Cancer Fashionista™ Hits The Road…And Comes Home Inspired

I arrived home yesterday from the annual Living Beyond Breast Cancer convention in Denver, Colorado. I was honored to attend as a panelist for the Triple Negative Breast Cancer Foundation track. Little did I know how this weekend was going to move me. The women on my panel inspired me like nothing else. We bonded in a way that only we can understand. Each of us shared our stories in a room filled with other TNBC thrivers. Which meant we all had to go back to a place in our minds that was very sad and dark for all of us. We cried. We laughed. We validated our fears and our thoughts on survivorship. Most importantly, we provided insight and hope for the women in that room. Roxanne Martinez, Ricki Fairley, and Cristy Norwood–I cherish my new, special friendships with each of you. I hope we can continue to share our stories to help others find hope—even gifts—throughout their journeys. 

I have learned to honor my breast cancer experience. To receive it as a message to slow the “F” down and take better care of myself. To go to the gym even if I’m tired. To meditate. To eat my lunch slowly. Spend more time with my family. I must admit, I was pretty good at all of these things for a while. However, I’ve recently observed myself going back to my “old operating system” as I call it. Rush, rush, rush. Get it all done today. I’ll eat lunch later. I’ll go to the gym tomorrow. I don’t have 5 minutes to meditate. Blah, blah, blah. One thing I took away from this weekend was to put myself higher on my list of priorities. Breast cancer or not, it’s so easy to get swallowed up by your never-ending to-do lists. We’re all guilty of putting ourselves last. So take that walk, hit that spin class, make a healthy dinner, play a game with your kids, download some meditation apps—and I’ll do the same, ok?!

On a lighter note, I found some FAAAAABULOUS products at the convention, and can’t wait to share them with you soon!

xo

Melissa aka Cancer Fashionista