tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6809102117325110761Sun, 29 Mar 2026 16:32:00 +0000cancerchemochemotherapydentalbreaking the newsbreast cancerbreast cancer diagnosisoncologistrecoverytaking chargeBreast MRICountry Club PlazaDr. Glennah TrochetDr. RajaHER2/neuMRIMRI guided core biopsyMRI reportMRI resultMRI-Guided Core BiopsyPete's Jewely Repairadvice to women with breast canceradvocateappointmentbiopsybiradsbreast cancer awareness month; octoberbreast centerbreast lumpbreast navigation programbreast reconstructionbreast surgeon sacramentobrookstonecancer clichecancer diagnosiscancer policecarboplatincommentscore needle biopsycoworkerscystcyst aspirationdavey dentaldiamond ringdimpledrainer+estrogenfatiguefriendsgifts for mastectomy patientgoogleh1n1 vaccinehair fallinghair losshealth careherceptinimplantindendationindentationinfusioninsurancemagnetic resonance imagingmammogrammastectomyoncologypathology reportpeopleplastic surgeonpr-progesteroneradiological associatesradiologistreceptorreconstructionsacramentosearchsentinal node biopsyseromastereotactic biopsysurgical pathology reportsymbolismtaxotereteavanatelling the kidsthankstissue expandertumor boardultrasound guided biopsyvideowaitingBlogging my life with breast cancer, from suspicion to diagnosis to treatment. Now livin' the Stage IV Lifestyle! Terminal Cancer can be funny. Just not for very long.    http://www.butdoctorihatepink.com/noreply@blogger.com (Ann aka ButDoctorIHatePink)Blogger599125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6809102117325110761.post-3776944257659913719Thu, 09 May 2019 03:27:00 +00002019-05-08T20:27:27.105-07:00 http://www.butdoctorihatepink.com/2019/05/8-year-metsterversary.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ann aka ButDoctorIHatePink)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6809102117325110761.post-3940318597246734253Sat, 01 Dec 2018 23:46:00 +00002018-12-01T15:46:46.998-08:00 I have had a long and excellent relationship with a company called Healthline.  I am not on their payroll, for the record, but we have done projects together.  One of them was my being a mentor to a woman diagnosed with metastatic cancer.    They were going to film our meeting. I was pretty excited about meeting Susan, although they told me almost nothing about her so I http://www.butdoctorihatepink.com/2018/12/healthline-mentor.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ann aka ButDoctorIHatePink)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6809102117325110761.post-2626136952434782408Fri, 30 Nov 2018 01:25:00 +00002018-11-29T17:25:48.546-08:00There are cycles to living with metastatic breast cancer, especially for as long as I have.  Of course, first comes fear, sadness, mourning, then gratefulness, appreciation, acceptance, even tedium.  And denial.  Most people feel denial at the beginning, "This can't be happening to me." or  "I'm just eating wrong, I can fix with flax seeds and cannibis." (You can't.). I http://www.butdoctorihatepink.com/2018/11/biological-odd-duck.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ann aka ButDoctorIHatePink)8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6809102117325110761.post-2361600632833841305Wed, 15 Aug 2018 00:08:00 +00002018-08-14T17:08:11.831-07:00http://www.butdoctorihatepink.com/2018/08/blog-post.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ann aka ButDoctorIHatePink)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6809102117325110761.post-4436022058838367045Mon, 16 Jul 2018 19:02:00 +00002018-07-16T12:02:44.693-07:00Over the next month, I've partnered with Breast Cancer Healthline to test and use a new app for breast cancer patients, and I'm excited to share it with you.Why an App?The internet has changed so much over the years - when I was first diagnosed, the only thing available were articles,  forums and blogs. What I really needed was human interaction, so I found breastcancer.org's forums and http://www.butdoctorihatepink.com/2018/07/new-app-for-cancer-patients.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ann aka ButDoctorIHatePink)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6809102117325110761.post-634104264506238181Mon, 09 Jul 2018 00:28:00 +00002018-07-08T17:28:55.502-07:00 Me and my son at Caltech's Graduation Party I've fallen back into the world of the consumer, living life as others do, unworried about the future,  as it should be for a person who has lived 3 years in remission.  The cloud is gone, the sword has disappeared, and I no longer worry about my illness and death.  Fantasyland?  So far this disease is not considered survivable http://www.butdoctorihatepink.com/2018/07/gifts-they-keep-on-coming.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ann aka ButDoctorIHatePink)20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6809102117325110761.post-1038648471574954684Wed, 21 Feb 2018 01:22:00 +00002018-02-20T17:22:11.111-08:00My husband said, "Did you realize you hadn't updated your blog since July?"  "Wait, what?  It can't have been that long!" Indeed it has been.  And so I apologize, because I know that when I don't blog for a long time people assume that I am dead.Not yet.  In fact, my routine hasn't changed since I last blogged, although a few non-cancer related things have.  I am http://www.butdoctorihatepink.com/2018/02/where-has-time-gone.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ann aka ButDoctorIHatePink)11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6809102117325110761.post-1430271122808131600Fri, 07 Jul 2017 00:21:00 +00002017-07-06T17:21:33.031-07:00"Hold your breath." My nurses always say that before they stick the needle in, a habit they can't drop.  When it's a needle in your arm, they say "little stick." When it's in your chest port, it's "hold your breath."  I guess it makes the port stick out, or helps with the jab or something - I don't know.  My port is in my arm and holding my breath does nothing, but they always sayhttp://www.butdoctorihatepink.com/2017/07/living-eight-years-on-chemotherapy.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ann aka ButDoctorIHatePink)6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6809102117325110761.post-103480868688741417Mon, 10 Apr 2017 02:42:00 +00002017-04-09T19:47:47.542-07:00 I confess to having wondered why people hang on to cancer when they have been through treatment and have the ability to put it behind them.  This isn't meant to be a mean or insensitive thought; it's more along the lines of wishful thinking.  I so wish I could have been given the ability to put it in the past; to be the person whose last chemo was 6 years ago rather than last week http://www.butdoctorihatepink.com/2017/04/book-review-cancer-was-not-gift-my.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ann aka ButDoctorIHatePink)23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6809102117325110761.post-6728952874102063589Sat, 11 Mar 2017 23:29:00 +00002017-03-11T15:29:47.617-08:00One of the privileges I've experienced in writing this blog is hearing from others who have suffered through cancer - either themselves or through a relative. I hear from all stages and all types, people with all sorts of suffering from this disease. One woman's letter particularly struck me, because it is something many of us feel at one point or another. With her permission, and some http://www.butdoctorihatepink.com/2017/03/its-not-our-fault.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ann aka ButDoctorIHatePink)11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6809102117325110761.post-3130812375937090582Mon, 30 Jan 2017 01:52:00 +00002017-01-29T18:01:57.356-08:00Did you have a nice Christmas? Do you even remember Christmas? Seems like forever ago, doesn't it?  I was going to blog for the holidays, but my son came home from college without his laptop, so I gave him mine. He spent 3 weeks here, which plugged my heart right back in its appropriate socket. It meant I didn't see my laptop for any of those weeks, but it was an excellent trade-off. &nbsphttp://www.butdoctorihatepink.com/2017/01/did-you-have-nice-christmas-do-you-even.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ann aka ButDoctorIHatePink)6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6809102117325110761.post-5583251640603516799Thu, 01 Dec 2016 23:40:00 +00002016-12-01T15:40:13.460-08:00According to movies, according to TV, according to our friends, having cancer means we are supposed to have a "bucket list."   On that bucket list is all the things we should have done when healthy but didn't.  For example - travel. Travel is a big one and most people, when they hear about our diagnosis, immediately suggest that we take a trip to relax and get away.   The one http://www.butdoctorihatepink.com/2016/12/my-staycation-box-review.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ann aka ButDoctorIHatePink)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6809102117325110761.post-6870634164958859107Sun, 23 Oct 2016 00:20:00 +00002016-10-22T17:20:59.415-07:00 My friend Sandy had just died, and I was terribly sad. Sandy was one of the first women I became close to as a metster.  Sandy and I had been diagnosed around the same time, or maybe she was ahead of me, I no longer remember as she's been gone a few years.  We became online friends, very good friends, very quickly. After the first "reach out," we spent all day chatting with each other http://www.butdoctorihatepink.com/2016/10/vickie-young-wen.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ann aka ButDoctorIHatePink)16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6809102117325110761.post-2760254319625574804Sun, 16 Oct 2016 01:13:00 +00002016-10-15T18:13:48.192-07:00My son and his wife have a very special cat.  I have had many cats in my life, but this one has more personality than any feline I've ever seen or owned.  I used to suggest they video their cat and put it on YouTube - I thought that it would become famous. It would be Happy Cat, the counterpart to Grumpy Cat. They never took my advice being busy young people, but she is my special http://www.butdoctorihatepink.com/2016/10/my-spirit-animal-and-another-kind-of.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ann aka ButDoctorIHatePink)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6809102117325110761.post-6297910733773317514Tue, 11 Oct 2016 19:33:00 +00002016-10-11T13:16:21.968-07:00 We all know that I have been against Pink October, but it is never going away.  So rather than just sweeping it all under the rug, this month I will highlight companies that actually want to do good for cancer patients.  Nothing is ever all bad, and as long as you know what to look for, you can navigate this month.  Remember, give to charities to provide patient support or http://www.butdoctorihatepink.com/2016/10/win-erin-condren-planner.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ann aka ButDoctorIHatePink)16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6809102117325110761.post-3911987243269540977Tue, 11 Oct 2016 19:33:00 +00002016-10-11T12:42:22.964-07:00 We all know that I have been against Pink October, but it is never going away.  So rather than just sweeping it all under the rug, this month I will highlight companies that actually want to do good for cancer patients.  Nothing is ever all bad, and as long as you know what to look for, you can navigate this month.  Remember, give to charities that provide patient support or http://www.butdoctorihatepink.com/2016/10/win-erin-condrin-planner.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ann aka ButDoctorIHatePink)10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6809102117325110761.post-7297378092331282940Sun, 02 Oct 2016 20:06:00 +00002016-10-02T13:06:35.963-07:00I originally wrote this article for Healthline. Due to system maintenance, it is currently unavailable.  Because it should be seen during the month of October, I am reposting it on my blog, without the pretty pictures and things they added and with some minor updates.  I will let you know when it is again available on their site, as it is easier to read there.  A Metastatic Breasthttp://www.butdoctorihatepink.com/2016/10/a-patients-view-on-awareness.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ann aka ButDoctorIHatePink)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6809102117325110761.post-495472884614000842Sat, 01 Oct 2016 20:09:00 +00002016-10-01T18:21:15.489-07:00As October begins, I want to remind everybody to use your intelligence.  Not everything that is "pink" is awful but you must use your discernment.  Don't just hand over money because something has a pink ribbon,  or somebody says it's going to a good cause. I will explain more about pink and why so many of us with cancer dislike it as the month goes by, but as a starter remember http://www.butdoctorihatepink.com/2016/10/pink-october-begins.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ann aka ButDoctorIHatePink)8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6809102117325110761.post-636458467450150942Fri, 30 Sep 2016 21:35:00 +00002016-10-01T13:28:26.636-07:00It is incredible how much of your body and life is managed by your colon.  I truly didn't know this, up until the fateful day that my colon tried to kill me.  It was Thanksgiving a few years ago that I got C-Diff which got into my bloodstream and caused a life-threatening sepsis.  Afterwards,  I had severe pseudomembranous pancolitis that took months to http://www.butdoctorihatepink.com/2016/09/scared-of-my-colon.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ann aka ButDoctorIHatePink)15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6809102117325110761.post-6114251900798410066Mon, 26 Sep 2016 21:05:00 +00002016-09-26T14:05:29.489-07:00LBBC is beginning a campaign to remind people not to forget those of us who are living with metastatic cancer and are spending some time this week teaching people about mets.  They specifically asked me to write a post about using writing as a form of healing.  And of course, what I learned is that writing is only part of the healing, it is the community you get from writing that does http://www.butdoctorihatepink.com/2016/09/writing-to-heal.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ann aka ButDoctorIHatePink)19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6809102117325110761.post-2070448269070257413Mon, 05 Sep 2016 01:06:00 +00002016-09-04T18:06:00.889-07:00 Did you think I was sick or dead?  Who could blame you - it has been a long time since I've written. I'm not even sure where I left you in this grand saga of life, death, and daily trivialities. I'm here but my iPhone has died. I've had an iPhone since they first came out in 2007, before diagnosis,  and I've faithfully bought one every 2 years.  I have been transferring http://www.butdoctorihatepink.com/2016/09/dead-iphone.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ann aka ButDoctorIHatePink)18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6809102117325110761.post-1363148217299024791Tue, 05 Jul 2016 22:32:00 +00002016-07-05T15:32:36.428-07:00Did you miss me in the Dr. Katherine Albrecht radio show today?I'm not surprised if you did, since I didn't post the info.  I'm been going through a lot these days and am struggling with posting. (No bad news though, nothing to worry about.)Dr. Albrecht is a metster!  She has brain mets and is recovering from a 2015 surgery.  It was fantastic talking to somebody who totally gets http://www.butdoctorihatepink.com/2016/07/dr-katherine-albrecht-radio-show.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ann aka ButDoctorIHatePink)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6809102117325110761.post-4930125485124290623Wed, 08 Jun 2016 01:44:00 +00002016-06-07T18:44:27.669-07:00 I have been truly blessed.  Back when I was first diagnosed, five years ago, June 15, 2011, I set a goal.  I wanted to see my youngest, then 14,  graduate from high school.  In my mind, that event put a period on the job I was supposed to do - raise my kids.   Setting a goal a few years in the future when living with metastatic cancer is playing with fire, of http://www.butdoctorihatepink.com/2016/06/live-for-joy.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ann aka ButDoctorIHatePink)22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6809102117325110761.post-2091464882865801505Tue, 26 Apr 2016 20:32:00 +00002016-04-26T13:32:28.963-07:00 #getannonthewalkingdead I love the zombie apocolypse TV show The Walking Dead.  I could get into how richly drawn this world is, how the characters struggle with good/evil in a changed world, how Carol and Darryl are super bad asses and then suddenly show their sensitive side.  But I'm not writing a television blog, I'm writing a blog about living with metastatic cancer.So I can't http://www.butdoctorihatepink.com/2016/04/get-ann-on-walking-dead.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ann aka ButDoctorIHatePink)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6809102117325110761.post-1973370120210835378Sun, 24 Apr 2016 22:00:00 +00002016-04-24T19:44:15.257-07:00I will be doing a little writing for Cure Magazine's online version.  I'd promised to do this long ago but got sick.  Now I'm back at it, and not feeling that well again.  I remind myself, correlation does not equal causation meaning, just because I agreed to do it before and got sick, doesn't mean it will happen again. I just need to get out of the house a bit more, I think. &nbsphttp://www.butdoctorihatepink.com/2016/04/cure-online.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ann aka ButDoctorIHatePink)1