I started 2021 with dry January and kept on going…all the way to December 8th, when I enjoyed a couple of Smirnoff Ice with colleagues at our Christmas social, but with no plans to drink again in the near future. I’m not looking for any accolades because to be honest, it wasn’t hard. I’ve never […] Read more…
Exercise has a huge impact on both my physical and mental health. I’ve taken a brisk walk almost every day for the last 16 years (at my treadmill desk, around my classroom or school gym or outside strictly between the months of June and September), which works well for me. I also know, however, especially […] Read more…
If you follow me on social media, you have likely seen that I am the proud signatory for this year’s Ross Memorial Hospital Foundation holiday fundraising campaign, Make This Your Moment, with the hopes of raising money for a new MRI. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kate Winn (@katethismomloves) […] Read more…
(See bottom of this post for links to each instalment of my breast cancer story – currently a 15 part series.) While breast cancer “awareness” in October is great, I agree with a line I read somewhere recently: “There are probably six people left in the country who aren’t aware of breast cancer”. Instead of […] Read more…
I absolutely loved Jessica Lahey’s first book The Gift of Failure (I consider it a must-read for parents, and even had her on the podcast to talk about it) so I was really excited to dive into her latest, The Addiction Inoculation: Raising Healthy Kids in a Culture of Dependence. Thankfully, it did not disappoint! […] Read more…
Cancer is a physically demanding disease, but the mental health component should not be underestimated. From the testing to the diagnosis through the treatments and living a life post-active cancer, thoughts and emotions are in a tailspin. Months ago I shared a post about how my faith was helping to get me through. I won’t […] Read more…
The radiation phase of my breast cancer treatment is officially behind me! First, a recap from Instagram: View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kate Winn (@katethismomloves) The 20 sessions (16 to the full area and 4 “boosts” to the area of the tumour) went by fairly quickly and pretty uneventfully […] Read more…
When someone we care about is going through a challenge like cancer, we want to do something (thus the oft-offered: “let me know if there’s anything I can do!”)….but what? I’ve said right from the start that the emails, texts and social media messages showing support are incredibly valuable, especially when there is no pressure […] Read more…
Since being diagnosed with breast cancer in November 2020, I’ve don a ton of reading and come across some interesting cancer controversies that I didn’t know much about before: battle terminology, pinkwashing and whether or not early detection saves lives. Since I’m no expert I’ll just share the broad strokes of each, along with my […] Read more…
Have I mentioned that I don’t like waiting? It’s been a while since I’ve shared an update because there has been nothing to share until now! One day this week I posted to Facebook to let everyone know how things were going, and here’s what I said: ********** Oh, the waiting is hard. I […] Read more…