I'm still here, and since my last update I:
- Successfully fought breast cancer for the second time (yes, a tumor in my shoulder is still considered breast cancer).
- Recovered from surgery (again) and completed two months of daily radiation treatments (again).
- Worked hard to get back to a healthy weight (and became a lifetime member of a well known weight loss program).
- Started running more, and completed a 5K, 8K, 10K, half marathon, and full marathon (yes, seriously).
- Became the mother of a teenager (the younger boys are now 10, 9, almost 8, and 6).
- Discovered I liked hiking, and hiked Camelback Mountain with my boys (I've always been more of an inside girl).
- Continued to homeschool all five of my boys (it is easier than it sounds).
- Celebrated the 5 year anniversary of my self-diagnosis, officially becoming a statistic (in a good way).
- Finally gained a sense of peace about my original diagnosis, and I'm ready to talk about it (hence this post!).
I have made a lot of new friends in the last few months (oh, did I mention that my kids have started competing in triathlons?), and most of them don't know my breast cancer story. I want to share my story with as many people as possible, so other people can learn from the mistakes that were made, and hopefully not have to fight the same issues I did.
Even though millions (billions?) of dollars have been spent in the name of Breast Cancer Awareness, the diagnosis rate is still one in eight women. ONE IN EIGHT IS TOO MANY. To put that number into perspective - go to your friend list on Facebook, count how many female friends you have, and divide that number by 8. Does that get your attention? TOO MANY!!!
As I posted ages ago, I want to take my blog in a new direction. I want to do SOMETHING to help lower that number. I want to do SOMETHING to help lower the odds that any more of my friends and family will join this sorority of breast cancer fighters. I have several things I want to share, including:
- My breast cancer story - my early symptoms, the hurdles I faced before diagnosis, the reasoning behind the decisions I made, and my reflections on what went wrong.
- Stories of other breast cancer survivors, because reading others' stories helped me so much along the way.
- Ideas of things YOU can do to lower YOUR chances of facing a breast cancer diagnosis (NOTE: I am NOT a doctor! I have no medical training! Read my suggestions at your own risk!).
- Deeply personal thoughts about fighting cancer that I have kept inside for 5 years, and am ready to share.
So, please come back on November 1 to read my first post! Before then, please comment below with any questions that you would like me to answer. If there has ever been a question you have wanted to ask but were too shy or embarrassed, now is the time!
PS: I also have another blog (http://ourbigdoorway.blogspot.com/) that I want to start using to share our adventures in homeschooling, my kids' activities and projects, my opinions about pregnancy / birth / breastfeeding, tips for finding time to train for a marathon, and other ramblings from my life outside of breast cancer.
