Archive for the ‘Helpful Insights’ Category

An interesting way to look at Cancer is that in three days, fingers crossed, I can’t say I have breast cancer anymore.  So as scary as the cancer diagnosis is, it can go away. 

Wednesday, April 14th I’ll be admitted to Bridgeport Hospital in Connecticut for my surgery and will be there for three days. 

I’m asking for no visitors to the hospital as it’s a personally private time for me.  I also won’t be checking emails and phone calls are also not ideal as I’ll be asleep quite a bit.  I do love my sleep too, that has not changed

But how to keep in touch?  In the meantime, you always have this site to check in on, leave a comment to send a message to me and overall track the updates along the way.

You can also send messages through the free hospital CheerGram service online at:   http://www.bridgeporthospital.org/CheerGram.asp    ….or you can call in your message to 1-888-357-2396

But, rest assured, I’ll be back and ready to see everyone soon enough, we’ll let you know.

I took time for my first “10 days” to allow for the grieving and downward spiral…to get the emotions out and face the worst fears.  Second “10 Days” were to organize and do the necessary housekeeping on all fronts. 

…The third round of my next “10 Days” served to be the most difficult.  Starting to tell people.  I felt blessed that our girls were 3 & 4 and that for all intense purpose, they could go unharmed from it for now.  One day they would know all about what mom went through, but nice that they could still only sing me nursery rhymes on some of my worst tear filled days.

Who do I start to open up?  How do I come to terms with the pain people will feel at the sound of the news?  How do I let everyone know that everything will truly be perfect in the end?  Well, I thought I’d just go for it.

I created a list of “10 people in 10 days”.  The list composed of the people we are most close to, those that needed to be the first to know.  The list then went across to people that just were the perfect support and in a position to provide wonderful support.  Next the list was tied to those people we just didn’t want to find out in a mass email so the list went quickly beyond “10″, but all the more was helpful for me to share the news and come to terms with facing the reality…and to be honest, to prepare myself for the news to tell my parents.  As a mom of daughters, I knew the hurt a mother would feel.  Part of me thought best to share with her before others, but in the end, I was all the more stronger to deliver the news to mom and dad in a straight forward delivery…situation, action and the intended positive result.

In the meantime, each call made us realize what difficult news it was to share and the impact on those that loved us.  So the “10 in 10″ grew, but quickly we realized, we could never reach everyone that we wanted to tell personally.  Others said to us that everyone would understand, so I thank everyone that looks forward to getting a personal update and outreach when we are out of the woods and time back on our side.  We’ll always be here, but are going into a bit of under cover for a few months.

Rest assured, we’ll be back —better than ever!  Please add comments as messages to us on each post here.  All will be read and responded to as we are able.  Many thanks for all your support in advance!

Amoungst everything that was going on in our lives and my health, it was dreaded tax filing preparation time – IRS calls, we listen.  Our filing means two solid days of sorting through the filing cabinet catch all.  Not fun days, but a necessary evil and the due diligence of thorough detail for rest ful minds on the possiblity of auditing in the future. 

But I stopped in my tracks.  We have 10 years of all our filing documents, assoicated receipts and back up – but I have nothing tied to my medical history!  What makes us not all keep just as complete if not more complete records of our health?  I’m surprised I had not thought of it before, but bring it up as a suggestion you may want to act on.  A simple written request gives you copies of your health record from your doctor offices. 

We pass on wedding albums as history?  I feel blessed that I can now pass on history to help the health of our daughters and generations to come.  (of course with our gorgeous wedding albums too!)

Cancer is never a word that you want to impact you or any of your loved ones.  But with the statistics nationally, breast cancer, along with so many other cancer types, are all around us.  From skin cancer to prostate cancer, and from breast cancer to thyroid cancer, I’m guessing there are very few of us that have not been touched by the “c-word” in one way or another.