Cancer Survivor, writing about Health and Fitness as you age

This year marks 5-years since my cancer diagnosis and I currently show no evidence of disease. 5 is a big number in cancer years. My husband and I wanted to thank the people who supported us over the years and also to show our friends how much we appreciated them. (I assumed my family already know this!). I talked about the celebrations in my 8-month update. Thank you to all who came and all who donated to the Breast Cancer Resource Center . If you have not donated, please consider doing so now . But on to the invitations! 2 months have passed since the party, but I thought I would share a little bit about what the responses to my  invitation taught me about my friends. 1.  It's a culture thing. I think. First of all, about me. (Isn't is always?) Growing up, if we received an invitation labelled "Mr. X" or "Mrs. Y" , then the invitation was not for anyone else but them. No partner/guest or child unless explicitly stated. If children wer...

My last update was in May , and I thought it would be good to give another update now that it is September, on how I've been doing on my list of 50 . It has been a very rough summer so my plans have been completely derailed (See my Father's Day post.)  Instead of recapping the entire list, I'll just highlight the ones I've done these past few months - Items 6-10. The various celebrations, and these were huge, so I thought I'd share some pictures. I wanted to celebrate my 5-year cancerversary. 5 years is a big number in cancer survivorship years and I am very grateful for these past 5 years that I've had with my family and friends. We had a celebration/thank you dinner for friends I've made through my husband's work. They supported us, but especially him during the rough first year of diagnosis and treatment...and waiting. These are just a few of the food pictures from Buenos Aires Cafe Este @BuenosAiresCafe I was too busy eating and ta...

This past summer I celebrated my 4th cancerversary since I was diagnosed. I did not have a clear idea what to write about so I didn't post, but this past weekend I was clearing out some old papers and got my idea. As usual, if you want to know the story, let me take you back to  June of 2011. I digress, back to my old papers. It is surprising to me that even after 4 years, just how emotional I got. As I was looking through my appointment log, information about treatment choices, books and pamphlets about eating well during cancer treatment,  Cancer 101, Preventing Lymphedema...and more, the emotions just washed over me. Here is my appointment book from the first weeks. At the end of the day, I've had 4 years, and I am working on having more joy in my life and bringing joy to others. I wanted to end on a poem printed on the cover of the Patient Handbook, entitled "What Cancer Cannot Do": What Cancer Cannot Do Cancer is so limited... It cannot crippl...

This past summer, three years ago , I received the diagnosis that changed our lives. It was the week before we were planning to leave for Germany on a family vacation. My dad was flying in from Trinidad to make the trip with us, and we got the news that I had stage III breast cancer the Wednesday of the week he arrived. We had to cancel that trip and I went straight into treatment. This past summer, almost to the day, we finally made that trip to Germany... Here I am on the ferry going to Denmark My dad was not able to go with us on this trip, but it was a wonderful experience to see Berlin again, and see it with the kids. They were great travelers! Helped by the chocolate breakfast bars with Nutella that we got on the plane, no doubt! My first visit to Germany, pre-kids, was all about the places -  my husband's University, Deutsches Eck, Munchen visiting friends, the hospital where he was born, Opa Willie's grave. This time around, it was about family and the food...

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...