“Draw a crazy picture,
Write a nutty poem,
Sing a mumble-gumble song,
Whistle through your comb.
Do a loony-goony dance
'Cross the kitchen floor,
Put something silly in the world
That ain't been there before.”
― Shel Silverstein
A piece about declaring love and respect for myself and this body, right here and now. Let it be known and repeated over and over:
“You’re so deserving.”
Performance from @wisefruitnyc 9.0!
THANK YOU:
@brindaguha for the opportunity to make a difference doing what I love!
@elodiedufroux& @michaela_catherine for bringing my moves to life!
to all my friends and Cal Bears in the audience! I felt so supported and loved!!
I am so inspired by this woman’s brilliant leadership, courageous ideas, and loving spirit.
hero - def. an ordinary person facing extraordinary circumstances, and acting with courage, honor, and self-sacrifice.
This woman is a hero.
Dr. Azra Raza is type of hero that that makes it her personal mission to leave this world in a better place than how she found it. As an oncologist and cancer researcher, she is bold, creative, humble, and most importantly, passionate as HELL to find an end to cancer. I am in awe of her achievements (she is so so smart), her innovative ideas for early detection (for example- what if we had blankets and bras that could detect cancer before a tumor forms?!), and her grit to keep going over the years despite facing countless setbacks (just watch her TED talk... this is one incredible woman).
She inspires me to make it MY life mission to find a cure for cancer in THIS LIFETIME. I believe and have hope we can do it... especially with Dr. Raza leading the pack! Thank you, Universe, for bringing this super hero into my life when I needed her most. I can’t believe I took a selfie with you. 😲 (don’t mind me... just fan-girling over here.)
Hello friends & family!
I created something special with the wonderful @buzzaproductions, and I am so excited to premiere it on my “Cancerpalooza Day” — June 6th— the day I was sent on this monstrous, ambitious, and magnificent journey of self-discovery to self-healing. This year, I am celebrating… believe it or not, my 13th year thriving with cancer.
Through this piece, I wanted to authentically capture and celebrate this magical vessel of mine- this meat-covered skeleton made of stardust! This dancing body and I have undergone so many changes on this epic journey of healing, and so I wanted to do something to celebrate it.
I have been on a mission to cure myself of cancer the past 11 months- through the use of the ketogenic diet and changing my lifestyle. Kinda looks like this: More sleep. Stressing less. Eating avocados. Walking with Juliet. More greens. More Buddhism. More deep breathing. More love. More gratitude. No sugar/carbs. Saying No to things that don’t serve me, and Yes to love and support. And so far, my mission has been successfully working! (Cancer marker dropped from 7.1 ng.mL to 4.5 ng/mL in February this year!) Although my doctor is doubtful that I will ever be completely “cancer-free” due to the type of aggressive cancer I have, I plan to forge forward with so much determination that one day I will be a cancer free. Slow and steady wins the race. Every day is an opportunity to win.
I hope you watch this video and feel inspired to love yourself and your body a little more for all it does for you. Filming this was so therapeutic and fun. There is no better feeling than just moving the way the body wants to move. Free of judgement. Moving from a place of celebration and gratitude.
Thank you, Meg and Grant for being such an amazing team and duo for making this happen.
Thank you, Dru, for your endless support and love!
Thank you, Vivo, for the good vibes always!
Thank you, Juju, for bringing the good juju on set!
Thank you, Body, for all you endure, I will do everything in my power to help you continue to heal.
Enjoy!
A few behind the scenes photos:
Today is June 6th, 2019, meaning it was 13 years ago that I was sitting in the doctor’s office, being told the three words that no one should have to hear, “You have cancer.”
I cannot believe that it has been 13 years since that whirlwind of a day. I remember it like it was yesterday. I remember I had to miss my 1st and 2nd period class, and that I was wearing my favorite teal graphic tee with a My Little Pony on it, and I had on my favorite velcro strapped vans. I remember going back to school after that doctor visit, knowing I was NOT the same as ANY kid at that school from that moment forward. I was in a cloud or fog, feeling like I was not really me. I watched the kids pass by me, chatting about the lunch and prom and stupid gossip, as I was just told I had cancer, and that is all I knew. I had SO many questions racing in my brain. SO much confusion, worry, and concern. I would do anything to go back 13 years and give that girl a hug hug, and tell her it will all be okay.
My dream is for the future is that no one has to ever feel that way about a cancer diagnosis. I don’t want anyone to fear that they are going to die, or feel stressed because they don’t have answers, or feel like they are impaired or disabled or unable to achieve great things because they are” less-than” or “sick.”
I hope we get to the day when we can say it’s “just cancer.” I’ve had it for so long now…. (This thyroid cancer for 5 years and counting….) that I refer to it as just that.
Just cancer.
I am not in fear of it. Sure- it changed my outlook and made me discover that life is fragile and precious and all that mumbo jumbo….. But on a day to day, I live quite a normal life. It’s my friend. My annoying friend that I feed veggies and give love to, and kindly tell it- “So yeah… I know you are taking your sweet time here, but this is not your home! You’ve kinda overstayed your welcome!”
I have a new obsession with Grey’s Anatomy… and I cannot help but laugh every time they give a cancer diagnosis to a patient. The music gets all dramatic and sad, and their eyes well up with tears, and then they say “It’s cancer.” They give it power. They dramaticize it. They make it equal death.
Don’t get me wrong, cancer is no walk in the park. It sucks. But we as a culture need to stop making it into a “Your Life Is OVER” diagnosis.
This recent journey to healing (#ProjectGetToZero) has really opened my eyes to a new ways to healing. There are SO MANY ways to heal and recover from cancer. So many less toxic and extreme things to be done. I hope to join the wave of so many non-coventional nutritional experts, coaches, and practitioners that believe in this integrative and holistic way of healing. So that some day… we can say, “Okay… yeah… it’s just cancer.”
Here’s to year 13! I have so much gratitude for this life I live and all the beautiful humans who have helped me along the way.
All my love,
Brianna