I’ve been quietly sitting through the debate on the ice bucket challenge because it reminds me too much of the pink ribbon debate and I’m sort of tired of that. But this. This is why awareness of devastating diseases is so important, and this is why I believe something as ridiculous as the ice bucket […]
Seattle Parks Has Opportunity to Change Mastectomy Stigma
Last week the Seattle Parks Department made the right move with a policy exception allowing Jodi Jaecks, who had a double-mastectomy, to swim without a top. Jodi wanted to regain fitness post-treatment, and tight clothing irritates her scars and recovering nerves. Her argument that she didn’t have breasts or nipples, the body parts that required […]
Million Hearts Challenge: Pledge to Protect Your Heart
Earlier this month I wrote about the discovery of a blood clot in my heart. Fortunately, I knew the warning signs and was able to get medical treatment before I had a full-blown heart attack. That’s not the case for everyone. Heart disease and stroke are the first and fourth leading causes of death in […]
October 13 is Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day
Metastatis noun mə-ˈtas-tə-səs 1. a : change of position, state, or form b : the spread of a disease-producing agency (as cancer cells) from the initial or primary site of disease to another part of the body; also : the process by which such spreading occurs 2. a secondary malignant tumor resulting from metastasis October […]
Breaking Down the Impacts of Proposed Washington Budget Cuts on Breast Cancer Screening
“Women with cancer don’t disappear just because the state cuts screening.” – Cheryl Shaw, Komen Puget Sound Washington lawmakers convened on Monday for what promises to be one of the toughest budget years in state history. Governor Gregoire has proposed cuts to programs in an effort to make up for the $4.6 billion 2011-13 budget […]