I am struggling with what I should say. I don't want to preach to the choir. They already know we need more money for research. They know oral forms of chemotherapy aren't equally covered by all health insurers. They know there are more than 130 different kinds of brain tumors and that brain cancer is the #1 cancer killer in children.

Us MRI Elite are told to complete a form asking about all metallic objects that may be hidden in and around our body before we have each scan. There are about 30 standard questions, including: Do you wear a pacemaker? Do you have a shunt? Do you have any metal plates or screws in your body? Do you have any metal fragments in your eyes? Have you ever worked with metal objects? Have you ever attended a Slayer concert? (Not really, but imagine that!)

Neuropsychological testing can help doctors find out how damage to your brain may be affecting your ability to reason, concentrate, solve problems, or remember. A doctor may suggest this type of testing if you have a disease that can damage the brain, such as Alzheimer's, multiple sclerosis, dementia, Parkinson's or a brain tumor.

I was featured in a local paper here in my area. The article is about this blog and some of the advocacy work I do.

I never want to be a woman who hides her age. Every year I am older is another year I am alive. I am living with this disease.

I don't know why he popped up in my mind this week, but he did. I checked out his Facebook page and noticed all the recent posts were of friends posting well-wishes on his page. He wasn't writing anything. Photos appeared of him with friends... except instead of him playing disc golf, he was in a wheelchair.

(We also got sandwiches together along with a number of other brain tumor patients, got lost in the city, made jokes about a whole bunch of people with brain cancer getting lost in the city, and, well... you had to have been there.)

Liz Salmi, a patient advocate, talks about her decision to be open and share what it is like to live and blog about living with brain cancer in 2013.

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