The Pink Ribbon Review Caveat Statement

by Karen Lynch on April 15th, 2008

First, I want to reiterate the disclaimer on the home page: The information in this blog is purely educational and should not substitute for advice from your personal physician.

Always ask your medical oncologist, breast surgeon, gynecological oncologist, radiation therapist, plastic surgeon, OB/GYN, general practitioner, and/or your ENT for their opinion on anything I put forth. I am not a doctor. I’m not a therapist. I’m a survivor, a woman, a wife, a mother, a daughter, a sister, a friend … those roles give me my expertise and none of them come with an academic title before or specialty acronym after my mane. Please read everything I write with that in mind.

Next … I know there will be those that question what I get out of this. That’s been part of my “blogging about breast cancer” experience this far and I am one of those people that learns from the past. So here are the words I’ve crafted just for you (well, and for those of you who are incredibly curious at this point in time).

Let me start with what I put into this:

I put a lot of time, effort, heart and soul into my blogging. I write posts in the morning while I sip my coffee. I wrote posts during the ‘work day’ if I don’t have another freelance assignment (or if I feel like procrastinating when I do). I write when my kids are playing together or watching television. I write in the evenings after the kids have gone to sleep. I write in the middle of the night if I can’t sleep. I research posts whenever I’m on the computer or out in the world or reading magazines or watching television because searching for information pertaining to breast cancer is what I do, simple as that.

Now … onto what I get out of this:

An outlet: I love to write, and have kept journals most of my life. I’m compartmentalized about my writing, too. I have a gratitude journal, a professional journal, an achievement journal, a prayer journal, a moan-and-groan journal, journals I write for each of my three children … and an online journal (technically, two) called blogs.

Personal gratification: It feels good to me when I empower others. It feels good to me when I raise people’s awareness of breast cancer related issues. It feels good to me to give back because I was so generously provided for when I was in need.

Spiritual gratification: I believe that the ability to write is a God-given gift. I believe He gave me this gift to help others with my words. When I write about something as important as breast cancer … I feel like I’m honoring God’s will for my life.

Compensation: Yes, now that I am part of a blog network, I earn a bit of money doing this. I’m under contract and not free to disclose the amount I’m paid, but know this … I’ll likely pay more to fill up my car with gasoline than I’ll earn blogging. (If you must know, I drove a Honda Odyssey.)

A “higher” platform: I’m already a survivor speaker for the American Cancer Society. I frequently write about breast cancer for consumer and trade magazines. Perhaps one day my platform will increase my salability as an author or get me more paid writing assignments or speaking engagements. Perhaps. But for now, this is the least of my motivators (though I mention it in the spirit of total disclosure).

The bottom-line:

If you add up the cumulative hours I spend researching and writing posts then weighed that against how much money I make doing this … you’d think I was crazy if you believed I were in this for financial reward.

But I’m not in this for the money.

I’m in this to empower myself and other survivors with information pertaining to breast cancer while reaping the personal and spiritual rewards of blogging for the cause.

(Image: Karen Lynch)

Tags: breast cancer, cancer, health, men, wellness, women

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Pink Ribbon Review | Raising Breast Cancer Awareness