Charlcie

Wow, you know it's been a while since I have blogged when my kids' friends start asking when I'm going to add a blog post. I love that! OK, you've inspired me to write, Ryan and David.... So....I don't like Halloween. I don't like to be scared, don't like haunted houses, don't like horror films, don't like blood dripping from stuff or zombies or any of that stuff. When the girls were little, they dressed up as cute things like lions or cowgirls or princesses, not zombies or witches or anything like that. And really, the massive amounts of candy....one can only eat so much before vomiting occurs. That brings us to today, which I am tolerating...going to grin and bear it. The best thing about today is that at 8 PM, my Oklahoma State Cowboys are playing the Texas Longhorns in football on national TV. Hoping for a Cowboy victory in Stillwater today. At least there's that. :) And now for the awkward segue into cancer.... I'm almost embarassed I di...

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...

This morning while riding on the Orange Line of the Metro , I found myself thinking about my upcoming visit to the endocrinologist next week and subsequent ultrasound of my neck. Then I started jumping to conclusions. Dr. Pun said at my upcoming October visit, he would give me an order to get an ultrasound of my neck/thyroid area. The last one I had was in April as part of the batter of tests/scans following my January 2009 surgery to remove more cancerous lymph nodes. All of my other ultrasound prior to the April one were performed by the same physician. However, the one in April was not for some reason, even after specifying I wanted to schedule this “regular” radiologist. My conclusion as I dwelled on this: what if he missed something. He wasn’t familiar with my case. The other radiologist was. So I should prepare myself for the worst with this ultrasound I will schedule in October. If there is something “suspicious” on ultrasound, I will have another fine needle aspirati...

Hey, I was asked to write an article for CureToday.com! Here's a link to the article>

While at the beach vacationing in North Carolina this summer, we heard the incredible news that Michael Jackson had died. It was shocking....and then this smaller, side story came to light the same day: Farrah Fawcett had died of anal cancer. To me, this was a big story as well, but we didn't hear as much about Farrah that day. As a child in the 70s (yes, I'm actually that old), I remember my friends and I playing Charlie's Angels. Even after she was off of the show, I was mesmerized by her. I mean, after all, she married the Six Million Dollar Man , Lee Majors! And then later Ryan O'Neal, but that's a different story.... Even though she had a Lifetime movie here and there, her star was never brighter than in the 70s . However, when I heard she was battling cancer, that caught my attention. It was shortly before I found out that I had thyroid cancer when I became aware of her diagnosis and was surprised. I'm not sure why, but I was just surprised. And then I wa...

Fall is my favorite season with the cooler weather, leaves turning, school starting, college football (hey, my OSU Cowboys beat Georgia to open the season Saturday 24-10!), soccer games on the weekend. I love it...ready to get it started, which I feel like it officially does no matter what the calendar says, on the day school starts. For us, that's tomorrow. Not sure the kids are ready, but I am! The girls and I had a nice day on Friday afternoon thanks to my generous employer letting everyone off at 1 PM on Friday before Labor Day. We went to buy school supplies and along the way bought a few pair of shoes as well. That night, we attended the Madison football game. Three games of soccer (2 Saturday, 1 Sunday) with dinner on Saturday evening with good friends, and it was a great weekend. But tomorrow, back to "business" for our family. One is off to her first day of middle school, the other her 3rd year of high school. The calendar is filled out with various activities in...

Chris posted photos from our June North Carolina trip this week on our flickr page, and it takes me back to that incredibly relaxing time. We took the three kids plus Chewie plus Spencer (friend of the kids that quickly became a part of our family), rented a house in North Carolina and proceeding to generally do.....nothing. For those of you who know our crazy lives and the lifestyle in the Washington DC area, "doing nothing" is truly a gift. We are often running from soccer practice to performances, etc. Add to that mix the past year doctors appointments, ultrasounds, scans, and it gets a bit overwhelming at times. It was a great time at the beach...wouldn't trade it for the world. Wonder why we have never done it before, wondering when we will fit it in next summer, the summer before Christian and Mackenzie's senior year. But I will do everything in my power to get it done. I am being sentimental about the beach trip because....it's coming. No, I'm not talk...