ABOUT ME

Have I got some stories for you…

My name is Mary. I’m also Auntie Mimi to many, so Mimi works too. I’m in my 40s and navigating perimenopause after surviving two cancers over the last 25+ years.

Life really handed me a hand.

I was diagnosed in the late 90s days before my 16th birthday with early-stage Hodgkin’s Disease and was treated with chemo and radiation for the next six months. Even though I was told “you’re cured,” managing the subsequent long-term effects, which included a secondary breast cancer, has been more than a wild ride. It definitely has not felt like “cured.”

Many who’ve lived through cancer will swear up and down that cancer doesn’t define them… I call bullshit and in the nicest way possible. Experiencing new diagnoses caused by cancer after surviving cancer, and fighting through the cold and complicated US healthcare system as an adult, has shaped who I am today. And I honestly wouldn’t have it any other way.

Being diagnosed with breast cancer nearly two decades after first hearing the words “you have cancer” lit a fire in me to start this blog so I could talk about all of it – how cancer has affected most of my life, how I’ve learned to advocate for myself through situations I never expected to find myself in and why I’m grateful for everything cancer has taught me.

Alchemy Through Advocacy

I’ve always chosen to turn my pain into power and have enjoyed a long career in healthcare communications. I’ve worked with several healthcare, companies and advocacy groups to educate patients and doctors on what it means to be a smart patient and smarter healthcare provider. In 2023 I was invited to join the Board of Directors for the Tigerlily Foundation, a premiere not-for-profit global organization that educates and empowers breast cancer survivors, metavivors and caregivers throughout their journeys – before, during and after cancer.

In 2024, Tigerlily expanded beyond breast cancer, broadening its focus to women’s oncology and overall health.