Closer to the Finish Line!

Tuesday after the long weekend, I got 4 tattoos!  Ok, it wasn’t in a drunken stupor and was done by my medical team.  I have 4 black dots strategically placed around my breast and to the naked eye look like beauty marks.   A memento of this journey!   I met with Dr. Rad and she told me my case wasn’t tabled at the Tumor board as they ran out of time.   Before I could say “What the?” she told me she had a sidebar conversation with Dr. Deli and they agreed no surgery required!  Yippee! Apparently 4 years ago, the standard was to remove all lymph nodes in a case like mine.   However, given recent studies, they  compared women that had lymph nodes removed with those that didn’t and there was no difference in recurrence of breast cancer.   So, there is still a small percentage of breast cancer recurrence either way.    I was then prepped for radiation which included a CT scan and being tattooed…  They used laser beams and made sure to carefully position me as it is extremely important that you are in the same spot and position for each radiation treatment.    Then I was told it would be a week or two before treatment would start as they have to create a plan to determine how to blast me.

So I got a call late last week & found out I start this coming Thursday!  Radiation is cumulative and was also told I may feel worse towards the end of treatment…  I will be checked daily…so time will tell.

So active treatment continues for another 6 to 8 weeks..

I am looking forward to life after cancer treatment…   I think this is where the real work will be needed.    I read somewhere it will feel like a tsunami of emotions.   I believe it..and see a future blog on this topic.

I found a couple of stories that you may find inspirational.

 Potatoes, Eggs, and Coffee Beans

Once upon a time a daughter complained to her father that her life was miserable and that she didn’t know how she was going to make it. She was tired of fighting and struggling all the time. It seemed just as one problem was solved, another one soon followed.   Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Once the three pots began to boil, he placed potatoes in one pot, eggs in the second pot, and ground coffee beans in the third pot. He then let them sit and boil, without saying a word to his daughter. The daughter, moaned and impatiently waited, wondering what he was doing.  After twenty minutes he turned off the burners. He took the potatoes out of the pot and placed them in a bowl. He pulled the boiled eggs out and placed them in a bowl. He then ladled the coffee out and placed it in a cup. Turning to her he asked. “Daughter, what do you see?”“Potatoes, eggs, and coffee,” she hastily replied.

“Look closer,” he said, “and touch the potatoes.” She did and noted that they were soft. He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee. Its rich aroma brought a smile to her face.

“Father, what does this mean?” she asked.

He then explained that the potatoes, the eggs and coffee beans had each faced the same adversity– the boiling water.

However, each one reacted differently.

The potato went in strong, hard, and unrelenting, but in boiling water, it became soft and weak. The egg was fragile, with the thin outer shell protecting its liquid interior until it was put in the boiling water. Then the inside of the egg became hard.

However, the ground coffee beans were unique. After they were exposed to the boiling water, they changed the water and created something new.  “Which are you,” he asked his daughter. “When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a potato, an egg, or a coffee bean? “

Moral: In life, things happen around us, things happen to us, but the only thing that truly matters is what happens within us.

I suddenly feel like making a cup of coffee!

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A WISDOM STORY… THE 3 HAIRS.  

There once was a woman who woke up one morning, looked in the mirror, and noticed she had only three hairs on her head. “Well,” she said, “I think I’ll braid my hair today.” So she did and she had a wonderful day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and saw that she had only two hairs on her head. “Hmmm..,” she said, “I think I’ll part my hair down the middle today.” So she did and she had a grand day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that she had only one hair on her head. “Well,” she said, “Today I’m going to wear my hair in a pony tail.” So she did, and she had a fun, fun day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that there wasn’t a single hair on her head. “YAY!” she exclaimed. “I don’t have to fix my hair today!”

Attitude is everything. Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle. Live simply, Love generously, Care deeply, Speak kindly.

Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass… It’s about learning to dance in the rain.

Have a good week!!

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