May 13th, 2008
Pink Ribbon Review FAQ
Are you an expert on the topic of breast cancer?
I’m a two-time breast cancer 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 name. Please read everything I write with that in mind. I am not a doctor. I’m not a therapist. The disclaimer on the home page of The Pink Ribbon Review reads: The information in this blog is purely educational and should not substitute for advice from your personal physician.
Let me reiterate that: 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.
Where do you get your images?
Many of the photos used on this site are taken by myself or my husband using home-made pink ribbons (here’s a post explaining how to make your own pink ribbons). If you have a creative idea for a pink ribbon photo and want to contribute, take the shot, send a jpeg along with your name/URL to pinkribbonreview [at] gmail [dot] com, and I’ll post it online (as long as it is appropriate, of course).
Additionally, we here at b5media have permission to use photos from Newscom. The rest are used with permission from various media contacts, free stock photo sites, flickr and/or our iPhoto library.
How do I send you a Pink Ribbon Product to review and/or giveaway?
If you have a pink ribbon product or book about breast cancer that you’d like me to review on this site and/or giveaway to my readers, send me an email at pinkribbonreview [at] gmail [dot] com and I’ll take it into consideration (then follow up with my address if appropriate). Thank you!
What do you put into this blog?
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.
What do you get out of this blog:
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.
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