Photo: toronto (princess margaret hospital), december 2021 Earlier this week my friend Lorraine drove me to the hospital so I could have my first chemotherapy treatment. But the cancer conveyor belt had wound itself up the week before. I had appointments for bloodwork, a covid swab (that bad boy was negative), and a scan of my heart. We need a baseline to measure against the … Continue reading poison the well…
Photo: stony plain, alberta (my parent’s farm), december 2009 Yes, the other one. No, not Cancer. No, not the 4-letter delight. But that one; yes, the other one. Chemotherapy. From the moment I found the lump in June, I knew I had a battle ahead. I held out hope and poured positive-energy into manifesting a good result, a less serious result. But, as I’ve mentioned … Continue reading the other C word…
Photo: italy (capri), october 2013 Each day with recovery can be very different from the next. In the immediate days post-op, I was feeling pretty good. I’d gotten through the surgery, I was getting a lot of sleep, and I had nothing to do but rest and recover. People would ask if I was bored or climbing the walls. The answer was always no. My … Continue reading cutting the cords
san francisco, november 2011 Continue reading but first, we rest
Photo: central park, april 2011 I’ve started my own dance now. A dance I never imagined I’d be pulled into. Heart disease, diabetes, glaucoma, cataracts, diverticulosis – all these were expected dance partners I have been working to avoid. But, with no family history of cancer – never mind breast cancer – it came as a surprise. But, I’m ahead of myself. My dance started … Continue reading after the first steps
Photo: Joshua Tree National Park, February 2012 On June 21, 2020 I was having my morning shower and as I moved the sponge to wash under my arm, I felt something new. Something strange. Something hard. Was it a lump? Is this what a lump in your breast feels like? Impossible! The first impulse is to deny its existence. Yet the seed holding the truth … Continue reading the battle begins
I Forgot My Mittens 