Hi, Im Cathy Williamson and curator of The Middle Page Blog and I am so flattered that SheShe asked me to write a post for her blog. What is it about me that warranted a post for her blog? I am an over fifty fashion blogger, which makes sense but, during October, I am a warrior on a mission. You see, one of the biggest gifts I’ve been given was in the form of breast cancer so that I could make sure that you are aware. My hope is to make sure that each one of you will be serious about checking yourselves regularly.
I never really thought about breast cancer. Honestly, the one I worried about was colon cancer. My mom and my maternal grandmother never had breast cancer, and I have horrible IBS, so my thoughts went that way. Three years ago, I would get a diagnosis that would change my world.
I went in for my annual mammogram and left the screening feeling the way I always did, not worried. I got a phone call two days later to come back for more imaging, still not worried. What looked like a calcification (the older you get, the more of these that come about) would ultimately prove to be a malignant tumor. Now, I became what I thought would never happen to me….a cancer patient. It was a whirlwind two weeks after finding out, that I went in for a double mastectomy. What I learned two weeks after the surgery was that not all breast cancers are equal.
I learned that I had a form of breast cancer called Triple Negative. Triple Negative is negative for the three receptors that make up most breast cancers (estrogen, progesterone, and Her2). Hi also means that it is a very aggressive form. Only 12-15% of all breast cancers are Triple Negative. In my opinion, after learning much about this type, I think it is environmentally induced. I also learned, that this type of breast cancer does NOT discriminate in age (I was on the older side to be diagnosed at age 53). Most women being diagnosed are in their 3o’s and 40’s, and some even in their 20’s. I tell you all of this because we all have daughters, granddaughters, nieces, God daughters, or some young friends in our lives. Please let them know about this.
Triple Negative is so aggressive that Chemotherapy is really the only option to combat this disease. For some reason, it works very well on Triple Negative cells. Of course, the earlier it’s caught the better. I was very lucky that mine was caught in its early stages, and therefore I am here to beg you to please check yourselves and keep your yearly gynecological appointments.
If caught early, breast cancer is treatable. I am living proof of this. Maybe this is why it happened, so that I could tell you. Honestly, I wouldn’t change any of it. It’s been more like an opportunity and I look at it that way! My hope is that one day this horrible disease will be eradicated.
Thank you so much for reading this post and thank you SheShe for being the sweetest friend!
Hair after Chemo (blow)
Wonderful wigs that helped me through the hair loss. (below)
Thankfully back to normal! (below)
How beautiful is my friend Cathy? Not only is she drop dead gorgeous at 56 years old but she is as beautiful on the inside as well. It was truly a God thing that she is alive today and our friendship continues to grow.
A little over 2 years ago I reached out to Cathy because I had heard that she was a fashion blogger from Dallas and was closer to my age. I really needed to network with like girls and there was just no one in Houston to connect with. What I didn’t know that she was in the last stages of her chemo treatment so I got her whole story. She was so sweet to share information with me about the blogger world even though she was struggling with so much in her personal life. Because of Instagram and her blog I was able to follow her journey and stay in touch periodically. She was also on my prayer list.
Isn’t it crazy how we gravitate to certain people in our lives? Well, Cathy and I sort of connected right off the bat. I will never forget when we first met. We were in New York City in September 2015 attending a party sponsored by our publisher/advertiser affiliate RewardStyle. We had emailed for a few months but it was so cool when we got to hug in person. Cathy had be given a clean bill of health. Praise God!!!!
After that meeting we had the opportunity to hang out some more at our RewardStyle blogger conference in April 2016. That was so much fun to be with ladies in my age group for 3 days of classes, eating, drinking, shopping and taking photos. We were another step towards firming up the foundation of our growing friendship.
By the end of the summer I was thinking that a group of us should take a trip to LA to see some clients, take some photos and have some girl fun. It ended up that we all ended up in New York Fashion Week back in September. Cathy said that she would be my roommate since I didn’t know the other girls as well. That was it!! Whether she likes it or not, we are friends for life!!! We shared our family lives, fashion tips, quirks, laughed a lot, talked about our businesses and took care of each other, just like girlfriends do. Thank you Jesus for this blessing!
I hope you have enjoyed my Wednesday Woman Crush. I truly do have a crush on Cathy Williamson!. To follow her just go to The Middle Page Blog. I know that you will enjoy getting to know her too!
SHESHE’S TIDBITS
- We just filmed our first video for our YouTube show. We need to do some editing and then it will be live. I will let you know. The topic is accessories/earrings. No surprise here since accessories is my favorite part of fashion.
- I just got my braces off my teeth today after 2 and 1/2 years. It feels like an ice skating rink on my teeth. I am one happy camper. If any of you have been thinking about correcting your teeth then just let me know. I can give you the inside scoop for sure.
- As always, thank you for stopping by. We have a lot of great content coming up through the end of the year. If you subscribe then it makes it easy to see what is happening here on SheShe Show!
