Some of you may have seen me announce on social media recently that I have joined the board of a local non-profit organization called Consano. When I first started talking to people about my intention to raise money to fund Oligodendroglioma research, to find new treatments and hopefully a cure-- my colleagues and friends in …
Tag: brain tumor
Learning to go-with-the-flow when plans change
I have a Type A personality. I always have a plan, and a back-up plan. I keep 2 paper calendars up to date -- one has the kids' schedules, and one with our whole family's plan laid out for months at a time. Usually this is full with potential conflicts-- my husband and I may …
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The absurdity of conspiring against the intruders in my head
I used to joke that my surgery was my tumors' "eviction day." I was scheduling their removal, their destruction-- they were NOT welcome to stay one second longer. The planning was constantly on my mind, I was aiming all of my energy towards the ultimate goal of evicting these... tenants from hell. But-- my mind …
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My Real-Life Riddle
After surgery, I was given 2 treatment options. Option 1 would allow me to live longer without recurrence of my cancer. The cancer would recur, but it would be kept at bay for maybe 2-3 years longer than option 2. However, option 1 would leave me with side effects that would develop over time. The …
Birthday Bittersweet
I love celebrating other people's birthdays, but I like to have mine pass without much fanfare. Yesterday was my 37th birthday, and I honestly went back and forth on deciding to celebrate in a bigger way than I normally do this year. YOLO, right? Why NOT have a huge party every year that I'm alive!? …
Chemo, Round 2
Thankfully my chemotherapy is a pill, so I can take it at home. The routine is set so that I take 3-4 pills every night before bed for 5 nights in a row. Then have 23 days off, and start again. This round was delayed by 1 day because my platelets were too low (side …
the This is Some Big Bullsh*t list
I'm not much of a complainer. On the scale of 0 to complains-a-lot I'm probably a 1 or a 2. I know that complaining doesn't help anything, and just wastes time that could be spent fixing the problem I'm complaining about to begin with. So instead of complaining, my response usually is to just get …
Telling the Kids about Cancer
My first MRI was on a Friday, leading to a biopsy the following Monday-- so that weekend was a mess. We had close to no information other than something really scary was happening. When you don't have answers, or any guiding information it is easy to jump to conclusions, worry about worst case scenario-- which …
Hair update
Don't get to used to updates on my hair, because usually I literally spend 10 seconds on it in the mornings. It wasn't until I was in college when I learned how to tame my natural curls, tame the frizz etc etc. I started to color my hair about a year ago, but honestly the …
How to be happy when you have cancer
I'll admit that as a new mother, when people would tell me that "every moment is precious" or something like that, I'd wipe my son's projectile sneeze snot off my arm and try not to roll my eyes too hard. Some moments are just not so awesome-- and when I was tired or frustrated I …
between the busy 