Heading off to Atlanta for the YSC conference

I’m heading off for my girls’ weekend, Pink Ribbon Girls, that is. Thanks to my lovely group of gals for sponsoring me to go the Young Survival Coalition conference in Atlanta. I’m looking forward to spending time with my buddies, as well as learning more about breast cancer research and issues. I’m really excited about [...]



In memory of Heather

As I write this, I am thinking of Heather Ray. I learned last night that Heather passed away. You might remember me mentioning Heather in previous posts. She was the beautiful, strong “miracle woman” who I saw in the chemo suite. She only had one leg (she lost one to bone cancer as a child) and [...]



A banner day for PR opportunities

Yesterday, I was feeling a little down for some reason. I think it’s because I wrote my last story for my book. Don’t get me wrong, I was thrilled to have it almost done, but it was a little bit of a let-down, too. It has been such a healing experience and honor to hear [...]



Strongest Mary: world’s strongest woman in more ways than one

A while back, I found the AARP video from Twitter showing cancer survivor Mary Jacobson pulling a plane. I knew I had to include Mary in my book. Here’s the link because you won’t believe it unless you see it: http://bulletin.aarp.org/yourworld/reinventing/articles/mary_jacobson.html At 55, Mary holds the world’s Strongest Woman title in her age group. But back in 1995, she [...]



Ta da! Introducing my book cover

There’s something about having a book cover design that makes this all seem more real! Let’s just say it hasn’t been an easy task. I must have gone through 1,000 stock photos and a dozen design concepts before deciding on this one. My heartfelt thanks goes out to Randall Reese, my designer. Randall also took the photo, which [...]



Living for two: Cathy Wolfe

Tomorrow is my “little” girl’s birthday. She will be 11, sniff, sniff! She always enjoys the time leading up to her birthday when I tell her stories of my pregnancy and labor. “At this time, 11 years ago, we were waiting for you to make your debut, but you weren’t ready yet. (she was five [...]



Cancer is a disease of love: Evan’s story

With Valentine’s Day behind us, I wanted to reflect on the title of this post. It seems like an odd statement to make, unless you hear it from Evan Mattingly. Evan started following me on this blog, and I soon noticed his positive, encouraging comments. He finally contacted me with his story, which I’m sharing [...]



Hero’s Dinner: celebrating the book

Call it luck or divine intervention. Last month I was having lunch at Noodles & Company with a friend and put my card in their fishbowl. I didn’t think much about it until I received a call congratulating me that I won a “Hero’s Lunch,” a meal (actually lunch or dinner) for 10 people. Basically, [...]



Patty’s story: love motivated her healing

With Valentine’s Day soon upon us, I wanted to share another story from my book, which I think exemplifies the healing power of love – especially self-love. Patty Mele has had to overcome many challenges in her life – the diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis in college and a son (Andrew) with mitochondria, a metobolic disease [...]



Avemar: cutting-edge cancer fighter?

One of the things Dr. Huber has prescribed to me is Avemar, a fermented wheat germ supplement that has great promise in fighting cancer. I first heard about it through my friend Pattie, who learned about it when receiving care at Cancer Treatment Centers of America. I also received information when I stopped by Avemar’s table while at [...]