Shucky Darn!

Those of you who know my husband know that he is an avid outdoorsman.  Hiking, skiing, surfing, biking, bouldering, rock climbing, mountaineering, you name it. He’s out there doing one of them.   I support him in these activities even when he comes home with scrapes and cuts.   I usually ask him to cover his wounds …

Pink-tober

October has arrived.  It’s the time of Halloween decorations, pumpkin spice lattes, and hopefully cooler weather.  We pull out our home décor items with Fall colors of red, orange, and brown.  We walk past the candy aisles in the stores and wonder if it’s too soon to start buying Halloween candy. October also means we …

Sadness

I’m feeling sad right now.  I’m also feeling a little bit angry and a little bit helpless.  In my July post, I wrote about a woman who I have been following on the Breast Cancer forum.  Her forum name was “moth,” and she had a blog called “Never Tell Me the Odds.”  I wrote that …

Little Things

“Don’t sweat the little things.”  How often have I heard that one?  I’ve seen pictures, drawings, Instagram posts, and so on of someone in a “situation” where the caption reads, “Don’t sweat the little things.”  There are endless how-to books written on the subject.  Workbooks, daily devotional books, journals – you name it.  There are …

Guilt

GUILT.  How does that word make you feel?  Erma Bombeck said, “Guilt is the gift that keeps on giving.”    John D. MacDonald wrote, “Guilt is the most merciless disease of man.”  Arthur Buchwald penned, “When we grieve, tears and guilt get mixed together.” I think Arthur Buchwald’s quote resonates the most with me.  When we …

Reprieve

I have been granted a reprieve.  My scans at the end of last month showed that I continue to be medically stable.  While we are thankful for the news of “stable”, this reprieve feels more like a stay of execution.  Merriam-Webster defines reprieve as an order or warrant for a temporary suspension of the execution …

Scanxiety

I don’t know who first coined the word “scanxiety,” but whoever did hit it spot on.  Wikipedia calls it a portmanteau, which is “a blend of words in which parts of multiple words are combined into a new word.”  In this case, it is a combination of “scan” and “anxiety.”  Scanxiety. Get it? According to …

Humor

Humor is a strange thing.  What makes something funny?  Why do we laugh?  Why do we start laughing just because someone else is laughing?  Is it something we’re born with?  Have you ever watched a baby laugh?  Can you watch that and not laugh yourself?  Have you ever laughed until your stomach or sides hurt?  …

Roller Coasters and Thrill Rides

I’ve never been a fan of roller coasters or thrill rides.  The ups and downs, the twists and turns, the feeling that I’m probably going to die on the ride.  Not my idea of fun.  Getting a diagnosis of Stage IV or metastatic breast cancer (MBC) feels a little like being on a roller coaster …

What’s Behind the Name?

When I first thought about starting a blog, I wrote down names that I thought might fit me and my goal of having a blog.  I knew I was going to write about cancer, specifically Stage IV or metastatic breast cancer but  I didn’t want the word CANCER to take center stage.  When I was …