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Blog
Welcome to the Grace Grit and Pink Ribbons Blog — a space for honest stories, reflections, and resources on life after breast cancer.
Here, I share experiences of breast cancer survivorship, navigating hormone therapy, rebuilding life after treatment, and finding hope in the everyday.
Whether you’re newly diagnosed, walking through treatment, or stepping into survivorship, these stories and resources are here to remind you: you’re not alone.
Life After Breast Cancer: Zometa Infusions, Loneliness, and Building Through Treatment
There's a particular kind of tired that comes from ongoing treatment that is different from regular tired. It lives in your bones. And then there's the loneliness that cancer brings, the kind that lives in a room full of people, that nobody really prepares you for. This is where I am right now, and if you're there too, I wrote this for you.
Heather Robinson Roles
12 hours ago
When the Holidays Hurt: The Truth About Surviving Cancer During the Holidays No One Talks About
Surviving cancer during the holidays is complicated. You can feel grateful and grieving at the same time. This post explores the raw, honest reality of navigating the season when your life — and your body — have changed.
Heather Robinson Roles
Dec 2, 2025
Reclaiming My Body: Learning to Love the Scars — Navigating Body Image After Mastectomy
The physical scars healed first. Skin knits together. The tenderness fades, but no one talks about the quiet grief that follows. The kind that lives in the spaces beneath your skin.
You grieve the body that carried you through life so far, the one you didn’t get to say goodbye to. You grieve the feeling of being carefree in your own skin, of not having to think about every sensation, every change, every scar that meets your fingertips.
Heather Robinson Roles
Oct 23, 2025
Life After Cancer: Becoming Who I’m Meant to Be, Not Who I Was
Life after cancer isn’t about bouncing back — it’s about rebuilding differently. This reflection explores how healing reshapes identity, purpose, and the courage to live life on your own terms.
Heather Robinson Roles
Oct 13, 2025
The Healing Power of Gratitude: How Quiet Faith and Thankfulness Nurture Wellbeing
This Thanksgiving, find gratitude in quiet faith and small moments of peace. Discover how the healing power of gratitude nurtures the mind, body, and spirit—and how it can guide your healing journey forward.
Heather Robinson Roles
Oct 8, 2025
Beyond the Pink: Life After Breast Cancer and the Ongoing Journey
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, but for me, it’s more than pink ribbons. Life after breast cancer is an ongoing journey — one filled with ups and downs, new normals that don’t always feel normal, and the quiet fear of recurrence that lingers long after treatment ends.
Survivorship is complicated, messy, and real. Cancer doesn’t always stop you, but it does change you — and sometimes, it even pushes you forward.
Heather Robinson Roles
Oct 3, 2025
Breast Cancer: A Journey of Strength and Resilience
Breast cancer stories of strength remind us that no one walks this journey alone. By sharing our experiences, we honor resilience, build community, and create a legacy of hope. Join me as I begin interviewing women to share their voices—together, we heal.
Heather Robinson Roles
Sep 22, 2025
Cancer Grief and Growth: Processing the Losses and Gains
Life with cancer is a reminder of how fragile time is. Through loss, tragedy, and transition, we face both grief and growth. Here’s how I’m learning to live fully, honor my grandmother’s legacy, and choose joy in writing, helping others, creating, and healing.
Heather Robinson Roles
Sep 13, 2025
Finding Home Again: Breast Cancer Survivorship & Big Transitions
Breast cancer survivorship is full of transitions—new doctors, ongoing scans, and unexpected life changes. After moving back to Ontario, I’m navigating grief, family shifts, and rebuilding my care team. Here’s what starting again looks like when healing is still in progress.
Heather Robinson Roles
Sep 5, 2025
Living Well With Hormone Therapy Side Effects: Your Empowering Guide
So, you’re about to start hormone therapy after breast cancer. This moment can stir up a mix of emotions—hope, relief, and uncertainty....
Heather Robinson Roles
Jul 6, 2025
Lupron Side Effects: What They Don’t Tell You (And What’s Helping Me Cope)
Lupron Side Effects: What They Don’t Tell You (And What’s Helping Me Cope) I had my first Lupron shot again this week. Even though I’ve...
Heather Robinson Roles
Jun 18, 2025
The Decision No One Prepares You For: Navigating Hormone Therapy After Breast Cancer
If you’re unfamiliar, endocrine therapy after breast cancer is a treatment designed to lower estrogen or block its effects because many breast cancers (like mine) are fueled by hormones.
For hormone-positive breast cancer (ER+/PR+), doctors often recommend one or more of the following
Heather Robinson Roles
Jun 11, 2025
The Truth About Reconstruction After Mastectomy: More Than Just a “Boob Job”
DIEP flap reconstruction after mastectomy isn’t just plastic surgery—it’s about healing, reclaiming your body, and surviving what no one sees.
Heather Robinson Roles
Apr 30, 2025
Easter and Healing: What the Cross Taught Me About Finding Hope
Healing doesn’t always look like Easter morning. Sometimes it feels more like Good Friday — or the silence of Saturday. In this personal reflection on Easter and healing, I share what carried me through cancer, faith, and the in-between. If you’re still waiting for your resurrection moment… you’re not alone.
Heather Robinson Roles
Apr 17, 2025
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