Major Milestones

March bas brought me two major milestones thus far:

1. March 17th 2009 was the one year anniversary of the mammogram that detected my cancer.

2. I finally completed a race longer than 5 miles at a sub ten minute pace!(Freehold St. Pat's 10 miler - 1:36)

So many dates coming up that I look forward to; mostly being able to say,"One year ago today I..." such as the diagnosis of my cancer, surgery dates,etc. for each day that passes is another day of me being closer to being "cured"!

I am going to be part of Team Aquaphor for the More 1/2 marathon. This team is for women runners who have had or has breast cancer. I was contacted (as a team member) about appearing on the CBS daytime show, "The Doctors", but filming coincides with my vacation. There goes my 15 minutes of fame!

I am watching President Obama's news conference as I type this. I am sensitive to the need for affordable health care so curious to see what pans out. I do not envy this man, he has a heavy burden to bear yet I am optimistic that the good ol' USA will pull out of the morass we are in. I am all for the wiring of health care and not only because I work in e-commerce. Going from floor to floor of the same hospital and having to complete the same paperwork gets a bit redundant. Carrying ones medical records from appt. to appt. also gets old pretty fast. Have I mentioned how happy I am to have those days behind me?

Spring Approaches

Another Sunday afternoon where I sit recovering from this morning's kickboxing class; what a workout! I feel good now but I just know I am going to wake up tomorrow and feel muscles I never knew I had!

I have found that while I run (Did the NYRR8000 yesterday in Central Park) I lost a lot of "core strength" last year. Doing things like push-ups and sit-ups are down right painful. But in a good way as odd as that may seem. Exercise certainly helped me feel better throughout my treatment, however limited it may have been. I can't even recollect that feeling that chemo gave me of absolute exhaustion. And, that is indeed a very good thing!

Lots of things to look forward to in the next few weeks, vacation, family gatherings, weddings and best of all Spring arrives officially this Friday. Winter will finally be behind us. As it leaves I will be waving it "goodbye" wholeheartedly as I gaze over the crocus flowers poking there way through the dirt along with the beginnings of tulips and daffodils. I am looking forward to much warmer days. I am also hopeful that this week will bring me renewed energy; the time change last weekend seemed to really do me in!

I had the chance to reconnect with some friends from high school this past week. We had been conversing via "Facebook" (that's a whole other post in itself!)and realized we all still live near each other. Technology is a wonderful thing.

Speaking of technology, I have my 3 month follow-up from radiation treatment this week. Everything looks okay to me; all that remains from my treatment is a very faint "tan line". My surgical scar is hardly noticeable (Thank you Dr. Shapiro!) and even my port scar has faded. Tuesday marks the one year anniversary of the mammogram the changed my life. I end this entry with a question I will forever ask my friends and family - have you had your mammogram this year? Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!

Daylight Savings Time

Today is my favorite day of the year. No, it is not my birthday, nor my anniversary. It isn't the first day of summer and as you know it isn't Christmas. However at 2am this morning we all "fell forward" and changed time bringing another hour of light to the evening. This is what makes it my favorite day of the year. It is the promise of warm summer nights to come and spending time outside.
The darkness of winter comes to an end and I for one am so looking forward to enjoying this spring and more so this summer; I need to reclaim the summer I lost last year.

I had a nice weekend. The weather was warm , a tease, spring floating on the breeze. I started the day with a run with Jess and then had lunch with my friend Jen, a survivor herself and greatly enjoyed out time together. I followed this with dinner out with two Jessica's. We did "sushi and a movie" - we saw "Milk", which was great. I spent Sunday working out and puttering about in my garden. Capped the evening with dinner with my aunt Lorna and her family. Her son Michael was home from BU for spring break.

Greg had spent the weekend in Beantown with my brothers partaking in the now annual "Boys Beer Crawl". They actually started at the Sunset Grill and Tap, the very place I worked my junior and senior year at BU. Seems everyone had a very good time and was basically functional today!

Can St. Patrick's Day 2009 really be only 9 days away?

March Comes In Like A Lion

It is Sunday evening, the 1st of March and we are expecting to wake to a winter wonderland. Yes, the dreaded double whammy - Monday morning and SNOW!!! The Weather channel is predicting we will get anywhere between 8 - 14". Lovely. Just when I was thinking the worst of the cold and grey days were behind us.

Got my butt kicked today in a great kickboxing class. I quickly realized how much stronger my right arm is than my left and how much I need to incorporate upperbody and ab work into my exercise routine! I was dripping with sweat and I may not be able to breathe tomorrow but it was a lot of fun.

I have been contemplating hairstyles lately. I cannot decide if I should stay short and grow it all out. Short sure is easy! On the flip side I still catch myself in the mirror and jump - it takes a moment to register, "oh, yeah - that's me!". I guess it is a constant reminder of my battle of 2008 which makes me think I need to grow it out. I am leaning towards keeping it short for the summer and then growing it out in the fall. Only time will tell!

I am looking forward to next weekend which brings my favorite day of the year: the end of Daylight Savings Time!

Another good doctor visit!

I am a bit sore today having completed the Hyannis 1/2 marathon yesterday. Strange thing is that just 3 months after chemo and radiation I clocked a better time than my 2008 performance in the same race; not quite sure what to make of that! My chip did not register my start but clocked my finish at 2:16. I even took a "restroom" break and the day was blustery but as I ran along Craigville Beach and the scent of the ocean hit me right in the face, all I could do was smile. I realized this is why I run. Not for a PR, not for the medal (well, maybe a little for the medal!) but to really see the world around me. I so enjoyed the course, seeing the beautiful homes, passing the Kennedy memorial and compound, running oceanside. It was a great day that culminated in a wonderful lunch at my brother Phil's home where we were joined by my brothers Chris and Nick along with my Dad and Linda as well. My niece Maia is getting so big! She is so beautiful, I'll post photos soon. Not sure who she favors, Phil or Jess.

Spent the day in the city today being poked and prodded and I am happy to say that all is well! No need to return until July for another follow-up and round 2 of Zometa. I can hardly believe that I am approaching the one year mark of my diagnosis. Aside from my latest 'do and my port scar, I am pretty much back to normal. I'll post photos shortly so you can all see my hair.

Presidents Day 2009

It's Presidents Day 2009 and all I can think about is President Obama's mantra of "Change" and "Yes We Can" and how I had to get used to those ideas in 2008 on a very personal level!

February is now more than half way over as time marches onward. Each day that goes by causes me to marvel at how quickly the body can forget a time when it was in pain.

I say this as I have been feeling really good. I can't believe that as recently as this past October I was still undergoing chemo, still had my port, still feeling just not myself. This past weekend I ran 12 miles with Jess. We did not go really fast but we finished and I felt fine. (Well, aside from the aching legs and feet that 12 miles will cause!)

I look at my hair and realize most folks think I am being "edgy" by sporting a platinum blonde pixie. In fact, most people would probably never guess that just a few months ago I was bald, thinner (oh yes, my appetite came back!), and unable to run.

I want to be able to let other women going through similar circumstance know that they too can get through the hard times and come out in the end themselves again - almost. I say almost because cancer treatment does change you; it is different for all but everyone I have talked to who has gone through has been impacted in some way. Normal physical exams can take on ominous undertones, dates have new significance: "let's see, 9 months ago I got my port", and the little things in life, like decorating cupcakes on Valentine's Day with one niece and nephews become so important.

Sure, being on tamoxifen has its own unique set of challenges but I am dealing with them as best I can. Hint: I have given up caffeine (yes, that was fun...) and it has seemed to help. So I plod onward, keeping my fingers crossed every time I have a scan, running when I can and looking forward to spring.

Escaping Reality

This past weekend marked our third year of attendance at the New York Comicbook Convention. While not quite as grand as the San Diego convention, New York gets better and bigger every year.

Last year the NYCC was in April. Greg and I went just after I had a slew of scans done in preparation for my surgery. We were still reeling from my cancer diagnosis and basically walked around too numb to absorb the sights and sounds around us.

This year we were both feeling really good and were able to fully enjoy the chaos and clash of cultures that make the Cons so much fun! We saw the requisite storm troopers as you can see by the photos above but we also saw so many great artists, it is mind boggling. We were able to attend a panel discussion led by Michael Uslan, executive producer of all the Batman movies since 1989. The panel was entitled "Living Legends" - and he had Jerry Robinson there. Who is Jerry Robinson you ask? Most of you know I both Greg and I share little passion for the Dark Knight - Jerry Robinson is the creator of the Joker, Batman's most evil arch nemesis. It was pretty incredible to hear him talk about the inspiration for the character. He came up with him while a student at Columbia doing comics on the side. No one could have ever imagined the icon the Joker would become as Jerry sketched him that night in his dorm room.

We had a really good time except for the fact that my car died in Port Authority. And then we had to wait 4 hours for a tow truck. Said tow truck then died in the middle of Route 3 in front of Giants Stadium. I then spent some time in the back of a police car waiting for my brother to come rescue us. It sure is not comfortable back there! I am not sure I'll ever see my car again. I think it is in Rutherford somewhere...

I have a scheduled trip to the oncologist next week and I am looking forward to talking to her about my anxieties over every test and the impact Tamoxifen is having on my sleeping habits. Otherwise I am waiting for my favorite day of the year to arrive - yes, the day we set the clocks forward - woo hoo!