Early Holiday Shopping

I plan on doing pretty much all of my holiday shopping at locally owned shops. I'm storing up my energy for a big Che Bella run (not that you need extra energy for this. A visit to Che Bella will most likely leave you feeling restored. I'm just particularly wiped these days). There are a few other spots around town that sell fantastic gifts and really make San Diego special, and they just will not survive if we don't shop there. In the next week or so I'll post a list of the best places I'll be grabbing gifts. But today I saw a very interesting internet shopping opportunity.

ideeli calls itself a "members-only shopping community for trend-setting women." So why am I a member? The signup is completely painless and they also have really frequent, equally painless to try for giveaways. Also, today they're offering something that caught my eye:
And I think they describe it best, so I quote:

"Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference; and a little hope, combined with action, can go a long way. This is the concept driving Cancer Schmancer, an organization spearheaded by Fran Drescher, which is fighting to improve women's healthcare in America. Specifically, Cancer Schmancer creates breast cancer awareness and strives towards the day when no women die from cancer as a result of late-stage diagnosis. "The Fran Plan" emphasizes diagnosing all female cancer victims during stage 1, when the disease is most treatable.

The impact of attitude is also the basis for Mary Margrill's jewelry collection, M2 (pronounced "em squared"). Fueled by the belief that positive energy can generate inner strength, Margrill creates pieces that combine symbolism with style. While each design is unique, all share a common goal: to bring beauty and a sense of peace to the women who wear them.

Now, Cancer Schmancer's message of hope reaches even farther. Thanks to a partnership with M2, 30% of the proceeds from this event, featuring the "I am healed" collection, will go directly to Cancer Schmancer. Therefore, your purchase of these uplifting, elegant necklaces helps to uplift others. And there's nothing more charming than that."

I can also say that there can be a huge gap in getting to a place where you are healed and actually believing it. I think this necklace is a beautiful reminder.

So if you're interested, click here to join, and go to the M2 sale to shop. The sale will only last last almost 6 more hours or until it's all sold out.

Awareness

So I finally got around to watching the Christina Applegate episode of Oprah which aired right before my surgery. I feel really good about what she's doing to increase awareness of breast cancer, even when you can see it's still really scary and painful for her. It also made me feel really good about how open I've tried to be here. I know an amazing woman who fought her own battle against breast cancer years ago, but I only found out about it by telling her about my diagnosis. She never told anyone, and I respect her choice. Maybe it would be exactly the same if she had to make it today. But I hope that my peers and future generations will know that they can choose to be as open as they like about breast cancer. That there is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of, no matter what happens to their boobies. I know for me it's been essential to talk about what's happening to me, and I know I'd not be as healthy as I am today if I'd had to keep quieter.

So in that spirit, I'd like to share a little more. One of Ms. Applegate's comments that struck me the most was that she didn't really know at the beginning what a reconstructed breast looked like. I was exactly as ignorant when I started thinking about my choices and it really helped me to know what to expect. I'm most likely not going to be showing you my boobs, but take a look at some of my surgeon's beautiful work here. Gathering information can be so empowering, and I think a lot of women are afraid of breast cancer without really knowing what it could mean for them. I'm not saying breast cancer isn't scary. It is so important to do self-examinations at the same time each month, talk to your doctor and get the screening you feel you need, even if that means going around your doctor like I had to. Survive, first and foremost, but don't let fear of unknowns tax whatever health you have.

Also, please feel free to share my blog to your heart's content. The more women are aware of their bodies and thinking proactively about their health, the more will survive. I don't aspire to write a compendium of the newest in cancer care and prevention; it's still just going to be me here. But I survived because I was aware of the dangers I faced and how to catch them. Let's help spread that awareness so that more women can say the same.