Real stories, healing wisdom & warrior voices
Shay’s Warriors Life After Cancer Blog
Practical wellness advice, honest survivor journeys, and emotional support resources for cancer warriors, thrivers, and loved ones. You don't have to walk this path alone.
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Beyond Pinktober: The Unspoken Reality of Survivorship
Breast Cancer Awareness Month can bring awareness, community, and hope, but it can also bring difficult emotions for cancer survivors, caregivers, loved ones, and people currently living with cancer. In this personal reflection, Shay shares what survivorship really feels like beyond October, from survivor’s guilt and grief to fear of recurrence, gratitude, changed relationships, and the ongoing emotional impact of a cancer diagnosis.
How to support breast cancer awareness month without falling for pinkwashing
Shay Moraga discusses the history of October's Breast Cancer Awareness Month ("Pinktober"). She provides practical questions donors should ask to ensure their contributions directly support cancer patients, research, and local survivor programs rather than corporate marketing.
How I navigated stage 4 colon cancer and a subsequent breast cancer diagnosis
By Bobbye | Guest Contributor
Bobbye, a 65-year-old athlete and scientist, shares how persistent stomach pains led to a Stage 4 colon cancer diagnosis during the pandemic. After undergoing chemotherapy, surgery, and achieving No Evidence of Disease (NED), she found renewed purpose through Shay's Warriors, helping her face a subsequent breast cancer diagnosis with resilience.
How to build resilience after a breast cancer diagnosis
By Katie Pierce | Guest Contributor
Katie offers practical advice for navigating the overwhelming shock of a breast cancer diagnosis. She emphasizes emotional processing, finding peer support, avoiding information overload, delegating tasks to loved ones, and maintaining gentle self-care routines.
What does reaching 5 years cancer-free teach you about living?
After surviving Stage 3 Triple-Negative Metastatic Breast Cancer diagnosed before age 40, Shay Moraga reflects on reaching her 5-year cancer-free anniversary. She shares how cooking and hospitality—learned from her father—became a way to process survivorship, build community, and choose faith over the fear of recurrence.
How does looking back at cancer treatment help us honor survival?
On World Cancer Day, Shay Moraga reviews old journals and rewatches a 25-minute video of her hair being shaved during breast cancer treatment. Confronting her raw fear from five years prior reinforces her gratitude for life, the privilege of growing older, and her commitment to advocacy.
Why I chose aesthetic flat closure after breast implant illness
By Holly K. Thrasher | Guest Contributor
Guest blogger Holly K. Thrasher shares her journey through double mastectomy, breast implant illness (BII), explant surgery, and finding self-acceptance through aesthetic flat closure.
How I restored intimacy and overcame painful sex after breast cancer
by Guest Contributor
This personal account by a guest survivor addresses the common, often unspoken issue of painful sex after breast cancer treatment and provides practical medical steps to rebuild intimacy.
What five years of breast cancer survivorship taught me about life
In this anniversary essay, Shay reflects on five years of survivorship, detailing the lessons she learned about setting boundaries, self-advocacy, and building a trusted medical team.
How to perform a monthly breast self-exam step by step
This guide by Dr. Fung explains how to incorporate monthly breast self-exams (BSE), visual checks, and tactile screening into your regular wellness routine to detect changes early.
What to expect emotionally when your chemotherapy treatment finally ends
This article captures Shay’s experience on her final day of chemotherapy, exploring the bittersweet relief of finishing treatment alongside the anxiety of leaving her care team and stepping into the unknown.
How I learned to embrace my breast cancer scars
This article explores the deep emotional transition of overcoming body image struggles after breast cancer surgery and learning to view surgical scars as symbols of survival.
How catching unexpected breast cancer symptoms saved my life
This article highlights Shay’s experience recognizing subtle, early warning signs of breast cancer, such as itching and sudden sharp pain, and why self-advocacy is critical when seeking a diagnosis.
The longest wait: Preparing for breast cancer surgery and pathology results
This article shares Shay’s personal experience on the morning of her breast cancer surgery, capturing the raw emotional toll of waiting for results and learning to trust her medical team.
I was 38, healthy, and diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer
This article explores the realities of receiving an unexpected breast cancer diagnosis and the importance of advocating for your own medical care.