Nice to meet you, I'm MELINDA

About me

Until my cancer diagnosis in 2019, I was a fairly private person. Initially when I was diagnosed, I was so afraid to share what was happening. The fear of what other people would think was overwhelming. To be honest, I have always been way too worried about other people's opinions of me. I imagined that people would think less of me, see me as weak, and no longer see me... for me. I soon began to share more and more, and quickly found strength and solace in vulnerability and the ability to reach others going through a similar situation. Soon, I realized that there are a lot of things people don't talk enough about, and that there is so much value in our shared experiences. Now I describe myself as an over-sharer, both in person and online.

It has now been five years since my diagnosis and I am 33 years old, located in Southern California. I am married to my best friend who keeps me laughing 24/7 and am a mom to two beautiful little girls Olivia (age 7) and Emelia (age 5) and our latest addition, our son Liam. I have been a Registered Nurse for 10 years, having worked in ICU, Pre-op/post-op and Cardiac Rehabilitation. I believe that being a nurse brought a unique perspective to being a cancer patient, and being a cancer patient has brought me to have a unique perspective as a nurse.

I am at a point in my life where I feel like I have done SO much growth, but I know I am only scratching the surface and have to much more to grow. My hope in publishing this blog is to help as many people as I possibly can to feel less alone and share what has helped me heal and grow through the hardest times in my life and to be real about what I still need some healing from.