Weekly Round-Up
Welcome, dear readers, to this week’s gathering of voices.
We begin with Nancy who marks National Hereditary Cancer Week with a personal reflection on the “family secrets” that can be hidden in our DNA. Drawing on her family’s experience with a BRCA2 mutation, she explores why understanding our family medical history matters, the difficult choices that genetic knowledge can bring, and the importance of looking for patterns across both sides of the family.
Terri talks with Dr Joseph Serletti about advances in breast neurotization, highlighting that effective reconstruction is about more than aesthetics. She explores how techniques such as Nerve Tape® may help restore sensation after breast reconstruction, and why being able to feel heat, pressure, and injury matters not only to quality of life, but also to safety.
Barbara highlights the potential long-term effects of treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation on cardiovascular health, reminding us that as more people live longer after cancer, attention must extend beyond treating the disease itself to recognising and monitoring the consequences that may emerge later.
Dee looks back on Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, sharing updates from advocacy events, research initiatives, and her own annual follow-up appointment. More than 20 years after her diagnosis, she writes about the anxiety that can still accompany a cancer check-up, even after so much time has passed.
Abigail reflects on the profound ways living with Stage IV metastatic breast cancer has shaped her identity. She writes about how a terminal diagnosis changes the way you experience time, relationships, plans, fear, and even ordinary moments — creating a clear sense of life before and after cancer. Yet while cancer has inevitably become part of who she is, Abigail makes an important distinction: it has not erased the person she was, nor does it get to become the entirety of her story.
We end this week with a reflection on finding and trusting your own voice. Beth returns to her painting journey as she begins an eight-week oil painting course determined to let go of perfectionism and stop comparing herself with others. Her beautiful image of each artist as a “fingerprint” — unique, with room for every kind of creative expression — captures her growing confidence in her own artistic voice.
May the days ahead give us space to listen to our own voices, honour what we carry, and make room for the things that bring us back to ourselves.
Much love always,
Marie xxx
