We Will Survive

Therafit is a woman-run company. 1 in 8 women is expected to receive a diagnosis during the course of her lifetime.

We are women. 

We have mothers, daughters, sisters, cousins – some of which have had to battle this disease. We care because we’ve been affected. October marks Breast Cancer Awareness month – Therafit’s participated in research funding walks (like Glamathon!) and is committed to helping end the disease that has helped end many of the lives of our loved ones.

This month, get 10% off The Pink Collection, and 10% goes to help fund the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Everyone agrees that breast cancer sucks, but we decided to compile a list of celebrities who have survived this disease, and have come out stronger because of it. As constant faces in the media, they bring light to what many women are forced to deal with around the world. They inspire us, so we thought maybe they’d inspire you, too. 

Singer Sheryl Crow was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006 and, thanks to early detection, underwent a minimally invasive surgery and seven weeks of radiation therapy.

Crow told Health magazine that she saw a nutritionist when she was first diagnosed and began a diet full of fish, walnuts, colorful vegetables, fiber and healthy spices.

"I kept my breast cancer tattoos -- where the radiation was lined up on my chest," Crow told Health. "Once in a while I look at it to remind myself that I have to put on my oxygen mask first before I put it on anybody else." 

Australian singer Kylie minogue was first diagnosed with breast cancer in May 2005 and underwent surgery and chemotherapy treatment.

"When you are stripped of everything and you have to grow your eyelashes back, grow your hair back, it's just astonishing," Minogue told BritishGlamour magazine. "It's hard to express what I've learned from that, but a deep psychological and emotional shift has obviously taken place."

The Emmy Award-winning comedian Wanda Sykes revealed the news during an interview on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show” – the discovery came after a recent breast reduction surgery.

After speaking with doctors, Sykes' decided to have a bilateral mastectomy, considering she's a pretty busy woman. 

"I had the choice of, you can go back every three months and get it checked. Have a mammogram, MRI every three months just to see what it's doing. But I'm not good at keeping on top of stuff. I'm sure I’m overdue for an oil change and a teeth cleaning already ... To have a bilateral mastectomy, I had both breasts removed ... because now I have zero chance of having breast cancer.
It sounds scary up front, but what do you want? Do you want to wait and not be as fortunate when it comes back and it's too late"

Sykes said discussing her health issues in public was something she weighed carefully, and in her trademark humor - 

"I was like, 'I don't know, should I talk about it or what?' How many things could I have? I'm black, then lesbian. I can't be the poster child for everything ... At least with the LGBT issues we get a parade, we get a float, it's a party. [But] I was real hesitant about doing this, because I hate walking. I got a lot of [cancer] walks coming up." 

Actress Christina Applegate opted for a bilateral mastectomy instead of radiation or chemotherapy, when she found out that she had breast cancer.

"I didn't want to go back to the doctors every four months for testing and squishing and everything. I just wanted to kind of get rid of this whole thing for me. This was the choice that I made and it was a tough one," she said in the interview. "Sometimes, you know, I cry. And sometimes I scream. And I get really angry. And I get really upset, you know, into wallowing in self-pity sometimes. And I think that it's all part of the healing.

Her biggest healer? Sadie, her almost 3 -year old daughter. "She's healed me in so many ways. She's just made my life so much better. I've been kind of sad for a long time, and she's just opened my whole soul," Applegate told People Magazine iin 2011. 

In 2008, "Sex and the City" star Cynthia Nixon went public with her cancer diagnosis, revealing that she found a lump in its early stages and had it removed through radiation, Nixon wrote in a 2008 Newsweek article that her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer twice -- the first time, Nixon was just 13.

"I feel like I have a very concrete story to tell. My story isn't just my story, it's mine and my mother's story," the Susan G. Komen for the Cure spokesperson has said.

In 2005, rock-and-roll artist Melissa Etheridge underwent a lumpectomy and five rounds of chemotherapy and radiation to eradicate her breast cancer.

"I had been running along in my life at a fast pace. When I heard it was cancer, I just stood still," Etheridge told Shape Magazine in a 2009 interview. "My life passed over me like a big wave, and after, I was left there standing.

This turned out to be a very good thing. I stopped. I looked at my life, I looked at my body and spirit."

In the midst of her treatment, Etheridge found out she was nominated for a Grammy for her song "Breathe" -- and while she wasn't sure she'd make an appearance at first, Etheridge ultimately decided not only to attend, but to perform in a Janis Joplin tribute. She proudly took the stage, bald and with no eyebrows from the chemo, and belted out joplin's, "Piece Of My Heart."

"It was very special that I had been presented with a day, that I could come back into this entertainment world, and show everyone that you are back and okay, and thought, okay," Etheridge told MSNBC at the time. "I'm going to do this. And I'm not gonna be afraid of the truth. The truth is, yes I had cancer. Yes, I got it out of me. Yes, I went through chemotherapy. Yes, I'm bald."

 In 1992 - and the same weekend her father died from liver cancer - Grease star Olivia Newton-John was diagnosed with breast cancer. She said: "For a few weeks my world was in turmoil, but then I calmed down and started to fight back mentally. Deep down, there was always a tiny nugget of hope inside me that said 'You'll be okay. You'll make it', and that little voice kept me going." She had a mastectomy after being diagnosed, and has remained cancer free since. 

The Good Morning America anchor Robin Roberts announced on the show in 2007 that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer, and publicly chronicled her experience on the show, shocking viewers when she stopped wearing a wig to hide her hair loss while undergoing chemotherapy. Her breast cancer has since gone into remission, and she's remained an awareness activist.

Check out the retrospective video ESPN a made for the inspiring woman (narrated by Tom Cruise!) who also received the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the 2013 ESPYS - here. 
 

 

Make Your Whole Body Happy - again, check your breasts! Early detection is key. RELAX a little, stress is the worst. And of course, remember to smile that brilliant smile. Each day is a gorgeously wrapped gift sent especially to us.