My friend NED

Sep 09

It looks like me and my new BFF “Ned” will be very busy.  First we will frolic and spread sparkles around.  Next we will move on to the business of following through with the rest of plan to keep me cancer free. Part of the “Pinch Me” sentiment is that I still feel I am very much in the trenches.  There is still much to be done; in fact, I am...

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Pinch Me

Sep 08

Pinch Me

Three-quarters of the way through our appointment with Dr. Wonderful, this is what he had to say: “The medical term for where you are right now is No Evidence of Disease (NED); there is no measurable cancer in your body.” My eyes fill up involuntarily as I shoot a shocked glance at Brad.  I’m familiar with the NED terminology, and I don’t...

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Bedtime list

Sep 07

Tonight I tucked Maren in.  (Oh, how I miss tucking my girls in every night!)  She’s been having nightmares, anxiety, and fear at night, so I was reassuring her, praying with her, and encouraging her.  One of the strategies that we use for her to self-soothe is for her to lie in bed and count off ten happy things on her fingers.  To teach her this practice, I...

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Surprise

Sep 06

Okay, so there was one surprise in the pathology report. In March, I was diagnosed with advanced cancer in my left breast.  Fairly early on, Brad and I made the decision that I would have both breasts removed because we didn’t want to worry that I would develop cancer in the other breast.  I am thirty-three, and I want fifty more years.  As a cancer survivor,...

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Pathology Report

Sep 06

Today Dr. Awesome called me with the pathology report from my surgery.  Almost everything on the report was what she anticipated in the report she gave to my family immediately after the surgery: -Clean Margins:  Got ’em!  She cut all the cancer out, with room to spare. -All of the cancer was “Intermediate” grade, which is the same as what the...

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