tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39541980861093586452026-04-26T23:41:57.438-07:00Wife - Mother - Career Gal - Breast Cancer Warrior. This is my story.Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615061339208927017noreply@blogger.comBlogger259125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3954198086109358645.post-51984762479622071562013-01-11T09:20:00.001-08:002013-01-11T09:20:30.255-08:00

Wow. It's been a long, long time since I've made an entry. Honestly, I've just wanted to put the whole breast cancer thing behind me and get on with my life. But, as life has it... it's not that simple. I've been feeling blue recently and I'm not totally sure why. Could it be my whacky hormones? Could it be my daily dosage of Tamoxifen? Could it just be that life can be hard? So, I wanted to

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615061339208927017noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3954198086109358645.post-60044131286460583172011-05-13T11:33:00.000-07:002011-05-13T18:36:57.602-07:00

One year ago today I was diagnosed with breast cancer and it has been quite the journey. I'll never forget those moments leading up to the confirmation of our greatest fear. Thank goodness we were in the hands of such a caring and compassionate doctor. He educated us and calmed our nerves. It was in his loving care that we embarked upon the most incredible 9 months of my life. I am humbled and

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615061339208927017noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3954198086109358645.post-13092502329164883982011-05-11T12:28:00.000-07:002011-05-13T13:37:11.127-07:00

I hate to sound morbid talking about death all the time, it's just on my mind a lot. The Director of Z's school passed away unexpectedly last week. It was a shock to everyone. This woman was (I'm guessing) in her late 50's to mid-60's. A Boulder native and a very active, outdoorsy-type. She has been at the school for more than 30 years. We just saw her at the annual all-school dinner three days

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615061339208927017noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3954198086109358645.post-87806415513819791512011-05-07T07:26:00.000-07:002011-05-07T07:26:01.558-07:00

But.... at least spring is HERE! Love, love this weather. The birds are chirping, the grass is greening and the boys have been playing in the backyard for minutes on end (working our way up to hours.) Next Sat is my big event. Please join us at the Boulder Home & Garden Fair at 29th Street, from 10 to 4. I'll be the chick with the clipboard and walkie talkie. :)

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615061339208927017noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3954198086109358645.post-72455584224584296792011-05-05T14:22:00.000-07:002011-05-05T14:22:22.530-07:00

I'm tired. Very, very tired. I went from one wild, cancer warriorin' year to diving head-first into work projects to make money so I can get caught up for my year of minimal working. I'm. So. Tired. Happy Cinco de Mayo. Eight days away from my one year anniversary of being diagnosed and one month, exactly, away from the big 4-0!

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615061339208927017noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3954198086109358645.post-21380777067805021462011-04-29T07:02:00.000-07:002011-04-29T07:02:50.490-07:00

I stopped by the grocery store yesterday to pick up a few last minute dinner items. While there, I noticed the place was crawling with retirees doing their monthly shopping. They were everywhere! Now, this is not the first time that I've visited my corner Safeway and observed the white-haired takeover, but in the past, I never really looked at these folks. Yesterday, for some reason, I was drawn

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615061339208927017noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3954198086109358645.post-73264639647165070642011-04-27T13:03:00.000-07:002011-04-27T13:04:31.151-07:00

Sometimes I read other blogs... in fact, my blog links to other blogs. I haven't had a chance to read them lately, but today I was feeling compelled to "check-in." One of my co-bloggers (who I never knew, but read about occasionally) died. :( Cancer is pretty freakin' serious business. She had a similar diagnosis in 2000, then had a recurrence in 2004 and has gone progressively downhill since. I

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615061339208927017noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3954198086109358645.post-27139824166875339112011-04-27T11:04:00.000-07:002011-04-27T11:04:56.534-07:00

"Life is glorious, but life is also wretched. It is both. Appreciating the gloriousness inspires us, encourages us, cheers us up, gives us a bigger perspective, energizes us. We feel connected. But if that’s all that’s happening, we get arrogant and start to look down on others, and there is a sense of making ourselves a big deal and being really serious about it, wanting it to be like that

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615061339208927017noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3954198086109358645.post-10243783820724932682011-04-27T07:56:00.000-07:002011-04-27T07:56:40.004-07:00

....orectomy. What is that, you say? Oophorectomy (Pronunciation: ō'ə-fə-rěk'tə-mē; from the Greek ωὀφόρος oophoros "egg-bearing" + εκτομία ektomia "a cutting out of") is the surgical removal of an ovary or ovaries. The surgery is also called ovariectomy, but this term has been traditionally used in basic science research describing the surgical removal of ovaries in laboratory animals.

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615061339208927017noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3954198086109358645.post-64604589978910548242011-04-26T14:12:00.000-07:002011-04-26T14:28:13.499-07:00

I'm not a religious person in the sense that I attend weekly church meetings or subscribe to a particular spiritual organization. But, I do subscribe to the notion that there IS higher power and that higher power actually lives inside of me. Yes, mama, Jesus lives inside of me! ;) Organized religion simultaneously pisses me off and mysteriously calls to me. Why? Because we are human and humans

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615061339208927017noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3954198086109358645.post-68209388538876491222011-04-20T13:21:00.000-07:002011-04-20T13:21:55.850-07:00

I was so sad to hear about your diagnosis and the circumstances around it. You must be so scared. I want you to know that you WILL get through this! You must dig deep down inside of yourself and find the strength to carry on... even when you want to curl up in a ball and go away. Your world has been rocked and your life has changed in ways that you cannot even fathom right now.  I know it

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615061339208927017noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3954198086109358645.post-4763405315549210282011-04-19T08:48:00.001-07:002011-04-19T08:48:32.757-07:00

1. You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection. 2. The thought manifests as the word. The word manifests as the deed. The deed develops into habit. And the habit hardens into character. So watch the thought and its ways with care. And let it spring from love, born out of concern for all beings. 3. Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615061339208927017noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3954198086109358645.post-8380254274689953472011-04-17T16:41:00.000-07:002011-04-17T16:41:08.468-07:00

It occurred to me that the tumor which had been growing in my body for the past 5 to 7 years, was located over my heart.... my HEART. My heart has ached a lot in my life. My heart aches now. My heart has been broken and taped back together and the taped ripped off. I've glued it, stapled it and stitched it. It still aches. It still breaks. Have you ever noticed how sometimes relationships are

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615061339208927017noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3954198086109358645.post-85902801725214624042011-04-12T19:26:00.000-07:002011-04-12T19:26:45.480-07:00

I'm different. And, the more I feel the "same" the more I realize I have changed and I can't even pinpoint what it is. Sometimes, I think I can see everything so clearly and sometimes I think I have no clue. Here is a quote from an article I read online today. For some reason, it really resonated: “…When we abandon the idea that what we ‘really’ are is a centralized self corresponding to our

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615061339208927017noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3954198086109358645.post-13273124195428698322011-04-06T14:30:00.000-07:002011-04-06T14:30:10.574-07:00

It's clear that I have not posted lately, and for that, I apologize. The truth of the matter is now that I'm done with treatment and getting on with my life, I've simply been too busy to think about it. I'm a horrible blogger, I know. A few facts in a nutshell; I feel great. Probably better than ever before. I'm eating better, exercising (have you donated to the Tri for a Cure, yet?), diligently

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615061339208927017noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3954198086109358645.post-50758003085470832512011-03-28T07:52:00.001-07:002011-03-28T07:52:53.731-07:00

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615061339208927017noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3954198086109358645.post-83124883329710253592011-03-16T07:47:00.000-07:002011-03-16T07:47:57.095-07:00

My inner warrior says let's CELEBRATE LIFE!! So, I have signed up for the Tri for the Cure race that is happening in Denver on Sunday, August 7th. Thanks to advances in research, I was able to survive treatments. I am racing so that other women can have an even better treatment experience. 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime. Please help me raise money to find a

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615061339208927017noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3954198086109358645.post-38892070393154265022011-03-10T12:22:00.000-08:002011-03-10T12:22:50.369-08:00

So... just had my mammogram and things weren't as clear as one would hope. Apparently, I have some calcification which they would like to keep an eye on. The radiologist says this is typical for post-radiation. So, the girls are gettin' squished again in 6 months. BTW- Mammograms are NOT that big of a deal, by the way. If you're holding out on getting yours because you think it's painful, I'm

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615061339208927017noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3954198086109358645.post-80443280751775220892011-03-10T08:15:00.000-08:002011-03-10T08:15:30.030-08:00

Yes. At 11:45 this morning, I'll be stripping once again. It's been a record 6 weeks since a doctor/tech/nurse has been exposed to the girls. But, today, I strip. Dr. M has ordered a mammogram. I'm nervous. What if something shows up? Given the year I've had - with cancer and beyond - I'm just not sure I can go through all this again. I'll keep you posted. Want to read more about mammography?

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615061339208927017noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3954198086109358645.post-76273034115588671412011-03-09T06:28:00.001-08:002011-03-09T06:28:06.322-08:00

The whole of life is but a moment of time. It is our duty, therefore to use it, not to misuse it. Plutarch

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615061339208927017noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3954198086109358645.post-89726511507435541012011-03-08T10:03:00.000-08:002011-03-08T10:03:43.713-08:00

"Love isn’t exactly what we hope it is. Sure, sometimes it’s as warm and cuddly as a puppy dog wrapped in an old cotton blanket. Gentle. Forgiving. Adoring. But it’s also as cold and hard as a block of Aberdeen granite chiseled from the Scottish hills." My ex-colleague and friend, Mike, blogs. This was an excerpt from today's post. For some reason, this really hit me

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615061339208927017noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3954198086109358645.post-31334433818358122802011-03-07T18:17:00.000-08:002011-03-07T18:17:17.999-08:00

Sometime in the past year my insides were turned out and exposed to the world ... and now I am raw.

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615061339208927017noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3954198086109358645.post-18496106483009896492011-03-04T08:12:00.000-08:002011-03-04T08:12:54.516-08:00

@font-face { font-family: "Times"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; } I see a ghost in my room.  I watch as he floats aimlessly around inspecting my rocking horse, my baby dolls, and me, as I lay frozen in my full size bed. I start thinking he may have seen what he

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615061339208927017noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3954198086109358645.post-16949786226619443302011-03-03T14:11:00.000-08:002011-03-03T20:18:53.524-08:00

I've been invited to do a talk on my cancer blogging experience! Guess that means I need to think about that. Who has time to THINK?

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615061339208927017noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3954198086109358645.post-45890818293562949502011-03-02T08:32:00.000-08:002011-03-02T08:32:03.463-08:00

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615061339208927017noreply@blogger.com1