Connect & Thrive

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Connect & Thrive CAT is a social impact company for cancer previvors, patients, thrivers, and caregivers.

CAT's mission is to help women CONNECT with a community of partners who can help them THRIVE!

I recently saw banners for Breast Cancer Awareness Month at the post office. They included words like fight, survivor, s...
10/23/2026

I recently saw banners for Breast Cancer Awareness Month at the post office. They included words like fight, survivor, strength, brave, be strong, never stop, support squad, determination, power, fight for the cure, and courage.

I understand the intention. These words are meant to offer hope and encouragement.
But when you are living with cancer, they can also feel like instructions: Be strong. Keep fighting. Never stop. Stay positive.

What happens when you are exhausted? What happens when you are afraid, grieving, angry, or simply having an ordinary day? What happens when treatment stops working?

Cancer is not a measure of someone’s courage, determination, or willpower. And no one who dies from cancer has lost a fight.

The word survivor can feel meaningful for some people. For others, especially people living with metastatic cancer or ongoing treatment, it may not reflect their reality. At Connect & Thrive, I use the word Thriver because it makes room for the whole experience: treatment, healing, uncertainty, rest, recurrence, and continuing to live.

Language is deeply personal. A word I reject may bring someone else comfort, and that is okay. The most supportive approach is to listen and use the language each person chooses for themselves.

Which word would you keep and which one would you leave behind? 💛

10/21/2026

"Evidence-based" appears on every wellness label these days, though the meaning behind it often goes unexplained. 💛

So let us define it plainly. It means specialists systematically find the strongest peer-reviewed research, appraise it with a critical eye, then weigh it against clinical expertise and your own values. That sets a higher bar for the quality of proof behind a specific recommendation.

This helps when cancer complicates everything. Advice comes from every direction, and telling the studied from the sold drains energy you would rather spend elsewhere. A clear label takes that weight off your shoulders.

In integrative oncology, evidence-based points to therapies tested in trials and written into formal guidelines by bodies like the Society for Integrative Oncology and ASCO, who grade each one by strength and quality.

Acupuncture, massage, meditation, and yoga earn recommendations for pain.
Mindfulness-based work, music therapy, relaxation, reflexology, and tai chi have guideline support for anxiety and depression.
Supplements stay mixed, so a 2025 review found solid signals for a few narrow uses while many rest on low certainty.

At CAT, the word makes a promise. When we call something evidence-based, it maps to strong research or a clear guideline, and it keeps your privacy and your choices at the center. Women deserve support they can test, above all when insurance leaves these options out.

Come see what we have vetted for you. Link in bio.

In health,
Christine💛🐆🌟

ASCO

10/19/2026

If you've had cancer, you're probably missing a key part of recovery.

Most follow-up care is built around scans, blood tests, and watching for recurrence. Imaging reviewed. Labs tracked. Appointments every few months.

That's essential care.

But research is clear: the biggest unmet needs after cancer are emotional, relational, and identity-related.

Things like:

No longer recognising yourself

Returning to work with a body and mind that function differently

Feeling disconnected from people who've "moved on"

Grieving a version of life that no longer fits

Being told to feel grateful when you feel lost

Your scans can say "all clear" while you feel anything but. That deserves attention too.

This gap has a name: reintegration.

Returning to your roles, routines, relationships, and work with a changed body and outlook.

The evidence shows person-centred psychosocial programs measurably improve quality of life and work participation - yet most people are never offered them.

Three things worth asking for at your next appointment:
→ A written post-treatment care plan - long-term needs, referrals, and late-effect risks
→ Peer support - people who understand the "after" without needing it explained
→ Psychological follow-up - because adjusting after cancer benefits from professional support, full stop.

These belong in recovery as much as any blood draw.
If you've ever felt "fine on paper" but lost in real life after cancer, this is why.

Save it. Share it. Bring these questions to your next appointment.

What would you add to this list? I'd love to hear from thrivers, clinicians, and carers below.

Lisy K, Langdon L, Piper A, Jefford M. Identifying the most prevalent unmet needs of cancer survivors in Australia: a systematic review. Asia‑Pacific Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2019;15(5):e68–e78. doi:10.1111/ajco.13176. 

Bocknek L, et al. Survivorship care plans: initial evidence of impact on distress and self‑efficacy among high‑risk cancer survivors. Journal of Oncology Navigation & Survivorship. 2021;12(1). 

10/16/2026

Two claims about lymphatic drainage circulate through waiting rooms and support groups every week. One comes from clinical trials. The other comes from a sales team. 💛

For women dealing with swelling after cancer treatment, manual lymphatic drainage, or MLD, earns its place as one part of a full plan, and it works best next to compression and daily movement.

The research backs modest reductions in swelling, less pain, and better quality of life. As for the detox promises aimed at healthy bodies, your liver and kidneys already handle that job on their own.

If you want skilled, cancer-aware hands behind your care, Connect & Thrive's Marketplace connects you with vetted practitioners. Link in bio. 💛🐆🌟

Save this for your next appointment, and send it to someone who has been asking questions about swelling.

Treatment ends on a calendar. Healing keeps its own schedule 💛I joined Sara Jane, Scott Holmes, and Alessio Rizzo on Gif...
10/14/2026

Treatment ends on a calendar. Healing keeps its own schedule 💛

I joined Sara Jane, Scott Holmes, and Alessio Rizzo on Gift of Healing TV for a conversation about the months and years after the appointments stop. The world assumes you are finished. Your body has other plans.

Scott said it plainly: the medical goes so far, the healing goes much longer.

Watch the full conversation in the News section at Connect & Thrive. Link in bio.

I am delighted to be joining Katie Rampen Katie Rampen, Founder of Breast Health Empowerment with Katie, for a special c...
10/14/2026

I am delighted to be joining Katie Rampen Katie Rampen, Founder of Breast Health Empowerment with Katie, for a special conversation this Thursday, October 15, at 6 PM Eastern (3 PM Pacific).

Katie is generously opening one of her normally members-only gatherings to everyone, completely FREE!

I will be sharing my personal journey as a breast cancer thriver and the inspiration behind founding Connect & Thrive (CAT), a heart-centered social impact company dedicated to helping women facing cancer access trusted, evidence-based integrative healing services and healthy living products.

We will also discuss how CAT is working to remove the financial barriers that too often prevent women from accessing the support they need throughout diagnosis, treatment, recovery, and beyond.

Thursday, October 15, 2026
6 PM Eastern | 3 PM Pacific
FREE and open to everyone!

No registration required. Simply send me a direct message, and I will share the Zoom link with you.

I hope you can join us! 💛🐆⭐

10/12/2026

For years, I thought giving was simply who I was.

I gave my time, my energy, my attention, and my care. I volunteered. I kept going. More than 20 years ago, I received the “President’s Volunteer Service Awards – Gold & Lifetime Achievement” after completing more than 10,000 hours of volunteer work.

From the outside, it looked generous. Inside, something more complicated was happening.

I was giving because I did not feel worthy of receiving.

In this clip from The Self-Investment Project with Kathy Washburn, I talk about the realization that I had been giving and giving until I had nothing left to give. I had begun using care as a way to justify my place in the world.

This reflection is about a pattern of overgiving, not a cause of cancer. It gave me an opportunity to look more closely at the way I was living and the ways I had learned to measure my worth.

Kathy and I talked about what happens when giving becomes one-directional, when we know how to help everyone else but cannot ask for help, accept support, or make space for our own needs.

Learning to receive has been part of my healing. It has also informed the work I created through Connect & Thrive: a community that helps patients, previvors, and caregivers access support during treatment, recovery, and beyond.

Watch the full episode in the News section of Connect & Thrive’s website. Link in bio. 🌸

10/07/2026

That scar can feel like unfinished work long after your skin closes. The tightness stays, affecting your comfort and your range of motion.

Enchanting Touch and Lincoln Health and Aesthetics offer Scar Release Therapy in Connect & Thrive’s Marketplace, pairing Microcurrent Point Stimulation with skilled hands-on techniques. 🌸

The aim centers on comfort, mobility, and easing tension around scar tissue, whether your scar formed last month or a decade back.

Emerging research suggests microcurrent and manual scar therapies may help reduce discomfort and improve how tissue feels and functions, though evidence keeps developing and outcomes differ for everyone.

A 2026 systematic review found microcurrent stimulation may improve scar thickness, pliability, and appearance, best treated as one complementary option. Soft-tissue mobilization in burn and surgical scar studies correlates with better elasticity, less pain, and improved mobility.

This care fits best as one piece of a wider plan, coordinated with your oncology or physiotherapy team once your wound has fully healed.

You have put so much energy into getting through the hardest chapters of your care. The tissue that supported you through them deserves attention too. 💛

Follow the link to visit CAT's Marketplace and find out whether Scar Release Therapy suits you right now. 🌟

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Arlington, MA
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