How 20 Minutes with my Oncologist Validated my Decision to get a Double Mastectomy for a Stage 0 Cancer
As we followed the medical assistant back to the oncologist’s office, I couldn’t help but notice the curved row of recliners right in the main central corridor of the clinic. They looked out a huge wall of glass to the gorgeous rain-soaked North Scottsdale desert....
Thankful for Silver Linings and Dancing in the Rain
I wrote this article to be published in the January issue of Las Sendas Life magazine, which is distributed in hard copy form to the I-don't-know-how-many thousands of residents in our community each month. It's basically an intro to my Breast Cancer journey and a...
A Super-Stretchy Too-Tight Hot Pink Sports Bra Splattered in Black Paint
I really never wavered in my decision to have a double mastectomy, but as the day approached, and I made my way through my first October - breast cancer awareness month - as a "survivor," I wanted to have some professional photos taken - something to remember “them”...
150 Miles on a Bicycle Saddle and Girl Meets Boy in a Dusty Schoolyard in Gila Bend
Although my life has had a somewhat singular focus recently - breast cancer, getting rid of it and recovering from the getting rid of it - life does still keep going on and on. Kids still get colds and stay home from school. We still have to pay bills and we have to...
Coconut Bikini Under My Skin
Five Days After my Double Mastectomy... It’s Monday morning, the fifth day post-op. And I guess it’s time I give you a little update. I have done nothing but eat, sleep, read, watch shows, be pampered by friends and family, and take pain meds on schedule. (He makes me...
Though I Walk Through the Valley…
This post is the transcript of a short speech I delivered this morning at a women's bible study at our church. The 7-week study started right before my cancer diagnosis and ended the day before my double mastectomy. It played a large part in fueling my peaceful...
I Have Breast Cancer ?!?!
Three weeks has gone by in the blink of an eye. I know that’s a trite phrase - the blink of an eye, but working nights, I’m in a constant zombie state anyway, never quite catching up on sleep, despite the comfy sleep chamber I’ve created in my closet. So there is a...
Some Bad News, But Mostly Some Very Good News!
Friends, I have some news. Some bad and some good. Most of it very good! You will think I’m strange in a second for saying that it’s mostly very good, but to me it is. The bad news is I have breast cancer and will undergo a bilateral mastectomy in a few months… But...
Tom Shrader Touched my Life and Taught Me to Believe
I learned of the death of Tom Shrader in the middle of Chemistry class yesterday. (Yes, I must have taken a peek at facebook on my phone during class. Tsk Tsk.) Tom was a wonderful pastor and teacher to so many, a father to two amazing women whom I have called...
Flying Inspiration: Southwest Airlines Pilot Retires but Plans to Continue Rocking for Many Years to Come
The stage was set in front of the enormous windows at the end of what is normally just a hallway full of people rushing to their flights. But on November 7, the day after the midterm election and a few days before Veteran’s Day, hundreds of people - including many...