2021 was a hell of a year!  I survived chemo and radiation and my stamina is improving.  So life is slowly getting back to normal.

Unfortunately, when they did my mammogram earlier this year, they found a couple of new spots they wanted to biopsy.   One of them was nothing – yea!  But the other site had LCIS cells – precancerous cells that are suspicious and could develop into cancer.  So now I am in a six-month holding pattern for them to do a second MRI in September to see if they have grown or changed.  That also means reconstruction had to be put off again.

I am also doing Physical Therapy now for a very early beginning to lymphedema in my left arm.  I HATE the sleeve and glove but if it can keep it from getting any worse, then that’s what I need to put up with.

My niece, Lizzy, was also diagnosed AGAIN with breast cancer earlier this year.  She has had a lumpectomy and is going through radiation now.  Poor kid – a second diagnosis before she is even 40 years old.   But thankfully, I haven’t heard of any other new cases in the family.

So, you can see by all of this that the cause is still important to me and my family.   This year I have signed up to crew the New England walk in Boston in late August and the San Diego walk in November (positive thinking says I will be fine by then).   I am doing sweep van again with my friend Lynn from Boston.  Our them is “Save one, save them all” and our van will be covered with a rainbow of ribbons for all the different cancers.  So many in my family and circle of friends have had so many forms of this horrid disease and we wanted to honor them all.  The hope is that if we can find a cure for one then a cure for the others cannot be far behind.  If you have someone you would like to have added to our van, please feel free to send me a note with their name and cancer type.

I will also be “stalking” the Chicago walk in September if any of you would like to come out and cheer on the amazing walkers with me and see what a sea of pink coming down the sidewalks looks like.  It’s a fun time and hopefully the weather will cooperate.

Please support me as I commit to an incredible challenge.  The Susan G. Komen 3-Day is a 60-mile walk over the course of three days.  It will be hard, but it’s not as hard as breast cancer.  It’s not as hard as chemo.  It’s not as hard as getting bad news at your latest scan.  It’s not as hard as saying goodbye.  And that’s why I know I have to do this.  That’s why I commit.  That’s why I’m crewing and why I’m raising money – to end breast cancer forever.  I really hope I can count on your support again as I take this journey once more.  

Thank you again for all you have done to help me fight this disease over the years.  Thank you for being my support system as I navigate my own way through this.  I can't even begin to tell you how much it means to have you in my corner.