Taking inventory…

The last four months cancer has had its fun . . . wreaking havoc on those in my life:

A close friend, living with metastatic breast cancer, lost her husband in the line of duty.
A close friend was given the news that her sister was diagnose with a rare form of untreatable adenoid carcinoma with a very low survival rate.
Another friend, also living with metastatic breast cancer, has been fighting for her life on a respirator.
Another friend, whose sister is in treatment, was given word that her suspicious biopsy is almost certainly cancer.
Yet another friend, who was only diagnosed with metastatic disease a few years ago, has had her whole treatment plan yet again changed.
Still another friend, also with metastatic breast cancer, who I had known “virtually” for some time, but only met in person this summer, passed away the morning after being told she had 3 months to live…

All of these friends are so young…all either under 40 now or when they were first diagnosed…

But there are other signs that cancer cannot touch everything in us.
There are signs that it cannot seep into our very pores and poison our souls…

One sister survivor was recently given the news that she is not showing any evidence of the disease that has been residing in her body for years.
Another friend is nurturing a pregnancy conceived after chemo, without ovaries!
Still another friend ~ not a survivor but a warrior as she is a breast surgeon! ~ not only finally brought home her beautiful adopted son but is now also expecting!
And that friend fighting for her life on a respirator?…she is opening her eyes and fighting her way back to us!
And the girl who was given her suspicious biopsy results?...she is going to fight like hell because she will not be alone!

So fuck off cancer . . . you picked the wrong people to mess with!

All the things I am thankful for...

I am thankful for. . .

1. My husband: the fact that he builds a fire every night, takes out the dogs before bed, and makes coffee every morning. I am so thankful that he takes care of me in all the small ways.
2. My dogs: they are sweet, nuzzling, warm, wiggly, smelly, kind, funny, smart, and teach me something new all the time. They have made my life better.
3. Cancer: weird huh? well it made me change so many things and made me a braver person.
4. Hockey!: the NHL Arena has been a place for me to learn and grow as a fan and I have found new friends! And I am now an official Columbus Blue Jackets nerd!
5. My car: again . . . weird . . . but it's cute and I love it and it is almost paid off!
6. My iPhone: okay this is insanely materialistic of me - sorry!
7. That Barack Obama won the election. 'nuff said.

I hope that the coming year brings peace and change. I hope that sanity rules and love reigns supreme. I hope that intelligence and strength are not looked upon as conflicting sides of the story.

And I hope that with each day we are closer to losing fewer and fewer young women to breast cancer.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Another great loss

This year has been a series of ups and downs. The downs have been devastatingly low.
Yesterday I was informed that a friend and fellow survivor, Heather Pick, had passed away at the tender age of 38 from metastatic breast cancer.
She had served on the inaugural Executive Council for the Central Ohio Chapter of the Young Survival Coalition. She served as our honorary co-chair for the first In Living Pink Fundraiser. I will never forget that she showed up without her wig (she almost never appeared in public without a wig) but had not brought her family members. "I didn't know family could come!" We were so amused by her humbleness. She did not want to participate with the YSC as a supportive person, rather she wanted to help us reach more young women through her media contacts and by providing us opportunities to get stories out about the YSC.
Heather als reported on innovative discoveries at Childrens Hospital and the Columbus Zoo. She also lent her beautiful voice a recording of music to benefit cancer research. She did so much in so short of a time.
The Columbus Dispatch did a nice write up today and I am sure there will be more to come. But I will leave you with these words of hers:

Don’t wait. Give someone an unexpected gift
just because you appreciate them.
Take your own loved ones
to a cherished community treasure
or try something completely new.