1 Year Later...

Me and cancer...

Sill fighting. Still laughing. Still living.

Last year on April 17, 2013 I felt a lump in my right breast. I went to the doctor the next day and by April 24th was diagnosed with cancer. What a year it has been!

The past year has felt both short and long. I cannot believe that I have done what I have in a year. Wow, I have been through a lot! However, it often feels as if more time had to happen because so much went on during the year. On the other hand it could not have been a year...

I think that duality of time happens to all of us as we have kids and get so busy that time gets away from us. And now I have a greater appreciation of time that I realize how lucky I am to have it.

Happy Birthday to You...

My sweet girl full of joy.

Most importantly during April is my daughter's birthday. While I will always be reminded that April is my diagnosis month (since I am asked a lot), it will also be a time for me to appreciate that I am lucky enough to be here, alive, to celebrate. Each day is something to celebrate - and her birthday is definitely a reminder for me to be grateful for the people I love. She is a beacon of joy and love and I cannot believe has turned 7.

Walking forward...

Support the American Cancer Society

I have signed up to walk and fundraise in my local Relay For Life event. Something that is difficult for me to do since I still have bone pain from treatment, but I am ready to get back out there and support others in the fight!

To do that I designed a shirt to wear and sell. All the extra proceeds from the sale will be given to the American Cancer Society. I am hoping that shirts sell all over the place and that the people who buy them wear them on May 16th to support me as I walk that day. I would love pictures of them wearing them.

They are only on sale until May 1st, so I hope I sell some: Click Here to Buy One

As for my shirt slogan - I feel like all those supporting me are my TaTa Warriors... they are keep me fighting. laughing. living. Hence, three words I love: fight. laugh. live. I will fight this. I will laugh through this. I will live to the fullest!!!

“Hope

Smiles from the threshold of the year to come,

Whispering 'it will be happier'...”

- Alfred Tennyson

Comments

More biopsies... where? down there?

Cancer survivors are always wondering and waiting to see if something is going to happen, so it is only natural to worry when something is "off". Then when something turns out to be abnormal more testing and follow-ups are needed. It seems like a continual wave of worries. Sometimes our worries turn out to be issues. Sometimes our worries turn out to be nothing. Either way, we are going to worry... it's just an issue of determining how much and when we should really worry. Finding out my endometrium lining was so thick meant I needed to get a biopsy. What's an Endometrial Biopsy? An endometrial biopsy is a medical procedure in which a small piece of tissue from the lining of the uterus (the endometrium) is removed for examination under a microscope. The removed tissue is examined for cancer or any other cell abnormalities. Lucky me. Right? Now I get to go back the GYN only a few days after my initial exa

A roaring river...

As cancer survivors, we all have a worry that lingers in the back of our minds waiting for bad news. Most of the time we will be told things are good, keep moving forward. We feel a sigh of relief and move on until the next test or scan or weird symptom. We all have those moments. Moments of fear and worry, especially when waiting on a test or scan results. As with all things, there are times the results come back indicating something is wrong. I had that moment only a month ago. Oops... it's been awhile! I had honestly forgot about going to my GYN. I mean, I go to so many doctors that I avoided the ones that seemed less important on my importance scale. My breasts are getting examined by multiple doctors every few months, along with my hormone levels. And I was technically menopausal (medicinally), so I wasn't worried about pregnancy. So, I took time away from the GYN until my mother reminded me it had been too long. And like most mothers, she was right. When I sche

PINKTOBER

I love fall, it is my favorite time of the year. Instead of fall colors, I am surrounded by pink. Everywhere I look I see breast cancer paraphernalia being marketed and displayed. Companies look charitable. Social media is ablaze. The world is turning pink. I live pink. It is not just a Pinktober thing. Breast cancer has infiltrated my life, it is here year round. Pinktober is a double-sided sword for me. On one side I am grateful to whatever it takes to get people motivated, involved, concerned, donating, caring, or active in the cancer community. Then there is the other side, the part that makes almost all breast cancer survivors cringe… the blatant misrepresentation and misuse of all things Pinktober. Ironically, the whole breast cancer awareness month was created by a drug company. October was labeled National Breast Cancer Awareness Month where pink ribbons and merchandise began being sold without any regard to education or awareness. Breast cancer activists, like the fight

TaTa Wars

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