Back to blogging . . .

One year ago after a trip to the ER. I had to believe then that better days were ahead. I am so glad it came true.

I have taken an unintended break from blogging. It started with simply being overwhelmed with health issues (the work up over scans and results – all of which, I am very grateful to say, came back good). Also, the passing of Sara, The Carcinista, has made it difficult for me to write here. There is a lot going on in the cancer blogosphere right now – I personally think it may have started, or perhaps gained some momentum, from the recent losses. And, sadly, the losses keep coming: Laura Ziskin

It is hard on many levels. I want to know about it, I want to be involved and at the same time I want to put my head in the sand and pretend that it isn’t happening, that it can’t happen to me, that it can’t happen to my friends. It has been a time of some turmoil, soul searching and decision making. I am worn out, happy, tired, grateful, angry, sad, grieving, recovering, improving and getting more and more of my life back. It is a mixed bag. But, on the whole, it is a good one.

I have also just been too tired to write. I moved to a new place recently. The move was pretty consuming. But, it turned out to be very good physical therapy. I had to pack – which was really difficult for me to do. It was extremely frustrating to try to pack up everything and be in so much pain. It was a really slow process. But, as I said, it was excellent physical therapy. My arms are so much better now. At first, I would pack for part of a day and then the next day I would be so wiped out by it that I would be in bed. Then after a few weeks of that routine, I started to really improve.

It took me about 6 weeks to pack up and get moved . . . pretty slow, pretty frustrating. The old Lisa could have done it in a weekend, if she had to. But, that was before three surgeries, months of chemotherapy, six weeks of radiation and a year of Herceptin infusions. I am slow, or at least slower. But, like I said the move really did me some good. And, the new place is great. I had help too, I didn’t do it all by myself. But, I was determined to do as much as I could. I am so glad for the experience. I don’t think that I would be nearly as far along physically if it were not for packing up boxes and lifting boxes. So now that I am getting settled into my new place, I hope to get back to writing here.

I feel like I have four or five blog posts I want to write all at once. Maybe it is simply because I have not written in a while. For tonight, I am going to have to settle for this one blog post – my mini update: Lisa received good scan results, Lisa moved, Lisa is getting back to more and more of her pre-cancer life. The latter brings me to one of the topics that I want to write about: “My Other Life”.

Recently, it was suggested by a fellow blogger out in the cancer blogosphere ( http://beyondbreastcancer.wordpress.com/2011/06/01/my-other-life/) that it might be interesting to blog about our lives outside of cancer. I thought this was a great idea. I have yet to write my “My Other LIfe” post yet, however. But, I have given it some thought and hope to get to it within the next few days.

There are a few other topics that I am chomping at the bit to write about: Susan G. Komen (and the movement that is currently gaining momentum to hold Komen accountable for their “race for the cure”, where the money they raise really goes, etc.), breast cancer prevention (there is so much coming out about diet to prevent breast cancer and breast cancer recurrence) and mammograms (I recently saw my primary care physician and he told me that he has patients who he can not convince to get mammograms. Good grief)!  I hope to make some headway in the next week or so.

Oh, how could I forget?!! I recently was able to lie on my stomach – pretty comfortably – for the first time in almost two years. It is a glorious feeling.

Hooray! 🙂

Love and peace,

Lisa

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