A New Summer Blogging Challenge!

There has been so much heartache of late in the breast cancer community, I almost put the kabosh on this post. After changing my mind again and again, I decided to go ahead with it. Maybe it’ll help in small way. So…two summers ago, I shared fifteen random things about myself in a blog post and challenged fellow bloggers and blog readers to do the same. That was so much fun! Thank you to all who participated. I proposed blog challenge number two last summer. Since it’s already August and another summer is fleeting, it’s time for, you guessed it, another blogging challenge! 

Why not join me?

This time around, I thought it might be interesting to pose a few cancer related questions for my fellow bloggers and blog readers as well.

So, here are ten random questions. I challenge fellow bloggers and you, my dear readers, to answer as many of them as you want in a blog post of your own or for the latter group, via a comment below.

  1. Share anything you want about your cancer diagnosis (or your loved one’s). Share your age, cancer type, stage, when you were diagnosed, family history (if any), your reaction, how you learned the news, or whatever you’re comfortable sharing. 

I was diagnosed in 2010, roughly two years after my mother died from metastatic breast cancer. I also learned I am BRCA 2+. My cancer was discovered via a trip to the ER, aka, the day the shit hit the fan.

 2. What is the most outrageous thing someone has said to you about your (or your loved one’s) cancer?

Actually, it was said to dear hubby. Someone asked, “So did they have to take ’em both off?” Today, it doesn’t sound all that outrageous, but at the time, dear hubby was shocked by the personal, intrusive question.

 3. What is your biggest cancer pet peeve? I know it’s hard to choose, as there are many to pick from, right? But what irks you the most?

Mine has to be anything remotely related to implying in any way, shape or form that cancer is a gift, bump in the road, opportunity for enlightenment or a personal growth experience. UGH!

 4. What is something you want others to know specifically about breast cancer?

I want everyone to know all cancer sucks. Period. Breast cancer is not the “good” cancer. There is no such thing. I also want people to realze 40,000+ women and men still die from it every single year in the US alone. It is not the pretty, pink, almost party-like disease it is too often portrayed as.

 5. If applicable, do you worry about recurrence rarely, from time to time or a lot? What is your biggest worry today, right now, this minute?

As I’ve written about before, generally, I do not over worry about recurrence because it won’t help prevent it. I do worry about my family members’ cancer risk and my own day-to-day health, but not specifically cancer recurrence. Of course, I think about it from time to time, but I don’t over worry about it.

 6. Do you feel cancer has made you a better person? Yes, I know this a loaded question. If you do, specifically in what way?

No!

 7. What is your favorite cancer book? (No, I’m not fishing for mentions of mine!)

My favorite sciencey read has to be, The Emperor of All Maladies:  A Biography of Cancer, by Siddhartha Mukherjee.

One favorite memoir (so far anyway, I have several more on my to-read list) about cancer is Teva Harrison’s, In-Between Days:  a memoir about living with cancer, which I recently reviewed.

Another favorite of mine is The Mercy Papers:  A Memoir of Three Weeks by Robin Romm. It’s about a daughter’s last weeks spent with her mother who’s dying from metastatic breast cancer. Not everyone is up to such a tough, emotional read, but if you are, it’s very good.

 8. Besides your family, where do you turn for emotional support?

Online friends, fellow bloggers and you, my dear readers, are hugely supportive for me.

 9. How many cancer blogs do you read and why do you read them?

I have no idea. I read many sporadically, but not that many regularly due to time restraints.

10. Do you call yourself an advocate? If so, what drives you?

Yes, I do. What drives me is always the memory of my mother’s death from metastatic breast cancer, and all the deaths that relentlessly continue. The heartache at times is unbearable, but I will never stop being an ally for those with metastatic disease. Never.

And now it’s YOUR turn!

If you’re a blogger and decide to take up this challenge, feel free to come back and add a link to your post in a comment below. If you’re a blog reader, share a response, or two, or three (or more) with a comment below.

Thank you in advance for participating!

Ready, set, go!

Get more articles from Nancy’s Point in your inbox once a week! Click Here.