Strollerderby : toddler planet

Strollerderby Playdate: Blogging Pink

Jessica Ashley (Sassafrass) — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 10:57:00 GMT

A few months ago, I looked around my church and gasped out loud to realize how many women sitting around me were in the middle of the the fight of their lives and how many women around me have survived that same fight against cancer growing in their breasts, colons, ovaries and in other corners of their otherwise healthy bodies. I am humbled by the strength I see in these women, the ability to keep on with their lives and children and work. During October, as we honor all those people who had, have or will be diagnosed with breast cancer, I think it is also the right time to lift up the bloggers who are courageously posting their experiences with grace, humor, honesty and awareness. Here's to you, beautiful women with bright, shining light:

Toddler Planet's WhyMommy has a team built up around her to stand with her during breast cancer treatment. Her writing will call you to do the same. Be sure to read what WhyMommy has to say about pink stuff as pom pons for this month.

J's Daughter began by writing about the ovarian cancer that took her mother's life and now writes about saving her own life and others. This will stop you in your tracks.

Cancer Bitch is fierce. You may get that impression by the photos in the sidebar.

The Merits of the Case is LawMom's documented journey through cancer, law school and mothering. You can help her win a scholarship to navigate all that by reading this post.

The Cancer Grrrl keeps it real while keeping it (like I like it) with the grrr in grrrl.

A Woman of Many Parts is a mother from London who writes poignantly about secondary cancer, being scared and moments of sweet forgetting.

Limbodacious is funny and smart and wants you to do what she says. She's not kidding. Seriously, do it.

Do you know someone who is blogging their journey through cancer? Share a link to their blog in the comments so we can give them some love, too.

StrollerDerby Playdate: Team WhyMommy

Rachael Brownell (Redsy) — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 11:10:00 GMT

Team WhyMommy is a group of bloggers who are committed to educating other bloggers about the perils and frequent misdiagnosis of Inflammatory Breast Cancer. Symptoms of inflammatory breast cancer are sometimes misdiagnosed as mastitis in nursing mothers, and can include any unusual changes breast changes such as redness, rapid increase in size of one breast, persistent itching of breast or nipple, thickening of breast tissue, stabbing pain, soreness, swelling under the arm. Bloggers who have joined Team WhyMommy include:

Read about it and join the team.

Parents Learn their IBCs: The Power of Team WhyMommy

Rachael Brownell (Redsy) — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 20:14:00 GMT

The Internet can be a place of education and activism and the proliferation of parent bloggers joining forces for Team WhyMommy is case in point. WhyMommy at the Toddler Planet blog has turned her personal diagnosis into an opportunity to educate people about the rare and often misdiagnosed Inflammatory Breast Cancer. Because it turns out you don't have to have a lump to have breast cancer and that nursing moms are particularly susceptible to misdiagnosis given the breast changes that occur during breastfeeding.

According to WhyMommy, "Inflammatory breast cancer is often misdiagnosed as mastitis because many doctors have never seen it before and consider it rare. “Rare” or not, there are over 100,000 women in the U.S. with this cancer right now; only half will survive five years."

Symptoms to watch for include:

any unusual breast changes
redness,
rapid increase in size of one breast,
persistent itching of breast or nipple,
thickening of breast tissue,
stabbing pain,
soreness,
swelling under the arm

If you have any of these symptoms, call your OB/Gyn today.