Survivor Resources
If you are newly diagnosed, are undergoing active treatment or are in remission, here are ways you can get involved and join our Rise Above family!
Starting off Right
Getting a cancer diagnosis is overwhelming enough, but on top of that, newly diagnosed patients are bombarded with information, (appointments, doctors, and other information) as soon as they are diagnosed.
When I was diagnosed, my sister (who is great at organizing) gave me a binder with tabs to keep all of my information organized and what a HUGE help this was!!
This is my inspiration for, what is now, the Rise Above Breast Cancer Binders. This tool makes communication between your many medical team members, opinions from other providers and adjunct services so much easier and smoother!
This organizer & planner is used to keep ALL of the information together, organized in one place, including your medical team information, test results, appointments, medications, notes, health and fitness information and more, along with a bit of love and encouragement, all in one binder. :)
INTERESTED in a Rise Above Breast Cancer Binder OR want to help PROVIDE one for a survivor??
If you are survivor and interested in a binder, simply complete the form below and we will get you one! <3
My goal is to provide newly diagnosed survivors with a binder free of charge and YOU can help make that happen by making a tax-dedictible donation of $20 or more!
Breast Cancer Binder
Hair-Cutting Celebration Parties
Why a Celebration?
Losing your hair is a difficult side effect of chemotherapy that many women have to face. For me personally, it was one of the things I was dreading the most.
I've always had long, thick curly hair and it was sort of one of those "defining features" for me.
I was told it would come out fairly quickly after starting chemo, so after my first treatment I decided to regain some control and also show my two young children that LOOKS are not what define us or make us beautiful...rather, it's our hearts.
So what I initially dreaded and felt devastated about, I decided to turn into a celebration of the next steps to healing!
My whole family joined in on the fun and we had balloons, music, snacks and an incredible hairdresser and everyone took turns cutting off a section of my hair as we cheered and celebrated.
The hairstylist (an amazing friend who donated her time and talents!) did an amazing job giving me a short hairstyle to prepare me for loosing my hair and I learned, after NEVER having short hair in my life, that I will probably never want long hair again because I loved it!!
14 days after my first chemo treatment was the day that I was truly dreading -- my now short hair started falling out by the handful as I washed it before work one morning.
I stood in the shower in tears as I prepared for the transition to being bald, and then I remembered the army that was fighting this with me, my family.
I called my brother-in-law at 8 am on that Saturday morning (who is also bald 😁) and he showed up in his pink shirt to shave my head along with my sister, nephews, parents and family within 15 minutes!
It wasn't at all what I initially imagined of my shaving my head and walking out and my young kids being afraid of me and not recognizing me-- but once again, those initial tears were turned into smiles, laughter and celebration when my family showed up and my kids were rubbing my bald head and embraced the situation with love and acceptance rather than fear and tears!
I truly felt empowered and loved after each celebration and THIS is what inspired me to want to do this for others!!
Hair Cutting Celebrations
We want to CELEBRATE you as you take the next step to healing and recovery!
We would like to create an environment for you to be celebrated so we are providing a location, a hair stylist, a photographer to capture this special moment and if desired, an army of support for you to cheer you on and encourage you!
To top it all off, our team will give you a little "glam" and we will end your celebration with an empowering photo shoot.
This is all about you, so if you prefer to keep it intimate with your family and/or friends - that is totally up to you!
You can opt to have a hair-cutting celebration party prior to it all falling out and get a short hair cut or you can let us know when it is time to shave your head!
Because hair-loss can happen quickly and unexpectedly, we have a team on-call for when the time comes!
If you would like to be celebrated with a hair-cutting party, please let us know when you are starting / started chemotherapy or if you know a date you would like to celebrate so we can prepare as much as possible and organize your special event!
Request Your Celebration:
If you are a cancer patient / survivor and want to schedule a celebration, please fill out the request form below.