July 24, 2025 will be the sixth anniversary of my Metastatic Breast Cancer diagnosis. July 10, 2019 was the day I found the lump. The days in between that and the horrible diagnosis are etched in my memory. July is a difficult month for me. I have not felt like blogging for a long time. This is what my body has been through so far:

Treatments: 102

Gamma Knife Procedure: 3

Brain Radiation SRS: 5 rounds

Adrenal Gland Radiation: 5 rounds

Shoulder Radiation: 1 round

Spine Surgery: 1

LITT to remove a brain tumor: 1

Brain MRIs: 17

Whole Body Bone Scans: 14

Chest/Ab/Pelvic CT Scans: 19

Echocardiograms: 9

Heart MRIs: 9

Breast MRI: 1

Complete Spinal MRI: 1

Thoracentesis to drain fluid from my lung: 2

Hospitalizations: three

This was a photo from treatment 102. Next Tuesday, July 22, will be #103. It has been a whole year since I had a new brain tumor – a record for me. Along with my infusions every 3 weeks, I take 2 oral chemo pills morning and night. They are not kind to my digestive system, but they are manageable, especially since it seems to be working. I am an ambassador for #LightUpMBC again. We raise money for Metavivor for metastatic breast cancer research. This is even more important now that the controlling political party has slashed billions from cancer research through the NIH with the support of every voter who helped to elect them. My fundraising page can be found here:

https://donate.metavivor.org/fundraiser/555408

I am grateful for those of you who have reached out to me while my blog was on hiatus. It means a lot to me. The painted rocks seen in photo at the top of this blog were a special gift from 3 people who know just how to add smiles to my day. Some of you even keep up with my treatment days (still every 3 weeks and still on Tuesdays). A little text or email to let me know you are thinking of me really brightens up those days. I am really tired of dealing with Stage IV cancer every day. Grief over that and missing my mom seep into all aspects of my life. Most days I still have the urge to pick up the phone and call Mom, to share something exciting or something that scares me. I carry her with me in my heart always. I appreciate any shares of this site, as I am still taking a huge step back from social media. You can also sign up to receive new blog posts via email.

I leave you with my new mantra: You don’t have to like it or want it or approve of it. Simply allow it to be there – because it already is.