Blogs

After 4 cancers over 8 years, I thought I was done. But apparently 5 is my new number….. because in December 2022 I learned I had a new breast cancer in the opposite breast from my first breast cancer in 2017. And this time there were more tumors, more widely distributed around the breast such that a lumpectomy wasn’t an option. I went to two different medical centers to get second and third opinions – I needed to be absolutely sure that I must have a mastectomy. While each medical center’s team had slightly different approaches to surgery and treatment,...

Whether you are looking for a light and casual tone or intimate and emotional message, there is no wrong way to tell your friends or family that you care. We've shared some sample messages to help anyone suffering from gift-note-writers-block!

It’s a new year, and time to reflect on our goals and ambitions for the upcoming season… yet it feels like a bizarre and impossible task when doing so amid the mental and physical drain of cancer treatments. And yet… NOT making New Year’s resolutions when it feels like everyone in the world is listing their lofty goals for the year ahead feels like just one more way cancer patients might feel left out of an annual rite of passage. Of course, there’s absolutely no shame in ‘calling an audible’ and skipping resolution making this year for anyone! But if...

The Opportunity in Cancer: Making Lemonade Out of Lemons It’s hard to see the benefit of cancer when you’re going through it, but over time and with some perspective, I learned that there can be silver linings to this terrible disease. Here are the big three benefits of cancer I personally experienced: 1) The opportunity to test my marriage and find it rock solid 2) The opportunity for my kids to learn empathy 3) The opportunity to learn to ask for help and slow down. The Struggle Is Real Cancer is exhausting, stressful and confusing. So many big medical words...

As a 20-year veteran marketer-turned-entrepreneur, I spend a fair amount of time analyzing trends on Google. As the number-one search platform on the Internet, we see A LOT of site traffic referred from Google. It is interesting to see the trends in shopper searches and what brings folks to TheBalmBox.com. This month I’m seeing a rising trend in Google Searches looking for THE BEST gifts – top searches include, but are not limited to: Best gifts for someone going through radiation Best gift for mastectomy patients Best breast cancer gifts Best gifts for chemo patients Oh, how I WISH there...