Italy is a distant memory...time to make new ones!

WOW! Hard to believe that it's been 6 months since I came back from my Italian holiday! April 16th came way too fast. After my unforgetable trip to Venice, I flew from Marco Polo Airport to the island of Sicily...home of arancini and the mafia (or at least per Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola) and a very active volcano! I spent a wonderful week in Sicily with my friends Lisa and Steven Kernen and their kids, Zachary & Alessandra. They lived on the US Naval base in Sigonella near the town of Catania. We went to the hillside towns of Noto and Ragusa and walked all over the Sicilian mountainside. We also took a trip to a winery on the northern slope of Mt. Etna and got to see the smoke from a closer perspective than I really needed; the wine was awesome. I then flew to Rome with the Kernen family and we spent 6 days roaming around the Eternal City of Rome. I made sure to throw several coins, both US and Euro, into the Trevi Fountain on our 2 trips there, so I am certainly destined to return to Roma. And...alas...I have been home again for far too long. Okay...I did to to New York and Atlantic City for 9 days in August, but does that really count in the grand scheme of things? I had a great time in NY, but a slice of New York's finest pie is still not the same as noshing on pizze con rucola and vino de casa at Da Buffeto! Anyway...time to make new memories. I'm visiting Central America for the 1st time in December...Honduras for a pre-Christmas jaunt. It's all kind of last minute, which is totally not like me, but I'm looking forward to the experience. It will be nice to see what the weather is like near the Equator just before San Diego starts to really get chilly. THEN....yes, more travel in 2009....not until after Labor Day, but in less than a year! I'm planning to go on a cruise to Turkey, Egypt and the Greek Isles if the rooms don't all sell out. And hopefully I can throw in a few days in London and Paris before and after the cruise. I haven't been to any of these places...at least not as a cognizant perosn...I don't know if my parents took me to any of these places after I was born in Spain. Probably not, since neither of them were that big on travel. Anyway...looking forward to making more memories...soon.

The Venetian Iron-Man...aka A Fatty's Venetian Challenge

Well...it's my 2nd day in Venice and I LOVE it here!!! I travelled on the vaporetto at sunrise with the locals as they started their day. I walked and ate my way back to my hotel...then for dinner I walked back to where I had breakfast (at a cicchetteria in San Guglie) and almost literally ROLLED home! I feel like I did an Iron-Man for fat people. And I find that I am up to the challenge! I highly recommend going to the little cicchetterias and standing at the bar and sampling all that they have to offer...along with a glass (or 2) of the wonderful Venetian prosecco. Prosecco is Venice's answer to champagne...not as sweet as spumante, but not as dry as a French champagne. Sitting at an enoteca, trattoria or ristorante sounds (and is) like a wonderful way to experience Venetian cuisine, but for a more local, less heavy experience...not to mention less expensive...try a cicchetteria. Especially ones that are far, far away from the Piazza San Marco! The prices at or near the Piazza are criminal...for 13 euro I got 2 glasses of Prosecco and 4 or 5 different cicchetti (Venetian tapas)...in the Piazza or nearby, 13 euro won't get you a decent appetizer!!! Anyway...I am now pleasantly sore from all my walking...and I've worn off the uncomfortably full feeling I had after my ciccheti supper...now to sample those fresh strawberries (fragola) that I picked up at the market on my way home...Ciao a tutti!!!

Gelato, Vino & Over-Indulging Your Inner Child

Ciao mi famiglia from Firenze!!! I arrived yesterday, Thursday, March 27th after a day of travel. Note to all...don't fly US Airways unless you are an anorexic midget jonesing for a bladder infection...the back of the seat in front of me was less than 10 inches from the tip of my nose and even my short legs were cramping from the less than commodious leg room...add to which, it was such a hassel to try & get in and out of the seats that I risked busting my bladder rather than climb over the poor sod who had the aisle seat. Anyway...we got into Rome 30 minutes ahead of schedule due to some stellar tailwinds, then my luggage gave me a scare by managing to be practically the last one off the plane. I thought I'd have to run around Florence NAKED! After dragging the thing to the express train into Rome's Termini station, I caught the EuroStar express train to Firenze and here I am! I love my hotel here. A tiny place by our standards, but a little gem. The Hotel Alba (aka Hotel Alba Palace) is great. I got a tiny, but cute little room with it's own bathroom and mini-shower; it even has a flat-screen TV! Okay, they don't have US shows and the only channels in English that I've seen so far is CNN Europe and BBC, but hey...I'm not here to watch TV!! After testing out the shower as soon as I got here, I changed into walking shoes and took a 3 hour walking tour to the Duomo, the Arno and back to my hotel. Along the way, I managed to sample a gelato or 2 from some awesome gelaterias. There is a bar (coffee bar...they serve food, coffee and yes, wine and the occasional cockail) on practically every corner. For those of you that travel the world looking to achieve your shopping fantasies, this is your city. On my walk to the Duomo I managed to run into the stores for Gucci, Salvatore Ferragamo, Gianfranco Ferre and of course, everyone's favorite Frenchman, Louis Vuitton. It rained later in the afternoon and evening, but it didn't stop me from really enjoying my 1st day as a Florentine tourist. Had a terrific dinner at the pub/restaurant about 1/2 block down from my hotel...mmmm...Florentine beef...it's every bit as good as they tell you it is! Finally put myself to bed just before midnight. Woke up feeling like someone beat me with a baseball bat from all the walking, but it was worth it. Got my fat fanny out of bed early so that I could get a full day in...and I did. I had a quick breakfast at the hotel then walked to the Ponte Vecchio and managed to spend my whole paycheck in about an hour in the gold shops along the bridge. Then went to the Uffizi Gallery and immersed myself in Italian Baroque, Byzantine and Renaissance art until the culture was just poring out of my skin. I then found the joys of the Mercato Nuovo (New Market) aka Porcellino (Piglet) due to the bronze statue of a wild boar that stands next to it. Those vendors could sell ice cream to Eskimos! What a great little market. Dragged my happy but down to the Accademia Gallery, too. Saw the original statue of Michaelangeloàs "David" that is housed there...boy, could that man sculpt! I got back from the Accademia and realized that I needed a plan to get all my shopping home...so off to the Piazza Santa Maria Novella to try to find a cheap bag to drag all this crap home with me! Now it's Friday night and I only have 1 more full day here...my muscles are killing me, but I intend to make the best of tomorrow. It has been as terrific as I expected it, and much much more. I'm glad I did this part by myself. It would have been great to have a friend to come enjoy this with me, but then again, doing things at my own pace really does have its merits. I'm off to pop some Advil, hit the hay and do this all over again tomorrow. Everyone take care!!!!

Wow...It's been a while

Wow...it's been 6 and a half months since I've blogged anything. I have been busy trying to get my act together so I can go on vacation to Italy...FINALLY! I am still working part-time at Childrens and I got a 2nd part-time job at Sharp CV's NICU last November so that I could afford to go on vacation...I can't wait...I leave on the 26th...just over 48 hours to go! I'll post pictures when I get back. Hope everyone is well. Check your boobies!!!

40+ and Holding...Holding onto Everything in Case It Falls OFF!!

41 years and 1 day ago...I was born. Funny it doesn't seem that long ago! I would say that I don't feel 41...but that would be a lie! I often feel 41. Heck, there are times I feel 61, but that's only when my body won't do the things I ask it to without protesting loudly. Mentally, however, I still feel like I'm in my 20's. Where has the time gone? It has whoooshed by in the proverbial blink of an eye, that's for darn sure. Anyway, I know that I've been rather lax in keeping in touch with everyone since I've been back to work. I sincerely apologize for the poor communication efforts on my part. Work has been kicking my ass. The staff in the NICU has been great, but just being on my feet for 12 hours at a time has been brutal for me; I don't feel it until I get back home and crash, but crash I do! I finally did 2 shifts back to back this past week and it took me a day & a half to recover...what a wuss I have become! Hopefully, with more time, I'll get back into the swing of things. I'm still on limited/part-time status, so 2 nights a week/one job is all for me. It's killing me in the bank account, but hey...there are worse things! Okay...enough about work! My friend, Annie, and I took our friend Chandra out to the VERY luxe La Costa Resort & Spa for her 40th birthday this past August 25th (her birthday is actually the 21st) for a Spa day to celebrate. WOW! It is definitely an experience to be repeated...not too often, but soon! Annie says that Chandra and I have 4 years to plan for her 40th, so it had better be good! Don't worry Annie, it will be! Oh, and before I forget...CONGRATULATIONS to all of my friends who have become new mom's (and dads), are soon to become new moms (and dads) and, as in several cases, are about to become 1st time grandmothers!!!! Yes, Auntie Mel does babysit, but under very strict guidelines only...so read the fine print and take a number! Seriously though, I am available for the occasional sit and cuddle session for those new parents who need a bit of time away from the little one. I'm told that I do very well with newborns! And one last note for now...I am having the next, and hopefully final, stage of my reconstructive surgery on October 2nd. Woohoo!!! I'll be able to fill out my shirts properly again!!! So think of me the next time you see an obviously surgically enhanced woman jiggling down the street...maybe she is a cancer survivor just like me! ROTFLMAO!

My 1st Haircut....Kinda

I feel like a toddler! I went and had my hair cut for the 1st time in almost a year!!! What's the big deal, right?! Well, the last haircut I got was August 17th of 2006. That's when some of my favorite people gathered to send off my falling tresses in grand style...THEY SHAVED ME LIKE A SHEEP! Yup...it's been almost a year since I shaved off my hair due to the chemotherapy. I'm happy to report that I have actually needed a haircut today....it looked like a badly overgrown mullet from the 80's. A good look....hmmm...no, not so much. I don't think the mullet looked that good when they were in style! Anyway, my friend Matt, who has been doing my hair for eons, was in town with his family, so he went ahead and dyed and cut it. Nothing fancy, just a good pick-me-up. It feels good to feel kinda prissy again. Matt's whole family, except his son, Miles, is into cutting hair. It was nice that Miles and Kelly were in town from Tennessee this week; I haven't seen them since Matt moved them to Nashville last year. Miles has grown about a foot since I last saw him. He's only 12 and towers over his dad, so needless to say, he makes me feel like a total Hobbit. But what a great kid; polite, well-mannered, bright and a stupendous musician to boot. But hey, with talented parents like his, how could he fail to be anything but musically brilliant?! I'm going to take my camera over tomorrow and take pictures of the family while they are still in town. Maybe, if I'm lucky, I can catch an impromptu concert by Clowminzer & Clowminzer....or would Matthew & Miles be a better name???? Hmmmm.....

Music, Laughter & Retail Therapy

Money can't buy you happiness...but it can buy you a bunch of songs off of iTunes to make your day! I just spent two of my days off in the iTunes store broadening my musical horizons beyond the American Top 40. Money well spent. Besides watching old Bill Murray movies, listening to Bill Engvall or shopping on Amazon.com, music has been a great way for me to get out of my bad moods, ease the aches and pains, and give me a vital kick in the pants when my energy has been zapped this past year. I've discovered the Pogues and Chet Baker. Rediscovered why I love Elvis Presley, Connie Francis, Tony Bennett, Patsy Cline & the Ventures. Stocked up on my Jack Johnson. I am now musically replete....mmmmm. I have also had the pleasure of trying to bring my sister-in-law, Cheryl, into the 21st century by going halfsies with my brother and buying her an iPod (the fancy 80GB one with video!) as an early birthday present. I had a ball loading it up with some of her favorite music...okay, okay, she may find a few of my favorites on it as well. Who am I trying to kid...she is now the proud owner of the complete works of Chris Isaak & Silvertone, as well as the Rowland Salley CD "Killing the Blues"...a gem that needs to be more widely appreciated. Cheryl is a self-proclaimed 80's hair band fancier, so I'm trying to get her to appreciate less hirsute forms of music...although she'll find quite a few works by another favorite of mine, Bon Jovi. *SIGH*...I had...still have...a big crush on Jon Bon Jovi; the man has aged very well....and his pipes aren't bad either! Right now I'm trying to figure out if tickets to the Bill Engvall performance at Viejas in October is worth $65/ticket. Don't get me wrong...I LOOOOOVE Bill Engvall. And you can't put a price on a good belly laugh. I highly recommend watching a good comedian to help with personal healing. However, having said that...I do need to start saving up for my long-postponed trip to Italy. At the rate I'm going, Zachary & Alessandra will be in college before I make it to Sicily! I did make a big step towards taking the trip in late March to early April 2008 by submitting the paperwork at work...yes, I just got back to work, but you gotta put in for these things early or other people will get in ahead of you. Hope I can find a reasonable price for a flight! Anyway...speaking of work...gotta get back to being all that I can be and go talk to my little patient who is waving his IV at me. God, I love my job! I've really missed this and I'm so very glad to be back.

A Prime Rib the Size of Texas!

Well, we went to the Butcher Shop in San Diego last night (July 5th) to celebrate the 1 year anniversary of my mastectomy. YUM! I am such the carnivore. When we went to the Del Mar Fair...oh excuse me, the San Diego County Fair this year, I kept referring to the cattle on display as dinner-on-the-hoof. Sorry. I was probably a T. Rex in a previous life. Anyhoooo...I ordered a prime rib the size of the Lone Star State; I'm too embarrassed to say exactly how big it was, but let me tell you, HUGE pretty much covers it. No, I did not eat the whole thing. I put a pretty good dent in it though! And the rest of dinner was terrific, too. We had chocolate lava cake and creme brulee for dessert, so we all left there pretty happy. As you can see, my needs are simple; half a cow cooked medium-rare and chocolate. No fancy sauces or "emulsions" or _____ (insert cooking buzz word here). Simple, yet good, food is not as easy to find as it sounds. Too many times we think "fancy" means good, or that an "edgy" or "trendy" restaurant must be great. Hmmph! Just because the "chef" in the kitchen can make the food on the plate look pretty doesn't mean it's going to taste any better than what the short order cook can sling on your plate at the local greasy spoon. Anyway...enough of my pontificating on what makes up a good meal. I'm off to contentedly digest my cow.

One Year Ago Today...Time to Celebrate

Wow...it's been a year! Time has wings! Hard to believe it, but today is the 1 year anniversary of my double mastectomy. So much has happened, and yet it still doesn't feel like it could have been a year. Still a lot to do though. Still in the process of breast reconstruction which will take the next at least the next 2-3 months, if not more. I'm still not convinced that choosing to go ahead with reconstruction was the best path for me, but I'm committed to it now, so have at it Dr. Halls! I think that my brother, his wife & I will go out to dinner to night to celebrate this milestone. Hmmm....where to go. While at dinner, I can irritate my brother with tales of my forays into cyber-fandom; wonder what the folks on the Bon Jovi, Chris Isaak & Michael Buble boards are up to??? I know...what a strange combination, huh? But I've also recently checked into Eric Clapton, Jack Johnson and Pink. What can I say...I like to listen to a musical buffet of artists! As a matter of fact, Rowland Salley, Chris Isaak's bass player in Silvertone, is a recent favorite. Check him out at www.rowlandsalley.com . He's very talented, not only as a bass player, but as a songwriter and a watercolorist. Speaking as someone who can't sing, can't play an instrument and doesn't have an artistic bone in my body, I can honestly say that I have talent envy. Maybe I need to start taking guitar lessons again? Hmmm.... Anyway, a nice little celebration dinner would be a great way to mark the occasion. Now if I could only decide on a place. Oh yes, that famous Mel decisiveness....NOT!

My New Old Blog

Well...I did it. I took the advice of some of my friends and family and blogged all my old e-mails & blogs from my past year of cancer treatment. I'm not sure why I thought it would matter, but it's done nonetheless. If someone reads them & is helped through their own cancer journey, awesome. If it just sits out there idle in cyberspace, oh well. It just took some effort on my part; no harm, no foul. If anyone wants to look at my posts you can go to www.survivingcancer-july5th2006.blogspot.com.

Laughing My Way Back To Wellness

I know...it's a cliche...but it's true anyway...Laughter is the best medicine. Before this past year came about, I was very prone to "blue" periods in my life. Big, unexplained bouts of melancholy. Okay...depression. Nothing so obvious that those who didn't know me would notice, but my friends would. It's weird though...when I got diagnosed with cancer last year, I was really afraid that I would fall in the pit again, but amazingly enough, I didn't. I certainly don't think bravery, inner strength, or even being on an anti-depressant had much to do with it. I think that by the time they gave me the "official" diagnosis, I already knew, deep down, that I had cancer and that I already had made up my mind to fight and just deal with it. And trying to find humor, even gallows humor, in every event throughout my year-long journey certainly helped. While I'm not going to claim that laughter cured my cancer, (It didn't; a double mastectomy & chemotherapy did that.) it certainly helped me through my recovery and all the bumps in the road that I encountered...and there were many. I have found that I tend to laugh and smile more since finding out about my cancer....weird, huh? But I guess that it put is all in perspective for me and reminded me that there are a lot of people out there that have it much worse than me. I live in the good. old USA where I have access to the best health care options in the world and I'm proud to be an American and better yet, and American cancer survivor. During my year of surgeries, chemotherapy, wound care treatments, reconstructive surgeries, etc...I found myself reading more humorous books, searching for shows that would make me laugh...just searching for more laughter in general. I think I blew my budget one week on new comedy albums for my iPod. On that note, I have to thank Bill Engvall, Henry Cho, Jeff Foxworthy, Chris Rock, Carlos Mencia, George Lopez, Wanda Sykes, Lisa Lampinelli and many more comedians for all the great work that they put out there. They should put them on the plan of care for cancer patients because they really helped me through those days that even smiling was an effort. I also went to a few comedy shows during the year; local talent was good for some chuckles. I also indulged myself by going to see Chris Isaak & Silvertone twice...for a damn fine musician, he's a damn fine comedian! His drummer, Kenney Dale Johnson writes a blog here on blogger.com that not only provides a perspective of each city they tour through, but is terrifically amusing to boot. Anyway...enough of my blathering. I'm going to go listen to Bill Engvall's 15 Degrees Off Cool and smile myself to sleep.

I Will (And Did) Survive!!

Okey-dokey...I didn't think it would be as hard as it was...or that a tiny, 5 pound, newborn could kick my butt so completely, but it was...and she did. If I'm rambling, it's because I just finished my 1st 12 hour night shift back at work in the NICU (that's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for the uninitiated) after taking a year off to go through breast cancer treatment...and my butt got the beat down of a lifetime. Frankly, I think my chemotherapy treatments went a lot smoother in many ways than last night did. It wasn't that my patient was so sick, or that my assignment was so heavy...they really weren't....they were great to me at work and understood that I wouldn't be back to full capacity on my 1st night back, but.....WOOOOOOO! I didn't think I'd be that worn out, both physically and mentally afterwards. I guess what they say is only too true..."If you don't use it, you lose it." My brain felt like Jello left out in the sun on the 4th of July when I got home. And I hadn't been that busy, just steady. But despite the need for major recuperation, I am ever so glad to be back among my babies. I knew I missed caring for my little ones, but it didn't really hit me until I was back. I not only missed working with my friends (and having adult and human conversations after talking to the dog for 8-10 hours a day), but I missed working with the kids and using my head. Funny. People always say that they'd quit tomorrow if they hit the Lotto. And I used to agree with them. Until today. Funny....

Woohoo!!! Chris Isaak ROCKS!!!!

Okay....so he's not everyone's cup of tea...or hot chocolate...or...whatEVER! Chris Isaak is still one of the all-time BEST live performers ever. And his band, Silvertone, is a conglomeration of world class musicians...bar none! Wow! Okey-dokey...now that I got that brief rant out of the way, can you tell that I just saw Chris Isaak & Silvertone in concert??? They played up in Temecula at the Pechanga Resort & Casino last night (June 23, 2007) and they were their smoking best, as always. And it was a great venue for them to play...indoors, great sound system and just big enough so us fans didn't get crushed. So glad I went... Now back to reality. I kinda wanted to go to this concert as a last fun outing before I have to (finally!) go back to work. WOW! I can't believe it's been nearly a year since I went on medical leave for my mastectomy and chemotherapy! I had planned to be back to the grindstone much sooner than this! It's weird to not have gone to work in so long...especially since I'm a bit of a workaholic....or at least I used to be a workaholic. I'm excited about going back, but I'm also more than just a little apprehensive about it as well. Okay...truth is I'm a LOT apprehensive about getting back to work. I don't know if I can take the 12-hour nights anymore. Don't get me wrong, I'm still an insomniac night-owl....it's 0445 in the morning right now and I haven't even thought about sleep. But I just don't have the stamina I used to have...I guess I'll just have to wing it and hope for the best! Anyhow....I'm glad I got to go hear some of my favorite music by one of my favorite musicians before I have to head back to the grind...it was a stellar way to celebrate my upcoming return to the work force!

My Life As A Vampire

Well...it's happening again. I'm back to my old nocturnal habits. No, I don't go around draining the blood from the unwary (although my baby brother and several other people might disagree)...and I loooove garlic. No...it's just that they rhythm of my life has always been contrary to "normal". Or at least what 98% of the world's population may consider "normal". It's not that I don't love sleep, I do. It just seems that my internal clock just seems to prefer to rev up after 11pm. I try to reset it by taking Ambien occasionally (especially if I have a doctor's appointment in the morning), but even that doesn't work at times. Thank God I usually work at night (7pm-7am)...I say usually because I have been on a bit of a hiatus from work...if a year can be called a "bit"...because of my mastectomy, chemotherapy, wound healing problems, 1st stage breast reconstruction surgery and hysterectomy. I'm finally going back to work on July 1st, part-time, and I can't wait to get back into the swing of things. It'll be nice to see my fellow night owls again and have people who understand my crazy schedule. Anyway, I guess I'll just try to stave off boredom by blogging...and it will also give me a chance to get my thoughts in order and review this past year. I don't want to get "deep" or become a philisophical windbag, but it's nice to be able to reflect on all the crap that has happened in the past year and try to work out the "whys" of everything. Confused yet??? Well...how to explain....uh....hmmm...okay, let me just say that I firmly believe that events, both good and bad, happen for a reason...I just need to figure out what those reasons are and try to learn from them. For instance...why did I have cancer??? Is it just part of the whole statistical nature of the universe...you know..."statistics show that 1 out of every 7 women will have breast cancer in their lifetime"...blah, blah, blah....and God counted off, "1...2...3...etc...7...you...yeah, you...you get cancer. You are now a statistic." Or is it for some other reason...am I supposed to take something from this experience, and somehow find a way to help those around me not become a statistic...like reminding them to do their self exams or by being vocal about being their own advocates when it comes to pushing their doctors about getting a mammogram....or something. Sigh... Don't get me wrong, I don't think I'm anything special; I'm not under any illusion that "God has picked me to be his messenger" or anything like that. But I do believe that maybe he picked me to do something more with my experiences than get a rather drastic boob job! Am I supposed to have some sort of epiphany from this or am I just one of the punchlines in the great big cosmic joke that the Almighty is playing on the Universe? No...I know, that sounded like I want some sympathy, but no...I'm just a tad befuddled. I just keep hoping that if this is a test that God grades on a curve!

Breast Self-Exams and the Pigheaded 40 year old Filipino...an update

This is how I told my friends, near & far,
that I had cancer. It saved having to tell
them all individually...and I didn't have to
see the fear in each of their eyes...that
helped me a lot.

Hi Gang, As many of you are aware, I am turning the big 4-0 this September 11th, 2006. With that in mind, I have been eagerly planning a big trip to Italy. My 1st LONG vacation. I can't wait. Everyone tells me that 40 is the new 30...we'll see. God tends to throw in a few speed bumps along the way to remind us that with all the good in life, there are times that you will come to a glitch or two....a minor rut along the pavement....or a big, body jarring pothole. This past April, during a routine breast self-exam, I found a tiny, lentil-sized bump. Nothing too out of place, but different from usual. In May, during a trip to Vegas with friends, I noted that that tiny lump had grown; now it was the size of a pea. I freaked. Immediately went to see my doctor. "It's probably nothing" is a phrase I hope never to hear for a very long time. Thank God I'm pigheaded (those of you who know me would say that that's an understatement) and insisted on a mammogram. The mammogram lead to an ultrasound, the ultrasound lead to several suggestions that "It's probably nothing" but that if I insisted, I could get a needle-aspiration biopsy. I opted to push for an open, excisional biopsy. After much eye-rolling from various physicians, I got my way and had a small, seemingly innocuous1cm X 1.5cm lump excised from under my right nipple on June 15th. After an week of healing, I got my results on June 22nd. I wish I could tell you that my doctors were right. I wish I could say that I'm just a big hypochondriac. I wish a lot of things. But as I said, God tends to throw in a few potholes in the road of life; this is one in mine. I have breast cancer. I'm doing okay...for now; the time for freaking out will come later. I'm getting to the pissed off time now...."It's probably nothing"....is now something and part of me wants to go up to each and every one of those doctors...1GP...2 radiologists...and 1 surgeon...and mop the floor with them. Now, you all know that I have some great friends who happen to be great doctors. Caring, diligent, smart and compassionate, all of them. But if there are any real lessons that I can pass on to them and to all of my friends its this...When someone...a patient....a friend...a family member...tells you that something is "wrong", something is "different", something "isn't right" BELIEVE them. And for all of you who don't do your self-exams...two words: DO IT. And BELIEVE it. We should know ourselves well enough to know when something isn't normal for our body. If you even have the thought in the back of you head "oh, that's different" get it checked out. And DO NOT let ANYBODY tell you that "IT'S PROBABLY NOTHING". Be persistent. Be insistent. Be PIGHEADED. And have a plan of attack in mind if you do get bad news. I want to take the most aggressive approach. It's early days yet and no surgeries have been scheduled. I have been referred to an oncologist and a plastic surgeon. Because the cancer was found right in the nipple area, the usual treatment is a mastectomy and I'm okay with that. As a matter of fact, I wish to have both breasts removed to eliminate the chance of reocurrance. My surgeon seems to think that I'm being a bit reactionary, but hey, what does he know...he thought that it was "probably nothing". Anyway...that's my life as of today. I have every intention of stepping off the plane in Rome come September 9th. I intend to celebrate my 40th by toasting a Roman sunset over St. Peter's Basilica on September 11th. I intend to see Florence and drink wine in Tuscany. I will be seeing Venice and the pigeons in St. Mark's Square. I will be visiting my friends, Lisa & Steven in Sicily. I will be chasing Zachary around Sigonella. And hopefully, if Lisa will cooperate, I will still be there when she has Zachary's little sister! These were my plans before this little bump in the road, these are my plans now. If you thought I was pigheaded before...you haven't seen anything yet.

My One Year Anniversary of THAT Day

Well it's been over a year since I found that fateful lump...you know the one...the one that EVERYONE with a medical degree was telling me was a harmless cyst and not get my panties in a twist. It's been nearly a year (June 22) since the surgeon told me, "Ooops, sorry, I was wrong. You do have breast cancer." And it'll be a year come the 5th of July (hence my screen/blog name) since my bilateral mastectomy. It has been a year of short-lived anger & bitterness that no one believed that I had cancer in the 1st place, to determination that my best course of action was an aggressive one, to dealing with friends who were too scared to talk to me normally, or would just ignore me totally, because the reality of cancer made them uncomfortable. A year of challenges, like chemotherapy, fatigue, meds that would give you excruciating bone pain, or your body spinning totally out of your control that it won't heal itself after surgery. A year of lightning fast hot flashes that leave you feeling like you've been caught in a blast furnace naked. It has also been a year for being grateful for friends who are there for you, even when you get on each other's nerves, the family members who understand you, and the absence of the family who only know you when it benefits them. You really find out who has your best interests at heart when you come down with a potentially debilitating or life-threatening disease. It has definitely been a year of challenges from on high. Whether you are a believer in God, Allah, Jehovah, the Goddess, or just an un-named higher power that rules our lives, I know that this has been a particularly testing year for me from the Powers That Be. Hopefully, I haven't failed any of the major tests. Anyway....more later....I think I will dig out all my posts during the start of this whole epic saga and paste it here.