What NOT to Say to Someone With Cancer

This picture makes me smile.  Sophia, my granddaughter, will only wear 

pink ...  well, except for the green dress.  This is her closet!  Love it.

The rest of this post will make you smile and maybe even laugh, too, i hope.  I'm all about smilin' these days.  And laughing.  Laughing feels so good.

I have a friend who's been a breast cancer survivor for over 20 years.  When she told her best friend that she had breast cancer, she received a huge bouquet of flowers the next day.  Written on the card:  "I'm sorry you have cancer.  We can't be friends anymore."  True story.  And, to be honest, I laugh every time I think about it.

And what about this one? ... A woman received a call from someone she'd worked with in the past. When the young woman asked the woman how she was, the woman told her she had breast cancer.  The young woman replied, "Oh, I don't know what to say."  And then she hung up!  Just like that.  End of conversation.  I LOL at this one!

This is my personal favorite:  A double mastectomy patient was talking to a friend on the phone and told her that she was scheduled for a hysterectomy.  Her husband heard the conversation and yelled from another room, "WHY DON'T YOU JUST HAVE THEM TAKE YOUR ARMS AND LEGS WHILE THEY'RE AT IT?"  I gasped when I heard this, but then I laughed until I cried.

Please be careful when you're talking to a person with cancer.  Your comment could be repeated in someone's blog.  Ha!

Here's something else that makes me laugh ... my grandson, Walt, in time-out at the restaurant.  How cute is this pic??

YAY for Me!!

May 29

Now THIS was a great day.  A fabulous day. A day I will never, ever ... ever forget.

Today I quit smoking.  I know.  Who the hell stills smokes??  Well, I do did!  As I write this, it's been over seven weeks and I absolutely LOVE the non-smoking life.  I celebrated by washing everything I wear (including under-garments) and hanging them outside to dry.  Ah.  The smell of laundry that has just come in from the clothesline is the BEST.  I love hugging people now without saying something dumb like, "Oh, I hope I don't smell like smoke."  Duh.  I smoke.  I smell.

The Nicorette gum is a great help, but honestly, I believe that my Higher Power took away my desire to smoke at the exact second I was ready.  I haven't wanted to smoke since the first day I quit.

And can you imagine having breast cancer AND smoking?  Can you imagine getting chemo and wanting a smoke?  Eww.

The blessing today was becoming a NON-SMOKER.  Just love my sweet-smelling life!

Not Loving the MRI

May 27

The dreaded MRI.  I am a basket-case before a breast MRI.  I can't stand to stay still that long.  I'm afraid I'll sneeze or get a cramp in my foot or fall asleep and then do one of those jerks I do when I'm dozing off.  And ruin the MRI.  And have to start over.  This time I took 10mg of Valium.  I don't think it worked, but the 'precious duo' said ... oh, yes!  It worked!! My sweet and kind radiologist had me wait for results before I left. How awesome is THAT? I was worried, to say the least, but she reported that she didn't see anything on the film other than the tumor.  Nothing in the other breast.  Nothing in the lymph nodes  Blessing!

Here's a picture of a breast MRI. Freaky.

Afterward, all I wanted was a Braum's cheeseburger (with everything!) and ice cream.  And that's exactly what I got.  Life is good!

My Surgeon, Dr. B

May 25

Today, I met my surgeon, Dr. B.  OMG!  He's the MAN!  I'm in powerful hands. And very blessed. Of all the surgeons in OKC, I get to have him. Sweet.

Surgery (lumpectomy) will be June 2nd.

The "precious duo," my twin sister, Claudia, and my daughter, Emily, accompanied me to this appointment and to every single one after that.  What a blessing these two are to me on my journey through breast cancer.  I'm so very grateful!

Later that day I saw this:

Sweet little family of geese crossing a very busy street.  A line of cars were behind me as we waited for them to get to the other side.  Awwwww.

Holy Cow! ... Are You for Real?

That's exactly what I was thinking on May 23, 2011, when the radiologist from hell told me I had invasive breast cancer.   I wanted to jump across the table and remove the eye balls from her face. I wanted to scream at her and ask her 'why?' ... but not because I had cancer.  It was because the news was coming from her: so blunt, so uncaring, so cruel.

But here's the blessing:  for the next two days I didn't focus on the breast cancer because I was so focused on THAT woman.  Oh, yeah.  Sometimes anger is a good thing ... but only for a day or two.  As soon as I came out of the anger funk, I started the breast cancer journey.  There was so much to do.  So many decisions to make.  So many tests and consultations and sleepless nights.  I was scared.  Really scared.

At this point, I knew nothing about breast cancer in general or MY breast cancer in particular.  I didn't even know that I needed to know!  This was the beginning of my "research ride."

Another blessing:  my precious grandkids.  Just adore these guys!