Skip to main content

Changing the Focus


I will turn 50 this month. In honor of this milestone -- and just because I want to -- I am changing the focus of my blog.

10 years ago at the age of 40, I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer -- papillary carcinoma. I started this blog after my first surgery as a means to communicate. I had lost my voice for about three weeks, and speaking was a challenge. Many well-meaning folks called in the days after my surgery to check on me. While it was fine that Chris and my mom provided updates, I missed being in contact with people. So I started writing.

Along the way, I learned that I liked to write and also found other cancer patients and survivors along the way. I needed an outlet, and, unexpectedly, my blog provided some perspective for those newly diagnosed as well as those of us who must endure the various follow-up visits and the anxiety that accompanies them.

My last cancer blog post was three years ago. Believe me, the anxiety is still there, but after two recurrences, I've had none in five years!

I'm finding that I want to write again. As I turn 50 and continue my journey as an empty nester in addition to a person who just graduated from college (just kidding...that was 1990. It just FEELS like it was yesterday.), you will hear more from me, just not about cancer. OK, well maybe about cancer from time to time, but it won't be the focus.

So let's officially turn the page. This blog is now officially about being old when you don't feel old. Well, some days, I do feel old. And parenting young adults. And life with a Bernese Mountain Dog puppy. And living in an area (DMV --District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia) where sports aren't a priority, but yet they are to me. And how I hate cooking but love food. You get the idea.

Comments

  1. Manish Packers and Movers Pvt LtdMarch 19, 2019 at 1:19 AM

    Packers and Movers Indore - Best Movers and Packers in Indore Offer Home, Office and Local Shifting services at affordable price, Save Time and Money.
    Packers and Movers Indore
    Movers and Packers Indore
    Best Packers and Movers in Indore
    Indore Packers and Movers

    ReplyDelete
  2. Leonardo Greg HugoMay 21, 2019 at 11:30 PM


    Colorectal cancer, cancer of the large intestine, is the fourth most common cancer in North America. Many cases of colorectal cancer are associated with low levels of physical activity and with diets that are low in fruits and vegetables. Individuals with a family history of the disease have a higher risk. I crumble with this disease for 5 years also with a lot of scaring thought in my head because i was just waiting for death every day of my life until My Son came to me in the hospital explaining to me that he has find a herbal healer from Nigeria to cure my Colo-Rectal Cancer,I was so shocked with the ideal also i was excited inside of me.My son asked me to let us give him a try because we have really heard a lot of scammer pretending to cure all sort of diseases with herbal medicine and some of them never get a positive result at the end of it all but we was very confident on this herbal doctor,like i said we give him a try and he sent me a herbal medicine to drink for three weeks, Sincerely I'm telling you today I' alive and healthy no more laying on sick bed,No more Colo-Rectal Cancer.I'm sharing this testimony on here for people who are sick to contact this Wonderful man,His name is Dr Itua.And His contact Whatsapp_+2348149277967____Email...info@drituaherbalcenter.com / drituaherbalcenter@gmail.com.
    He can cure those diseases like:
    Bladder cancer
    Breast cancer
    Colorectal cancer
    Kidney cancer
    Leukemia
    Lung cancer
    Non-Hodgkin lymphoma
    Prostate cancer
    Skin cancer
    Uterine cancer
    Hiv/Aids
    Herpes
    Hepatits
    Love Spell
    Diabetes

    ReplyDelete
  3. Meyer BeckerNovember 27, 2019 at 2:47 PM

    Health wise, I feel like a child dancing in the rain ever since I got cured of hepatitis. I was diagnosed of HEPATITIS B and I was told it has no cure at the hospital, but I was given several antiviral medications to slow the virus’s ability to damage liver. But after sometime the medicine wasn't working and I became very sick with different symptoms like: vomiting, fatigue, dark urine, swollen stomach and so on. I went back to the hospital and I was told it has become chronic with liver problem, and out of frustration I went online to search for something new to try, and I came across Dr. IYABIYE's recommendation, I gave it a try hence it's a herbal medicine. And behold, I was cured after the treatment. I have to wait for months then went back to the hospital and still I was tested negative. You too will be cured. Contact: (Whatsapp: +2348072229413 or +2348158577300) iyabiyehealinghome@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Quite a pay raise!

Today I received a press alert via email from my alma mater, Oklahoma State. Check out the first two paragraphs below: Following only the sixth nine-win regular season in school history, Oklahoma State University today announced a contract extension for head football coach Mike Gundy, giving him a new seven-year contract worth $15.7 million. The contract was announced following action by the OSU/A&M Board of Regents at its regular meeting in Miami. With the new contract, which is effective Jan. 1, 2009 and runs through December of 2015, Gundy’s average annual compensation will be more than $2.2 million. His current six-year contract paid him $1,053,000 this year. What the heck? That's quite a raise, and he didn't even beat OU, Texas, or Tech! Now, I went to OSU when Mike Gundy was the quarterback there. He was the quarterback during Barry Sanders' Heisman year. He seems like a nice guy and a great coach, but wow... In all fairness, I have to point out that I also read ...
2 comments
Read more

More about batting a thousand...

Ah, I didn't really explain the "batting a thousand" reference in relationship to me when posting on the blog last night. Was still in a bit of a fog from the news I received from the ultrasound. A bit of history... Batting a thousand: 1. June 2008: ultrasound reveals suspicious nodules that should be biopsied. 2. July 2008: after biopsy confirms papillary carcinoma, neck ultrasound to look at lymph nodes finds suspicious lymph nodes. Post-surgery found out about the four positive lymph nodes, two of which were the size of small plums. 3. December 2008: Ultrasound post total thyroidectomy and neck dissection, small nodules found in the thyroid bed along with a suspicious lymph node. So in summary, every ultrasound I have had of my thyroid and neck this year has revealed something suspicious. Thus, I am batting 1,000 with the ultrasounds in 2008. Feeling rather bleh and crappy about it all today. It's Christmas...why do I have to deal with cancer again? Ugh.
11 comments
Read more

On my soapbox about "the best cancer to have"

Those of you who follow me on Twitter know I was on my soapbox this morning after reading yet another article about the dreaded subject of how thyroid cancer is "the best cancer to have." Think about that...the best cancer? Why would someone say that? In an attempt to make you feel better about having thyroid cancer, some health care profesionals try to convince those of us who have or have had thyroid cancer that it is "the best cancer to have" because it has a high survival rate. An aside here, that high survival rate applies to papillary carcinoma, one of the three types of thyroid cancer out there. Survival rates are lower for medullary carcinoma and anaplastic carcinoma, the other two types of thyroid cancer. Back on topic...OK, so tell us that papillary carcinoma has a high survival rate. Truly, that is good news. But because of this "best cancer to have" statement, and the fact that I was told my thyroidectomy would most likely be just an easy, ove...
13 comments
Read more