She is why I fight the Pink Ribbon culture. She is why I throw away my bedazzled “survivor” sash and pink boa. She is the reason why I want every one I know to think before they pink. She is why I want to be a fearless friend for all those with metastatic breast cancer. I love being NED and thank God every day for that and good health. I want to be a part of the breast cancer discourse which sees us providing support to those with metastatic disease and abandoning awareness for the sake of awareness and the trivialization of a deadly disease.
My mother was more than a statistic. She was a daughter, a sister, a cousin, a friend, a wife, a mother, a devout Catholic, an aunt, a social worker, a student…. She had a great life, and metastatic breast cancer was what killed her, not who she was. I don’t remember my mother, but I’ll never stop wanting to make her proud.
Get Up Swinging 
There is no doubt in my mind that you would make your mother proud daily. You speak your truth, you challenge conventional wisdom, you ask the hard questions and you come with passion. I am so very grateful to count you among us!!!
It breaks my heart that you don’t remember your mother in the physical sense. However, of course, this doesn’t stop you from remembering her in so many other ways, and this remembering is part of what drives you today. I understand and I’m grateful for your deep commitment. Thank you for being part of the mission to keep metastatic disease in the forefront of the breast cancer conversation. And like Lori said, I think you’re mother would be very proud indeed. Thanks for sharing the photos too. The faces behind the numbers are real. xxxx
My mom died in 1983–she had inflammatory breast cancer. I was diagnosed with MBC in 2009. I hope I am the only one in my generation to get this disease–I hope siblings children never have to see an oncologist. http://animoto.com/play/ewDt3xnaGKA9V9B53uDwmA
I don’t have any children, but my two brothers have children. My one brother has three daughters, who I love like they are my own children. Probably the closest I’ll come to children. I pray that they never ever have to deal with this awful disease like their aunt and grandmother has.
So sad that you do not remember your mother. My dad lost his mother when he was four to a sudden illness, and had very few memories of her. Told me once it was like there was a hole, something missing.
Like you, I have breast cancer in my family. My maternal grandmother died when I was a girl from metastatic breast cancer. My mother had early stage that never returned, and I am metastatic. I have children, two of them daughters. More than for myself, I want a cure for their sakes, so they will never go through this.
I cannot think of a more fitting tribute to your mother than to advocate for those with metastatic breast cancer. Like your mother, none of us is a statistic. Thank you.
❤
I agree that your mother would be so very proud of you Lara, thank you for your passionate strong voice… I’m the first in my family to have breast cancer, that we know of. I’m metastatic, a mother of three grown boys, and an aunt who feels much like my niece and nephew’s second mother… my hope is for a future without children losing their mothers to MBC, without a mother fearing their children will feel chemo in their veins.
Lara, there is no doubt that your commitment to advocacy, your passion, your desire to speak the truth so others will know they are not alone has and continues to make your Mother proud. even though you don’t remember her, what you do on her behalf to assure she is not just a statistic but is remembered as the person she was to so many, is an on-going tribute to her. love, xoxo, karen