Big Decisions
Oringally published at bcvsbc.blogspot.com on 02/25/19
Over the past two months I have been really struggling with why I have been spared from this deadly disease and others haven't. I mean there has to be some reason why I am still here but others are not, right? As I look at my life, I have to say, it seems like I am not all that important. Don't get me wrong, we are all important, but I am not making a difference. It feels like there has to be more that I can do to help my fellow sisters in this fight...
One of the biggest issues I had after hearing "you have cancer", was trying to decipher what was going to happen to me, and in layman's terms, not medical mumbo jumbo. I also was desperate to SEE what I was going to look like after surgery (it was the driving force behind starting this blog). As I kept researching the list of questions became bigger and the answers fewer and further between. It seemed like there was something missing within the internet. This only got worse as I progressed further along in my treatment. It was as if this was a continuous cycle of questions without answers and little help from doctors or the internet.
In my mind a light bulb went off.
I chewed on this for a bit and then talked to my friend Beth in Indiana. Beth has become my soul sister since diagnosis. We have never met but began messaging each other almost daily on Facebook after realizing we had a very similar diagnosis and experienced the same weird side effects. In one of my messages I expressed to her that I felt we (women with breast cancer that is HER2) needed more resources on the internet that expressly addressed issues that we kept discussing on our private Facebook group. Beth agreed with me which helped me feel less like a conspiracy theorist and that I was onto something.
Next up I talked to my husband and brother about the idea (I have no idea how to make this all happen) and they suggested a few things. They thought it was a great idea so for the last month I have been learning how to create a website. On the table next to my laptop is a notebook full of ideas and information (yeah it's old school but it can go to all my appointments with me) that I am slowly getting pieced together virtually. It is exciting, very nerve wracking, and most days makes my stomach hurt more than the medicine I am on, but, I think it is going to help a lot of women if I can pull it all together.
So what the hell am I talking about right?
I am creating a website that eventually will have content and links that will directly discuss all the things that I wish I had been able to find at the beginning of my treatment. Specifically I am working on the following right now:
Treatment
Fitness
Health
Fashion
My hope is that I will be able to connect with people more influential than I am that are experts within their fields to help me help my breast sisters. Why can't we get workout videos online that are focused for women that have gone through a mastectomy? What is the best diet for those receiving chemotherapy? Is there a bra that will fit correctly and not rub and irritate scar tissue? What brands of clothes hide all the scars on your body best? I realize that for most people this might seem trivial in the grand scheme of things. My only response is that I wish I had access to something like this in April when I first was diagnosed.
So...here goes! The blog and I are moving to https://www.her2andyou.com/ so bookmark it! Over the next few months I hope to be able to finalize a few things that I have in the works and make more pages live. Until then keep up to date with me on the blog portion of it. If you are reading this and are a newly diagnosed, a survivor, or a thriver and feel something needs to be included please send me a message either on the contact page or in the comments.
As always thank you for your support and love.