If IBC is So Rare…

If Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC) is so rare, why did I learn yesterday of yet another case of IBC? This time, it’s my former boss’s daughter-in-law.

If you don’t know what I’m talking about, stop what you are doing, bookmark this post to return to it, or read on. You could save the life of a woman you love.

IBC is the rarest and most aggressive form of breast cancer. It does not present with a lump. IBC may look like a rash, a bug bite, a bruise, or even mastitis. Bottom line: if a woman notices a change in her breast, she needs to contact her doctor right away to rule out IBC.

My very first post on OrganicMania was about IBC. You can read it here. I dedicated that post to two friends who are fighting IBC. And this post is dedicated to Adriana, with a million billion wishes for a full recovery.

To learn more about IBC, visit ToddlerPlanet – a wonderful blog about fighting IBC and raising kids. There you’ll find wonderful posts like this one about IBC (including links to IBC-specific cancer organizations) and this series of many posts about how to help a friend with cancer.

And pass this post on to the women you love. Now.

— Lynn

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A Question for You – Yes, You!

The news is on my mind today – yesterday’s reports of drugs in the drinking water, scientific studies informing us that we need to reduce our carbon emissions by 90% to avert global warming disaster, and the recent discovery of downer cow meat in the school system. Yet I chose not to blog about these issues, figuring that readers would get their news elsewhere.

Is that what you expect from OrganicMania, or do you think I should start blogging about relevant news stories? Please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts. I really value reader comments – we’re at more than 150 reader comments now – and I’ve learned so much from each of you. I want to make this blog work for everyone – let me know your thoughts, please!

— Lynn

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“Non-Toxic Tots”

Thought you might be interested in this Washington Post article about how parents are shelling out big bucks for natural and organic baby products in an attempt to buy peace of mind given the safety concerns surrounding so many baby products. The article includes lots of interesting research and a quote from yours truly!

— Lynn

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How Blogging Changed My Life

It’s now been just over a month since my first post and the launch of OrganicMania. As a mother of two, I’m very concerned about building a healthy environment for my children. OrganicMania was started as a way to share my research and opinions about when it truly makes sense to go organic. But OrganicMania is turning into so much more than that – it’s turning into a community, and it’s become my passion.

Thank you to everyone who supported my fledgling steps – especially the bloggers who’ve offered advice or found my site and left comments. This means the women – WhyMommy of Toddler Planet, Sher of Wrekehavoc, Gift of Green, Rejin from Urban Botany, Beth from Fake Plastic Fish, MC Milker from Not Quite Crunchy Parent, Margaret from Whirlwind, Mama K from Non Toxic Tots and mama k nj, Emily from Wheels on the Bus, and Jessica from Surely You Nest. This also means thanks to my “token males” — Jeff Steele, the father of DC Urban Moms and Dads; the megablogger Geoff Livingston; Nicholas from The Place of Dead Roads and Dean Hua from Sachi Studios, who got my blog up in no time. Thanks to everyone who stopped by to post comments or simply to visit the site. And most of all, thanks to my wonderful DH who encouraged me to start OrganicMania. He’s now calling himself “a blogging widower.”

My life truly has changed since I began blogging. How? Let me count the ways. I have:

1. Realized that organics and green living are more than simply an interest of mine. I want to find a way to make these passions fit into my work life too. This is obviously a huge change, and I’ll be blogging more about this as I explore what new doors may open for me;
2. Met new friends, deepened existing relationships and even talked with some in “real life;”
3. Had more fun writing than I’ve had since my days as a newspaper reporter fresh out of college;
4. Learned a lot about the organics industry and the green movement;
5. Taught myself to do a few technical things on my WordPress blogging platform, boosting my technical self-esteem;
6. Moved from observing the blogosphere for years to feeling a part of it; and I
7. Feel incredibly happy about all of this.

I feel more alive as a blogger. Connected. It’s odd, because here I sit alone at a computer, yet I know I am plugged into a huge community. It also sounds trite, because I have known about this phenomenon for more than a decade. But it’s one thing to know about something as an observer – it’s something totally different to live it.

Perhaps these feelings are hitting me especially hard, because as a Mom, I’m not accustomed to taking much time for myself. All of my friends are asking, “How are you finding time to do all this blogging?” I think the secret is that I’ve just about given up housework! ☺

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