My Great Breast Cancer Adventure

so beautiful and so terrible...

via wavesworld.typepad.com

I'd like to share with you the first paragraph (and a link to the rest) of my friend Wave Geber's blog, which she kept posting to until five days before her death from breast cancer last Friday Nov. 4th. I am still amazed at how she managed to continue writing and sharing her experience(s), with such honesty and openness and depth. And I think she'd like to have her words live on:

Oct. 30th, 2011

Yesterday would have to go down as one of the most emotionally touching times of my life. i can't believe it could get more intense than it has been, but it does...mr dave brought his guitar from new york but i didn't think i could sing anything. mitchell pushed it a bit and i laid here propped up while dave learned "song for the asking"...i sang with very little voice strength but somehow it came out sounding beautiful and sweet. then we tried "make you feel my love", and i looked up and dave was crying and mitchell was crying and i had to put my hand up so that i couldn't see them so i could finish the song. there was so much love and friendship in this room, and a deep deep sadness. we sang for an hour. each song seemed to say everything about my relationship with mitchell, our friendship with dave, and the beauty of life. i knew it was my last singing time and so did they, and mitchell didn't want it to end. these men aren't the crying types but were sobbing and tissues were flying everywhere. a most memorable gig...and an honor to share it with dave and mitchell...

Continue reading Wave's blog here:

via wavesworld.typepad.com

Cells' 'neighborhood' can help prevent breast cancer

Cells' 'neighborhood' can help prevent breast cancer

Good article. Makes me realize, once again, how remiss I have been in my ongoing reluctance to exercise regularly. I used to walk my dog Olivia three times a week for an hour, going up hills and down. But I stopped doing that when I became sick from taking the drug Tamoxifen, and by the time I felt better again after lying around for months letting my muscles get flabby, I didn't start walking Olivia again. I let someone else do it, because when I did it, my general flabby weakness caused me to hurt and feel too discouraged to keep walking. Thus: A vicious cycle. One that I need to overcome!

The SCAR Project - Images

The SCAR Project - Images

These images of real women and what breast cancer does to their bodies is why I am more interested in spending my time doing serious research about breast cancer treatments.

I believe that we women need to empower ourselves by doing more than wearing and waving pink ribbons...more than raising money for organizations that we actually know very little about in terms of what they do with the money that gets raised in the name of "breast cancer awareness." What does that MEAN, really? Where does the money go? Do we know where we'd most like it to go? Do we have any true knowledge re: what would be the best use of the money? How much have we educated ourselves about breast cancer, really?

For example, have you heard the latest news about mammograms and how ineffective they are for dense-breasted women? Are you "aware" of the new research coming to light about how we should reconsider the standard recommendation to have yearly mammograms? We need to do (and know) more than just "being aware" that breast cancer exists. We need to SEE the images of women with mutilated bodies.

We need to go to levels of awareness that take us beyond pink ribbons.