Kicking Cancer

Still Kicking Cancer

Tomorrow morning I am flying to San Francisco and taking an Airporter to chemotherapy for the second time since being home in Arcata. I much prefer the time I rode my bike, but these are different times! I am flying with a buddy pass from a friend so it only costs me $100 round trip which is cheaper than driving.

It is great to be home!  It felt good to arrive home and be really happy about where I live, my house, my husband.  Yeah, right livelihood!  As good as it feels to be home, with school about to start up, lately my thoughts have been drifting toward the fabulous summer I had with my kids in Marin. It was so relaxing and fun, despite the weekly chemotherapy. Here are a few favorite summer photos.

G and I. Afternoon family picnic at Blackie’s Pasture, Tiburon.

Visiting friends at Shell beach on Tomales Bay

Traditional “air” ice cream from Park Side at Stinson Beach (not as good as daddy’s or Uncle Ray’s)

Surfer girl with “Velvy” (We never leave home without it).’

With Saremy at Sycamore Pool (One Mile), Bidwell Park, Chico

With their buddy, Cricket (and of course, Velvey)

Summer fun in Chico City Plaza

On the cancer front…..

Mad River Brewing Company Tasting Room raised over $300 last week with an auction for my Kicking Cancer Fund (soon to be started at Humboldt Area Foundation).  THANK YOU, MRBC, Julie, and everyone who went and supported this.  With Simply Mac’s $500+, and a good friend’s $500 (thanks JR ), the fund will be started with a little over $1300.  More info on how to donate to that fund once it is up and running.  The fund will be available to people in financial need and undergoing chemotherapy and radiation who wish to do yoga, qigong, acupuncture, guided imagery, therapy, or jin shin jyutsu.

I changed the title of this website (but not the url).  This is more about KICKING (or preventing) CANCER collectively than it is about me and my cancer.  So with this blog, I hope to share information toward that end.  My children are starting school next week and I will actually have a few mornings per week to devote to working at the Scoop (I am the very behind bookkeeper), getting exercise, and taking care of myself in other ways…baths, naps, qigong to be exact. I met with an organizer (Barbara Browning of Order Within) the other day to help me figure out my priorities and she got everything on paper–goals, different things that need doing–ACTION ITEMS!  As a result, I have been crossing things off the list today that will make my life smoother, more efficient, and relaxing (or at least more so).  So, maybe I will find time to blog a bit more.

I am currently doing great.  Perhaps a little fatigued.  My finger nails have seen better days, but it seems my hair may be growing back in, but I seem to be losing my eyebrows.   I have been reading  much lately about how chemotherapy and radiation are the true killers with cancer and that if I would just eat cottage cheese and flax seed oil, or drink lemon water every morning, etc. I could kick my cancer more effectively!  I must tell you that I do try these things.  I drink the lemon water, I started the cottage cheese/flax concoction three times per day and it feels great to be doing these things in addition, but I am still sticking with the western medicine on this too.  I know the drugs are brutal on the organs, but I can only hope I will endure it and be on the other side soon.  Then in 2013 I can begin to heal from the trauma of the chemotherapy and radiation.

I’ve been running quite a bit and am training for the Humboldt Redwoods half marathon on October 21st.  It is going well so far, but I will be in the middle of radiation at that point so we will see.  Today I ran three miles with my dog Honu at the Marsh. Tomorrow after chemo I hope to run with my sister at Pheonix Lake in Mount Tamalpias watershed.

Thanks for all your support!   Only six more chemotherapy infusions (herceptin and taxol) to go!!