METS MONDAY: ACTIVISTS & MAVENS

On Saturday, July 27th, 2013, AnneMarie of Chemo-Brain fame celebrated seven years of living with NED (No Evidence of Disease) post-breast cancer. Of this milestone, AnneMarie reflects...

WRITER'S BLOG BLUES

In case you haven't noticed, I've hit a wall with my blog posts. I've placed my hands on this keyboard more times than I can count, trying to find a way back into blogging about TheBigCandMe. 

After my dreaded rash finally receded (turns out I developed an allergy to laundry detergent and soap), my scars healed, and my doctor was no longer on speed dial, my writing mojo took a sharp turn down the road of recovery — and has all but evaporated.

I've got the writer's blog blues. But I'm in good company. Many of my bloggy friends (The Accidental Amazon, Bringing Up Goliath, Breast Cancer Sisterhood, to name but a few) decided to suspend their blog writing so they can focus their energies on living life post-cancer. 

Other blogs come to a screeching halt because the writer died from cancer...

9 METASTATIC BREAST CANCER MAVENS

DAY 25's challenge: Share something from another health activist that everyone should know. (Only something? I've too many 'somethings' to share.) 

Last week, Jody Schoger — beloved co-founder and member of the Breast Cancer Social Media group #BCSM — revealed she has metastatic breast cancer (MBC) after having no evidence of disease (NED) for 15 years. Yes you heard that right: 15 years later she became metastatic.

The blogosphere was abuzz with shock and love and support for Jody. Unfortunately Jody is far from alone; 155,000 Americans are living with MBC right now. Since Day 28's challenge is to create a must-follow list on a single social network, I'm focusing on bloggers with metastatic breast cancer. I know there are many MBC bloggers out there; if you have an MBC blog and aren't listed below, please leave a comment in the section for a future post. :-)

Here are 9 of my favorite MBC bloggers. To read more of their work, just click on their blog links and SHOW THEM SOME LOVE!!  

METS MONDAY, DAY 15

DAY 15 of the #HAWMC is about sharing. I've been asked to select someone else’s blog post, write a comment to them, then make that comment my post. The blog I've chosen to share dovetails with what we in the breast cancer blogging community call "Mets Monday." This is the day each week dedicated to promoting awareness of metastatic breast cancer.

Metastatic cancer occurs when cancer cells spread to another part of the body from where it was initially found. According to the National Cancer Institute, for example, breast cancer that has spread to the lung is metastatic breast cancer, not lung cancer. (To learn more about metastatic breast cancer, please visit METAvivor.org as well as the Metastatic Breast Cancer Network.) 

Today, I am highlighting one of my favorite bloggers — Kate, a 33-year-old wife and mother living in Norway and dealing daily with the reality of metastatic breast cancer...