Weekly Round-Up

Time 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. 

I am starting this week’s round-up with three delightful  nature themed posts this week – the first from Jan, who has been hiking with some new friends, the second from Sarah – also hiking with Ronnie and the third from Jackie who has been sleeping with the sandhill cranes.

AnneMarie  has been to a showing of Pink Ribbons Inc, a film about the story of the commercialization of the breast cancer movement. Looking forward to reading her full review, as it sounds like a powerful film.

In Breast Cancer Diagnosis – the Prequel, Beth has taken us back to the day she got her  “unofficial-but-pretty-certain diagnosis of cancer, the prequel to the official diagnosis two days later.”

Dear Lani buried her father this past week and has written a moving reflection on his life on her blog.

Debbie has been talking serendipity, cancer survivorship plans and moving your body this week on Where We Go Now.

Lots happening in Catherine’s world and check out the lovely picture she has posted from her recent photoshoot. And speaking of lovely pictures, Flo is modelling her new post-mastectomy wardrobe and looking pretty fine in the photographs.

The Pink Underbelly has been experiencing a touch of what Philippa likes to call Capt Paranoia this week in a very familiar scenario to us all:

Very likely it’s nothing to worry about, but once you’ve danced with the devil that is cancer, any twinge or spot or pain sets you on high alert.

Jen is also dealing with pain.. the tingly, pins and needles side-effect of chemo – neuropathy.  She wonders if cancer has aged her beyond her years:

I am 37 years old and worry that this cancer bout has/will age me by ten years at least. I was always fit, happy with my body, never really struggled with self-esteem in this department even when I have had issues fitting into my skinny jeans. The vanity of this upsets me, because as I have said, my longevity means so much more, yet I am just not quite ready to feel almost fifty at my age.

This week, Nancy is asking an important question – why don’t more people care about gene patenting? Nancy has certainly woken me up to this issue as she, and others in the BC blogosphere have to metastatic cancer. What Yvonne writes in the opening to her latest post on this same subject reflects word-for-word my own experience:

Perhaps it is because my family history is bereft of breast cancer. Perhaps it’s because I have been lulled into a false sense of security by three mammogram reports that didn’t include information the density of my breasts. Whatever the reason, until my own diagnosis, I think I truly believed that breast cancer was what happened to other women in other families.  Such naïveté. Cancer always happens to people who are just like you and just like me.

Metastatic cancer is also the topic of Liz’s latest post on her wonderfully named blog Paw Paw Salad. “Despite all the pink ribbons, there is still no cure for metastatic breast cancer” she writes “On some days I feel hugely positive about my chances. On others, the words “one in five” toll in my head and I wonder how it is possible to keep functioning with such a level of fear. On days like this I feel like I have a revolver barrel spinning near my temple in a game of cosmic Russian Roulette – and the barrel is missing one chamber.”

Candida has been studying ‘positive emotional style (PES)’ and its effect on health outcomes, including the evidence of its correlation with the lower risk of developing the common cold.

Terri’s volunteer placement in Rwanda has come to a close and she is left nursing a heart ache after the experience.

Hope,  miracles, and life’s little coincidences is the theme of Tami’s  latest post on Miracle Survivors. 

Maura has posted an exquisite photograph of a close up of a flower and wonders can photography be a meditative practice?

I began this week’s round-up with spring hikes and bird-watching and I shall end with two more spring-themed posts. Elyn has some delicious seasonal recipes for us to try,  and I will finish with Dr Attai‘s reminder to us that just like spring,   “we are also constantly growing – changing with the seasons and with the events that occur in our day-to-day lives.”

Until next week…. here’s to growth!

Yours with love

Marie xxx