So, I’ve never been involved in any kind of physical altercation…..no girls fights….no hair pulling….no hitting….no biting…..none of the things guys dream of! That is, until yesterday. Boy, I have to say, I pulled out such a can of whoop ass on cancer! I had my last treatment of AC in the morning and I am actually able to feel the cancer dying. I had my Neulasta shot this afternoon and will begin treatment with Taxol and Herceptin in 2 weeks. Sal and I are traveling to the University of Pennsylvania again next week to meet with Dr. DeMichele as well as 2 surgeons.
Last night, Sal and I attended a presentation given by Dr. Neal Topham who is the chief of plastic and reconstructive surgery at Fox Chase Cancer in Philadelphia. Our oncologist’s office is really cool. The office has guest speakers come in quite a bit. Anyway, Dr. Topham’s presentation was awesome. He answered a lot of questions that we had regarding how the process works. It was like getting a second opinion. Myself and another woman were the only 2 young women in the room. It’s pretty crazy. We were actually introduced to the young woman and her husband from a few different directions. They’re very similar to Sal and I……married, kids, diagnosis, etc. They’re great people. I’m really not into support groups or counseling. It is, however, nice to converse with another woman who is similar in age, married with kids, and who is battling the same type of cancer as me. So many other young women have reached out, as well, and I really appreciate it. I promise to get back to everyone at some point.
It’s funny. As we go through life, some of us are lucky enough to have our grade school friends, our high school friends, our college friends, our work friends, our Mom friends, our kids’ school friends. Sal and I are now adding our “cancer friends” to this list. Who would have thought? Never in a million years did I think that at the age of 34 would I be battling cancer. I’m happy, though, because I feel like I’m dodging a bullet for my entire family. If this is happening to me, there is no way that anything bad will happen to Sal or to any of my kids. That, I’m certain of. I really am trying to just go through the motions and not really think about what’s going on. Because, to be honest with you, it scares the crap out of me. I’m doing really well, don’t get me wrong, but I do have moments of panic. It usually happens when I’m alone which is why I try to be out and around people as much as possible. I hate being cooped up in my house. I’m a very social person so it helps me to be out and around people. It keeps my mind off of what I’m “living in private”.
This brings something else up in my mind. It’s Breast Cancer Awareness month. Women, take care of yourself. Like I said before, Breast Cancer is the number one cancer killer in women. It affects 1 in 8 women. As you can see, it’s more common in younger women that we think. I can now give you a list of 10 young women that I know, personally, who were diagnosed before the age of 40. If you are of mammogram age, go for it. If you feel a lump, don’t let it go. If you’re scared, call me!
Lastly, on a funny note, I’m not sure if there are any SNL watchers out there, but I love Kristen Wiig. I’m so sad that she’s no longer on the show. One of my favorite skits is Kristen playing a creepy lady with baby hands on the Lawrence Welk show. Sometimes, when I’m putting Sugar on, I can’t help but feeling like her! The following is her picture dressed as the baby hands lady. Three hilarious videos are underneath. The first one is with Will Farrell, the second with Betty White and the third is with Jon Hamm. Every time I watch a Lawrence Welk skit, I laugh out loud. Enjoy and keep laughing! Oh, if you can’t tell, I have a sick sense of humor!
http://www.hulu.com/#!watch/73360
http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/lawrence-welk-cold-open/1226116
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/20/jon-hamm-snl-kristen-wiig-lawrence-welk_n_1531056.html
LIVESTRONG and God Bless!!!
