Coping With Cancer
My Mother
I have had a lot of support from family and friends during this journey through breast cancer, and one of my strongest supporters has been my mother. She got on a plane all by herself after not flying for fifteen years in order to be here for my surgery. She sat up...
The Trip From Hell
I have gotten several requests from readers to write about my trip from hell home from Vegas. I admit that I have a policy not to write when I'm mad. Nothing good comes from writing in anger. So it has taken a while to find the humor in our travel experience. The...
The Wedding
On June 17th, my son, Nicholas married Samantha, the love of his life. It was a beautiful, simple ceremony in Las Vegas with two dozen family and friends in attendance. The day started with my siblings and I taking our mother to breakfast and then out to teach her...
Radiation Side Effects Part II
During radiation, my biggest concern was whether or not my skin would be healed before I attended my son's wedding. Unfortunately, that was not the case. I had what I have heard called a "wet reaction." The skin on my chest and under my armpit blistered, cracked,...
How to Kill a Watermelon
As I left radiation on my last day, I stopped at the grocery store to pick up a few things. Just inside the door was a large stand of ripe watermelons. Hmmm, I think. Wouldn't that be fun to blow up? So I grab one (and two more just for the fun of it) and put them in...
Radiation Fatigue
Prior to starting radiation, I heard a lot about the fatigue you get towards the end of treatment. That confused me. I understand why you can get fatigued with chemo therapy. After all, they are putting lots of toxins in you that can lower your blood counts. But...
The Way People Treat You
One of my observations has been about the way people treat you when you have cancer. It fascinates me that I feel the same, but people treat me differently. In the early stages, people would hug me like I was fragile or like my chest must hurt. I would tell them to...
First Haircut
That single hair on the top of my head was getting in my way and threatening to obscure my view. Seriously, it was growing straight up and had no supporting cast to distract from it. I looked through Shawns product line and found some smoothing paste, but how do...
Kamikazi Corner
Each time I exit the Interstate to go to chemo or radiation, I have to travel through an intersection that I call Kamikazi Corner. It is the corner where the off ramp meets the street and there is a four-way stop. For some reason, people constantly run the stop signs...
Radiation
I had my first of 33 radiation treatments yesterday, and I'm just glowing! The appointment began with me meeting the technicians that will be helping me each day. They took the time to explain the equipment and show me that while I would be in the room alone at times,...
The posts on this page were added at the request of several of my readers who wanted “the fun stories to continue.” Some are dedicated to a friend in her last weeks of life. These posts are a mix of travel adventures and random experiences and are in date order with the newest post on top.
Help Support Breast Cancer Patients
All proceeds from book sales are donated to two local non-profit funds to help breast cancer patients afford diagnosis and care. Virginia Gay Hospital Gifts of Hope provides free mammograms and diagnostic services and is supported by the Benton County Survivors Group; and the Hall-Perrine Hope Fund helps cancer patients pay for emergency needs.