Pink Honor Roll

Flight Deck
2008 Pink Honor Roll

Maurice DuBois


Dr. Richardson-Heron


On the evening of Wednesday, August 12th, Greg and I were invited to attend a celebration upon the Intrepid held by the NY affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Foundation. We were invited as I was one of the top 125 fundraisers from the 2008 Race for the Cure and therefore would be added to the "Pink Honor Roll". (I was #81!)

It was a beautiful night and we had not been to the Intrepid since its return to NYC. The ship was very cool - I highly recommend it to those of you who have kids as a "thing to do"! The evening was beautiful, the food and drink plentiful, and the cause one I hold very near and dear. I met the president of the NY chapter, Dr. Dara Richardson-Heron ( a 12-year breast cancer survivor) and the host of the evening Chanel 2's Maurice DuBois. Doing my best to get invited next year - the Race this year is September 13th!

A Little Scare

Not sure if any "scare" should be classified as little, but for now that is how I need to think about the latest in my seemingly never-ending saga of dealing with breast cancer.

I had a visit with my surgeon, Dr. Shapiro this week. For the past two weeks, I have been experiencing pain and discomfort in the side of my chest that I had my cancer in. So much so that sometimes it interrupts my sleep if I happen to roll onto my left side. I originally chalked it up to my weight training plus amped up running mileage; (Marathon training has begun!) but it started to freak me out. Plus, I could swear I felt something there - something other than the scar tissue created from my lumpectomy. So off to NYC and the NYU Cancer Center Greg and I went.

Dr. Shapiro examined me and did admit I felt "lumpy" - how's that to start a girl's day? He did say he did not think it was a "horrible lumpy" but maybe just cystic tissue. He asked about my exercise regime and advised me to scheduled time with him once my sonogram and mammogram are completed on the 26th.

So I left somewhat conflicted: Should I be upset and worry until the 26th OR do I place my faith, as I have in past, on my surgeon and realize that if he thought there was something bad going on he would have had me scanned immediately? What to do, what to do. I am trying to go with the latter and keep on trucking through life until I can no longer. Some days it easy, others - not so much. Once again I thank my friends and family for rallying around me and checking in, my mom for the beautiful flowers and my husband for his unending patience and positive outlook. I have said it a million times and will probably say it another billion times more but, "this too shall pass."

Back to Reality

The Five Burts
Doesn't the Background Look Fake?
Bill and Ethan on "PRACTICE" - lovingly handcrafted by Bill and his kids
Artisan Works
John and Allie
Summer has truly arrived - heavy,hot,humid with an almost daily thunder shower expected, I have no problem grasping that August begins later this week. Me, I am still trying to get back into the routine of daily life after returning from a wonderful week of fun, family, and friends.

Greg and I started our journey a week ago Friday with a drive back to upstate NY ("boy, that farm looks awfully familiar doesn't it?") to attend the wedding of friends John and Allie in Rochester. Having never visited Rochester before, Greg and I had something to do between the lovely church ceremony and evening reception and toured the city and its surrounding neighborhoods. The reception was a grand affair, held at a place called "Artisan Works" (see photos). We greatly enjoyed the art, the music, the food and the company.

Sunday morning we hit the road bound for Maine. It was a beautiful day that turned into a great night at my brother's summer home in Gray. We had a blast swimming, boating and hanging with the five Burts: Bill, Ethan, Aaron, Christine and Hayden or as I now call them - B.E.A.C.H. We had a great Maine lobster dinner while there and of course visited LL Bean.

Greg flew out of Portland on Wednesday bound for the 2009 Comicon in San Diego. I met Jess in Beantown and we proceed down to the Cape with a stop for a great lunch in Plymouth where we sat outside along the water and enjoyed the sun. Our time on the Cape was great. We had wonderful dinners courtesy of my Dad and his wife Linda, did our required training runs, participated in Truro Winery's tasting, roamed the streets of P-Town, and relaxed. Good thing as the drive home Saturday was somewhat brutal although we were rewarded with an evening soiree at Lauren and James' cabin on Cupsaw Lake so all was not lost.

I ended the week by attending a bus trip to see the Lion King in NYC with my niece and nephews as well as my mom (Thanks mom!) We had fun in Times Square where we people watched, had lunch, and shopped in the M&M store: did you know they are making coconut M&M's? they are very tasty! The show was wonderful, everyone enjoyed it. The day was long and I came home to an unpacked suitcase, dirty laundry, etc. As I settled down to watch True Blood I thought of the week ahead and realized I needed a vacation from my vacation!

Ithaca

Here are some photos from my trip to Ithaca to prove it was not a complete waste; we had journeyed north to attend the Ithaca dragonboat festival, however upon awaking Saturday morning I was aching everywhere - thank you Zometa! We watched the morning races and then spent the afternoon touring around Cayuga Lake and its 16 wineries...

Sunday morning I felt a little better so we visited Ithaca's famous farmer's market and hiked up and down Buttermilk Falls. I tried to convey to Greg how different the city is while school is in session and thousands of Cornell and Ithaca College students flood the streets (My sister Gwen attended Cornell and I had visited her there to experience it). All in all it was a nice weekend but I was happy to get home and to start feeling normal again!

Zometa - Round 2

Zometa Infusion 7-9-09
Just returned from a trip to NYC where I received my 2nd round of Zometa. (Not a huge fan of the attached photo but you can see I am back in the chemo suite - not quite so freaky this time around.) Met with Dr. Oratz who reviewed my last round of labs and said everything looks good. Just need to have my bi-annual mammo/sonogram and I should be "cancer related" doctor free for the remainder of 2009! Woo hoo!

Feel okay right now - was extremely tired after the infusion, probably more from stress than anything else but a quick nap fixed that.

Came home to learn that the photos I had taken for a local photographer's breast cancer project will be in a show at the Morristown Museum opening September 30th! More details to follow!

Was looking back at my posts from 2008 to see where I was a year ago - boy that wasn't very much fun was it?

July Already

Family
Maia and Jess
Hair June 2009
Amazing how fast time is flying by this year. It could be due in part to the fact that summer did not seem to quite fully arrive until this past weekend. Greg and I were fortunate enough to spend the holiday weekend on the Cape where the weather was simply perfect and we did a whole bunch of nothing! (by nothing I mean I usual - long walks on the beach, browsing at the flea market, visiting family, eating and drinking, and I did manage to do my "rave run" - a 5 mile loop that starts at the National Seashore Visitor Center, and passes both Coast Guard and Nauset Light Beaches.

It was our second trip up to the Cape in two weeks - our last visit was a quick overnight to be part of my sister's nuptials; we have been quite lucky as the weather that night was spectacular as well! The ride home is never fun and this July 5th was no exception: 8 hours in the car. Need to get to work on that transporter...

I face my 2nd Zometa infusion later this week. I remain positive that the experience will not leave me as unsettled as the last, however returning to the chemo suite is not all that much fun. I am prepared this time and will work from home in case I suffer the same side effects. Good thing I know what to expect or I might think I was coming down with swine flu!

Summer Arrives!!!

Summer arrived today along with Father's Day. However the summer solstice has been trumped this year by gray skies, cold temps, and so much rain that the waterfall behind my house as gone from a steady drone to mighty roar. We have not had a "HOT" day yet, everything is damp, and running outside is not all that much fun soaking wet.(Someone remind me of that when I am doing my 18 mile morning training runs in 90 degree weather and complaining about it!)

But - enough with the whining, there is much to be happy about these days. I am feeling great, my next mammogram is in July along with my next Zometa infusion. (Not looking forward to that so much). Based on my last round of bloodwork I am confident my mammo will be clear. I have Greg joining me in the chemo suite while I get my Zometa so at least I will be distracted and this time I know what to expect.

My garden is flourishing in this weather - you can see photos above. My cousin Kristen graduated as co-valedictorian of her high school, Pequannock Township High Class of 2009. She will be off to BU in September, another reason to visit Boston! We have three weddings this summer - all of which should be a lot of fun plus we will be spending time with my brother and his family at their vacation home along with making a few visits to my Dad's. With my dragonboat racing and running it looks to be a busy summer indeed; I tell everyone I am making up for the time I lost last year!