Ah –Ha- isms via a Breast Cancer Survivor

Table paper is cruel and unusual punishment.

When you ask “Siri” on the iphone what is Chemotherapy, She says “the use of chemical agents to treat or control disease (or mental illness). Last time I checked Chemo MADE me crazy

If we are 1 in 8, why does every one walk around starring……ah, they think we are contagious.

Plastic surgeons played with markers as children…oh and “t-squares” too.

Getting weighed every week is disturbing.

Hair is over rated.

No matter how hard you try, you can’t look cool in a paper cape.

Scars are the new tattoos.

The antiquated movies where people lost weight on chemo are no longer valid. Quit perpetuating the myth.

The anesthesia consent forms never seem to be written in understandable English.

I nap, therefore I am.

After treatment, part of our insurance should automatically pay for us not remembering shit, the tiny voices in our heads and anything it requires to “quiet” them.

It takes a lot of work to LOOK sick.

Boobs are gone, time to focus on other ass-ets …if I can fine them.

© Genae Girard, 2012 Genae is the creator of www.BeyondtheBoobieTrap.com online breast cancer support group and the author of the book “Off the Rack”

There is No Decaf in Writing

By Genae Girard

Eagerly waking up this morning I found myself brimming with that type of energy a writer craves but has a limited window to use effectively. As I meandered my way down the chilly hallway, I was horrified to see that the coffee that I had purchased at Target was sporting a tiny little green flag of the word “decaf”.

 

As I heard the theme of the movie “Psycho” in my head, you know the one where the knife is thrust multiple times in the shower, I thought’ “is decaf, really a barrier to the tapping on my keyboard?” I started mulling over the process of how I start writing.  

 1)  I bust a move on my computer. I usually start with a main topic and even if it is just random thoughts, that creative outpouring is important to my mental healing process. I can always go back and organize or tweak the order of my thoughts.

2)   I have started talking to my iphone. Yes, the voices in my head have become more pronounced with the new “Siri”. When a topic pops into my head, or I see something worth writing about, I make a quick voice note in the recorder.

3)  Make sure you are interested in what you are writing about. Passion behind the words makes it flow a lot easier, and the purpose will covert to energy on the page.

4)  Step back from your high standards. Writer’s block comes from a fear of what we “think our standards should be.” The more you let it flow, the better off you will be.

Writing has helped me heal immensely during this breast cancer journey.  The externalization of fear and encouragement through written humor spawned my book, “Off the Rack”.  There are a number of woman warriors in Beyond the Boobie Trap writing books. We will be featuring many of them in the near future. I believe everyone has a book inside and it is such a unique expression of who we are. Maybe more importantly, it is who we want to be.  

 Genae Girard is the creator of the breast cancer site www.BeyondtheBoobieTrap.com She is the author of the breast cancer book, “Off the Rack.” For coaching assistance on writing and affordable ways to get your book published, email her at info@BeyondtheBoobieTrap.com

Barbie Called, She Wants Her Hair Back

Excerpt from the breast cancer book "Off the Rack" by Genae Girard

Buy the Book at www.BeyondtheBoobieTrap.com

What Seth Godin Can Teach A Breast Cancer Veteran

By Genae Girard

Author and expert marketer Seth Godin is one of the people I follow closely. Who wouldn't want to follow someone that has his own plastic action figure? He pushes the Internet envelope to create change and squash modernization fear. I recently listened to his Audio book Tribes. In the book he talks about having the guts to be a heretic. To shake up your life’s snow globe and not be a sheep walking around without passion.

If you have recently gone through breast cancer treatment, you know that if you didn’t have passion in your life, you emphatically need it now. Godin mentions are you going to be a “sheep”, or are you going to “color outside the lines?” To be brave is to step outside the safe realm of how we were domesticated and to take a risk. Leadership can be that gold shiny pathway.

Leadership in your community, business or group is also about externalizing your focus. This externalization allows you to heal faster as the natural tendency to help others brings joy and positive thoughts. There is an energy shift from you to others, which can be cathartic. When you choose to lead and create your own tribe consider squashing mediocrity and instead create a movement.

 -Genae Girard, Creator of the Breast Cancer Site www.BeyondtheBoobieTrap.com

Author of: Off the Rack, Chronicles of a Thirty-Something, Single Breast Cancer Survivor

What is a Lumpectomy?

Lumpectomy is the removal of the breast tumor (the "lump") and some of the normal tissue that surrounds it. Lumpectomy is a form of “breast-conserving” or "breast preservation" surgery. There are several names used for breast-conserving surgery: biopsy, lumpectomy, partial mastectomy, re-excision, quadrantectomy, or wedge resection. Technically, a lumpectomy is a partial mastectomy, because part of the breast tissue is removed. But the amount of tissue removed can vary greatly.

Remind yourself to ask your surgeon about where and what the scar will be. This can make a difference if you don't get clear margins and you need to move toward mastectomy surgery.

We recommend the following products for mastectomy surgery http://www.beyondtheboobietrap.com/heal-in-comfort-shirt/

Here is an informational video on lumpectomy:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUoqsBxgXWI