Today's Purpose

Last night I received the good news from Dr.K that the MRIs of my right hip and lumbo-sacral spine show no new progression of disease. This is great news! We had some concerns because my CA 27-29 had been going up at a semi-alarming rate (40 to 60 to 80.) Additionally, I have been having a lot of pain in my hip and low back on the right. When I say "a lot" of pain this is probably the kind of pain that most would rate a "10" out of ten. Since I just continue to trudge on through the pain (with the help of pharmaceuticals) it says quite a bit that I am mentioning, much less complaining about pain. THEORUM: CA 27-29 Increase + Pain in hip & back increase = MRI.

My October PET scan was great. The metastatic disease in my bones has been arrested. It is still there but it is not spreading so it is stable. The little effer cancer cells from Hell are pooping out because they have no estrogen to feed on (they are such crack whores.) Our hope is that the future PET scans will show that the disease is now dying off. Dr. K wanting a MRI to see if we had missed something or if there was something percolating in the hip/femoral head/sacral region. There could be something that was not picked up on PET scan. Thankfully, there was nothing.

Dr.K is "cautiously optimistic." I think he and Lou Dobbs from CNN are in a continual state of cautious optimism. Let me say here and now that I am good with cautious optimism. It is way better than flagrant pessimism.

The girls and I are all suffering with strep throat. I don't think I have ever had strep before. It is not fun. We are all on antibiotics to treat it so we are good for the public domain.

On this day I am relieved. I can sit around and perseverate on something besides cancer. What a gift. I get these little motivational emails every day from my friend Michael. I love today's words of wisdom so I will share.


Today's purpose
+++++++++++++++++++

What is your purpose for this day? What have you chosen to do
with the minutes and hours of this day, a day that is
already flowing into your life?

When you give each day a specific purpose, at the end of
each day you'll have a specific accomplishment. In addition
to having a day that you can look back upon, you'll also
have real, lasting value that you can carry forward.

Today is full of countless possibilities. Giving the day a
purpose will enable you to fulfill the exact possibilities
that align with that purpose.

This day is rich in energy. With a clear purpose, you can
harness that powerful energy and channel it into something
that will make a difference for your world.

There are dreams that you long to achieve. Today is your
opportunity to move solidly toward them.

Give today a purpose -- a rich , wonderful, meaningful
purpose. And live life at its best.

Apparently Breast Cancer is GLAMOUROUS. Check out Glamour.com

Well, the Trusera Video has made it onto Glamour magazine's website Glamour.com. This is under VITAMIN G: DAILY HEALTH & FITNESS BLOG. The piece is actually called: One Woman's Health Nightmare: "You Have Breast Cancer--But the Doc Can't See You for 2 Weeks." Who knew that this would make its way to a major publication? I am happy to say that the comments are so positive and proactive. So many women that are posting are setting aside their fear and getting a mammogram, or demanding a mammogram at times.

I have a whole new thought for a program to get women in for mammograms that have found lumps. In my mind it is called "Bump for a Lump." I am waiting for my Radiologist to call me back. She was the one who shared with me WHY the wait here is so long.

My dear friend Lu in St. Louis said that there is no wait there at Washington University Medical Center. The wait must get shorter as you get closer to the equator.

Well, this is a problem and I think it will get fixed. Start small and then take over the world. Us lumpy women deserve better.

It makes me hopeful on this day. It makes me feel like one person can make a difference. It makes me feel like I can go to Safeway and not vomit because of the sea of pink. The raffle, the book sale, the check out donations. Thanks for asking but honestly, I've given.

My Video Debut for Trusera

On September 10th I sat down with journalist Sally Kassab at the home of my friends Jenn & Keith Schorsch, The Founder and Right Hand of Trusera.com (You can choose their roles as they must change on any given day.) They wanted to interview me about my experience with metastatic breast cancer. Sally was a wonderful person and was very well prepared. She asked me many questions that were thought provoking and intense. I did my best. I think the finished product is something that the Trusera team should be proud of. Although a lot of the interview was left on the cutting room floor (or in digi-space) they really touched upon important subjects. What do you do with this diagnosis? Why is the wait so long for a mammogram? What do you tell your kids? How does a family survive? How does one woman affect change?

This is a new program for Trusera.com. They are posting personal stories of real live people on the site. These are not trained actors as you might see on TV commercials. It is called "JustOne" and will propel the "power of been there" to a whole new level. If you haven't checked the site out please do. It is a wonderful, novel way at looking at health care and health challenges that we face. Trying to focus on the "it takes a village" concept instead of the "you gotta go it alone" process that is endemic in health care today.

Take a look at the video to your RIGHT. Let me know what you think. Thankfully, they used a filter that even Katie Couric would be happy with. I look so youthful and exuberant. I look like a woman who has weekly facials and exercises. Sadly, I often forget to remove my makeup at night and exercise for me is walking to the bus stop.

Additionally, many of the personal Thank Yous were left out because there are so many. At the top of my list is my husband Matt. He is my rock and I would not be doing so well if it weren't for him. My girls who keep me going every day, in every way. All of our family and friends. Our colleagues at the Seattle Police Department, the Seattle Police Officer's Guild and Aflac. My sisters at the Northwest Young Survivors Coalition and God. From the bottom of my heart I thank all of you. You rock!

Here is the link to check it out on Trusera:
http://www.trusera.com/health/list_collections/justone-title