self-care | New Girl in SoFlo

41

Posted on July 26, 2020 by Sasha Marie Stone

On Friday I turned 41. As a beach lover, and resident of South Florida, a visit to the beach was mandatory.

It was a very windy day, and the surf was turbulent. As I stood with my feet in the water, I questioned whether or not I should go in.

For most of my teens and my entire adulthood, I’ve challenged myself to be courageous. If something seemed scary, do it! As a little girl, I was extremely shy and often held myself back from doing things I wanted to do, or saying things I wanted to say. At a certain point in my life, I realized I had the power to change this shy persona, to be who I wanted to be, and create the life I wanted to live.

And that’s exactly what I did! I’ve done lots of big scary things in my life, and little scary things too, and I feel really good about the life that I have, and the person that I am, as a result.

Then, something odd bubbled up for me a couple months ago.

The Truth About a Breast Biopsy

Posted on May 16, 2020 by Sasha Marie Stone

You dutifully go for your annual physical, and the nurse says, “You’re 40. It’s time to schedule your first mammogram. It’s routine so might as well just do it.”

You go in for your first mammogram.

You marvel at the job of the technician that spends the day contorting women into strange postures and smooshing breasts between metal and plastic plates. It all feels very impersonal and is over relatively quickly. You go home and continue on with your day.

Then you receive an email saying you need to come back. Your breast tissue is dense and they need more images. But don’t worry! It’s just to make sure they have the best possible images.