Skip to main content

My 2-year Cancerversary



Yes, indeed, this past June was two years since my diagnosis, and if you wanted to be transported back to that beginning, you can do so here.

But such a post cannot begin without the word gratitude. Gratitude for being able to make wonderful memories with my family and friends over the past two years.  But this post cannot be complete without remembering some of those who have shared this journey with me and are not here anymore.

My friend Amy:
Amy was diagnosed with stage 2 triple negative back in November of 2011 and she recently passed away in August. I had last seen Amy in July, and while wan and frail, she was so optimistic and hopeful, the way we all are. I feel very sad to have lost her and to know her family and her young son are without her now. Hugs to you Amy, in the beautiful place you are now.

My friend Karen:
I first met Karen when I had started my chemo treatments. She sat next to me in the infusion chair, and I was very interested in her quilt, since we were always cold during chemo. The ladies in her church had made her a lovely quilt and had put their names on the pieces so she would have them with her during chemo. I was inspired, and short of getting her church ladies to make a quilt for me, I got one that cheered me up. It's the one in the picture above.
Karen was a 10-year survivor who had brain metastasis and passed away in December of last year. I still remember her for her joy. When we talked about her cancer recurring, she said she was ok, she was happy, she had had a blessed 10 years. Sweet Karen, smiling with the angels now.

And me. For the last two years, here is a snapshot of what I've been doing, making memories with my family, going to weddings, visiting home:


Mental health break
Mental Health Break
Playing around and trying new things

Having fun at home

Family vacation

Pumpkin patch fun with boys!

Fishing fun

Comments

Savi said…
Hi Sally,

Those are great photos! My love to Gunnar and the kids - hope I can meet them sometime. I wish you many, many more cancerversaries in great health!

Love,
Savi
Austin Trini said…
Hi Savi - just realized I didn't reply. I would love to meet you and visit you and your family! I am keeping it on my list of things :)

We are taking it one day at a time !
Austin Trini said…
Goodbye Patricia - I hope you are smiling and dancing where you are. Warm in the embrace of eternal love.

Popular posts from this blog

Week 20, Cycles 11,12 of 12: Not Happening

This week the oncologist felt that I had done enough chemo- I was not going to get Cycle 11 and Cycle 12.  I've talked before about the effects of the chemo on my fingers, but you know it is a sad situation when you knot your pyjama bottoms and then can't untie it to go to the bathroom. No more chemotherapy for me. Yay?  Yes, a bit of an anti-climax, but I still get to ring the "end-of-chemo" bell and get confetti thrown on me by my chemo nurses. My doctor also had in her hand the results of my post-chemotherapy MRI and it showed that there was a reduction in the tumour, it looked less dense than before and above all it looks like the volume of the tumour decreased by about 75%. Yay to that for sure! Considering I didn't feel that anything was changing I was very happy about the result. Next on my list: surgery. She said that although my blood counts are low in some areas, she felt that if I wanted to have surgery that day, I was well enough to do it. Me? We

Talking with Lucas on climate change

This is my post for Blog Action Day . This is an annual event where bloggers everywhere in the world post about the same issue on the same day to spark discussion around an issue of global importance. This is part of a conversation I had with my 8-year old. Mama : Do you know what climate change means? Lucas : I think it means when it is like 90F and it is hot.   And the change? It's when in the daytime it might be 90F and sunny and hot, and then you go inside for dinner and then right after dinner and it might have dropped to 70F Well, yes it is that in a way.  That describes what is happening in your area, but when people use the term "climate change" they really mean something more global, like affecting climate around the world Have you heard of the team "global warming"? What global warming is that it is made up of CO2 (carbon dioxide) and when they burn stuff the smoke releases CO2 and it's like a blanket covering the earth and if it k

Cancer by the numbers 2 of 4: That grocery bill

This is the second "Cancer by the Numbers" post, the first was about blood counts . We have been trying to eat organic fruits and vegetables as much as we can, to reduce the pesticide levels we injest. I will publish another post about cancer and food, but for now I thought I'd share the cost of organic vs not organic based on a quick poll of my local grocery (HEB).  We had cut out meat prior to my diagnosis of cancer (ever since reading The China Study ) so perhaps the decline in spending in meat is offset by the more pricey organic items! The graph below shows the increase, as a percentage of the non-organic price, that I pay for common items that I buy. While the actual dollar amounts may not be significant individually, I can tell you that I really feel it on my grocery bill when I buy blueberries! If you feel you want to buy organic, but want to spend the dollars on those items where it makes a difference, take a look at the  Environmental Working