Welcome Friends, I’m Natalie.
I’m currently fighting breast cancer and am an amateur craft enthusiast.
On November 3, 2022 I was diagnosed with DCIS or Stage 0 Breast Cancer in my left breast. After a couple months of deliberation, I decided to do a unilateral mastectomy and reconstruction. On February 3, 2023, I underwent my mastectomy.
Prior to my surgery and throughout my recovery, friends and family would gift me creative crafts. I grew a collection of coloring books, paints, and crafting kits — from wood carving to knitting. While I was still physically and mentally recovering from the surgery and waiting for the pathology results — I found joy in using my hands to create and calm my mind. Whether it was as simple as coloring with colored pencils or painting a landscape scene, these projects would help me get out of bed and bring a little light to the discomfort I was feeling in my day to day. If you’ve been there, you know.
The week after surgery I learned that the pathology report was negative, my margins were clear, I was cancer free, I was done. The only daunting tasks left were to bring back movement into my upper body through physical therapy and the reconstruction later that Fall. As I continued to heal, I would continue to craft — getting a little more ambitious with some of the projects and trying new ones as I recovered from my reconstruction. As I approached a year after my mastectomy — I was feeling lighter, healthier, and more joyful. I planned a yoga retreat to Panama to celebrate my new lease on life and left feeling grounded, grateful for the lessons I learned over the past year, and beyond ready for my next chapter to begin.
In a cruel twist of fate, three weeks after I returned, on February 22, 2024, I learned my journey was not complete — this chapter was still being written. A suspicious area that I was told (almost too confidently) was most likely scar tissue, ended up being the same cancer and it had spread to my lymph nodes. My entire care team seemed shocked by the news — they would classify it as a recurrence. I spent the next month and a half in anger, denial, and in an unhealthy spiral of questions. Why wasn’t this caught during the first surgery? Why would I have another year and a half taken from me to focus on this disease? Why is our healthcare system so hard to navigate? Why do I have to advocate for myself while I’m also dealing with so much already? I moved through the motions and listened to what my doctors told me in a fog. On April 11th at 10:30am I would undergo my first chemotherapy treatment. This Friday, I will have my fifth infusion.
Since starting chemotherapy and in the days that I give myself to recover, I find myself navigating back towards my collection of crafts. They bring me a sense of purpose and a sense of control in the chaos of emotions and side effects.
A month ago, in a moment of kismet, I was catching up with a friend of mine and I sent the following text:
“Just crafting my way through cancer. ✨”
As soon as I sent it and saw the message staring back at me, I knew what I had to do. My intention for this blog is to create a safe space for anyone touched by cancer — whether you are also going through it, you are caregiving, or you are surviving. Through the joy of crafting, this is a place where we can share our stories and build a supportive community.