A Year Later

This blog is a continual story that begins with the first posting in the Blog Archive, The Journey Begins. Click down the list to read entries, and click on arrows to reveal monthly drop-down menus.

I can't believe that a year has passed since my last post. It's been a difficult twelve months healthwise, but I'm finally starting to feel stronger. A year ago, I had an unexpected, traumatic complication. The radiation treatments weakened the skin on my breast so much that it could no longer hold together at my incision site. My only alternative for breast reconstruction was a surgery called a latissimus flap, in which a muscle and an area of skin is taken from the back and then re-attached to the front of the body in order to provide support for a breast implant. Sounds intense, doesn't it? Well, it is. A temporary expander was put in during the surgery, a sort of hard water balloon that's filled with a little more water every few weeks, gradually stretching the skin and tissue (painful!) until it reaches the right size. Then, in August 2010, I had another surgery to swap the temporary expander for a permanent implant. These surgeries really zapped my strength and my recuperation has been a long, hard road. I'm still in physical therapy, trying to help my body adjust.

Am I glad I did it? Yes. I just didn't want to live the rest of my life with only one breast. My reconstructed breast looks like it's been through the wars, which it has. But through the guidance of my sister, who is an expert in the therapeutic application of essential oils, I have been applying potent essential oil serums to my breast, and my scars and skin damage are healing. In fact, my plastic surgeon was so impressed by the speed that my skin was healing that he is now testing one of my sister's formulas on some other patients.

What are essential oils made from? They are extracted from flowers, fruits, leaves, bark, wood, seeds, peels and roots. An essential oil is a concentrated liquid that contains the volatile aroma compounds from the plants. They are "essential" in the sense that they carry the distinctive scent, or essence of the plant that they are extracted from. Because essential oils are very concentrated, they need to be greatly diluted with carrier oils such as almond, jojoba, hazlenut, etc. in order to formulate a healing serum. Typically, a healing serum only contains from 1% to 10% essential oil.

My sister and I have been doing a lot of research into cancer-safe body products, including moisturizers, cosmetics, and other personal care items. In fact, we have decided to launch a website that sells a variety of our favorite products along with a line of essential oil serums that my sister is creating. We're excited about this new venture! I'll set up a link on my blog when we get it started.

As far as how I've been doing emotionally, mentally and spiritually, I'll get into that on my next post!

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