Passing my five year clear anniversary— a quick hello and a little life update!

I completed the 75 Hard Challenge as a Breast Cancer Survivor. Here are my results…

I never waited to see my bone, blood, heart, CT, MRI, or pathology results. I never read them. I let my oncologist deliver me the news in very basic terms to me. Why? Because I truly believe this kept me at peace and at ease as best as possible. Even just now looking at the charts raises my heart rate and gives me anxiety. I knew had I obsessed over reading my charts and results, I would’ve been in a deeper darker hole in terms of thought patterns and actions that would’ve then followed.

Healing through art as a community. Thank you for your continued participation in my Scar Story breast cancer art portrait project! Connecting, healing, and spreading awareness through telling our stories through digital art.

One of the best forms of therapy must certainly be: animals. Animals don’t judge you on looks, how you’re feeling (be that mood or physically), what you say out loud, or anything surface-level and insignificant. I so highly recommend having some sort of pet by your side— they are always there for you throughout every chapter of life.

Winning and getting my double mastectomy floral cover up tattoo. My experience, pain levels, and what I look like!

How do I avoid overwhelm? Life after cancer isn’t easy. In many ways it becomes more overwhelming than before because it surfaces an entirely new set of fears… we all know stress has a major negative impact on our well-being. So how do we avoid this? Life has its inevitable moments of overwhelm, sure. But I’m working on reacting in a less intense way when things seem to feel suffocating. Here’s my top 5 tips…

Cancer and dating is not for the faint of heart. Empathy is everything in human connection. So if there’s any piece of advice I can give someone getting back into the dating scene, it’s certainly this: look for empathy first.

Practicing gratitude takes effort, time, repetition and intention. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m quick to complain, or point out the ‘what ifs’ and ‘what could go wrongs’ and the negatives…

Survivorship is strange. You’re done with the ‘battle’ but the aftermath is just as difficult. Fear of recurrence, looming anxiety, brain fog… healing mentally and physically after a cancer diagnosis requires a lot of patience, love, and time.

Diet and fitness are a huge part of my healing journey as a breast cancer survivor.

Here's an at-home beginner-friendly workout for you all to follow! (Lower Body specific).

Feel free to skip the weights and start with only bodyweight. You can always increase strength week-on-week. It’s okay to start slow! If something doesn't feel right, skip it and move on!

This workout contains a warmup, 4 supersets done 3x each, and a 'burnout' to end the workout.

Hard Life Lessons Learned from Past Relationships + Practising Gratitude (as a Breast Cancer Survivor)

What I eat as a Breast Cancer Survivor. Meal Prep 101: Affordable, Healthy, Quick meal ideas.

As a part of my own healing journey, I’ve found it therapeutic to connect with other people in the community and give back a little something where I can. If you’d like to request a digital drawing of yourself, please email shestaysstrongblog@gmail.com

The Hardest Part of My Cancer Diagnosis wasn’t the hospital visits, the sickness after chemotherapy, nor losing my hair. The hardest part was losing my core identity— the pieces of my life that shaped me as I was just minutes, days, months before.

I must admit that I am a little obsessed with productivity and tracking.

For me, I think it’s the ability to control something in my life. What can I accomplish today? No matter how small— the feedback from ticking everything off and seeing your progress unfold becomes addictive.

I like visually checking things off my digital to-do lists and making note of my progress in day-to-day life. Whether that be what I’m eating, what I’m lifting at the gym, how many steps I’m getting in in my day…

What do the most successful people in the world utilize to get shit done? I’m always being nosy and trying to figure this out.

Life after cancer is not easy to talk about. Everyone expects you to go back to normal but life has been forever changed. Here’s what I’ve been up to these last two years. How I’ve been feeling, occupying my time with, and my thoughts on how cancer has impacted my life post-treatment.