February 2, 2019. Last summer, I met Lindsey Scholl at a conference in Tampa and she was the first to tell me that the wildly successful model of holding METSquerades to raise funds for Metavivor that started in Arkansas was coming to Orlando. I immediately knew that I wanted to be involved. I live in … Continue reading Inaugural Orlando METSquerade
I posted last week about why I don't want to be called a survivor. That begs the question, what do I want to be called, what label do I embrace now that I've had nearly two years of living with stage IV metastatic breast cancer under my belt? I've had a lot of labels in … Continue reading What do I want to be called?
For those of you who didn't read my blog post about early stagers vs. metsters, suffice it to say, I have encountered some conflicts with labeling since I was diagnosed de novo metastatic in 2017. If anyone is interested in the details, the earlier blog post lays some of those out. There was an ongoing … Continue reading Why I don’t call myself a Survivor.
I learned this new acronym recently from a dear friend and fellow metster, Emily Garnett, who has an amazing blog (Beyond the Pink Ribbon) and podcast (The Intersection of Cancer and Life) that all of you should follow if you aren't already. FOMO = Fear of Missing Out I had never really experienced this concept … Continue reading FOMO
Ever since I knew that I have a terminal illness, I've been much more intentional about creating lasting memories with my boys. They are currently five (5) and three (3), so I am quite well aware that their actual memories of me may not be all that vivid if my life expectancy follows the median … Continue reading Creating Lasting Memories
I realize that's not the most inspiring title; that's just want I'm thinking about right now and have been for quite a while. Last week, while I was experiencing a small version of my blog post going "viral," I learned that a friend of mine had died. I use that word a little tentatively since … Continue reading Death
As some of my readers (all 2 or 3 of you) have noticed, I've mostly been posting updates that were originally posted on my Caring Bridge site in 2017 and early 2018. While I do enjoy that platform, I think a more formal and more public blog is more my speed now. That wasn't the … Continue reading 2019 Blog Entries
I had no idea this is a thing, but it is! Before I was diagnosed with Stage IV Metastatic Breast Cancer, I honestly looked at breast cancer as one illness. Now, I understand that it is so much more complicated than that and the more I learn, the more I am amazed at how much … Continue reading Early Stagers vs. Metastatic Patients
2019 is here. Each new season and calendar change means something very different to me now. When I was young, I felt the frustration and anticipation of yearning to be older and for time to pass more quickly. As I've gotten older, time seems to move too fast sometimes and not fast enough at other … Continue reading Happy New Year, 2019
2017 was a doozy, probably the worst year of my life to date. 2018 has been quite a different animal. Yes, there have been some hard days and the adjustment to living life after the traditionally active treatment (i.e., IV chemo) has been rough at times; at the same time, we've finally figured a few … Continue reading New Year’s Eve, so long 2018
No Half Measures 