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	<title>The Liz ArmyThe Liz Army | The Liz Army</title>
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	<link>http://thelizarmy.com</link>
	<description>a brain cancer blog</description>
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		<title>Top 10 reasons I am a brain tumor advocate</title>
		<link>http://thelizarmy.com/2013/05/top-10-reasons-i-am-a-brain-tumor-advocate/</link>
		<comments>http://thelizarmy.com/2013/05/top-10-reasons-i-am-a-brain-tumor-advocate/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 09 May 2013 01:32:15 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Liz</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Brain Tumor Advocacy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[advocacy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brain cancer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brain tumor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[DC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Head to the Hill]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[National Brain Tumor Society]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Washington]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thelizarmy.com/?p=2229</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This week I joined with hundreds of my fellow brain tumor advocates from around the country in Washington, DC, to attend the annual “Head to the Hill” lobby day organized by the National Brain Tumor Society. This is the second year in a row I&#8217;ve traveled to our nation’s capital to educate our members of Congress on critical issues currently facing the brain tumor community. Here are the top 10 reasons I am a brain tumor advocate: Advocacy gives me a path to keep fighting my brain cancer, even though treatment is on pause. Meeting other brain tumor survivors lets me know I am not alone in this fight. Meeting families who have lost a loved one to a brain tumor humbles me, and keeps me motivated to advocate for more research. Buttons and T-shirts: advocates get sweet swag from the National Brain Tumor Society. Talking to my senators and congressman (whether I voted for them or not) means I am participating in our great democracy. (&#8216;Merica!) I am putting a living face to a disease not many people know about, and I am demonstrating people can live and thrive when medical research leads to effective treatment. I get to [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://thelizarmy.com/2013/05/top-10-reasons-i-am-a-brain-tumor-advocate/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>5</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Support groups are not for everyone</title>
		<link>http://thelizarmy.com/2013/04/support-groups-are-not-for-everyone/</link>
		<comments>http://thelizarmy.com/2013/04/support-groups-are-not-for-everyone/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 08 Apr 2013 04:00:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Liz</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[In Treatment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Newly Diagnosed]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Surviving]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ativan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brain cancer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[seizures]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[support group]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[support network]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thelizarmy.com/?p=2218</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I&#8217;ve been in a state of brain cancer reflection this week as I prepare for two upcoming presentations related to patient engagement through digital media. (I know, I&#8217;m a nerd.) Then I remembered this day&#8230; The bus About four weeks after my first brain surgery I decided to go to my first cancer support group meeting. I thought it would be a good idea to meet other people like me. Little did I know that I would meet nobody like me. Due to continued seizure activity I was still restricted from driving a car, and I was starting to go crazy. I convinced Brett I could go on this trip alone, and I would take the bus. I was both excited by the freedom to take the bus by myself, and also terrified I would have another seizure while out alone. I kept a tight grip on my small travel pill case filled with Ativan, ready to pop a pill at a moment&#8217;s notice. I&#8217;m sure a few passengers raised their eyebrows when a woman with a shaved head jumped out of the bus in front of the hospital. Still, I was excited to go to my first support group [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://thelizarmy.com/2013/04/support-groups-are-not-for-everyone/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>23</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>How the rest of the medical community deals with cancer</title>
		<link>http://thelizarmy.com/2013/03/how-the-rest-of-the-medical-community-deals-with-cancer/</link>
		<comments>http://thelizarmy.com/2013/03/how-the-rest-of-the-medical-community-deals-with-cancer/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 22 Mar 2013 04:40:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Liz</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Surviving]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brain cancer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[chiropractor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[craniotomy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[eye doct]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[OB/GYN]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[optometrist]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[physical therapy]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thelizarmy.com/?p=2211</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Cancer has been following me around the past two weeks. I had my routine lady-doctor exam and all is well. Then the OB/GYN asked how everything was going with&#8230; um, you know&#8230; the brain cancer thing. &#8220;It&#8217;s the same,&#8221; I told her. My primary care doctor sent me to see a new physical therapist for a back muscle injury. The therapist looked at my medical chart. Then he looked up at me. Then back to my medical chart. Then to me. &#8220;And you are&#8230; 33? &#8230; You are so&#8230; young.&#8221; I saw a new optometrist. She had a one-page medical history form I needed to complete. Various medical issues were listed and I had to check the YES or NO boxes if I had the issue or if I had an immediate family member with the issue. Heart disease? No. Arthritis? No. Diabetes? No. Cancer? Yes. Relationship? Self. &#8220;What kind of cancer?&#8221; asked the eye doctor. &#8220;Brain cancer.&#8221; &#8220;But wow&#8230; you are only 33!&#8221; &#8220;And I was 29 when I was diagnosed, and that is even younger than 33!&#8221; Eventually I visited a chiropractor to deal with the back muscle strain. Again, I completed an obligatory medical history form, except [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://thelizarmy.com/2013/03/how-the-rest-of-the-medical-community-deals-with-cancer/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>9</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Four months at a time: living between brain scans</title>
		<link>http://thelizarmy.com/2013/02/four-months-at-a-time-time-between-brain-scans/</link>
		<comments>http://thelizarmy.com/2013/02/four-months-at-a-time-time-between-brain-scans/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 18 Feb 2013 23:03:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Liz</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Surviving]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Brett]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[death]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fear]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MRI]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[worry]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thelizarmy.com/?p=2204</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I live my life four months at a time. After a good scan I am happy to move forward with my life for a while. In some cases I do long-range planning: I am going to a wedding this summer. My BFF wants to go to Seattle with me in the fall. Brett and I want to go to Japan in a year. But that&#8217;s as far as I get. I don&#8217;t let myself hope for a dog anymore. Kids are out of the picture. There&#8217;s just two of us, so our housing situation is OK. Where do I want to be in five years? Hell if I know. I just want to be alive. Last night I had a (rare) freak out. You know what I am talking about: something pops in your head and suddenly you fear for your life. This doesn&#8217;t happen to me that often, and when it does, it is bad. I feel bad blogging about fear and freak outs because it makes me sound like I get down on myself. This isn&#8217;t true. I just happen to own a space on the Internet where I am allowed to tell the world that living with [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://thelizarmy.com/2013/02/four-months-at-a-time-time-between-brain-scans/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>14</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Your friend, Logan</title>
		<link>http://thelizarmy.com/2013/01/your-friend-logan/</link>
		<comments>http://thelizarmy.com/2013/01/your-friend-logan/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 27 Jan 2013 01:24:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Liz</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Surviving]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Allyson]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brain cancer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[craying]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[death]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[exercise]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[little tin frog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Logan Whitehurst]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[medullablastoma]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[music]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sad]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thelizarmy.com/?p=2194</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I was at the gym working on my &#8220;clean and jerk&#8221; (which looks like this graphic), when the song &#8220;Complex&#8220; started playing through the sound system. The band was Little Tin Frog. The drummer was Logan Whitehurst, a long time friend, fellow drummer, and the most well-respected musician/awesome guy/creative talent among my peers between 1997 and the time of his death in 2006. A lump rose in my throat when I recognized the song. I didn&#8217;t want to cry in the gym so I did a few more clean and jerks. There is a drum solo in the song. As cheesy as it sounds, the solo (at the 4 minute 5 second mark) is actually really cool, and is a complete extension of Logan&#8217;s personality: quirky, creative and lacking in ego. For some reason there is a cowbell in it. And it all makes complete sense because it came from the mind of Logan Whitehurst. Allyson, my trainer, was giving me pointers on clean and jerk form, but her voice was far away and took on the &#8220;wah-wah&#8221; quality of adults in a Charlie Brown cartoon. In my house I have a black and white photograph of Logan on the beach. He is [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://thelizarmy.com/2013/01/your-friend-logan/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>December 2012 letter to friends</title>
		<link>http://thelizarmy.com/2012/12/december-2012-letter-to-friends/</link>
		<comments>http://thelizarmy.com/2012/12/december-2012-letter-to-friends/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 19 Dec 2012 02:45:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Brett</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Surviving]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MRI]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[neuro-oncologist]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Liz Army]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thelizarmy.com/?p=2188</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Note: Liz&#8217;s husband sent this message to a select group of family and friends. Constituents of the Liz Army, Yes, it has once again been a long time since the latest Liz update. As you may have gathered by now, we&#8217;re going with the &#8220;no news is good news&#8221; approach. Don&#8217;t worry, things are ok, I just figured it had been long enough since the last update. Liz had her MRI yesterday, and we are happy to report that things continue to remain stable. Liz is now up to four months between MRI appointments, which is a step in the positive direction. In addition, Kaiser has added a neuro-oncologist in Sacramento, so we no longer have to make the trek out to Redwood City. I have to admit, the doctor and nurse practitioner we see in Redwood City are an amazing team, and I miss them. Luckily, the new doctor in Sacramento is a nice and sharp guy, and the trip is a little easier on the work schedule. So that&#8217;s about it. I hope everything is going well with you all, and I hope you all have/had/are having a Merry Christmas/Happy Hanukkah/Krazy Kwanzaa/Excellent Eid/Fantastic Festivus and wish you all [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://thelizarmy.com/2012/12/december-2012-letter-to-friends/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>6</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Something is waking me up at night</title>
		<link>http://thelizarmy.com/2012/12/something-is-waking-me-up-at-night/</link>
		<comments>http://thelizarmy.com/2012/12/something-is-waking-me-up-at-night/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 09 Dec 2012 23:27:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Liz</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Surviving]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[neuro-oncologist]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[neuropathy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[seizures]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sleep]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ulnar nerve]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thelizarmy.com/?p=2182</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I&#8217;ve had nothing medical to say for a long time, and now&#8230; this. Over the past two months I&#8217;ve been woken up in the middle of the night by a weird sensation. It feels like I bumped my elbow super hard, but instead of the sensation being in the elbow it is everywhere. And only on the right side. And this sensation makes it hard for me to stay still. I am jumping out of my skin. The sensation runs from my right elbow to the tips of my fingers and up to my shoulder. From there the sensation moves to my stomach/ribs and my toes. If this sensation didn&#8217;t feel the way it does (like the ulnar nerve pain associated with an elbow injury) I would think it was a seizure. As such, my seizures have never felt this way before. The fact that this sensation is isolated in only the right half of my body suggests the pain/weirdness is neurological in nature. My brain tumor is on the left side and my seizures and other funky neurological malfunctions impact the right side of my body. Roughly three months ago I had a weird day. I felt like my [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://thelizarmy.com/2012/12/something-is-waking-me-up-at-night/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>9</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Students needed: specializing in the field of brain tumors</title>
		<link>http://thelizarmy.com/2012/11/students-needed-specializing-in-the-field-of-brain-tumors/</link>
		<comments>http://thelizarmy.com/2012/11/students-needed-specializing-in-the-field-of-brain-tumors/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 16 Nov 2012 21:37:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Liz</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Brain Tumor Advocacy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Surviving]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[advocacy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brain cancer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brain tumor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[exercise]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[neuro-oncology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nurse practitioner]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Super Awesome Nurse]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thelizarmy.com/?p=2174</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Coincidence? I think not! (But it probably is.) Since joining a new gym in mid-July I met a woman who lost her mom to a glioblastoma, a young man with a oglioastrocytoma who recently finished Temodar, and the woman who is the scheduler for the doctor who performed my shoulder surgery! Coincidence? Probably. And this, ladies and gentleman, is what happens when you &#8220;come out&#8221; about having brain cancer. Suddenly it seems like everyone has brain cancer, or knows someone who has a brain tumor, or lost someone to a brain tumor. This same phenomena happens to me whenever I get a different car. In 2004 everyone had a Volkswagon Jetta. In 2012 everyone seems to drive a Mazda 3. Zoom zoom! (This is known as the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon.) Not long after I joined the gym I met Christi, an awesome woman in one of my group exercise classes. Not to sound self-centered, but I think she is awesome because she reminds me of me: we both have short hair, tattoos in conspicuous places and a lot of energy. Christi and I cheer on others in the exercise class, and tend to set up our deadlift bars on the platforms next to [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://thelizarmy.com/2012/11/students-needed-specializing-in-the-field-of-brain-tumors/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Save the zombie food supply: support brain tumor research</title>
		<link>http://thelizarmy.com/2012/10/save-the-zombie-food-supply-support-brain-tumor-research/</link>
		<comments>http://thelizarmy.com/2012/10/save-the-zombie-food-supply-support-brain-tumor-research/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 27 Oct 2012 19:02:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Liz</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Brain Tumor Advocacy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[advocacy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[National Cancer Institute]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[National Institutes of Health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[zombies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[zombies for brain cancer]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thelizarmy.com/?p=2169</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I made this graphic a few weeks ago after attending the National Brain Tumor Society&#8217;s annual summit. I was inspired and excited about increasing brain tumor awareness and getting more people to take action. But honestly, if you don&#8217;t know me or one of the other 650,000+ people in the United States living with a primary brain tumor, why would you care? What would motivate you to sign on to a letter to Congress in support of brain tumor research? Somewhere in my warped brain I concluded zombies were the answer. TV shows like &#8220;The Walking Dead&#8221; have educated us on what zombies want: human flesh, and more specifically, brains. BRAAAAAAAAAAINS! I can&#8217;t count the number of zombie-themed Internet memes that have crossed my path over the past year. Why not create my own? If we have to live with a brain tumor why not capitalize on one of pop-culture&#8217;s most iconic undead anti-heroes by raising brain tumor awareness with zombies? People love zombies, and no one wants to see them go hungry. Where does this link go? The link bit.ly/feedazombie will take you to page where you can sign on to the National Brain Tumor Society&#8217;s letter to Congress [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://thelizarmy.com/2012/10/save-the-zombie-food-supply-support-brain-tumor-research/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Questions submitted for the 2012 National Brain Tumor Society Summit</title>
		<link>http://thelizarmy.com/2012/10/questions-submitted-for-the-2012-national-brain-tumor-society-summit/</link>
		<comments>http://thelizarmy.com/2012/10/questions-submitted-for-the-2012-national-brain-tumor-society-summit/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 21 Oct 2012 19:04:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Liz</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Brain Tumor Advocacy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Access to Cancer Treatment Act]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[advocacy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[astrocytoma]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brain cancer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brain tumor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cancer Drug Parity Act]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cancer Genome Atlas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[clinical trial]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cure]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[gangliocytomas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[glioblastoma]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Governor Jerry Brown]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[National Brain Tumor Society]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nosebleed]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[occupational therapy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[oligoastrocytoma]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[oligodendroglioma]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[seizures]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Temodar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Temodar diet]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thelizarmy.com/?p=2154</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Before I left for the National Brain Tumor Society’s annual summit I asked The Liz Army blog readers if you had questions you would like me to ask doctors and health care professionals I would presumably meet at the event. Keep in mind, I had never attended an NBTS summit and I did not know what to expect. But I shouldn’t have assumed I would be in a position where I could run up to doctors and drill them on the cure for brain cancer. Shoot&#8211;I couldn’t even tell the difference between doctors, brain tumor supporters and staff at the hotel. So here are the questions you asked, and my feeble attempt at answers. DISCLAIMER: I am not a medical professional and nothing I write should be taken as medical advice. Your brain tumor questions Why is there limited lab research being done on grade II astrocytoma? And can we please start including DNA/RNA sequencing into our treatment so labs can find which cells in particular are mutating to focus on new drugs? I want to know whether there are any new immunotherapy clinical trials out there for low grade gliomas. Also, if a cure is found one day, how [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://thelizarmy.com/2012/10/questions-submitted-for-the-2012-national-brain-tumor-society-summit/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>6</slash:comments>
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