Monday, December 30, 2013

2013

 
2013 is almost out the door and I am so grateful I to have another year here!  I look back at this year and although there have been some ups and downs, we are healthy, together, and happy, so what more can anyone ask for?!
 
Life is a gift, a precious gift above anything else on earth.  Each year that passes, I just feel humbled and blessed to be given this life.  2014, bring it on!

Monday, December 23, 2013

Merry Christmas!!

 
How grateful I am for these boys of mine who are the sparkle in my eye, for love and friendship in my life, for good health, and for the reason for the season, Jesus Christ!!!
 
 
Merry Christmas all!

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Perspective


I love both of these quotes so much as they remind me to never lose sight of the future or the "big picture".  Being a religious person myself, I truly believe that God has a unique and individual plan for each of us and that plan provides us the most happiness if we endure to the end.  In order to achieve that happiness, we must pass through sorrow and life experiences that help us gain a greater perspective for what's really important, what we need to learn in our trials to become more better people, and to trust God.
 

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

"Sol-mates"


Oh how I love these Sol-mates of mine!  (Missing a few in this picture.)  It's crazy how we all met and came together, and all because of MELANOMA!  How grateful I am to have found these amazing women who inspire one another, lift each other, and support one another.  Even if Sol Survivors Melanoma Foundation did nothing else to raise awareness for melanoma, I feel proud of the fact that we are helping others with this disease and build this support network in our community.

Friday, December 6, 2013

Cancer is my herpes

I recently read this interesting and enlightening article talking about how we need to change our perspective when fighting cancer...
 
 
"About a year ago, I learned about some "worrisome" spots that had shown up on my quarterly CT scan. This was about six months after my last of 24 chemotherapy infusions, and to say I was bummed upon hearing the news would be an understatement. But I slowly wrapped my brain around the notion of a "third option" relating to cancer, the third option being something between permanent remission from cancer... and death.
 
Now the thought of just "learning to live with" cancer was unappealing then and is unappealing now. Of course, I (and anyone else without a death wish) would prefer to live a long life, free of illness and disease, without the scepter of cancer hanging over my head. But as a couple of wise blokes named Mick Jagger and Keith Richards once wrote, you can't always get what you want.
 
Over the course of the past year, I and my oncology team have watched and monitored those worrisome nodules, hoping they'd either go away or at least remain unchanged. The nodes were too small and scattered to biopsy; but since cancer rarely remains completely stagnant, the thought was that if they didn't grow, they likely weren't cancer. Unfortunately, they grew. Not at an alarming rate, but slowly and steadily they grew. And just as slowly and steadily, my CA125 (cancer marker) levels crept upward.
 
My family and I watched and waited, hoping for the best but fearing the worst, until a couple of weeks ago, my oncologist called me in for the hard conversation...."
 
To read the full article, click here.