Claire Lemiski is an airline pilot who was diagnosed at 36 with Stage III, hormone positive breast cancer. As a captain at a regional airline in Toronto, Claire is passionate about providing mentorship to new and aspiring women pilots.  In this episode, Claire reads her essay “About Damn Time” from Wildfire Magazine’s 2024 “Family” issue.  Claire’s piece is about breast cancer being a genderless disease, and a bond that was strengthened with her father because of their shared experience of both receiving a breast cancer diagnosis. April and Claire will discuss using a musical container for writing, the treatment contrasts and misconceptions of male breast cancer, reconstruction, and the intersection of career and cancer.  They will also talk about Claire’s lymphedema concerns, and when it’s appropriate to talk about breast cancer when asked about her lymphedema compression sleeve.

More about Claire: https://www.instagram.com/flatpilot/

Purchase the “Family” issue of Wildfire Magazine: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/shop/p/family24

Buy the Wildfire book Igniting the Fire Within: Stories of Healing, Hope & Humor, Inside Today’s Young Breast Cancer Community: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BJVJ629F?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860

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