General Medical · Lifestyle

Trust Me: This Year I’m Aware

By O'Brien Kathleen
My sister asked me an interesting question recently: Should she think of me as someone who has cancer, or as someone who had cancer? It’s a big distinction, one that will be on my mind during National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. (Trust me, this year I’m aware.) I’ve even found myself dragged into little debates about it. My feeling is this: Why would I be…
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General Medical

My new mantra: Baldness means it’s working

By O'Brien Kathleen
When my mammogram turned up a highly suspicious mass this past May, one of my first (irrational) thoughts was, “But you don’t understand! I don’t have the cheekbones to pull off the Jaunty Headscarf stage!” Cheekbones or not, here I go. As of yesterday, I share a hair style with Lance Armstrong. For him, a quarter-inch buzz cut may help…
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General Medical

I Love Men, And My Plastic Surgeon

By O'Brien Kathleen
Kathleen O’Brien has been a journalist for three decades. Her long-running column for the Newark Star Ledger “looks at life from the kaleidoscopic perspective of wife, mother, taxpayer, commuter and worker bee.” But this year, O’Brien began a different sort of commute: a journey through breast cancer. WVFC is honored to share some of O’Brien’s Ledger blog about her experiences, …
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General Medical · Lifestyle

Kathleen O’Brien: With Cancer, Some Days You’re Lady Liberty, and On Others….

By O'Brien Kathleen
Kathleen O’Brien has been a journalist for three decades. Her long-running column for the Newark Star Ledger “looks at life from the kaleidoscopic perspective of wife, mother, taxpayer, commuter and worker bee.” But this year, O’Brien began a different sort of commute. Her blog about her journey through breast cancer, entitled “We’ll Know More on Monday,”  began last week  —…
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