Merry Christmas 2013

This is my third Christmas after this crappy disease and I am grateful for all the wonderful years I have been given and all the things I have been able to share -- Sarah's graduation, her engagement, our 25th anniversary, Hawaii.

So very much to look forward to.

Dr. Knaysi

On Dec. 24 I got a notice in the mail that Dr. Knaysi was cutting back on his practice ... reducing the number of hours in the office, etc., etc. Can't say I blame the man -- he is over 70 years old and it is time to take care of himself.

There was also a card enclosed on which we could write our recollections of how he has helped us. How do you describe in a couple of sentences how a man's skill has saved your life? And how he knew before you did that not being able to see the scars of the surgery everyday would help you overcome the horrors of this most awful of diseases?

Yes, I will be happy to write a little note to Dr. Knaysi to thank him for his skill and for not listening to me when I said I didn't care what it looked like ... just get it all out. The truth of the matter is ... it does matter what it looks like after surgery.

I will be forever grateful for Dr. Knaysi's skill and caring. I will never forget him.

Arimidex and Exercise

I didn't need a study to tell me that my achy joints and muscles would actually feel better if I just exercised. I figured that out myself during chemo and when I started taking Arimidex in October of 2011.

But it's good to have a study to confirm what I already know -- if you just exercise and keep moving, you tolerate chemo better, and now Arimidex: http://houston.cbslocal.com/2013/12/12/study-exercise-helps-women-tolerate-breast-cancer-drugs/

This is why I sometimes exercise like a demon when it would be so much easier to sit in a chair and put my feet up, and say, "poor me ... I'm too tired to do anything." My fear has always been if I did that, I would be too stiff to ever move again.

I have two more years of Arimidex and since it reduces my chance of recurrence by 50% ... I will gladly take it inspite of the side effects. I cannot believe that 15% of women in the US need to be taking Arimidex but less than 5% actually do. As long as you can live with the side effects, why would you choose not to be cancerfree?

I thank God for the opportunity to live another 5, 10, 20 or 30 years, and to treasure every moment I have left.