Weekly Round-Up

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girl_with_lassoTime for this week’s round-up of the best of the blogs which I’ve read over the past week. These are the posts that have moved me, taught me something, inspired me, and which I’ve wanted to share with you. Remember, if you have written or read a post recently which you would like me to share with readers, then please leave a comment below.

It has been such a joy to discover the writings of Lois Hjelmstad and she has generously shared with us excerpts from some of the poems featured in her book Fine Black Lines: Reflections on Facing Cancer, Fear and Loneliness. On her blog this week, she has been writing about decluttering our lives and sharing some more wonderful poetry.

Jen has written an eloquent and moving post on her post breast cancer scars:

While our bodies can define us if we allow the world to tell us so, these breasts do not speak to the power of the woman. The core of a woman is her strength, her bravery in life, motherhood, sisterhood, friendships. The core of a woman is the depth of her compassion and love. Beauty is beyond the boob. Strength is within the scars we bear along the path to womanhood.

Candida Abrahamson has been blending scientific research with her own empirical study this week on topics ranging from hypnotherapy to exercise and has also written an insightful post on depression and anxiety post cancer treatment.

AnneMarie has written some very challenging posts this week on cancer screening, survival rates, confusing survival with mortality and the need for more education around these issues..and more plain English-speak!

Brenda has some helpful information this week for previvors ( genetic predisposition to cancer) and points out how they have their own needs and concerns separate from those who’ve already been diagnosed with breast cancer.

In between some ranting of her own the Pink Underbelly has found time to post the cutest thing I’ve seen all week on the web – a list of “things the internet loves” by her young daughter. It will really make you smile 🙂

And the second cutest thing I’ve seen all week is the image chosen by Florence on her Cancer Made A Blogger Out Of Me post – a post very close to my own heart, as that is how it all started for me too!

Yvonne has finished her cancer treatment and is getting ready to resume her old life and old ways – ah! but there’s a catch in that – how easy is it to pick up the threads of our lives where we left off?

Return to work. Resume normal activity. This cancer has rocked my world from the inside out. Normal now does not simply continue from normalthen.  Someone who looks like me will pick up where she left off. What happened to her? Did the woman I used to be disappear?

After an absence of a month, a month in which we have collectively mourned the losses of Rachel and Susan from our breast cancer blogging community, both Philippa and Katie have written beautiful reflective posts and Beth, in sombre mood picks up her blog again too. It is so good to hear their unique voices again – their absence a testament to the devastation felt at the passing of our beloved Rachel.

Both Rachel and Susan did so much to educate us to the reality of living with metastatic cancer, and Nancy wants us to continue the conversation they started. She asks why we seem so reluctant to talk about this subject, and concludes that it is our own fear that holds us back. I believe she is right and that we owe it to the memory of Rachel and Susan to keep the conversation going and educate ourselves and become advocates for the cause that both our friends wrote so passionately about.

Debbie takes on another topic that many don’t want to talk about- death and cancer loneliness. Please take some time to read her post and add your voice.

This past week saw Catherine learn the results of her BRCA testing and sadly brought news of the death of her husband’s grandmother, whom she pays tribute to.

Finally, today, it seems quite surreal to be putting the finishing touches to the weekly round-up  with one of its regulars a few feet away from me. Earlier this week, I was reading Terri’s latest post  Lessons From The Slums of India, and last night, sitting in front of a cosy fire and sharing a glass of wine,  I had the chance to hear about her experiences first hand. It’s incredible where blogging takes you – and who it brings into your life!

Marie xxx

Category : #BCSM, Advocacy, Lifestyle, Patient Empowerment
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