Love for Boobs

Our friend/ neighbor/ sister/ lawn mower/ card maker/ Love for Moms founder/ kindness spreader, Jess Rynders, was diagnosed with Breast Cancer on October 31st. Ever the optimist and the best 'lemon into lemonade turner' there is, Jess is ready to overcome this hurdle while also raising awareness of breast cancer and early detection. 

Let's support Jess in every way we can --- as she has done time and time again for those of us she knows and countless people she's never met. Jess would love to hear words of encouragement from people, she would love to spread awareness in hopes that other women will see the importance in early detection of breast cancer, and she and Adam will also need financial assistance over the next several months. In addition to medical bills which have already started coming in, both Adam and Jess will need to take time away from their businesses which will take a toll on their family financially. 

Please donate, share, pray, and most of all, love. 
To follow the journey:
facebook.com/jessphowell 
instagram.com/loveformoms 

A note from Jess:

I'm frenzied. I crave sleep. My three year old son is on day five of the stomach bug, and my husband, Adam, is working- blowing leaves.  I’m writing ‘my story’- which COULD be read by more strangers than friends- during Burton’s afternoon nap.

I exist in all of life’s normalcy, but my mind is isolated, knowing that I have a 19 cm mass growing inside of me. I am 37, and I have no idea how long it’s been there. 

I went in for a breast reduction, was told to get a mammogram. The mammo turned ultrasound, turned biopsy, turned cancer- DCIS, no family history, undetectable by the human hand. It’s microscopic on the photos, the calcifications lined up like deadly constellations.  I pray it is contained and not in my lymph nodes; I wont know until after surgery. On December 16, I will have a double mastectomy and reconstruction surgery at Emory. 

I am lucky I didn’t wait until 40 to get a mammogram. With no family history, it was never on my ‘what-if’ radar. Now, I want women to be aware of my situation, to start getting checked earlier in life, and to have the funds to do it. Therefore, 10% of what is raised on this page will go into a Mammogram Fund, to allow more women access to mammograms and to raise awareness. No specifics yet, but I will make it happen.

The greatest gift humans receive (and give!) is love. Being the recipient of all of these different, individual displays of love comforts me, brings me joy, and keeps me uplifted. Being a project scares me; I've always lived independently. I feel like an adviser to someone else’s cancer journey. It hasn’t quite sunk in that this is me. My life.  But now, I’m ready. Me and my army. This love, tucked around me, like armor. 

Let’s do it.