastatic Breast Cancer Alliance (MBCA), the American…

ReBlog: Weekly Round-Up from Journeying Beyond Breast Cancer

Navigating Life’s Turmoil: A Call for Connection and Action When we add up all of the chaos, only exacerbated by the perpetual news cycle, the burden of trying to find truth when no one gives us everything, it is entirely reasonable to feel paralyzed, to feel as though all hope is lost, to not know where to turn. Whenever I turn on the news, I am bombarded by the different events, by rhetoric and opinions, by shocking videos, by big changes to systems we rely upon. It feels so big, it feels so chaotic, it feels overwhelming. I find it hard to look away, I find it hard to keep looking.

Navigating Life’s Turmoil: A Call for Connection and Action

When we add up all of the chaos, only exacerbated by the perpetual news cycle, the burden of trying to find truth when no one gives us everything, it is entirely reasonable to feel paralyzed, to feel as though all hope is lost, to not…

A Terrible Strength by Kemi Doll, MD, MSCR: 9780593977477 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books Black women are facing a systemic gynecological health crisis. This book gives them the tools needed to unlearn the medical normalization of their suffering and offers a path forward to healing—by...

BIG NEWS! #gynca expert @kemidoll.bsky.social has written a book on Black #womenshealth, esp Black maternal health & the ONGOING systemic gyn health crisis killing Black women. #endo #cancer #blackwomb #CanSky @enddisparities.bsky.social

Pre-order here:👇
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/775526...

I’ve been over and over the raw data with a statistician. It’s mind boggling to me (only had two stats courses in college a few decades ago), but trust his interpretation and he showed me how he got there.

#Cansky

I wrote something here. It was a bit too long to post so refer to the photos please 🫶🏻.