Putting my story to the side

Hello, It’s been over 6 months since I posted on my blog. I have entered the stage of recovery where I am re-assembling my life, rebuilding my identity. Although I have always been eager and willing to share my medical journey and what it has meant to me as a human being, this is intimate terrain, not something I care to share with the world of google. Of course I still have medical stuff to deal with, but it’s small potatoes in the cancer world: scars, physical therapy, chronic lymphedema, scanxiety. Meanwhile, friends and fellow cancer travelers contend with much greater challenges: ghastly long term side effects, unthinkable choices bequeathed by genetic testing results — even recurrences. I am happy to keep my blog up as a resource for those who seek it here. My topic through this ordeal was fundamentally about the social and emotional realities of cancer and its treatment. Unfortunately, although the science has been advancing in important ways, the story of being a young mother with advanced cancer may not be changing so much any time soon. Same with my other story, being the sister of somebody who died too young from this awful disease. I am grateful to have garnered so much love and support through this blog and other social media. It gave me a boost in my general faith in humanity that will stay with me the rest of my life. No doubt cancer has changed me. Throughout my life, I have responded to adversity by becoming an educator and an advocate. It’s the only way I know to make my suffering worthwhile: by using the hard-won wisdom to lessen the suffering of others. I will do this work primarily through the Breast Cancer Consortium, but I also will maintain my connection to organizations like Stupid Cancer, Little Pink Houses of Hope, Gilda’s Club, and Critical Mass that support young adult patients. There is still so much to be done. I am just putting my story to the side. If you are coming to this blog looking for solace, please use the search tool for some key words: parenting, body image, friendships, loss, gratitude. I have also included a timeline of my treatment at the end of this post if you are wanting to know what different things were like for me. Wishing all of you peace, health and love. – Lani If you want to hear my experiences of different phases of treatment my timeline was roughly as follows: October 2009: diagnosis November 2009 – February 2010 chemo March 2010 – April 2010 mastectomies and recovery May 2010 – July 2010 radiation November 2009 – November 2010 Herceptin October 2011 – May 2012 reconstruction

The information provided on CancerTreatment.net is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between a patient/site visitor and his/her health professional. This information is solely for informational purposes and does not constitute the practice of medicine. We encourage all visitors to see a licensed physician or nutritionist if they have any concerns regarding health issues related to diet, personal image and any other topics discussed on this site. Neither the owners or employees of CancerTreatment.net nor the author(s) of site content take responsibility for any possible consequences from any treatment, procedure, exercise, dietary modification, action or application of medication which results from reading this site. Always speak with your primary health care provider before engaging in any form of self treatment. Please see our Legal Statement for further information.