Review: The Faces Behind Breast Cancer

I was given a preview copy of this book and it is stunning. Josephine Caruso Sethi, "Josie," was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2003. In March 2006 the cancer returned. With a sense of urgency driving her creativity, Josie went about creating this book of pictorials. They are the faces of the folks that Josie met while undergoing treatment at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

From Kristi, whose family has had a history of breast cancer: She doesn't want breast cancer to define her family legacy. Instead, she wants the family legacy to be defined by "action, courage and survival."

From Cheryl: "The right time is now. Work. Create. Grow. Give."

The book is pricey ($30) but net proceeds will go to the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. And I have just put my money where my mouth is and ordered a copy - it's for a gift.

Visit Josie's website, The Pink Crusader, for more information.

ConvergeSouth 2007

I spent the last two days at ConvergeSouth, a (mostly)regional conference for bloggers. I love blogging, and it was fun and interesting to meet lots of folks who are totally into it. I learned plenty from the sessions, but the best part was talking with people when we weren't in session. I met science bloggers, political bloggers, industry bloggers...

I also had the good fortune to meet Jinni Hoggard. Jinni was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004, just months after I had moved here. Her journey was profiled in our newspaper, and even though I hadn't yet been diagnosed and wasn't yet paying much attention to BC, I did read some of her story in the paper. Her story, Jinni's Journal is archived online, and I'm going to go back and read the whole thing. To me, one of life's true pleasures is laughing and chatting with other Survivors & there's just a little something extra that flows from those who are "further out" than you. Jinni totally rocks!!

Jinni and Jayne

Elisa Camahort, founder of BlogHer, was one of the keynote speakers. She did a really good job conveying the massive cultural shifts that are happening because of blogs. Oh, and lest you think that political bloggers hold the monopoly on controversy, go check out this BlogHer post and all of the comments about Pink Ribbon Madness.

"Voices of Breast Cancer"

Voices of Breast Cancer is a brand-new book.And guess what????????!!!!!!!! I'm a contributor. My essay is on page 41. Am I excited? Beyond.

Edited by The Healing Project, the book is the third in the "Voices of" series. Debra LaChance is the creator and founder of the Healing Project, a nonprofit organization, and she is also a breast cancer Survivor.

The book is filled with more than fifty real-life breast cancer stories, including contributions from Peggy Flemming and Dr. Michael Shepard, a leader in the discovery and development of Herceptin.

I can hardly wait to curl up with this book and read all of the stories. I'm thrilled to be a part of it.


(Cover image courtesy of LaChance Publishing.)

Breast Cancer Awareness Month: A Tale of Three Octobers

Because October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month
(NBCAM) even the blogs that aren't about breast cancer are blogging about breast cancer.

My completely unscientific survey of people's attitudes towards NBCAM shows that most people fall into one of four categories. They are either:

(1) Completely unaware of the designation.
(2) Completely neutral about it.
(3) Totally into it.

or

(4) Totally annoyed by it.


(1) and (2) tend to be people with no connection to the disease. Survivors and their loved ones fall somewhere in or between (3) and (4).

And as for me... I have a tale of three Octobers to tell:

October 2005. I went through the month completely oblivious to NBCAM. My journal from that month is filled with the stuff of my "normal" life: the kids' progress report card results, accounts of Halloween parties, the books that I'd been reading, and my everlasting lament that I need to get more organized . The only section that reaches beyond such normalcy is the part about my Aunt Helen. She died during that month, and I wrote about her stay in hospice & my family's vigil for her. I mourned her and I was beside myself that I didn't get to go the funeral. But I had no idea that it was NBCAM.


October 2006. I was seven months out from my diagnosis. I'd had a bilateral mastectomy, four rounds of chemo, and my ovaries removed. I knew darn well that it was NBCAM. But I made seven blog posts that October and never mentioned its existence. I just wasn't ready to deal with it.


October 2007. My life is in high gear. I'm insanely busy, mostly with good things. I've found my "new normal." How do I feel about NBCAM? Right now, I'm a little bit (3) totally into it and a little bit (4) totally annoyed by it. Usually, when people express annoyance about NBCAM they are referring to the commercialization aspect. But what is driving me crazy is that it is so concentrated.

Every organization out there that is related to breast cancer is having a conference or a fund raiser or a Survivor celebration or all of the above. There are so many activities and invitations compressed into such a short period of time that I've had to decline the opportunity to participate in several events that I'd love to be a part of - and that frustrates me.