Catching Up

Today we left home at 4:30 am. I had a brain MRI and an appt with my radiation oncologist. I extended my streak for unremarkable brain scans – the desired result. It has been well over a year now without any new brain tumors. The new treatment I switched to last summer seems to be working well. We are relieved, as you can see on our expressions.

Madi and I are grieving hard for Indie. She outlived the vet’s prognosis by 9 months and I am so grateful for all that extra time to take care of her and love her. Her osteosarcoma finally made it impossible for her to stand. Cancer is a bitch.

September 27 was the Chicagoland Be a Hero Fun Run for Metavivor in Plainfield, IL. It was a beautiful day. My team at the walk consisted of my husband, Dave, my daughter, Haley, my cousin, Suzi, and my friends, Lila, Patti and Joy. I got a new Wonder Woman costume and had a lot of fun with it. I’m so grateful for my team walking with me. They all live 3 hours from Plainfield. It is so generous of them to make that trip for me. I’ve mentioned that my body cannot regulate temperature well anymore. I became a little too hot before the race started and lost my cookies. Ugh. But I walked the course immediately after that. F cancer. Thank you to everyone who contributed, too.

My family means everything to me. I imagine getting to heaven someday and showing God a photo of these 4 people and telling God this is it – this was my life and these people made me whole. I celebrated their 28th, 24th, and 23rd birthdays with them this year. I never thought that was possible 6 years ago. I watched the second one graduate college. Dave and I celebrated our 31st wedding anniversary.

October is here and the pink-washing is everywhere I look. Please be discerning about where your dollars are going. Many companies put a pink ribbon on their product and vaguely mention that some portion of the cost will go to support something dealing with breast cancer. Please read the fine print.

95% – 98% of all breast cancer deaths are caused by metastatic breast cancer, yet of all the money spent researching breast cancer, only 2% – 4% goes to researching metastatic breast cancer. It is a horrific disparity.

My fundraising campaign is for Metavivor. All money goes metastatic breast cancer research. My life literally depends on this research to keep finding new lines of treatment over time. Please help end the research disparity by contributing to MBC research.

https://donate.metavivor.org/fundraiser/5554408