I never thought I’d elect to have surgery after going under the knife for the removal of a cancerous tumor that somehow lodged itself in the tissue of my left breast. Surgery is bad enough when it’s medically necessary. It seems silly then to choose to submit to general anesthesia and all that follows, like the slicing and sewing of skin and muscle, the pain, the recovery, and the potential for complications. Yet I’m considering it. I’m more than considering…[more]

Four years ago today, I was in Halifax Hospital in Daytona Beach, Florida. At 12:48 PM, I gave birth to Joey. It was quite a day. Joey weighed 10 pounds, 9 ounces and was the biggest newborn baby I'd ever seen. Today, exactly four years after he was born, I was in the hospital again—this time at Shands in Gainesville, Florida. It was also quite a day.Today I learned that I will begin chemotherapy in about one week. I have been prepared for this step in…[more]

My doctor says those disturbing words used in my echocardiogram report to describe the valves of my heart— dilated, thickened, insufficient—are “normal variants.” They are medically insignificant, just as I’d imagined they must be. I’m thankful for the clarification, though. And my doctor is glad I poked around for more information.“I would have been disappointed if you didn’t ask about them,” he said. I would have been too.

Quick. Get me a cardiologist. My right ventricle is mildly dilated. My aortic valve is mildly thickened. And my tricuspid valve is mildly insufficient. I’m sure this is all somehow medically insignificant. Otherwise my oncologist would not be telling me I’m good to go should I opt for a tummy tuck surgery (more about this tummy business later). If my heart couldn’t take it, surely he’d be warning me. The guy did save me from breast cancer, after all. He clea…[more]

What you are about to read happened long ago—more than three years ago to be exact—and the fact that I first wrote the following words that long ago is such good news. It means I’ve survived breast cancer for about 1,095 days now. Nothing makes me happier.This snippet was the very first passage I wrote about me and my cancer. I will continue to publish my posts from the past. I will share some real-time entries too so you’ll know how I&rsq…[more]