I have a secret. It is hidden away underneath my shirt, and only revealed under the most private and intimate of circumstances. I reveal myself to only a select few. My husband, my mother, my aunt, a very few of the closest girlfriends will catch a glimpse. I took for granted my natural born nipples.… Continue reading I Have a Secret
Tag: BRCA 1
My ReBirth Day
The most outwardly feminine part of myself, I took to the altar and offered up to the gods. I bargained for my life. When I could finally form words into a semblance of prayer, it was “Take my breasts, but let me live to see my boy grow into a man. Please!” I was the… Continue reading My ReBirth Day
Scar Tissue
The brain heals memories like scar tissue. Little pockets of betrayal, oozing pustules of heartbreak, shards of anger encapsulated, slowly covered up by a thin layer of skin and hardened there. If you’re lucky, if you massage the memory just a little but not too much, you’ll end up with a scar you can live… Continue reading Scar Tissue
A year of Breast Cancer in pictures
Mostly I Feel Grateful
I manage with a healthy dose of denial. Don’t waste too much of your day fretting over what is further down the pike. Just get through today, chin up, with an occasional look down so you know where the next foot is landing. I knew this surgery was looming, and tried to brush off the… Continue reading Mostly I Feel Grateful
Pick me up Mommy!
Tell a Mom not to use her right arm. Tell this to a Mom with a 4 year old and watch her face. I am one of those people who is never content to do just one thing at a time. While the onions are sauteing, I can get the laundry going, start a fire,… Continue reading Pick me up Mommy!
we all want to be saved
Here is the crossroads. The new me in the old cocoon, on the doorstep of what's next. Trying to reconcile my world view, tipped on its axis. I step forward + still want to scream when I'm faced with holier than thou proclamations of how you can be saved if only I eat a certain… Continue reading we all want to be saved
Canary in a Coal Mine
I'm not sure I would have said this a year ago, but I'm glad it was me. Could I have been strong enough if it were my sister, or my mother? I'm glad I found that lump early and having removed all breast tissue, my run-in with hereditary breast cancer will be put to rest shortly… Continue reading Canary in a Coal Mine
Thank you Grandma, I love you and I’m sorry
Dear Grandma Viola, We never met. I am the oldest daughter of your youngest daughter. You passed away only a few years before I was born. My mother watched you be diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 51, go through a barbaric mastectomy, which was the best they could do at the time… Continue reading Thank you Grandma, I love you and I’m sorry
Melissa's Healing Hope 