The holiday season is in full swing and, during this special time of the year, it is so important to embrace the full meaning of the holidays. While many get caught up in giving and receiving presents, others are treasuring the things that really matter in life like family and loved ones. These support systems become especially important for families with children who are battling pediatric cancer. Tackle Kids Cancer provides an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of children with cancer. It is a way for a child to help another child, and families to help other families. Unfortunately, only 4% of government cancer funding directed towards pediatric cancer, and childhood cancer being the number one cause of death by disease in children – funding in all forms is crucial. Those of you who are long-time followers of this blog know that as a Leukemia Survivor, advancing cancer research is very important to me. As a mother, my heart bleeds for these families … [Read more...]
Help Children With Cancer This Holiday Season! #tacklekidscancer @tacklekidscancr #Ad
Celebrate Mothers And Help Raise Money For Childhood Cancer! #MyHeroMom #MC @NM_News #Ad
*I participated in an Ambassador Activation on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for the Northwestern Mutual Foundation. I received a promotional item to thank me for participating. Have you lost someone you love to cancer? Unfortunately, chances are that you have been negatively affected by this disease in one way or another. In 2007, when I was thirty years old, I was diagnosed as having Chronic Myeloid Leukemia or CML. There is no way for me to describe to all of you what a shock and horror it was to hear those words. When you are young you think you are invincible and you never expect to hear that you are afflicted with a life-threatning illness. Since I had a newborn baby and a toddler, I did not have the luxury of feeling sorry for myself and I decided to take my health into my own hands and to become proactive about my treatment. I am very blessed that advances in modern medicine have made my form of Leukemia treatable although I do still suffer from … [Read more...]
Support Kids Walk For Kids With Cancer! #KidsWalk #WalkWithUs @KidsWalkMSKCC
As many of you are aware, I am a six year Leukemia Survivor. Receiving a Cancer diagnosis is devastating at any age, however, it is especially horrific when a child is diagnosed with this disease. It's every parents' worst nightmare and, unfortunately, the reality is that Cancer is the leading cause of death by disease in children. Each day 46 children will be diagnosed with Cancer-this number is equivalent to the number of seats that it takes to fill a school bus. Pediatric Cancer research is severely underfunded which is why Kids Walk For Kids With Cancer is such an important event. In 2001, a group of 8th grade students in Brooklyn, NY decided to raise funds to help cure pediatric Cancer. One of the students had a little brother who was finishing treatment for stage IV neuroblastoma at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center so this cause was deeply personal to him. These 8th graders raised $35,000 through their walkathon and, since then, new teams continue to … [Read more...]
As The New Year Approaches…
With all of the hustle and bustle of the holidays, I have been very busy here on the blog sharing all of our family's experiences and even reviews and giveaways of some of our favorite products. As the New Year approaches, I feel the need to slow it down a little bit for this post and share some of our family's behind the scenes stuff which I'm sure many of you can surely relate to... Two weeks before Christmas, my husband got laid off from his job. It certainly wasn't the best time for this to happen but then, is it ever good timing? I keep reminding myself that it could be worse, at least I still have my job and medical benefits, thank God. Every single time I turn around, I hear about families being hard hit by unemployment in these uncertain economic times and I'm thankful for what we do have. Today, my boys attended a basketball game with my Father in Law at Fordham University and I stayed behind because walking around such a huge college campus is just not … [Read more...]
When Life Gets Tough, I Rise Above It And Get Tougher! #RiseAboveIt #NoTeRindas #Ad
This is a compensated campaign in collaboration with Pine-Sol® and Latina Bloggers Connect. When I was 30 years old, two things happened to me that year, I gave birth to my youngest son and I found out I had cancer. If it is shocking for you to read that, imagine how shocking and bitter-sweet it was for me to go through one of the most joyous events in my life while, at the same time, going through one of the most devastating things that could possibly happen to me. Unfortunately, I didn't have the luxury of falling apart because I had a three year-old and a newborn that needed me to keep it together. I remember the weekend after my diagnosis, I lay in bed feeling sorry for myself and wondering why this would happen to me. After a while, I realized that the answer was "Why not me?" People go through tragedies and receive bad news regularly so what made me exempt from it? At that moment I decided that I was going to stay strong and rise above my cancer diagnosis, not … [Read more...]
Early Detection Saves Lives! #PhilipsBCA @PhilipsHealth #Giveaway #Ad
This is part of a sponsored collaboration with Philips Healthcare. However, all opinions expressed are my own. My Mammography Story: Many of you have virtually held my hand recently when I went through my first mammogram screening and callback scare. Although it was terrifying to worry about possibly being told I have breast cancer, I am aware that early detection saves lives and the earlier, the better. That is why Philips is taking action to fight breast cancer by raising awareness through education, empowerment, and encouragement. I never imagined that I would be getting my first mammogram at age 36 but, this summer when I had my yearly gynecological appointment, I shared on my health screening form that my paternal great-grandmother had died of breast cancer. As a result, my gynecologist gave me the option of having an initial mammogram screening before age 40 due to the family history. Believe me, I was very scared but I knew that it was better to be … [Read more...]
Help Women With Cancer Look And Feel Beautiful! #LGFBWeek
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of LGFB. All opinions are 100% mine. #spon: I'm required to disclose a relationship between our site and LGFB . This could include the LGFB providing us w/content, product, access or other forms of payment. It's no secret that finding a cure for Cancer is a cause close to my heart as I am a Leukemia Survivor. Until that miracle takes place, it is very important to me that I support organizations that are aimed at improving the quality of life of other Survivors. Undergoing Cancer treatment can be grueling physically and emotionally and it is important that we support those who have to go through this trying time. Look Good Feel Better (LGFB) is a global campaign that is aimed at helping people with Cancer deal with the impact that treatment can have on their appearance. This program has served more than 800,000 Survivors for 24 years in the United States and around the world. They offer free workshops, self help … [Read more...]
