I started my quest to find the cause of my elevated estrogen levels by looking into the products that I was using. Everything from shampoo, conditioner, bath soap, lotion, deodorant, toothpaste, nail polish, sunscreen, skincare, and makeup had “endocrine disruptors” – ingredients that have been found to interfere with the endocrine system. I was appalled!
I believe prevention protects our loved ones. I think of the many women firefighters in the past and present who have had to face their challenges and hardships with breast cancer. I lost my Aunt Paula when she was 50 years old and two more dear-to-my-heart firefighters, Alyson and Denise. They will be with me always.
For me, that climb was the ultimate evidence of the quote, “while I had cancer, it didn’t have me.” I was 53, had never seen a 14,179 foot mountain, never mind climb one and yet in June of 2009, four years after my initial diagnosis, I stood on the summit of Mount Shasta in northern California and soaked in the glorious moments of pure joy, of pure living.
