Blogs

We are entering PINK OCTOBER… a tricky tricky month for breast cancer patients and survivors alike. Local fountains will spew pink water, landmarks will be draped in pink banners, and sports teams will swap out standard jerseys with hot pink t-shirts. The message is loud and clear: October = BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH. Certainly if all this pink stuff helps women remember to schedule their annual mammograms and pink décor and t-shirts save lives, I’m ALL IN. But – at least for me, as a breast cancer survivor – Pink October is a rough month. I don’t actively LIKE being...

Liz Benditt is the President and CEO of The Balm Box. She was recently interviewed by Medium as part of their "Top 5 Things You Need to Beat Cancer" series. Below is an excerpt from the article - read the entire article here.   Based on your experiences and knowledge, what advice would you give to others who have recently been diagnosed with cancer? What are your “5 Things You Need To Beat Cancer? Please share a story or example for each. Treatment Plans are up for discussion — they are not a directive. Given my age and general good health,...

Prior to launching, we interviewed over 500 Cancer Patients and Gift Buyers to curate our Self Care and Gift Boxes. The survey asked respondents to rate almost 50 different items – broken down into four categories: Functional, Thoughtful, Motivational and Fun/Silly. I thought it would be interesting to dig into the Top 3 scoring items, and a little bit about WHY they scored so well. #1: Lotion Everything about cancer treatments – from surgery, to chemo, to radiation is hard on the skin. Surgical wounds are tender long after the stiches come out, chemo ports can be itchy and tender, and of course...

Newly diagnosed and not sure where to start? My (highly personal) and (totally unsolicited) advice for those facing a new cancer diagnosis. Being told you have cancer is never easy. Hearing that you are ‘sick’ when you do not necessarily feel ‘sick’ is hard to process. After going through this song and dance more than a few times, below are my personal thoughts on how to handle meetings with your care team to determine your treatment plan. It goes without saying that I am NOT a physician, have no medical degree, am not offering formal advice or cures or promises...

Many thanks to Ebony Harwood from ZayZoh for inviting Liz Benditt as a guest on her video podcast to talk about the importance of self care for cancer patients. We had a wonderful, honest, and highly personal chat about our own experiences as both patients and caregivers. Link is below - enjoy! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueRItmf6OEU