We Remember
Each October, Our MBC Life marks Breast Cancer Awareness month with a special episode dedicated to all those who died from metastatic breast cancer over the past year.
To live with your own diagnosis or to be a loved one, caregiver, or friend of someone with MBC is to inhabit a community of loss. Every day, we confront the reality of mortality and struggle to balance fear with hope, and sorrow with joy. “We Remember” is OMBCL’s opportunity to give voice to the profound grief we share and to honor and celebrate each person we’ve lost. It’s a chance to express our gratitude for the extraordinary and unique ways they made our lives richer and our often collective grief over their loss.
We invite you to bear witness with us to this outpouring of love for those lost to MBC over the last year. Above all, may you find the space and tools to tend to your grief as you continue to love and honor those lost.
Episode Notes
Living with Grief
Candle Ritual for remembering friends written by Sherry L. Williams; modified for MBC by Karen Whitehead, LCSW
MBC Grieving Together – Facebook page dedicated to sharing our grief over lost friends
Finding a grief therapist
Psychology Today has a therapist search engine where you search first by zip code and then use filters to narrow your search by insurance, the type of therapy you are interested in (and “grief” and “chronic illness” are selections you can check), along with many other options. Pro tip: you are looking for grief to be a top focus – be wary of therapists who have a laundry list of topics they “specialize” in.
We remember:
Frida Pineda Alvear
Baddie 2 Baddie: Love and Legacy: Carlo & Frida Alvear (For the Breast of Us, 2024)
In memory of Frida Alvear (Lion-ess Retreat, 2024)
Kim Angell
Ladysmith cancer fighter urges more support for terminal patients (chek news, 2023)
I am the fight (Vancouver Island Free Daily, 2019)
Angela ‘Jersi’ Baker
Interview with Jersi (mbcbrainmets.org, 2024)
Jersi’s story (Tigerlily Foundation)
Women of color with breast cancer advocate for a change (video, Patient Power, 2020)
Michelle Barett Gower
Living with Metastatic Breast Cancer with Michelle Barrett Gower (The Care Project podcast, 2023)
Gina Bertin
Denise Bolster
Breast cancer survivor Denise Bolster says life and relationships are the most important things in our journey (Texarkana Gazette, 2021)
MJ Borelli
Shelf Life, MJ’s collection of poetry
Getting “science-driven” care for metastatic breast cancer (LBBC, 2023)
Laura Bowers
In Memoriam: Laura Bowers, Passionate Researcher & MBC Advocate (MBC Alliance, 2024)
Laura Bowers: Cancer Disruptor (The Scientist, 2019)
Ann Camden
Blog: Down. Not Out
Ask Me Ann’s meditation on friends who died of MBC
Final Affairs (Brevity Magazine, Fall 2023)
Shannen Dohtery
Shannen Doherty Health Update: Everything To Know About Her Breast Cancer Journey (Women’s Health, 2024)
Shannen Doherty’s Final Act Was a Podcast That Put It All Out There (NY Times, 2024)
Ann Fonfa
Unforgettable SurThrivor®: Remembering Ann Fonfa (The Pink Fund, 2024)
Erika Guerrero
Diagnosed at age 29 with triple negative breast cancer (TikTok, 2022)
Talks about metastatic diagnosis at age 30 (TikTok, 2023)
Natalia Green
MBC & Latinx Issues (Our MBC Life, 2022)
Beth Harvey
Living Alone with MBC (Our MBC Life podcast, Spring 2023)
Marietta ‘one-stop-shop’ serves breast cancer survivors from wigs to bras (video, Atlanta News First, 2023)
Nancy Herard-Marshall
In Memoriam: Nancy Herard-Marshall, a Vibrant Voice for Equity & Healing (MBC Alliance, 2024)
Nancy Herard-Marshall, Patient Advocate; Dance/Movement Therapist (LBBC, 2024)
Lori Holmes
Sheila Marie Johnson
God’s Grace: The Sheila Johnson Story (film)
A Survivor's Lens: A Metastatic Breast Cancer Survivor’s Focus on Faith and God’s Word (memoir)
Wildfire Magazine, In honor of Sheila Marie Johnson
‘Living angels’ Brooke Jones and Jill Levine feed front-line workers
Brooke was a supporter of World of Pink Foundation
Aracelli Lopez
Rachael Lillis
Rachael Lillis, Who Voiced Popular ‘Pokémon’ Characters, Dies at 55 (New York Times, 2024)
Rachael Lillis, ‘Pokémon’ Star Who Voiced Misty and Jessie, Dies at 55 (Variety, 2024)
Deborah Maffe O’Leary
Gwen Manchion
Video on Gwen’s brain mets story and advocacy (mbcbrainmets.org, 2023)
Understanding the Role of Diagnostic Imaging in Breast Care (Susan G. Komen Real Pink, 2023)
International symposium focuses on lobular breast cancer (Fred Hutch Cancer Center, 2023)
Sara Mandel
Sarah Mandel, Therapist Who Told Her ‘Trauma Narrative,’ Dies at 42 (New York Times, 2024)
Little Earthquakes: Interview with Sarah Mandel (Our MBC Life podcast, 2023)
Marlena Murphy
Remembering & Celebrating Marlena Murphy (The Light Collective, 2024)
Mending the mind after cancer (Cure Magazine, 2024)
The Path to Purpose: Marlena Murphy Finds Meaning in the Challenges (National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship, 2023)
Marlena’s Breast Cancer Story: Strengthening Family Ties and Pursuing Her Purpose (Winship Cancer Institute, 2022)
Leila Saxby Ross
Katie Thielens
Eboney Thompson
Cancer Helped Me Encourage Others to Advocate for Their Health (bezzy bc, 2022)
For the Breast of Us Ambassador Inspires Women of Color Battling Cancer (LA Sentinel, 2022)
