Long Winded

Jason's aunt Colleen is a genius and suggested that I write to Ellen, you know, that Ellen, to see if she'd be willing to help out with my pajama project (ohhh boy, let's call it the Pajama Project! I'm seeing logos flash in my head!).  Of course!  Ellen helps so many people, and this could be a way for her to really make an impact.  I wrote up a page and a half explaining my story and how much I love the pajamas and why everyone having a mastectomy should own their own pair.  Then I realized I had to stay within 1,500 characters.  Wom womp.  I whittled and deleted, bringing what was originally well over 4,000 characters down to the 1,500 requirement, on the nose.  Here's what I submitted:

On 6/14/13 at the ripe age of 28, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I had a bilateral mastectomy soon after, and during my recovery was given a Victoria’s Secret Supersoft Short PJ Set. I was preaching about how much I love them day in and out when it occurred to me that I needed to do more. I had an idea to gift a pair of these pajamas to every woman going through a mastectomy. Sadly it’d be a lot of pajamas and I’m not Scrooge McDuck with a vault filled with gold coins, so being a part of the social media world we live in, I reached out. I wrote a review on the VS website (by Cassie61413 on 8/12/13 – check it out!) hoping to give a gentle “hint hint.” I also submitted a short essay to Fab-U-Wish through BrightPink.org, acknowledging the fact that we’d need some collaboration between multiple, huge organizations to make something so big happen.

So far I’ve heard nothing, and that’s where you come in (third time’s a charm, right?). I’ve seen you and your sponsors give out some pretty hefty checks to very deserving people. As someone who has been through it herself, I believe that anyone having a mastectomy, single or double, is more than deserving of a little comfort. Is it at all possible that you would be willing to be the bridge between the Victoria’s Secret pajamas and patients as they leave the hospital? I know this is such a major request and it will involve many moving parts, but how worth it if even one person feels the comfort I felt? Thanks for your consideration!

I really do hope that the third time is a charm and she's interested in this project!  

My Essay

Taking Dana's advice from the other night, I submitted a short essay to Fab-U-Wish. I was only able to write 150 words (super limiting the way I tend to ramble on sometimes) but I gave it my best shot:

    "In the first few days at home after my bilateral mastectomy, there’s nothing I could do to get comfortable.  My brain was fuzzy from pain meds, I had yucky drain tubes coming out of me and fresh wounds on a very sensitive part of my body.  The only way I was remotely close to feeling comfortable was walking around topless (not great in front of visitors); that is, until I was gifted Victoria’s Secret Supersoft Short PJ Set.

    I don’t need anything, so my wish is that every woman having a mastectomy could have a pair of her own. It’s a BIG wish and it’ll take some thought, collaboration and generosity.  Ideally, we could somehow get VS to pair up with the Bright Pink, the American Cancer Society and/or Susan G. Komen to gift these to women before they leave the hospital. Comfort for all! #JustThinkAboutIt #Philanthropy #Survivors"

Hopefully it's a start!

Focus

My goal with this blog from the beginning was to share my story, hoping that it would help other women in their late 20's cope with situations, feelings and decisions we're not supposed to be coping with at this age.  I feel like I've lost focus a little and I've not been keeping up with my writing as much as I had hoped to.

To start fresh after almost an entire week of not posting, I have an idea I want to put out there. An idea that I know could potentially help hundreds, maybe even thousands of young women going through what I've gone through over the last couple months.  It's an idea that definitely needs more thought, and maybe even help from others (for sure from a few huge organizations).  Please feel free to leave comments, suggestions, tips, contact information, etc if you think you can help.

Cutting to the chase (you're probably thinking, good LORD this girl is dragging on); I received a pair of these Victoria's Secret pajamas as a gift from my lovely friends Julie & Josh and basically lived in them the first couple of weeks after my surgery.  I loved them so much, I bought a pair for a family friend who had her own bilateral mastectomy a few weeks after mine.  I raved about them to my sister and because of my recommendation, she bought a pair for a client of hers who also had a mastectomy (way too many women dealing with breast cancer for one paragraph, by the way).  The pajamas are amazing, and I'm not just saying that as someone recovering from surgery; I'm sure any lady would be comfortable in them!

I've already written a raving review about these on the Victoria's Secret website (I don't see it, or any other product reviews on their website.  I hope it wasn't just for their R&D team...), but I think it'd be awesome if we could somehow get Victoria's Secret to pair up with the American Cancer Society, or Susan G. Komen to get a pair of these into the hands of every woman having a mastectomy. I plan to mention the pajamas on social media, making sure to tag the above organizations, but I need to do more. What else can I do to make this idea a reality?