Balancing Act

I've talked about this before, but sometimes I really struggle with keeping a healthy balance between my "pre-cancer" self and the person I am now, living with cancer in remission (as well as life in general).

 

I see other melanoma warriors on social media outlets always talking about their journeys and struggles with melanoma (or promoting awareness), and yet why do I struggle to do the same?  I guess I sometimes feel like nobody wants to hear that anymore (nor hear me up on my soapbox ;), but then there's another part of me that also knows that I should continue to do my part to raise awareness for this disease, even if that is just sharing tid-bits here and there.  I also find myself occasionally drifting away from the "melanoma world" because I'm trying to live as normal as a life as possible and so, living in constant fear and doubt that my disease will come back is no way of life for me.  So, I sometimes stay away from the blogging and social media world of melanoma.

 

 

 

I have said before that there are many days now that the word cancer doesn't even enter my mind.  Is this a blessing or curse?  I think it's mostly a blessing, but sometimes I need to remind myself of what I've been through (and what can still happen) and to never take anything for granted, especially my health.

 

I also struggle at balancing my family life and all the responsibilities that entails (as well as taking care of myself), with our foundation, Sol Survivors.  I know that this is what I am supposed to do, (and we've done some important things already), but I get overwhelmed by everything that we are need and plan to do (and feeling like I don't have enough help too).  I'm not sure what the right thing to do is, and I'm trying to take it one day at a time, and one step at a time.  Hopefully, that will work itself out in the future.

 

 

(Love this.)

 

For now, I'm just trying to enjoy life, enjoy my family and loved ones, create memories, and live each day to its fullest because at the end of the day, that is the one regret that I don't want to have.

New Sol Survivors

We welcomed a couple of new Sol Survivors in the last couple of months.  One being, Reese Ferguson!  He is a Stage 4 Melanoma survivor, still undergoing treatments, but doing well.  Him and his wife, Kim, came to our Sol summer BBQ and it was so nice to meet them!  They were lovely and great, and a great addition to our group!

 

We have also added Courtney Knutson, not pictured here, within the last few months.  Courtney is a real go-getter and has already taken off with our Sol Survivors Instagram and Twitter accounts!  She is also a melanoma survivor, almost 6 years!  She is so fantastic and fits right in with all of the ladies!

 

We continue to try to spread the word about our group, and hope that we will continue to draw any and all persons affected by melanoma!

Claim to Fame

The Idaho Statesman recently interviewed me for an article for their July-August Living Healthy issue.  The article is obviously about skin cancer in Idaho, sun safety, and how we can prevent the damage the sun can cause us (cancer and aging).  It's a really good article and I was grateful they were so thorough writing and publishing it!  Our kids especially thought they were pretty hot stuff seeing their pictures in the magazine!  So, since I couldn't copy and save the pictures from the magazine article, (the website won't let me), so this is the best I have...

 

To read the full article and see the pictures, go here.

 

 



Never Give Up

 

Is that true or what?!  I can't tell you how many times I have said this in my life.  Life throws some doozies at us, that's for sure, but one thing I have learned is that we are strong enough to handle it. 

 

 

 

 

And that is why I named my blog, Strong Enough! ;)

Celebrate our freedom

I think we, as Americans, often take our freedom for granted.  When we have never lived anywhere else, or have traveled extensively across the world, we don't realize really how great we have it.  I often find myself complaining about so many things wrong with our country and government (healthcare, for one), but at the end of the day, we have it 100 times better than most countries.  Do I really need to list all the reasons??

 

We have it good here after all.  This year I vow to appreciate everything America has to offer, imperfections and all.  America is truly a great country to live in and I am proud to be an American!