Wedding: A Recap

As I write this, I'm snacking on dipped pretzels provided by Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory as wedding favors. They're good.

It's Monday night. well, technically, Tuesday morning. Twenty-four hours ago, I was collapsed exhausted in a very comfortable bed at the Hampton Inn, recovering from a day which, for me, began at four in the morning. I've been waking up at that time for the last week and a half to take my antibiotic, which has me accustomed to the routine. It was only two hours before the alarm would go off and I couldn't fall back asleep, so I decided the hell with it and got up.

We left shortly before 8:30 to stop to get a newspaper which had an article about us in it, and some drinks for the trip, then picked up a friend on the way out of town. We went to the Hampton Inn for early check-in, meeting the wedding planner, and got our first glimpse of where we'd spend the night. We were then given the jewelry donated by Rhylan Lang. One necklace was a pendant, the other was a strand of three. They went beautifully with our dresses. The pendant matched the gemwork on my dress's bodice, and the three-strand one matched the drape of Jen's gown.

Then we went to the reception hall and got a preview of that, and boarded the party bus for Council Bluffs. At the EQ School of Hair Design, the bridesmaids all got dressed while the instructor, Margi, herself a two-time breast cancer survivor, helped me with my wig and styled in the veil and tiara. Christine from Blush Makeup Artistry painted up my face. I was airbrushed, such a weird sensation, and I wore false eyelashes for the first time.

Christine, myself, and Margi

The bridesmaids all had their hair and makeup done after, while the rest of the party bus riders relaxed in the salon with snack sacks my mother put together and brought to the salon for everyone.

The wedding party plus Kim at the salon

After that was done, we all boarded the bus again and headed to Willow Creek Glass Chapel. We got lost once and had to turn around, and it was well off the beaten path on gravel roads which kicked up a ton of dust. Because some windows were open due to the warm temperatures, everyone at the back of the bus got covered in dust.

Jen and I got changed into our gowns after we got there, and donned the jewelry and posed for pictures. While standing around and trying to walk in them, my pumps rubbed the sides of my feet raw so I ended up abandoning them for the actual ceremony, especially since I had to go up and down several steps without a railing, which isn't easy for me to do.

Aside from the shoes, the ceremony went beautifully. Once we were done and out, we boarded the bus again for a much longer trip, without any stops this time, for the reception hall.

From L to R: Caity, Micchi, Rebecca F., me, Jen, Sara, Amanda, Rebecca H.

 Dinner was excellent and for the first time in my life I had a potato salad I liked. Sweet potato salad. Then we cut the cake.

After the cake came the first dance. The song we picked dropped the F-bomb a few times, but it was so perfectly us we had to use it. Here's To Us by Halestorm.

We danced the Time Warp, we were given a bottle of homemade mead from a friend, everything went perfectly. There were a few minor bumps here and there, we were devoured by mosquitoes during the photo shoots, and I have not been that physically active in a long time and I felt like a giant bruise by the end of the night, but it was beautiful and perfect and we loved it.

Cake was chocolate, the cupcakes were raspberry

Wedding Day!

This is scheduled to be posted automatically during the time of the wedding. I want to thank everyone for making this day possible.

First, thanks goes to Wish Upon A Wedding, because without them, none of this would be happening.

To Cindy Lange-Kubick of the Lincoln Journal-Star, for running a feature in today's paper to highlight Wish Upon A Wedding and the awesome people who made everything happen.

To Tina Schneckloth, my wedding planner from Kimera Wedding & Events, for all of her hard work getting everything coordinated and on board with this event. She's the reason everything is going so smoothly. And an extra thanks to Jen from Cherry On Top Events for helping Tina set everything up today and your assistance in seeing that it all runs like clockwork.

To the Willow Creek Glass Chapel and the Millard Plaza Ballroom for hosting the Ceremony and Reception, respectively.

To Shari from I Choose You Ceremonies for officiating the wedding, and writing up a beautiful ceremony for this special day.

To Andrea Erickson, for lending your powerful voice to a performance of Shania Twain's "From This Moment On" during the processional.

By Marla Austin Photography

To Scott from A Joyful Rose DJ Service for providing the music throughout the wedding and the reception, and having even a few obscure songs we wanted.

To Marla Austin from Marla Austin Photography for the beautiful pictures taken for the engagement and the wedding itself.

To Cali from A Sound Impression for the wonderful engagement video and the videography of the wedding and reception.

To Blush Makeup Artistry and the EQ School of Hair Design for doing the entire wedding party's makeup and hair, and working with my wig so I can wear my veil.

To Rhylan Lang for the stunning bridal jewelry gifted to the two of us to help make the day even more special (and sparkly!)

To Corum's Flowers and Gifts and Country Elegance for the flowers and decorations for the chapel and reception hall.

To the KROC Center Catering for a delicious meal, and to The Cake Gallery for a gorgeous wedding cake. A tasty note to a wonderful day from the both of them.

To M&M Advertising for the beautiful invitations, to Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory for the wedding favors, and to Memories For Life for the guestbook.

To Jone-Z Party Bus for the transportation to and from the chapel, and finally to the Hampton Inn and Suites for providing a room for Jen and I after the reception so we might have a chance to unwind in private. (We have 3 out of town guests currently staying with us over the week around the wedding)

It's an incredible day and it wouldn't be what it is without the contributions and help from each and every one of you. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for this, and may the coverage send paying customers your way. That's the gift I have in return for everyone's amazing generosity.

Deaf Community Outreach

I'm deaf. I have been since 1978, when I lost all my hearing through bacterial meningitis. Although I received a cochlear implant in 2010, it doesn't allow me enough hearing to participate in telephone conversations.

When I was diagnosed with breast cancer, I started looking for online support groups, especially for metastatic breast cancer. I found a few message boards, as well as real-time peer-led support chats. However, those real-time chats all had one unfortunate thing in common: they were all telephone-based.

I cannot be the only deaf/hard of hearing individual with breast cancer. I'm special, but not quite that much of a special snowflake. But this meant that the deaf community was being underserved and overlooked in the world of breast cancer support.

There was a metastatic support group offered through Young Survival Coalition that incorporated video, so I signed up in hopes it was something like Skype. If I wore my implant, then I might have a chance of following along at least well enough to benefit. I was wrong. Although there were some video call slots open, it was still predominantly telephone-based.

I knew the deaf community deserved more.

I spoke with the Senior Manager of Field Operations from Young Survival Coalition, Jennifer Stanley, and brought this problem to her attention. She took it to the national office and they decided to go forward with this.

Here is a copy of the email I received:

"I have talked with my National office about this and we are excited and think it is a good idea.  Our thought was to start off for the month of October to set the date/time and use the chat function of the community boards.  I can also post it on the online community board calendar.  Can you promote it through the resources you know of in the deaf/HoH community?  We would want to target the young (45’ish) and under breast cancer survivors to participate in the chat.  Since we are still in the middle of piloting this program (it’s just 4 months out since launch) we could talk about adding it to our regular line-up of calls if the interest is there as we test it through the community boards over the next two or three months.  If it seems like it’s going well and the interest for the program is there then we could start using the online video format in January.  Does this sound good to you?  We are so appreciative of you bringing this need to our attention and are excited to be a part of it going forward."

The chief problem now would be getting word out to the deaf community and making them aware of this program, in hopes of reaching those with breast cancer.

We are looking at either the third or fourth Monday of the month, a monthly meeting, at 8 pm Central time. (9 pm Eastern, 7 pm Mountain, and 6 pm West Coast times). This is open to deaf/hoh people around the world with any stage breast cancer.

I ask that the deaf/hoh community help me by boosting the signal and making this program known in hopes of reaching those of us with breast cancer. We have so little in the way of resources open to us, it is phenomenal that a national company is willing to address this need and try to open an avenue for us to have support.

It's in the Little Things

When I was first diagnosed, one of the most important pieces of advice I received came from a coworker. "People will want to help. Let them."

A cancer diagnosis doesn't just affect the person with the disease, but those around them too. It's a scary beast, and there's precious little anyone can do to make it better. There isn't a cure. Not everyone is in a position to be able to help with grocery shopping or housework, and oftentimes, people want to do something but are at a loss what to do.

Cancer makes people feel powerless. Being able to help empowers them, lets them join us in the fight to say a hearty Fuck You to cancer.

A lady in a metastatic group I follow posted about the ways her boss was making her work life as stress-free as possible, and although she was infinitely grateful, she felt bad accepting the help. We feel guilty for being sick, for needing things done for us, for accepting gifts that we don't feel we deserve, and are at a loss for ways to express how much it means to us.

The best way to show gratitude is to accept the gift graciously in the spirit in which it was given. Allow others the opportunist to reach out and help you. Accept it without guilt, without remorse, knowing fully that in doing so, we lift up others and allow joy to grow even in the darkest times.

Think of how much pleasure you get personally when you find the perfect gift for someone, just the thing you know will bring a smile to their day, and the lightness of heart you feel when you deliver it. Others feel the same with their gifts, thank them in the truest way possible by allowing them this joy.

If you want to do something in return, write a letter, or a card, and express how precious their help has been and how much you treasure it. Give them something concrete to hold to, your words that will survive you, and the peace of knowing that they were able to make your burden a little less, your day a little brighter.

That's all many people want. To give, to spread joy, to lessen the burden. With cancer, there's precious few ways one can do that. People will want to help you. Letting them is the best way to thank them.

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend." - Melody Beattie

One Week

So my parents were here, and Mom found a roller brush that's an easy way to get cat hair off the sofa and loveseat. She also cleaned the carpets and did some laundry, and helped me organize my closet. (She's brilliant at that) And we did a final dress fitting for both Jen's and my dresses. The straps my Grandma made for my gown needed the placement verified, and she had taken it in a bit too much and it had to be let out. So both dresses are off to Ohio with them to be finished and de-wrinkled.

Grandma and I hemming the dress

It's the right length now. It had to be hemmed by quite a bit, so Grandma used the fabric from hemming it to make the straps. I wanted something to help disguise the port bump in my chest. The scar I'm fine with, but the port bump is a little weird. The straps don't quite cover it, but it's far less noticeable than it would have been had we left the gown strapless.

We're not wearing traditional dresses, neither of us are crazy about wearing white since it seems to add pounds, visually, so we went with evening gowns that flatter us. Jen's is raspberry pink and sparkly and gorgeous. It's a hard color to match though, so I went with gray to compliment it. The bridesmaids are wearing black floor-length dresses. Not all of them are evening gowns, but they're all black floor-length and they flatter them.

The bouquets will have ribbons with the Metavivor colors, and the necklaces for the bridesmaids will have the Metavivor charm. I've mentioned this before.

One more week. Caity and her boyfriend are flying into Omaha on Tuesday and we'll go pick them up. On Wednesday, Micchi's flying in to Lincoln - an easier pickup. On Saturday, Rebecca, Sara, and Becky are arriving, and Amanda lives in Lincoln already. If Becky ends up staying with her mother instead of at an Omaha hotel, she'll be able to join in the festives on Saturday afternoon/evening. Grilling hot dogs, watching movies, getting our nails done. If they all show up, I can give them their Attendant gifts. Hmm. I think I'll do that anyway, even if Becky can't make it. I'll give her the gift on Sunday if she stays in Omaha. That would make for less things to keep track of.

In other news, I found out something new. Apparently I do have a family history of breast cancer. My great-grandma Timbrook had breast cancer and a mastectomy. I barely remember her. I barely remember my great-grandpa Timbrook. They both passed on when I was pretty little. But she's the only person in the family I'm related to that has had breast cancer.

This doesn't really change anything, except I need to go through all of October's posts and make corrections if this comes up. I might just wait for the posts to go live and then review them before I share the link on Facebook.

But a single great-grandma who had it is not a strong history. It doesn't change that I'm BRCA 1 & 2 mutation negative. But it's a bit of a relief to know I'm not the only one in my family who's had it. I have enough of being the only one with things in my family. I'm the only one in my immediate family (first cousins included) who's gay, I'm the only one who's deaf, and I'm the only one who has Vitamin D Deficiency Syndrome. (My body doesn't produce enough Vitamin D on its own, I need to take supplements, and without it, my bones won't absorb calcium properly and if I get too much calcium in relation to Vitamin D, I can end up with kidney stones.) But I am NOT the only one with breast cancer. Never mind I'm the only cousin who was alive when she was. Not the point.

In preparation for October, I have some blog entries incoming from guests, the deadline I gave is October 3rd, because I'm a Fullmetal Alchemist nerd. That's also the day I'm having my other tooth extracted. If I don't get things until the third, I'll work on getting them formatted over the weekend. They won't run  until the later part of the month, so I'll have time. And I'll also have time to figure out what to do if I don't get all the days filled.

And even more teeth problems

Seriously. More teeth problems. I just had a molar in my lower right jaw removed due to an abscess on Friday. By Sunday a molar in my upper left that the dental bridge is attached to started hurting. I went into the dentist today and found out it's forming a abscess there too. Really? Really? Really?

That's me and my teeth. Seriously, e-fucking-nough. So now instead of just a follow-up on Friday, I get a follow-up and a consultation for another extraction. The dentist prescribed an antibiotic for the infection, and hopefully that will manage the pain until I can get this damn thing removed, which very likely won't be until after the wedding. Why this month of all months? This is ricockulous!

As it is, the prescription hasn't hit the pharmacy yet so we're still waiting on that, and it'll take a projected 36 hours before it starts working. 

In other news, I've discovered that there is currently no live-chat peer-led breast cancer support group that is accessible to the deaf or hard of hearing community. Every single one is telephone-based. Even the ones that allow for video still require a telephone connection. I've been talking with an administrator at the Young Survival Coalition about using the forum's chatroom for a deaf-accessible peer-led breast cancer support group at 7pm Central Time, the 4th Monday of every month.

I know I'm not the only deaf person with breast cancer out there, and there's a distinct lack of accessibility for the average deaf person. Hopefully I can help change that.

Getting closer to the big day

My tooth extraction yesterday went smoothly. The Tramadol I'm already on, coupled with Tylenol, is doing its job of keeping the post-op pain at bay. It's making me nod off quite a bit though. I normally only take Tramadol before bed to stave off arthritis pain in my lower back. I know it is arthritis and not bone mets because the arthritis was confirmed and diagnosed with X-rays a couple of years prior to the breast cancer diagnosis, and it hasn't changed or moved. The Tramadol also helps with joint pain brought on by the Femara.

It is now exactly 15 days before the wedding. The itinerary for the wedding day has been written up, a fine piece of time management by my wedding planner, Tina. She's following up on a few more things for me, and Jen needs to finish setting the reception music with the DJ, Scott. The cake, the catering, the flowers, the decorations, all that's finalized and will be ready to go. I'm super-grateful to all these people who are volunteering their time, energy, and resources to make this a special day.

The Best Maid, Sara, has put together gift bags for the wedding party. It was her idea. She suggested something, I brought up something else, and it snowballed into a project she's enjoyed doing. She's a rockstar. She's also putting together an in-case-of-anything emergency bag with the Matron of Honor, my BFF, Rebecca. Rebecca is also in charge with making any necessary phone calls on the wedding day and helping me transport people to and from the reception.

METAvivor Ribbon Charm

Sara made beaded necklaces with the Metavivor ribbon attached as a charm, and my bridesmaid, Micchi, made matching earrings to go with the necklaces. These are just some of the goodies included in the wedding party gift bags.

Speaking of gift bags, my mother is having fun planning and putting together snack lunch bags for everyone who'll be riding on the Jone-Z Party Bus from the reception hall parking lot, to the chapel, and back again, since there'll be a layover around lunchtime at the hair salon where the party's getting hair and makeup done. These bags will include a variety of treats, ranging from healthy (and low-carb) options to indulgent, and include a bottle of water and wet wipes for cleanup. She's also bringing up some local soda water from Texas, fifteen bottles in a cooler, for people who want something other than water to drink.

All this activity and the prospect of a lot of people is triggering Jen's anxiety disorder, so Sara and I, along with Jen's "sister", Kim, are plotting ways to keep the attention off her and keeping her from getting overstimulated and having a meltdown.  My own anxiety disorder is far more mild and tends to present itself when I don't have a lot going on to occupy my attention.

As far as the plans for Pinktober go, I've got almost all the days filled. I'm holding off on writing any more posts to see what my guest bloggers will produce, along with an interview from someone at Metavivor.  I think I have the hang of this queued posts thing figured out, and I'm looking forward to seeing these going live. I think it will be a good month for everyone reading. I'll have a new tag, Pinktober, for all the posts for the month.

Still Waters

You know what they say. Still waters run deep. Right now I haven't been updating the blog because, well, I've been updating the blog. I have over twenty entries queued up to be published, one per day, throughout the month of October. I'm not done. I want to have one post for every day. I have a couple incoming guest posts (hopefully) and at least one interview with someone at METAvivor, hopefully two. (I haven't heard back from one of the ladies I've asked yet)

I also started a Facebook page specifically for this blog, for a few reasons. One, so people don't have to friend me (and vice versa) just to be notified when I update, and two, so I don't end up spamming my wall with posts, especially in October when I'll be sharing one post a day. You can find and like it at Metathriving on Facebook.

Things are falling into place for the wedding, along with an upcoming interview with Cindy Lange-Kubick of the Lincoln Journal Star which will focus on Wish Upon A Wedding, and run in the Sunday edition the day of the wedding, September 28th. I'll be sure to post a link as soon as I can, which probably won't be until the Monday after.

The sample demo our wedding planner put together

 

We have the catering menu selected. The two main dishes will be Madeira Chicken (Pan seared chicken breast kissed with a shitake mushroom Madeira sauce) and Pork Loin Roulade (Apple, cranberry, sage stuffing, cider-juniper veloute). Jen is getting the chicken, and I'm eyeing that pork loin hungrily. The cake will be a single layer cake with cupcake tiers, with dove cake toppers and decorated with snowflakes. This is a nod to both our deities. Jen is a daughter of Loki, who, according to Norse mythology, is a Frost Giant. (No, that's not just a Marvel movie thing, and in the myths, he's Odin's oath brother, not Thor's adopted brother. Marvel takes a lot of creative liberties with the myths) And I follow Yeshua, hence the doves.

We have a great DJ who Jen is working with to create the soundtrack for the evening. Our song of choice for the first dance is a bit unusual, but the song fits us so well. "Here's To Us" by Halestorm.

Stuck it out this far together
Put our dreams through the shredder
Let’s toast cause things got better
and everything could change like that
And all these years go by so fast
But nothing lasts forever

Here's to us
Here's to love
All the times
That we messed up
Here's to you
Fill the glass
Cause the last few nights
Have kicked my ass
If they give you hell
Tell em to go fuck themselves
Here's to us
Here's to us

Like I said, it's not a traditional choice, but it suits us and our history. That's more important than picking out some overplayed pop or country song because it's "typical". This is our wedding, and we want it to reflect us.

To recap, if you want to be notified of updates to the blog and you're on facebook, you can Like the page Metathriving. I also have a Twitter, and I try to remember to link updates there as well.

Blaming the victim

Right now, the media is abuzz with talk about all the celebrities who had their nude pictures hacked and posted on the internet. Well, they shouldn't have had them in the first place, people might argue. They shouldn't have put them in a secure storage system that wasn't hack-proof. It's their own fault.

Classic move of blaming the victim. Never mind that they thought that they were using a secure system. Never mind that blaming them for the hack is akin to blaming a homeowner for a burglary, even if they keep the curtains drawn, doors locked, and exterior lights on.

I'm not going to soapbox about rape culture (although it's tempting) but thinking about victim blaming makes me realize how pervasive it is, even with breast cancer.

You should have been avoiding X, Y, or Z. You should have been eating A, B, or C. You should have done this, you should have done that. Could'a, should'a, would'a.

It's still victim-blaming.

We didn't do anything to deserve getting breast cancer. Yes, we should all eat healthier, but that's not to blame for breast cancer. What we do or do not do is not the issue. We did not cause our disease.

Yes, I should have gone in when I found the lump. Even though when I tried to find it again later that night, I couldn't. Even though medical sites insist that breast cancer is rare under the age of 50. The more I read and the more I research, the more convinced I get that it was already too late.

The whole point of mammograms is to find breast cancer before they can be detected by touch. Usually when they get big enough to find by feel, they're already advanced. Maybe not yet stage IV, but invasive. Once it's invasive, there's always a risk of metastasis. And in younger women, it's frequently more aggressive.

When I had my mammogram, roughly two weeks after the biopsy results proved cancer, I was called back three different times for nine different scans on my right breast, and even then they needed to resort to an ultrasound to rule out any lumps. The tissue was too dense to get a good reading.

I have no known history of breast cancer in my family. There are times I wonder if some of them aren't worried about themselves, and in their own worry, harbor any unconscious resentment toward me for "introducing" breast cancer into the family line. I didn't do anything to cause my breast cancer. I'm not at fault. There is nothing I could have done to prevent it. And there is likely nothing I could have done to prevent it from metastasizing.

If you're reading this and you have breast cancer, take heed: It is not your fault. You did not cause this. You are not at fault for this disease. There is nothing you could have done to prevent it, so don't waste your energy looking behind you with all the might-have-beens. Look ahead, and keep your head held high. You are not to blame.

A wealth of Information

One of the things I like to do is collect information. A just-for-fun quiz on Facebook the other day said I was a Yenta. A total busybody who wants to know everyone's business. It's not quite untrue. I don't gossip or share other people's personal details, but I like being in the know, I like information. And when something happens, I hit Google and start searching for that information.

I found a wealth of things that were relevant to my breast cancer diagnosis. They either pertained to breast cancer directly, or they were part of the metastatic reality. I keep a public collection of these links available to other cancer patients, and some of them are linked in the righthand column of my blog, but I want to highlight a few of the information sites, along with some blogs, today.

The first is METAvivor which I've mentioned several times in the past. A non-profit group, 100% of their donations go to research specifically for metastatic breast cancer. It's run by people with or impacted by MBC, so they understand the importance of MBC awareness and advocacy. They are the creators of the Metastatic Breast Cancer ribbon and colors. seen to the left.

Next is the Metastatic Breast Cancer Network. Like METAvivor, they funnel donations toward metastatic breast cancer research. They're also credited for making October 13 the National Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day. They are probably the most organized site for information on MBC on the web.

While not strictly metastatic in topic, I'd be remiss if I did not spotlight HIS Breast Cancer Awareness. With all the pinkwashing, men are so often overlooked for breast cancer. Men can and do get it, and because of the lack of understanding and awareness, it's usually stage III or IV by the time it's caught.

Another important source of information is Advanced Breast Cancer. They have a detailed FAQ as well as a comprehensive listing of various standard forms of treatment for MBC, listed by both trade and generic name, and the type of treatment.

By far one of the best sites of information and support for young women any stage of Breast Cancer, including the oft-ignored Stage IV, there's the Young Survival Coalition. With more and more women under the age of 40 getting a breast cancer diagnosis, there's a growing membership and their Navigator packets, which are free, are extremely helpful.

For research studies and clinical trials, there's the Army Of Women, which also welcomes men, and women who aren't diagnosed with breast cancer. You sign up and from time to time, if there's a study or clinical trial that you might qualify for, you get an email alerting you to this fact. It's entirely voluntary, just another source of information that you can choose to act on if you please.

If you find yourself in need of assistance with medication or treatments, visit the Patient Access Network Foundation. They cover far more than just Metastatic Breast Cancer, and they're an invaluable resource for many.

Another good resource that's free for use is the My Wonderful Life. It's a funeral planning website with a great deal of flexibility. And they also offer a program to allow you to pre-pay for your funeral. You can determine what you want to happen to your body on the event of your death, you can write your own obituary, you can write letters to loved ones that will be delivered after you pass, and give you the peace of mind knowing that you've worked out the details in advance so your loved ones don't have that additional stress of planning a funeral.

Wish Upon A Wedding isn't the only wish foundation for adults. There's also the Dream Foundation, which is the adult version of Make-A-Wish, and like WUW, it's not specific to breast cancer. On the specific-to-breast-cancer end, there's the Little Pink Houses of Hope, offering a week-long retreat for those with breast cancer and their families.

Before I move on to highlighting some blogs of other Metsters, there's another site that features a wide variety of links. Someone took the time to track down all the Breast Cancer Freebies and other support resources out there

Now onto the other blogs.

Telling Knots is a poignant and powerful blogger, with thoughts covering not just the metastatic breast cancer experience, but life in Israel in the middle of political and military conflicts.

Regrounding is a blog run by the president of METAvivor, Lori Marx-Rubiner, and covers many aspects of cancer, research, and advocacy. 

Uppity Cancer Patient is a blog from one woman with metastatic breast cancer, and discusses some of the realities and issues women with MBC face.

There are more blogs out there, but these are the ones I read, and the ones that deal with Metastatic Breast Cancer that I know about. Feel free to comment with links to more that fit the criteria of having a focus on MBC.

It's my hope that someone will read this entry and be introduced to a resource they hadn't previously known existed, and their life will be richer for the help and information it provides.