real women real stories

Sadness of a woman in the dark

My Melanoma Was Dismissed as an Inflamed Hair Follicle

As a young woman of color, I was seemingly the last person who would be struck by the potentially lethal skin cancer

Susan Smedley

Surviving Lung Cancer Helped Me Embrace the Connection Between Body and Mind

I now own a yoga studio and help other cancer patients and survivors cope

Adrienne Moore

My Endometrial Cancer Was Dismissed as Fibroids

My symptoms were ignored for more than a year despite having a personal and family history of cancer

Adrienne Moore

Descartaron mi cáncer endometrial porque lo confundieron con fibromas

Ignoraron mis síntomas durante más de un año a pesar de tener antecedentes personales y familiares de cáncer

Alyssa Zeldenrust standing in a body of water, uses an Ostomy Bag Because of Crohn's Disease

I Use an Ostomy Bag Because of Crohn's Disease — And It’s Actually Not That Big of a Deal

People are often freaked out by the idea of ostomy bags, but I embrace mine

Twin sisters Joy Thomas and Jenelle Landgraf are standing next to each other in front of a body of water and nature.

Going Blind Has Its Challenges, But It’s Not as Scary as You May Think

Grief is a big part of vision loss, but what’s been hardest for us are the stigmas about blindness

Marnie Goodfriend

Rape Is a Lifelong Condition — But It No Longer Defines Me

Focusing on self-care and self-love helped me rebuild my identity

photo of crystal jackson standing in an outdoor hallway

My Struggle with Period Poverty Motivated Me to Help Other Women

Period poverty is a global crisis, and I’m doing what I can to help women access period products

Jessica Goddard

A Perfect Storm Migraine Attack Revealed the Limits of My “Push Through the Pain” Philosophy

Telling myself I can handle everything suddenly meant I couldn’t handle anything

Jessica Smith

Living With Epilepsy Made Me the Confident and Compassionate Woman I Am Today

Believing in myself was key to living a fulfilling life with epilepsy

Phyllis Greenberger and her husband

Painting Gave Me a Precious World All My Own While Caregiving for My Husband with Alzheimer’s Disease

It didn’t dawn on me until after my husband passed that what I’d been engaging in was art therapy

Colleen Monfross

You Can’t Choose Your Genes

But if you learn what your genetic code is saying, you can choose your response

Shé Langley

Caregiving During Covid

Members of the “sandwich generation” have a tough task caring for parents and children. For me, Covid made it much more difficult.

Lindsey Vonn

After I Tore My ACL, My Sleep Went Downhill

It was nearly a decade before I got a good night’s sleep again

Sam Norpel

Long Covid Ended My Time as a C-Suite Executive, but I’m Not Giving Up on Life

Thanks to long Covid, I now endure severe symptoms that prevent me from doing even the simplest things

Sam Norpel

La Covid-19 persistente puso fin a mi trabajo como ejecutiva corporativa de alto rango, pero me rehúso a rendirme

Ahora padezco síntomas graves por la Covid-19 persistente que evitan que pueda hacer cosas muy sencillas

Sex Toys Helped Me Discover the Beauty & Pleasure of Self-Love

Sex Toys Helped Me Discover the Beauty and Pleasure of Self-Love

When you open your mind and heart, sex with yourself can be the best sex you’ll ever have

Lorrie in front of the white house

I Had Quadruple Bypass Surgery at 48

Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women in the United States — and it doesn’t care how old you are

Allison Constantino

I Got in the Best Shape of My Life After 50

After a frightening wakeup call, I turned my life around and created the best version of myself

Leslie J. Stullken

Mis síntomas de Covid-19 persistente parecían ser tristeza cuando perdí a mi pareja

Ahora participo en un estudio de la Covid-19 que espero que sea útil para otras personas

Jill Koziol

Living With Multiple Sclerosis Means Always Being My Own Advocate

I respect my doctors, but I keep on them, and always do my homework

I Lost My Singing Career to Thyroid Cancer — And Found My True Voice

I Lost My Singing Career to Thyroid Cancer — And Found My True Voice

I can’t fix my broken instrument, but I can still bring beautiful music to the world