Breast Cancer Chronicles: Finding the EASE Within Disease

Last week I posted a photo of my brand new shiny package of essential oils from a company I found online, Plant Therapy. The reaction I got from it was incredibly surprising to me. I had several people personally message me asking for details on essential oils. I am in NO WAY an expert on essential oils or any of this stuff I write about really, but I have a loud mouth, so there's THAT.  I'm really just sharing information I'm learning. I'm sharing because I truly believe we should know what's going into the products around us. ESPECIALLY those we put in/on our bodies. For the past year and a half I have been slowly but surely switching everything in my life over to more holistic, healthier versions of things I already like. A BIG one that upset me was scented candles. I'm not joking when I say that I came home one day and my family had thrown them all away and I actually cried. Let's be real, it wasn't just the scented candles. Cancer is stressful ya...

ONE. DAY. AT. A. TIME. At least that's what I've been repeating to myself endlessly since recovering from my 3rd major surgery in a 12 month span (5th surgical procedure, if ya wanna get all technical about it!!). I have arrived in Oregon to visit my family for the Holidays and I must say just not being in your own house is seriously relaxing. This whole fall has been such a CRAZY ride I'm not sure my feet are fully underneath me, but I'm getting there! Unfortunately one thing that has been neglected is this blog, whether anyone ever reads it or not I enjoy putting the information out there. I have done SO MUCH research in such a short period of time, building on the foundation of health knowledge I already had I can't help but want to share it! And for the skeptics I'll tell you what my friend MF said to me "Try it for yourself and see." That's exactly what I did, and she was right (pains me to admit!) Once I told her as such I asked her...

Since I've changed all my eating habits and general lifestyle I've been waking up bright and early (sometimes because of me sometimes because of my old doggy) but I usually use that time to lay in bed and cruise social media. I'm not sure if at this point this is the best thing for my stress levels though, YOWZERS. With the current political environment LOTS of things have been INFURIATING me but I'm trying to be calm and proactive. Please NOTE I'm pretty much a raging liberal and this post is about to get REAL, or at least I'm about to get REAL with how I feel. Enough is enough. This entire election from beginning to end has been incredibly divisive, I had enough and finally opened my big fat mouth for a reason and started voicing my political opinion. People want to say it's not personal but for me it is. I truly believe I was misdiagnosed in August 2015, my lymphnodes under my armpits were clear after surgery so no further testing/scanning was done an...

HELLOOOOOOOO AGAIN! I'm back, and what a roller coaster it's been!! Highs, lows, holidays, traveling, etc and adjusting to all of these treatments. I'm trying to have PATIENCE (NOT my strong suit) and not get aggravated but the side effects are obnoxious from the Western medicine and the Holistic treatments are expensive and time consuming!! Before this turns into a complete bitch fest (I save that for my close personal friends, SOWWWYYY FWIENDS) I'm ok, but I'm just exhausted at the moment! Very much looking forward to this Holiday break with family and friends and I just want to thank everyone who has started to band together and offer me the kind of support I really need right now. After a difficult 7 weeks I think I'm finally on my way to starting to feel better. Today I want to talk about support for the, in my case *metavivor* (I don't like cancer patient, blech)  and for the people around the *metavivor*. BTW I'm using this as a *insert whatev...

         My cousin texted me no more than 10 mins ago with an idea, healthy dessert alternatives for the Holidays! DUH Jenny, well truth be told it's been on the agenda at some point but I'm juggling lots of things at the moment. When she texted me I stopped and just decided let's do this now!! Installments to come, this'll be the starter kit! When Jess and I first met up to discuss the BIG diet change she had snacks prepared for me, was ready to make food with me send me home with delicious food.....it was AMAZING (BTW someone should have revoked my AmazonPrime membership that day....le sigh) One of the desserts/snacks  Jess made that I adore now are little raw protein balls, I can only do 2 of the 3 (can anyone tell me DEFINITLEY if cacao is a legume or a seed????) , but they are all delicious. They are the Pumpkin Seed ball, The Machta Ball, and the Walnut Brownie Ball. I will attach links to all the recipes below, PLEASE feel free to take liberties ...

      For those who have known me for a while you know that I have an AWFUL, TERRIBLE side to me, which means you know the very minute my hunger turns into anger that I have become HANGRY. This word has gained popularity lately, but I'm pretty sure my friend Blake made it up when we were in high school and she would make me eat something when my blood sugar dropped (and my attitude worsened) Now why was I so notoriously hangry? I believe it was because I wasn't properly nourished. My good friend, Jess Hilton, is a healthy, natural foods, organic chef. Her food is amazing, and in the words of our friend Lauren "Jess' food is just sexy!" Yes, yes it is and you know what makes it extra sexy? It's SO GOOD for you and tastes amazing! This past weekend a couple girlfriends and I went to Goda Yoga in Culver City and met with Jess for a workshop to discuss healthy eating habits and choices. We discussed recipes, styles of eating, nutrition, how to read labels, eating ...

Happy weekend everyone! It's been a little crazy out there so I hope everyone has a safe and fun weekend! Today I'm making some homemade kombucha! In my pre-cancer days I used to think kombucha looked absolutely disgusting, and when my friend Dana used to show me how to make it I think I actually may have called her gross (whoopsy?). But luckily Dana is a forgiving soul and last night when a couple girlfriends insisted on coming over for dinner (thanks for that btw), she brought with her the makings for a fresh batch of kombucha!! Today I attempt on my own! Before I get into the recipe let me explain to you why I'm drinking this weird drink. Kombucha is a fermented food, I know it sounds like it may be disgusting but I promise you it's not! Fermented foods have been through a process called lactofermentation. Lactofermentation is a process in which natural bacteria feeds on the starch and sugar in the food creating lactic acid. Lactofermantation preserves the food...

        July 14, 2015, it was a Tuesday. It started almost like any other Tuesday morning, I woke up, had breakfast and was getting ready for a late morning walk to the beach when my phone rang. It was a number I didn't know so I normally wouldn't pick up, but this wasn't like any other Tuesday. On this particular Tuesday I was awaiting test results from a biopsy I had on a lump located in my right breast. I still feel terrible for the woman on the other end of the line, having to tell this 31 year old woman over the phone that she had breast cancer. Over the phone you say?? Yes I was told over the phone that I had cancer (having no insurance I was dealing with a wonderful women's clinic that didn't have much in the way of funding) and I fell directly to my knees and began to sob. Since that day I have had 3 surgeries, 8 rounds of IV chemo, 35 rounds of radiation, hormone therapy, and now chemotherapy pills. Oh yes and my original diagnosis of Stage II cancer turn...