Weekly Round-Up

It’s weekly round-up time. These are the posts that have moved me, taught me something, inspired me, and which I’ve wanted to share with you. Don’t forget if you have written a post which you would like readers to see, just leave a comment below.

As we brace ourselves for the annual Pinktober fest, Abigail shares her thoughts on what it means to her as a metastatic breast cancer patient. 

An update from Nancy one year post DIEP flap surgery. 

Six years after she received a diagnosis of breast cancer, Megan-Claire reflects on the impact of that day for her and her feelings today. 

OurMBCLife podcast resumes it’s third season, kicking off with an episode covering relationships and intimacy. 

A sobering post from Ilene on the ugly reality of organizational and individual bullies and the nastier side to patient advocacy – thank you Ilene for calling this out. 

A welcome return to the blogosphere with Philippa’s post on tiny wonders.

Beautifully written reflections on transformation and metamorphosis by Kristie. 

Lisa writes about the changes brought to the conduct of clinical trials necessitated by the pandemic. 

Terri‘s latest post tackles global collaboration and learning on the topic of breast reconstruction. 

Connie shares a lovely account of a writer’s retreat stay and time spent writing her memoir. 

Did you catch Gogs post in memory of his sister Joanne who died of ovarian cancer? 

Liz Benditt, founder of The Balm Box, shares her story on SBC on surviving four cancers over 8 years. 

Barbara’s latest post concerns the goodness of people in times of crisis.

Cathy writes this week about a gift that keeps on giving in terms of health benefits.

Finally this week, I leave you with some much-needed advice from Sue, who owns up to not being ok due to pandemic stress. See also Carolyn’s post on pandemic induced everyday anxiety, aka, “twig cracking”.

As Sue points out, “We are still in the midst of a global pandemic. We should not be forcing ourselves to function as if we are not, no matter what our governments tell us.” 

And Sue’s advice:

If you are not okay like me, you are not alone. Consider cutting back on your busy schedule. Drop things that don’t give you joy. Now is the time to focus on what really matters. For me, that’s love, family, storytelling (and dogs). Everything else can wait.

Thank you Sue!

Until next week

Yours with much love always,

Marie xxx