Weekly Round Up

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girl_with_lassoTime for the weekly round-up of blogs.  These are the posts that have moved me, taught me something, inspired me, and which I’ve wanted to share with you. Just click on the highlighted links to read the posts. Don’t forget if you have written a post which you would like readers to see,  just leave a comment below.

I can’t believe another Friday has rolled around again so quickly.  Time to take a look at how everyone’s week has been.

“This week has made me wonder about courage, decisions, and forgetting” writes Catherine in Bumpy Boobs.

Renn is recovering at home from her bilateral mastectomy.

Practical advice on the dreaded hot flashes from 1 Up On Cancer.

It’s great to see Jan back blogging again and this time she is pondering why her recent weight loss has made people so uncomfortable.

And a big welcome back to Bringing Up Goliath too with her post-vacation thoughts.

A must read from A Fresh Chapter for anyone who has ever wanted to pursue their dreams but finds fear holds them back. If you have been inspired by Terri’s story, as many of us have, PLEASE vote for her to win a $5k Business Start Up Package to help her  get her not-for-profit off the ground.

I always love reading Lauren’s blog, not least because she shares my fascination with words – remember how we all loved her “klunkerland” post? Lauren’s latest post is all about hunkering and battening down and it’s another great read.

Have you been invited via Facebook to take part in this year’s breast cancer awareness raising meme? If you are frustrated to see this silliness raise its head again, then  Philippa’s latest post is right on the button this week, as she respectfully points out the utter uselessness of this so-called campaign, which this year seems particularly insensitive to those of us affected by post-chemo fertility issues.  Sarah has also written about this and makes it clear that breast cancer cannot be reduced to a silly game in this way, and as we have come to expect from Kathi, her response has been intelligent and informative and leaves us in no doubt of how we can truly raise awareness of cancer (hint: it doesn’t involve revealing bra colours!).

Another blogger voicing her frustration is Laurie of not just about cancer who succinctly points out why she won’t be supporting a breast cancer organization that she quite rightly feels doesn’t speak to or for her and her metastatic cancer.

Scott Pratt must be someone very special indeed, as Brenda has invited him to be her first ever guest blogger. Scott, in Brenda’s words, is  one of those “breast cancer husbands who are great caregivers, men who’ve stood by their wives through every step of their breast cancer. ” Another one of these men is Ronnie Hughes, partner of Being Sarah, who is also writing about how breast cancer affects his life as well as Sarah’s.

Beth’s latest post on cancer narratives really struck a chord with me this week as I am endlessly fascinated by this subject and Katie is continuing her own what’s wrong with positive thinking narrative in Uneasy Pink.

Nancy is celebrating one whole year of blogging and reflecting on where her journey has taken her since she pushed that “publish” button on her first blog post.

And finally,  gorgeous, funny, feisty, beloved Rachel, who is living with the reality of metastatic cancer, has been writing this week about the latest cruel twist in her narrative. I don’t have enough words to tell you how much Rachel means to so many of us  – she is a true voice in an ocean of platitudes. Her voice, is the voice many don’t want to hear:

They want to hear that I’m feeling better. That I’m coping with the loss of the hand. That treatments will work for me. That people with metastatic breast cancer can “do well” for a very long time. That I’m feeling more positive about things. That I can get through whatever this disease throws at me. That I’m continuing to fight. That I won’t ever give up. That I will remain hopeful, no matter what (but Rachel wants) to tell the truth and surprise, surprise life isn’t all fluffy pink unicorns dancing on rainbows, no matter how much I wish it were.

This week spare a thought for Rachel and those like her whose truth is one we cannot ignore in all the hoopla of the upcoming pinktober.

Rachel, we love you xxx

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