Pink Ribbon Review BCAM Giveaway: Winner #9

Don’t forget to scroll through the posts! You don’t want to miss today’s Pink Ribbon BCAM Giveaway: Kick It Tees by lucy.

Tarah, you have won the book, Breastless in the City by Cathy Bueti!

Thank you, so much, for participating in yesterday’s giveaway.

To read about the book and author Cathy Bueti again, check out yesterday’s post.

Thanks to everyone who left a comment on the post — don’t forget today’s contest, and tomorrow’s … etc., etc.!

Pink Ribbon Review BCAM Giveaway: Winner #8

Don’t forget to scroll through the posts! You don’t want to miss today’s Pink Ribbon BCAM Giveaway: Cathy Bueti’s book, Breastless in the City.

Joanna Smith … you’re the winner of the Pink Ribbon Truffles from Route 29! You had the 17th comment, and that’s the one I randomly selected tonight!

Thank you for your comment, thank you for recognizing the importance of breast cancer awareness month, thank you for … well, for being a part of this event!

To read about the pink ribbon truffles again, check out the original BCAM giveaway post.

Thanks to everyone who participated. Meanwhile, tomorrow is another day and another Pink Ribbon Giveaway!

Pink Ribbon Review BCAM Giveaway: Day Nine

It’s day nine of the Pink Ribbon Review Breast Cancer Awareness Month Giveaway.

In honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I’m giving away a pink ribbon product every single day during the month of October.

Today’s giveaway: A copy of Cathy Bueti’s memoir, Breastless in the City.

Breastless in the City is a great read most simply because Cathy’s story is a fascinating one: She was widowed at age 25 and diagnosed with breast cancer when she was in her early thirties.

Here’s a snippet:

“The first thing I remember after surgery is feeling as if I’d been run over by a truck! I guess I am still alive, I thought. From my breasts down to my thighs, everything felt like a combination of a burning pain and numbness.”

The link above brings you to the book review I wrote when I first read the book, republished on Pink Ribbon Review last April. You can head directly to Cathy’s webpage to read more about her and her book. Plus, you can read her Survivor Story here.

Remember to follow the Pink Ribbon Review BCAM giveaway rules and leave an appropriate comment on this post before midnight EST.

Good luck!

(Images: Cathy Bueti)

Final List of Prizes in the Pink Ribbon Review BCAM Giveaway

Here it is … the final list of prizes for October’s daily giveaway here at the Pink Ribbon Review in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

These products may be last on my list … but they are by no means least:

1. Brookstone’s pink Dash rolling hardside carry-on (retail value $79.95)
2. Two pink cans of Folgers Classic Roast (retail value $16.80)
3. Five tubes of E.L.F. Super Glossy Lip Shine (retail value $5.00)
4. One pink-editionDama stovetop espresso maker — gently used by me for a product review (retail value $39.95)
5. A Hershey’s Tour de Pink Backpack (estimated value $9.00)
6. A copy of the book, Breastless in the City, by Cathi Bueti (retail $14.95)
7. An organizer called, By the Book: How to Take Care of MY Kids, by Melissa Bishop & Karen Berg (retail $19.95)
8. Replens vaginal moisturizer (retail value TBD)
9. A copy of the book Living Consciously, Dying Gracefully: A Journey With Cancer and Beyond by Nancy Manahan & Becky Bohan (retail price $17.00)

Make sure you review the first list and the second list of product I’m giving away!

Copy the following code to get the image on your site and spread the word about this unbelievable giveaway:

<a href="http://www.blisstree.com/2008/09/25/coming-soon-the-pink-ribbon-bcam-giveaway/"><img src="http://www.blisstree.com/files/638/2008/09/bcam.jpeg"></a>

Remember, I post the rules tomorrow — the giveaways start on Wednesday, October 1st!

Pink Ribbon Review Breast Cancer Blog Carnival

Welcome to the very first Pink Ribbon Review Breast Cancer Blog Carnival! We had a few operating difficulties along the way — the powers that be at Blog Carnival deleted the dang listing, probably thinking any carnival with the word “breast” in the title was certainly spam. Fortunately, a few of you were resourceful and emailed me alternately.

Cathy Bueti presents Bra Zero, an essay on the frustration and joy of bra shopping after her mastectomy posted at In My Life.

Teresa Holladay presents Fight Breast Cancer with a Fork posted at Meningioma and Me. It’s an informative look at the foods we eat and how they can influence our breast cancer risk.

Jayne Byrne presents Giving Back by Answering Questions posted at Jayne’s Breast Cancer Blog: Exploring the Intersection of Cancer and Creativity and explains that sometimes a visit to a breast cancer message board to give support rather than to receive has its own rewards.

Alicia C. Staley presents Feed the Warrior posted at Awesome Cancer Survivor — a post that is sure to inspire and might teach you a think or two about affirmations!

Jose DeJesus MD presents How to Stay Focussed on the Big Picture posted at Physician Entrepreneur. It’s not necessarily targeted towards survivors, but is about goal setting and visioning and heck, I’m letting it ride here because it may speak to someone!

Shelley Lewis presents Breast Squished, Fingers Crossed posted at It’s Not About the Breast, a heartfelt read about ‘mammogram day’ and the unwelcome ‘what if’ questions that swim in your head as that day approaches.

That’s it for today’s carnival folks. From now on, this will be called the Pink Ribbon Review Blog Carnival (no mention of the word breast in the title, for sure).

Submit your blog article to the next edition of pink ribbon review blog carnival using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Hope you enjoyed today’s posts. Thanks for coming and I’ll see you next time!

Cathy Bueti … on You Tube!

I was just checking out You Tube for some inspiration and look who I came across? One of my favorite Pink Ribbon Readers — Cathy Bueti!

If you haven’t already read these posts, check out:

Cathy Bueti’s survivor story

Cathy Bueti’s Survivor Q&A

A review of Cathy Bueti’s book Breastless in the City

Go Cathy! Yippee!

Book Review: Breastless in the City by Cathy Bueti

(This book review first appeared on my previous breast cancer blog, but since I shared Cathy Bueti’s survivor story with you yesterday, I figured I’d reprint my review of her memoir here.)

If you want to learn what it would be like to face breast cancer as a single woman in your early thirties than read Cathy Bueti’s memoir, “Breastless in the City.”

Cathy’s breast cancer diagnosis and treatment was intertwined with her search for love. Most of us at least faced breast cancer with our spouse by our sides — not Cathy. See, Cathy’s husband was killed in a car accident when she was 25 years old. Nobody should be widowed that young!

Then she got breast cancer … can you imagine?

Right away the introduction to the book intrigued me … “The probability of becoming a widow at the age of 25 is infinitesimally small; the probability of developing breast cancer around the age of 30 is far less than one in 10,000. If we really think about this, what is the likelihood that these two events would happen to one woman?”

As I reached the end of her story, not only did I want her to thrive as a survivor, I wanted her to find love — I think she deserved to.

But let me take a step back.

Cathy’s breast cancer story is not unlike many others: she found a lump when she was in her early thirties, she went to her doctor, got a mammogram, needed a biopsy, found out it was Invasive Ductal Carcinoma (IDC), she’d need a lumpectomy, perhaps radiation, perhaps chemo … she got a second opinion (something I always, always recommend), and though the two doctors concurred, she still opted for a mastectomy with reconstruction (a wise, wise personal choice because there was indeed lymph node involvement!) … she chose the TRAM flap and MAN don’t I know what she was talking about in terms of her recovery … then needed six months of chemotherapy.

Cathy’s description of the post operative ‘trauma’ and the side effects of treatment were so similar to my own: “The first thing I remember after surgery is feeling as if I’d been run over by a truck! I guess I am still alive, I thought. From my breasts down to my thighs, everything felt like a combination of a burning pain and numbness.”

Yup. I definitely felt that way after my double mastectomy/TRAM flap. Almost exactly that same way. Except that I’d most likely use the phrase ‘hit by a train’ in my memoir (still unwritten, of course, but maybe some day).

Here’s another experience you might recognize as your own: “As I knelt on the floor hugging the bowl, it felt as if all my insides were going to come out. I was shaking, sweating, and wondering how the hell I would get through this. I screamed and pounded my hand on the side of the bowl. Then I started crying. I felt completely alone.”

It was painful to read about someone else’s pain but even more jubilant to read about someone else’s survival — and of course by the end of the book she gets there.

I have to say that the other thread of the book, Cathy’s trials and errors in the dating world, weren’t as easy for me to relate to. Not that I didn’t date but I never utilized online dating services — Cathy’s method of choice.

After dating EIGHT different guys (yes, I counted) I started to wonder if she would ever find another soul mate. Poor Cathy, I kept thinking each time she’d start dating another loser … this sucks. These guys were total schmucks.

I enjoyed reading about Cathy. I love survivor stories in general and this one brought an entirely new issue to light … dating through breast cancer treatment.

I’ll bet you’re wondering if Cathy ever did find someone to share her life with. Well, you’ll just have to read the book yourself to find out, I’m not giving away the ending. Here’s a link to the book on Amazon.com. Enjoy!

(Image: Cathy Bueti)

Survivor Q&A: Cathy Bueti

Earlier today I posted Cathy Bueti’s survivor story. I also had the privilege of asking her a few questions about survivorship … here’s what she shared with me:

1. What was the worst part of your experience with breast cancer?

One of the worst parts I have to say was losing my hair during chemo. More so than losing my boob. I think because I could hide my boob better under my clothes. Both the breasts and hair are so tied into our femininity and part of our sexuality. To loose both at the same time was really hard especially being a single woman out there looking for love and dating.

Post treatment, I also had a hard time with figuring out how to get back to my life. When treatment was finally over I thought I would feel relieved which I did but that was when the fear crept in about recurrence. I wasn’t sure how to live my life with all the new fear. How to live as a survivor. That adjustment was hard.

2. What was the greatest lesson having breast cancer taught you?

That what matters the most is inside us. It’s not about the hair, the boobs, our weight, it is really about who we are as people. It is about how we treat ourselves and how we live our lives. It really taught me what was most important and that is living! And doing what makes us happy, no matter how selfish that may seem. I am still learning that lesson even to this day.

3. Looking back over your experience … is there anything you’re particularly proud you did “right”?

What I am proud I did right was following my instincts. I think as women especially we get those little “voices” that speak to us. We don’t always listen though. This time I listened when it was telling me to go with a mastecomy instead. I found out later when my biopsy results came back that I made the right decision because there was some tissue on the opposite side of where my tumor was that had pre-cancer cells which did not show up on any of my tests prior to surgery. It would have been a recurrence down the road had I just went with a lumpectomy.

4. What advice would you give to someone recently diagnosed, heading into treatment or moving on after?

I would say to someone recently diagnosed that you should always listen to your instincts, be proactive, be a good advocate for yourself, ask lots of questions and keep asking until you are comfortable with the answers. Doctors may not always like it but you need to put yourself first as a patient. Also, it is important to find a medical team you are comfortable with and confident in. Always get second opinions. Take it one day at a time, one moment at a time if you have to. No matter what we face, no matter how much we doubt we can get through it, know that somehow we will. And we do.

5. How did you adjust to the ‘after-cancer life’? How is it now?

It is almost 7 years now for me! I am doing good now. But I am still a work in progress! I still have days where fear gets to me but I am thankful for what cancer taught me and that is to move through the fear, live each moment.

It really helped me to find what it was I loved to do. Being creative, focusing on photography, on beading, and of course my writing really helps. Being creative takes away the fear. It helps me to focus on the postive things.

It can be difficult adjusting to “life after cancer”. I didn’t expect that. Nobody prepared me for it.

I also focused on my health and how to keep myself healthier. I changed my diet significantly and have explored more alternative ways to stay healthy. That also has helped me deal with the fear. Fear can steal so much from us. All the things I have survived in my short life has made me stronger. It has all served a purpose and taught me more about myself. It has taught me how to live ….

A Survivor Story: Cathy Bueti

As I said in the first post of the three part Survivor Story I shared with you earlier this month, every breast cancer survivor has a story to tell. Each breast cancer survivor’s story is equally important, equally significant, equally magnificent.

Today I’m going to share with you the personal story of Cathy Bueti.

Introducing … Cathy Bueti:

“My survivor story begins much earlier than my breast cancer diagnosis.

I married my high school sweetheart when I was 23 and by 25 I was a widow. He and his younger brother were killed in a car accident. That was back in 1994. At the time I recall telling my grandmother that at least I was getting the bad stuff out of the way early in life.

Fast forward to May of 2001 and at the age of 31 I was diagnosed with stage 2 invasive ductal carcinoma. I requested a mastectomy when a lumpectomy was recommended (just on instinct) and decided on a TRAM Flap reconstruction.

My 10 hour surgery was on August 20, 2001. Since they found traces of cancer in one lymph node I had to go through 6 months of chemotherapy. During my surgery and chemo I continued to date and met my current husband the following March of 2002 only a month after he lost his mom to breast cancer.
Next month we will celebrate our 5th anniversary on the same day of my 7 year survivor anniversary!

I hope through sharing my story that I can give hope and inspiration to other young women especially single women that you can find your happy beginning!”

I applaud you Cathy, today and every day. I’m so glad you shared your story with the Pink Ribbon Readers.

Readers … please feel free to comment on Cathy’s story below (she’ll be reading!)

(Image: Cathy Bueti)

Coming up … a Q&A with Cathy Bueti!