Sana Sana

“But it was worth it, right?”  That’s what my doctor asked me after reviewing every cancer treatment my body and I have been through for the last 10 years. Cancer treatment can be brutal, and the medication that was prescribed to me can come with lasting side effects. Which is why the question caught me off guard. He was my doctor. He was supposed to know how brutal this could be for me as a cance...

What happens to your marriage, sex life, and intimacy when cancer or menopause changes your body, your hormones, and the way you feel about yourself? We talk about surviving cancer. We talk about menopause. But we don't talk nearly enough about what happens afterward, especially when it comes to our relationships, sexuality, and sense of identity. In Episode 56 of Life & Love by Design , I...

If you’ve ever been dismissed, ignored, or told you were exaggerating your very real symptoms, you have experienced medical gaslighting. You went to seek help, and being brushed off like this feels like a betrayal, because it is. But you don’t have to take it. There are steps you can take to make sure your voice is heard in your doctor's office.  Brenda Diaz is a first-generation Latina, macro...

I couldn’t get out of bed a few weeks ago. I called out of work, which I NEVER do, and slept in until 3 am. It was so out of character for me that it scared my husband. But I knew I needed that day to just rest and sit in my grief so that I could go to the outing that I organized later that night.  Grief looks different for everyone, including me. I am cancer-free; it’s been years since I was diag...

You need a pack that’s got your back! Seriously, community made the biggest difference in every cancer survivor's recovery journey. No one can get through cancer treatment or recovery alone, which is why Rosemary founded a company that provides community for those who need it the most.  In 2018, Rosemary Carrera was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer. Eight months before, she and her husband...

My mom actually yelled at me when I started working out during my cancer recovery. Maybe "yelled" is a strong word, but she said some very strong things to me, telling me I had to take this time to rest and recover. And while recovery is an important part of treatment, so was the need to take back control of my own body. Exercising was the only thing that helped me do that, so I want to share my s...

Sacrifice is a large, and often devastating, part of Latino culture. Our parents and our grandparents have sacrificed so much to give us the life that they never had. That sacrifice includes giving up on their dreams to give us stable lives. But I think we’re finally at the point where we can take a risk rather than settle down with stability.  My father carried around his dream in his briefcase e...

My hermansas showed up for me during the hardest part of my life. Being diagnosed, going through chemo, and building my body back up made me sink so deeply into myself that I felt so alone. Until they made me realize that I wasn’t. The women who showed up for me didn’t just wish me well. They held prayer circles, brought food, ran marathons with me, and so much more. They were THERE for me, making...

Telling your kids about your cancer diagnosis will be hard. At least, it was for me. I didn’t know what to do or what the right thing to say was. I just sat them down individually - there are five of them - with my husband and spoke from the heart.  This conversation is not going to be easy for you. I should know; I had five different conversations for five different kids. They were all varying ag...

Cancer and cancer treatment can take so much from you. For me, it took my ability to feel strong. I’ve always cared about my health, but after I was diagnosed, I was completely lost. I didn’t feel strong, I went through chemical menopause, and I didn’t necessarily want to prioritize losing weight. So I ended up looking for experts. And one of those experts happened to be my son!!  Will "Billy...

I think all cancer survivors wait for the other shoe to drop. We’re not being morbid; we’ve seen it happen to our friends, family, and acquaintances. It is a possibility that the cancer could come back. And the waiting game, hoping it never happens again but terrified of the possibility that it could happen again, is a drain on the soul.  I never got cancer again, even though we found a bump and I...

Have you ever thought about what your caretaker must be going through? Chances are that yes, you have. But your diagnosis is so overwhelming that you both decided to fall into a new routine. You both establish a new normal to keep the faith that you'll both come out of this ok.  But that doesn’t mean that you, as the patient, don't care about your caregiver. Whether that person is your spo...

The stories we tell ourselves have the power to shape our lives. But not every story we tell ourselves, about ourselves, is true. So where did they come from? And why are we still listening to them?   I was told that I was not a good gardener and that I can’t be an entrepreneur. The funny thing is, I don’t remember who told me this! Maybe I killed a plant, or I seemed happy being an employee, but...

I have a client who reached out to me because she knew she wasn’t feeling her feelings. At first, she felt distant from her feelings, like she couldn’t access them. Then they all bubbled up out of nowhere! This client came to me because she wanted help processing these feelings in a healthy way. I’m glad she came to me. I have tons of experience working through repressed emotions, both as a coach...

Body neutrality is a concept I bring up to my cancer recovery clients so that they have some peace during such a difficult time. Loving our bodies - as Latinas, as women, and as cancer survivors - is a hard thing to wrap our heads around. Too much has happened, and some days we feel too battered and bruised to really align with the word “love.” But not loving our bodies doesn’t mean we have to hat...

I am used to living a fast-paced lifestyle. Every single thing on my to-do list was getting done, no matter what. And cancer ruined that for me, in more ways than one. Besides the obvious, cancer and chemo treatment were overwhelming. They slowed me down and took away the natural rhythm of my life that I was so accustomed to. I needed to get back to my life. I needed to feel like myself again, and...

Setting boundaries was the best thing I could do for myself during my cancer treatment. Setting boundaries for me meant that I didn’t overextend myself during treatment. It allowed me to have the peace of mind I needed to get better.  But, for Latina women, trying to set boundaries with their families can sound like, “I hate you, and your love, and all your new treatment ideas.” Which is not what...

When was the last time you talked back to a doctor? I KNOW! It sounds almost sacrilegious to question a doctor. But what if I told you that you had to do it to get the best possible treatment?  As a cancer survivor and a coach, I see so many other cancer survivors bite their tongues about wanting a second opinion or wanting to eat their cultural foods. Nevertheless, it’s time to start honoring you...

What does a life of service look like to you? For many of us in the Latina community, it means giving up everything we are for the good of others. That can mean burning yourself out, ignoring your health, and giving up your personal dreams to take care of others. We were taught that that is a very noble way of living. But in actuality, it’s causing us unnecessary harm.  You don’t need to choose be...

“A depleted woman cannot pour from an empty cup.”  That is the lesson I had to learn during my cancer treatment. Even before I got my cancer diagnosis, I was depleted, and I didn’t have anything left to give. I needed to learn how to depend on myself. And those are two totally different things.  I knew that I could run myself ragged taking care of everyone else. All the chores could be done, and e...

Identity work is a huge part of my coaching program because of how much it affects my clients. The hospital typically handles all aspects of your physical treatment. But there’s no treatment plan for how cancer affects your inner self. There definitely wasn’t one when I was diagnosed! Which is why I made one for survivors who need it and perfected it over the last few years.  Cancer doesn’t care i...

I learned so many life lessons during my cancer diagnosis, treatment, and recovery. It was as if my way of life was split in two parts, before my diagnosis and every moment after. I had to adapt, and to adapt, I had to learn and change.  Which wasn’t easy for me. I was used to being the strong one, the one who never needed any help, the one who could actually put everything on my plate down to hel...

Inner strength and faith go hand in hand for me. I was raised Catholic, and I strengthened my relationship with God as I got older. And, throughout my life, I had to lean on my own inner strength to get through the day. They worked together to keep me focused and keep me moving forward, even when I was exhausted.  But both my inner strength and my faith were called into question when I was diagnos...

I didn’t get what I needed, so I created it myself. Surviving cancer was a bigger healing process than I ever thought it would be. My doctors were focused on the external healing - healing my body. Which is important! I need this body to live! And I wanted to live, so they provided me with everything I needed medically to survive.  But nobody in the medical team helped me through the internal heal...

Being The Strong One was a waste of time. All the love and care I had for my family could still be expressed if I also took care of myself. It didn’t need to be one or the other, even though it felt that way at the time.  But culturally and socially, Latinas are raised to put the needs of others before their own. Everyone else’s needs were at the top of my to-do list. Which meant a routine check-u...