For the Breast of Us

BADDIE BLOGS

Our mission is to empower women of color affected by breast cancer to make the rest of their lives the best of their lives through education, advocacy and community.

I don’t know what tomorrow looks like

Marissa, co-founder of “For the Breast of Us,” talks candidly about her experience during the middle of chemo in February 2016

Damn, so I’ve MIA on the blog for about a month and a half huh? Not surprising since I was in a mood. I guess it’s kind of poetic in a sense, that I decide to stroke the keys on World Cancer Day. I wonder what that means to people? Do we put up cute, cliche posts (Save the boobies!!) SN: I still really love my boobs in case anyone was wondering (pauses for a quick mutual squeeze). Back to this World Cancer Day though….

I’ve found I do some of my best writing between 1:00 am – 2:00 am. Shit. Just. Flows. It’s also (stop me if you’ve heard this before) my insomnia. Bitch just won’t leave me alone! No matter how many times we break-up, the bitch still crawls in my bed. I guess I like the snuggles.

Anyhoo, where did we leave off…ahh yes. So I had surgery and my surgeon is a kick ass!! If you want your boobs to look like God caressed them with care after he made you, go see Dr. Lee!! She’s amazing!! Now, I know some people reading this may say “Oh, it’s not all about the boobs, it’s the disease.” Yes, we get it, we hear you. But as I said before “I love boobs!!” In particularly mine but, I could grow to like yours too depending if they’re cute or not. If I want to talk about how much I love, enjoy and still be happy that mine are present, let. me. live.

See what happens when I don’t blog for awhile? I have all kinds of shit to say and have to throw out disclaimers for anyone who “might” be offended.

Back to this cancer thing, before I started treatment on Jan 28, I went to see my oncologist, Dr. Stanton. She gave me the great news that I am 100% cancer free!!! (Someone sound the bells and whistles) Buuuuuut, I still have to do aggressive chemo and radiation . Now, I work in the medical field and I get the reasoning behind it. But when I tell you I fought for some hard core facts on why I truly needed to do this! It was probably to the point of where my family was scared that I would say nope, not doing it, up until the day of (they should still be worried).

The reason why I started writing tonight is because I’m a week out from my first chemo and I started counting which days were good and which were bad. This is my life, and while I’m thankful I still have life (this week was rough so trust me when I say I’m thankful) this is currently my life.

I’m a planner and tomorrow I don’t have a plan because I don’t know what it will look like for me. While a part of that kills me to not have a plan, I don’t even think I care anymore that I don’t have a plan. Maybe that’s what I’m being taught…who knows.

Either way, “we’ll try again tomorrow.”

chemo, insomnia, lumpectomy, Marissa Thomas

Marissa Thomas

Marissa Thomas, co-founder of “For the Breast of Us”, is a breast cancer survivor from Tacoma, WA, diagnosed at 35, stage II ER+. She is a Healthcare Program Coordinator at the University of Washington Medical Center, in Seattle, WA. Marissa’s passion to educate women on how to navigate the healthcare system to make it work for them comes from her being diagnosed at an early age. She also wants women to know they can continue living their best life, regardless of the circumstances. She holds a BS in Healthcare Administration and is a certified Living Beyond Breast Cancer Young Advocate. Marissa enjoys spending time with her son Siaire and throwing dinner parties with her family and friends.