POKER TOURNAMENT CANCELLED

I am sad to report that due to unforseen circumstances the first Poker Tournament of 2009 has been cancelled/postponed. The Hostess (with the Mostess) has had a family emergency. Look forward to receiving a new notification when the storm has passed.

Wasn't the flyer the sassiest?? Please take the Saturday, January 17th off the calendar.

Breast Cancer Lottery Winners

Christmas 2007 I wasn't driving so I was picked up by a YSC member who lived in South Seattle. She had come to me in Woodinville via Factoria and we were going to Ballard my first YSC holiday potluck with a cutthroat, pink elephant gift exchange. It was snowing or raining or something that made the traffic really bad. All in all I think it took her 3 hours to get to the party.

I met K for the first time at that party. We were both examining the fare. She said, "Hi! I'm K. You're the new girl with mets right?" I am sure I answered in the affirmative, while secretly wondering what in the world I was doing at this party. "Yeah I have mets too." I had the right disease so I was in. Things were looking up. I just needed to learn the secret handshake and I was golden.

This small gathering of one boobed, two boobed, no boobed, foobed and pre-foobed gals with tram flaps and lat flaps and implants'o'plenty. These were my new peeps. You didn't even have to throw mardi gras beads for these chicks to show you their tits. I liked them immediately! They were loud and funny and drinking and eating. All things I was familiar with. I prayed they liked me too because the other support group of 50-60 year old women with breast cancer really wasn't a good fit.

K. came back and said something that has always stuck with me. You wouldn't think so but her words were so profound. She said, "So you know we're the breast cancer lottery winners right?" I paused.......Stage IV terminal breast cancer and somehow this little red headed sprite likened it to winning the lottery. I was intrigued. "Didn't know that. Never really thought of it as one for the win column." I replied. K. said, "Oh yeah! We won the lottery! We are Stage IV and we don't have to go through all the other stages. We won the lottery."

Now many people won't really understand this little anecdote and what she revealed to me about her outlook, her acceptance, her fight, her resolve and her love of life. I do. I get it K. You did win the lottery, you did. Your numbers came up and you were the winner girlfriend. I will never, ever look at this disease and this life the same way because you turned it into a win, a rebate of sorts. It is reported that many people win the lottery and then totally screw up their lives. Not K. she relished every minute.

This year at the YSC Holiday potluck cutthroat pink elephant party I ended up with the gift K brought. A matching pair of pink hats. I model it in the picture below which is not suitable for young children or the overly uptight. K. looking like a lottery winner next to me. I'll miss you girlfriend.

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.