Breast cancer — the big B word
It’s a bitch, but it’s not the end.
The place for patients and families who have heard the diagnosis that no one wants to hear — and for everyone still fighting to be seen, believed, and treated on time.
Hope
No matter where you are — in diagnosis, treatment, or recovery — there is always a version of tomorrow that’s worth holding onto.
Empathy
You don’t need to justify your fear, your anger, or your exhaustion here. I’ve felt it too, and I’m not interested in performative positivity.
Advocacy
Systems fail patients every day. This is where I share what I’ve learned about pushing back, asking harder questions, and refusing to be dismissed.
Why “The Big B Word”?
When my doctor ordered a mammogram for me, he placed an ‘URGENT’ stamp on my order that should have had me scanned in a few days. Instead, I waited 6 weeks and that delay almost killed me. It also taught me that strength and advocacy have to travel together, because fighting through your pain and fear isn’t enough if the system is still failing you.
The Big B Word was born when the worst-case-scenario became my reality. I was diagnosed with the most rare and aggressive form of breast cancer, with a 20% chance of survival. In the coming weeks and months, I craved a place where I wasn’t a “warrior.” A place to be honest about my fear and grief. A place to find the humor in a horrible situation.
Most importantly, a place to share what I learned about advocating for yourself and where I can call breast cancer what it is: a big ol’ b word.
— Jaycee
Coming soon
Write it down. All of it.
The good days, the bad scans, the next appointment, the ones who show up, the people who go silent, and the day that grief hits you like a freight train. Either you’ll look back and see how far you came, or the people who love you will have a piece of you at your most honest.
Two days after my first infusion, I opened a journal that I’d been given and started writing. Five journals and four years later, they show how my resilience was built, my spirituality was strengthened, and all the ways I grew into the woman I am today. I want to make picking up the pen even easier for someone who is starting from scratch.
The All of It journal and planner is on its way — for you, or for someone you love who’s in the middle of it.
— Jaycee
From the Blog
Latest posts
- Check Yo SelfExactly four years ago today, I felt a bump in my left breast for the first time. Four days after that, my OBGYN squeezed me into his busy schedule and… Read more: Check Yo Self
- New Morning RitualsI did something a little different this morning. I sat on the porch to watch the sun rise. This morning was cool, comfortable. A handful of cars sped down the… Read more: New Morning Rituals
Letters
For whoever’s still up
Letters for the 2 a.m. hours: honest, a little dark, and always ending somewhere worth getting to. Straight to your inbox.
