The holidays have a way of slowing time down, just enough to ask better questions.
What actually matters now? What am I carrying forward, and what am I ready to release?
This year, those questions landed differently for me.
Some of you know this already, others are hearing it here for the first time. On July 1st, 2024, I was diagnosed with breast cancer, one week after losing my close friend Marilisa to the same disease. I chose to keep that circle small at first, sharing only with my closest people and my email list. This felt like the right moment to widen the circle.
When I first heard the words “you have cancer,” I was genuinely unsure what to do next. I’ve long believed in naturopathic and holistic approaches, and for a moment, I felt torn about which direction to take. I listened. I asked questions. I spoke with other women who had faced the same diagnosis and learned about the choices they made. And in that clarity, I made a decision that felt right for me. I chose to trust modern medicine first.
Once treatment ended, I realized something important. Healing doesn’t stop when the procedures do. That’s when the bigger questions begin. I started looking at my life holistically. My body, my nervous system, my energy, my grief, my pace, my beliefs, my purpose. All of it.
What unfolded surprised me.
Over the coming weeks, I’ll be sharing a series of emails and blog posts about that journey. Not as a formula. Not as advice. Simply as my experience. What cancer revealed to me about my body, my soul, my relationship to fear, love, and meaning. And yes, about purpose.
Because here’s the truth I’m still integrating.
The diagnosis didn’t just ask me to survive. It asked me to listen. And in that listening, something much bigger started to emerge.
I’ll also be sharing more about a large project I’m building for 2026. It’s been quietly forming through all of this, shaped by what I’ve learned and who I’m becoming. I’m not ready to reveal it yet, but it’s coming.
For now, this is simply a holiday pause. A moment of honesty. A thank you for being here, for reading, for staying connected.
If you or someone you love is walking through a challenging season, especially cancer, know this, I’ve crossed paths with so many women and men navigating it quietly. It’s a silent disease with countless faces and forms, and no two journeys look the same. All any of us can do is our best, in the way that feels right for us, at the pace our body and heart allow.
Wishing you a holiday filled with gentleness, truth, and a little more space to breathe.
With love,
Patty
