Mastectomy Dressing

Well I'm always googling:  SEXY MASTECTOMY ___________ -could be bras, shirts, dresses and so on.  All we are looking for is SEXY options- I mean why is it so hard to just put a pocket in it.  Well I have found some pretty great sites and one of them being

Pinxwear- started by a survivor it has some very important items for us survivors.

I have going through a good amount of hot flashes lately and at times I just want to rip my clothes off.  At night it is really hard as you are sometimes dripping.  Well over at Pinx she has light weight natural fabrics - yeah!  The above cami has pockets and is very comfy.  The nightgown below is super light and 100% cotton. 

And a shirt with a pocket- MEANING I don't have to wear my bra all the time!

I never had a problem with wearing a bra, but now that I have a weight issue and my arm with no lymph nodes a bra can be irritating.  I swell up under my arm area towards my back.  This is where surgery took a toll on my body.  I had two operations there; that had me with drains 2x- YUK.  It swells back there and swelling is something I avoid at all cost as to not have a problem with lymphedema.  :)

SO THIS SHIRT

AWESOME!     

 OK-another thing that saves me a lot- my good old FLUFF.  The little fabric boob insert they gave me right after my surgery.  So soft and comfy....for times when I just don't want the Hard Insert.  I also love the soft one during workouts- although most times I don't wear anything.

At Pinx they have this little foam guy which might me nice to have- you can probably buy a stick-on nipple and maybe even have matching nipple action under your shirt.  :) 

 At Pinx she even has a couple of other cute things - like there travel bags:

 And they even carry a care package for a friend that might just be starting her journey

There is also a BLOG

Cheers Ladies!

Look Good Feel Better Webinar

http://onlinevideoservice.com/clients/pcc/06-29-11/stream.aspx

Very nice

No words needed

Best Sports Bra EVER!

So since my cancer I am trying very hard....well pretty hard to loose weight and so far after a year I lost 10 lbs. only to gain some back, but anyways I am working out more than I have in the past (in a gym that is).  And I actually started out buying just all black sweat and yoga pants, but now I've been stepping up my workout wardrobe just so I don't feel as bad as I look working out!!!

One item I found that I really LOVE is my new bra from Lululemon; it is so comfy and the straps can also crisscross if you need.  YEAH!  I usually can't afford very expensive workout gear so I often shop at TJMaxx for my stuff and I even find organic clothing there.  At one of my doctor appointments in NYC I did stop in Lululemon and this bra was on sale for something like $34 so I tried it on and it was LOVELY.  I wish I had more!

  

Being comfortable and liking what I'm wearing have become even more important to me now.  I never had felt so old in my life.  My body has changed and it's so hard to deal with having pain almost everyday.  It's not real bad pain, but more like aches and pains.  I hate it and really want to try and get rid of some it.......how is the question.  I sometimes try and workout really hard and then I feel horrible after, but if I don't work out I also don't feel well.  It used to be you would work out, get a little bit of pain the next day and then you feel good.  Not so much at this point.  Oh well.....I'll keep trying.  

hair

when the hair comes in YES we are so HAPPY and may even vow to never cut it again- but the truth is our hair has suffered from chemo as well as the other parts and it will take a bit to come back to what it is and sometimes it never will.

so as happy as i was to have hair i did get regular cuts to make sure i always had STYLE because otherwise i felt like i looked older than i was...


so my 1st hair cut was by a woman who works with a lot of curly hair and it was great because i never had curls before.....

it ended up being short on the bottom and longer on top.

i always had haircut goals and i was always looking to the next style i would shoot for


my 1st item to always have was a mini straightener- because i do like my hair straight and a mini works great

a good strong gel and a softer one- maybe a pomade

a great shampoo and conditioner

and a hot iron protectant spray

1st my favorite survivor i looked to for hair inspiration is Kylie Minogue

she sported her chemo curls like a champ~ i love the blonde     

~Now here are my hair inspirations I went through~ 

So my 1st haircut went something like this: 

Here's me:

 I liked to straighten it get it looking like this as it grew in......

This is the first picture I took into my stylist

My hair was still too short but we keep cutting the bottom and only trimming the top

I would straighten my top or wear it curly 

This is also when I started coloring/hi lighting my hair 

Getting my color done made me feel SO GOOD!

Here's me:

As it comes in it's still wavy on the ends, but the top was getting back to straight 

Here's me:

Next Haircut picture I took into my stylist

Still cutting off the bottom and leaving the top as to get a bob type........I know it seems nutz to keep cutting your hair actually appears longer when you are going towards the bob cut if you keep the bottom short and straight across.  

I'm playing around with this:

See the bob I have is shorter...but as you can see on Kylie's picture below the ends curl up and sometimes it better to go with the flow.

sometimes the curls/waves are nice too!

So now I'm shooting for this and from here it's just long and pretty.....this is lightly layered and would a good hair style to keep for a while because: 

The only was to get rid of the curls is to cut them out or straighten them- a little bit of layer like in this picture will allow you to do trims on the top so that you can get rid of them if you want

Right now I'm a also trying to play around with curling my hair for certain occasions



tomorrow i have to post about the most awesome sports bra

i'm in love 

Have a Great Weekend

GOOD EATS ~ Thank you Martha!

 Baby Beet Salad with Sugar Snap Peas 

 

Ingredients

Serves 4

• FOR THE SALAD
• 8 red baby beets (about 10 ounces)
• 8 yellow baby beets (about 10 ounces)
• 8 ounces sugar snap peas, trimmed and halved diagonally
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• Freshly ground pepper
• 1 cup pea shoots
• Pea flowers, for garnish (optional)
• FOR THE DRESSING
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced (1 cup)
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon thyme
• 2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Make the salad: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wrap red beets in parchment, then in foil. Repeat with yellow beets. Bake until tender, 60 to 65 minutes. Let stand until cool enough to handle. Peel, and halve (or quarter larger beets). Place red and yellow beets in separate bowls.
2. Add peas to bowl with yellow beets. Sprinkle red and yellow beets with the thyme, salt, and pepper.
3. Make the dressing: Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add onion, and cook, stirring frequently, until caramelized, about 30 minutes. Stir in thyme and 1 tablespoon vinegar. Cook for 2 minutes. Transfer to a food processor, and puree. Add water, salt, pepper, and remaining 2 teaspoons oil and 1 tablespoon vinegar. Puree until smooth. (Dressing should be thick.)
4. Toss 1/2 of the dressing with the red beets and 1/2 with the yellow beet mixture. Combine beets, and gently toss with shoots. Garnish with pea flowers if desired, and serve immediately.

From Martha Stewart Living, May 2008 Helpful Hint

Sugar snap peas, a cross between English peas and snow peas, are sweetest immediately after harvest. Pea shoots are baby pea plant tendrils. The freshest samples are found at farmers' markets.

Read more at Wholeliving.com: Baby Beet Salad with Sugar Snap Peas

Here we go

Well after much thought - I have decided to start a second blog all about - How to live with a foob.

What is a foob?

Foob- a constructed boob also know as a fake boob.  This is no "implant job"  although we do have an implant nothing else is of boob material......cleavage?-constructed, nipple? -cconstructed.  I myself do not have nipple, but it is an option.   

I never thought I would spend the second half of my life without one of my breasts.........then at 40 I never thought I would see 41.  BUT after finding my breast cancer and learning that I would survive hopefully a LONG time; it started to sink in that I would be living my life a bit different than before.  There are some difficulties that arise with self image, weight, anxiety/depressing and most of all dressing.  Well I guess dressing isn't the most troublesome thing, BUT it sure does mean a lot to a girl that LOVES to dress.

I hope to get all my cancer info on this site and then keep up any new and exciting things I find for us girls that survived our cancer and now want to look and feel good.

I will also be incorporating my faith, because it was HUGE in my dealings with cancer.

What do you need to fight cancer?

Faith in God

Family

Friends

Pets

Plants

Good Food

Water

Exercise

Music

Determination

Experts    

and yes clothes!

I love clothes and dressing!

Whether you are in treatment or just out it's hard sometimes adjusting to your new looks.  Maybe you are heavier (me), no hair, too much facial hair, hot flashes, pain, too skinny, scattered brain sometimes a little fashioning helps.    

Over at AsianICandy you can find some really unique things to cheer yourself up an carry on.  And if you are a friend or family member of someone consider some fun things that make her feel special.

Backpacks/ Big Purses were a must during treatment and after.

During treatment you may have to pack a lunch and water and definitely reading material and an ipod or other techie stuff so a big purse helps.

Once I was done with treatment my legs were super soar and I STILL wanted to wear heals SO I made sure to have a big enough purse to carry a pair of flats!  

Comfy shoes in a flashy color make you feel good and if you are in treatment it's good to have an identity so be noticed for who you are.  I believe people in any business get into a routine and sometimes all clients/patiences all start to be the same SO stand out and make friends it pays in the long run. 

Love these boots

When your weight is up and down and you have no hair or maybe you're sporting a buzz cut

accessories are good because unlike clothes the sizes pretty much stay the same! 

How about these earrings on those days you're thinking f-cancer? 

Maybe on treatment day?

Aren't these these shoes super girly and cute?

Great for when you're feeling like you look more like a dude than a chick.

This blog will be very casual and fun..................I sort of type the way I talk if you haven't gotten that already.

the small print

My cancer stats:

My cancer was Estrogen Positive- 1 main tumor with a baby - i had 1 lymph node with micro cancer cells so i had all nodes removed.  i have a reconstructed breast with a gummybear implant.  i use a prosthesis (a fluff and a "real one").  no nipple.  i also wear a sleeve (at times) on my affected arm to help keep lymphedema away.  i am on tamoxifen and i receive blood tests to help monitor my cancer.  i have a prognosis for cure of 90% due to me getting chemo- AC-T blend, radiation to my foob, and taking my tamoxifen.  my cancer was stage 2B.  no real family history or other risk factors- AND i did breast feed my baby boy so I'm SO THANKFUL to my breasts for that~NO MATTER HOW MUCH PAIN THEY HAVE CAUSED ME.        

What I'm trying to do to stay alive and healthy:

PRAY and have faith

Eat Good Food

Exercise

VENT- BE REAL- MEDITATE- HOLD NOTHING INSIDE- super hard to do for me.

LOVE and have FUN

take my pills 

and stay away from bad stuff

enjoy this day it's all yours!