Baseball: the ultimate cancer therapy
I didn’t grow up in a family that was into sports. My annual exposure to sporting events was the Super Bowl, which was primarily an excuse to consume meatball subs and large amounts of French onion dip. I never played Little League. In high school my favorite P.E. class was singles tennis. I never had the...
Lobbying with my emotions: brain tumor advocacy is conjuring up all kinds of dirt
A typical young adult cancer experience So there I was, lobbying members of Congress on the importance of brain tumor research, funding, and parity for oral forms of chemotherapy, when suddenly I got emotional. I didn’t think it would happen to me. The majority of my cancer experience has been tear-free like a Johnson &...
Brain tumor advocacy in full swing: it’s time to educate Congress
Apologies: This was typed on my iPad and I didn’t have time to do much editing. I’m in Washington DC today to do something pretty amazing. I’m working with the National Brain Tumor Society to lobby Congress for two things: Lobby our elected leaders to focus on brain tumor research Ask for “chemo parity”...
MRI one-year post Temodar chemotherapy
It has been one year since I was on Temodar chemotherapy and the results are in. [drumroll] My brain tumor is stable. See for yourself… The scan on the left is my brain today, and the scan on the right is my brain one year ago after completing 24-months of Temodar. Since I am psychic,...
To have a slow-growing brain tumor
Three and a half years after my diagnosis my health care system finally hired a neuro-oncologist for the Sacramento area. You’d think the California state Capitol would have a fancy oncologist a bit sooner than that, but apparently neuro-oncology isn’t a popular field (what with brain cancers representing only 1% of all cancers). Kaiser would...
October 2011 letter to friends
Friends of the Liz Army, Wow, it has been a LONG time since we have sent out an update. Once again, it’s been a “no news is good news” situation. After watching an exciting game 6 of the World Series at Bob’s house in Novato, we drove out to Redwood City on Friday for Liz’s...
Causes of dizziness
Early this morning, from about 2 a.m. on, I slept fitfully, dizzy even in my dreams. With my eyes closed my world was spinning and I could only compare the sensation to three other situations I’ve experienced. When I was on Temodar, near the end of a treatment week, I felt dizzy in my sleep....
I’m here. I have cancer. Get used to it.
I started my current job about six months after I started Temodar. My closest co-workers knew I had brain cancer and I was open with them about when I was taking chemo and when I was on my way to the doctor or an EEG. But I didn’t tell everyone at work because I didn’t...
Continuing challenges
Woah! Now that I’m done with Temodar it seems like my cancer experience is over–but it’s not because I still have cancerous tumor in my brain. WTH! The weird thing (and all you brain tumor peeps know this) is that unless you have an extractable, hard tumor with defined borders, we will have brain tumors...
Chemo diet
I never get sick of oatmeal and protein shakes. Never. This blog was posted from my iPhone.
The last week of chemo
Right when you think you’re awesome because you’re having a good workout, you suddenly heave and want to blow chunks all over the exercise ball because you’re on chemo. Good times. Almost done.
Who am I without Temodar?
I can count on my hands the number of days it will be until I begin my last week of Temodar. I am overjoyed. And excited. And ready to be done. And I am completely terrified. I haven’t blogged in the last two weeks because it seems like my life is in a major upheaval...
