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11. Tonya Priestley
12. Lisa Aileen Cianci
13. Amy Kalisher
Stage 0. Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). Bilateral mastectomy. Oophorectomy.
Stage 2. Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). Partial mastectomy. Lymph node removal. Radiation. Plant medicines in traditional indigenous ways. Peruvian healers & shaman.
Stage 2B. Single mastectomy. Chemotherapy. Radiation. Hormone therapy.
Vancouver.
I felt pressure to travel for work after my surgery, with my drains still attached. I ended up with lymphedema. I had selfesteem issues. I would not have made it through the process without my wonderful, supportive husband. He was my rock. I read Anticancer: A New Way Of Life. I am now passionate about giving back and making a difference. I created Stretch 4 Survivors, an annual yoga charity event benefiting women with breast cancer. Pinklemonadeproject.org/stretchfor-survivors.shtml PHOTO: Kirsti Holley Photography
Topanga Canyon.
Lots of difficulties: telling my family (especially my parents), dealing with corporate health Insurance companies, being an independent consultant in the private sector, not being entitled to unemployment and state disability, and having my temporary social security benefits denied four times. Being a mom got me through, along with growing my own food and opening up my home to healers to receive complementary alternative medicine. Everything is a gift, including breast cancer. Gifts have been showering upon me. Miracles have been happening around me. Instances of synchronicity have accelerated exponentially since my surgery. My definition of success starts with health, love, family, friends, and nature; not the money or the title.
Chaplin.
The hardest thing is facing the possibility of an early death, reorienting myself to consider that I might be at the end of my story instead of in the thick of it. Many people have expressed how much they value me, which helps. I get it now that my time is mine, and precious. It also helps to share my experience on my blog and in my Youtube video diary. AmyKstudio.com
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