Desi Maldonado was diagnosed at 44 with Stage III triple negative breast cancer. She is an assistant director of procurement services, an artist, wife and grandmother. In this episode Desi reads her essay “Lymphedema” from the 2023 “New Normal” issue of Wildfire. Desi’s story is about living alongside secondary lymphedema - a topic not discussed enough in the cancer space. April will explain what lymphedema is as she dives into Desi’s experience with it. April and Desi will talk about what set off Desi’s lymphedema, how lymphedema awareness and preventive measures get lost in the chaos of a cancer diagnosis, and occupying the complicated space of survivor’s guilt blended with a lymphedema struggle. They will also discuss the importance of sharing truths to help shoulder the load of our stories and reveal hope.
