Can't wait to see it on September 30th!
-MM
Friday, August 12, 2011
I totally love this already
My dear friend Jess told me to check out the trailer for "50/50," which I had not heard of until yesterday. I must say there aren't many parts of my life that I thought would make a good movie, but my friends and I talk all the time about how someone needs to sort of show everyone what it's like when young person, totally unequipped to deal with even normal every day life, gets diagnosed with cancer. It appears someone finally has. :)
Saturday, July 30, 2011
If 3 bloggers meet for dinner and no one takes a picture, did it really happen?
I've received comments and emails lately from blog readers who have really warmed my heart. Thanks so much for all the support and love. And thank you for understanding that this blog is all over the place- from my job, to cancer to roller derby, to fashion and make-up, to relationship stuff, to Buddhism to yoga to advocacy- I'm not just consumed by one thing on this blog. So if you've hung in there with me and you still like this blog, thanks for being you! And now I have some other tasty tidbits for you. :)
First, I'd like to credit that joke to Tina, a blogger I've just found this week. She's pretty fabulous.
Second, if you are a blogger, you have to check out this awesome post on How to Write a Great Blog Post, Part 3 by Elissa. She is also pretty fabulous.
Third, you have to meet Erin, who rocks Buffalo Exchange t-shirts like a girl after my own heart. She's is pretty fabulous as well.
And fourth, I'd like to use the first through third points to seg-way into the fact that I am so stoked I found three awesome blogs this week, who just happen to belong to Tina, Erin and Elissa. And trust me- you'd need to be mad at me if I didn't share these. Here's the kick, though: these three girls all know each other! How cute is that!?!
T Minus, T Plus: A Plus Size Professional Bringing a Splash of Color to a Sea of Black Suits
Work With What You've Got
Dress With Courage
Enjoy!
-MM
First, I'd like to credit that joke to Tina, a blogger I've just found this week. She's pretty fabulous.
Second, if you are a blogger, you have to check out this awesome post on How to Write a Great Blog Post, Part 3 by Elissa. She is also pretty fabulous.
Third, you have to meet Erin, who rocks Buffalo Exchange t-shirts like a girl after my own heart. She's is pretty fabulous as well.
And fourth, I'd like to use the first through third points to seg-way into the fact that I am so stoked I found three awesome blogs this week, who just happen to belong to Tina, Erin and Elissa. And trust me- you'd need to be mad at me if I didn't share these. Here's the kick, though: these three girls all know each other! How cute is that!?!
T Minus, T Plus: A Plus Size Professional Bringing a Splash of Color to a Sea of Black Suits
Work With What You've Got
Dress With Courage
Enjoy!
-MM
Friday, July 22, 2011
Brick by Brick
You think you have it so hard.
You've got a test next week, your best friend is being a b word, there's some repair you need for your car that costs $1100, your cat is sick, your boss is a prick, your tooth has a giant cavity, and you hate your ex-boyfriend. Life is terrible. You want to die.
And you go on like this for years. Years. Going from one crisis to the next. Then one day you get a phone call, and you have cancer. Bam. Like a hit from a baseball bat to the head. Cancer. Everything spins for a minute. The world seems to jolt to a stop.
Everything changes. No more "what am I going to do about my econ grade?" Now it's become "what am I going to do about being dead?" It sucks. It sucks so bad, that unless you've been through it, you can't even begin to fathom the feeling. It hollows you out in a split second. It's like being struck by lightning.
But you know yourself. And you don't quit. So you say, you know what? I can do this. I can beat this. I have no doubt I can beat this. And so you do the treatment. You have a 50% chance of living for 5 more years, so you decide to fight like hell. You have no idea what hell will be like.
The treatment lasts for one year, and the side effects are brutal. You get a rash. You get GERD. You get IBS. You feel like someone is continually hitting you in the stomach for about a year. Your bones ache like they are being frozen within your skin. You get strange shooting pains all over your body at random times for no apparent reason. You are so tired, you fall asleep standing up. You are so tired, you crap your pants- more than once. You are so sick that you have to decide what hurts worse- hunger pains or the pain from eating. You are so sick that your esophagus bleeds. Your mouth is filled with yeasty pustules. You pass out in the shower. You still have the rash. You have a fever almost every single day for an entire year. You feel every moment like you'll collapse if you don't lie down. You miss important engagements- graduations, concerts, parties, dinners- because you are so sick. You get to the point where you can't even run simple errands- you have to take a wheelchair everywhere. You sleep 70% of every day and night. You wake up to realize you've missed whole days. The hormones make you crazy, and when you are awake, everything makes you cry. You gain 50 pounds. You cannot catch an effing break to save your life. You have no control over anything anymore. You have been stripped down to your bare existence. You hate your life, and you want to die. And this time for real.
In this time, when, to no fault of your own, you have reached your absolute low point, mentally and physically, you look around you for love and support and reassurance- and you feel so small and frail and alone. You are alone because, through all this, you not only lost yourself, but you lost so many others. The first was your close aunt- who, in her own grieving process, lashed out at you for the mistakes that you'd made in the past. Why didn't you take better care of yourself? You could've prevented this! She has no idea how to deal with what is happening to you and can't bear to watch it. Her anger at the situation overfills her heart and she thrashes it around wildly. You are in the direct path. She cuts you out of her life.
Your friends from adulthood try to hang in there, but when they've never seen death so close before, they begin to question their own immortality. This ish ain't pretty if you've never seen it before, and one by one, memory by memory, lonely tiny morsels of trust left in your once overflowing life, the friends become consumed with their own lives- after all, yours IS the only one that's stopped- and they disappear. They all have bills to pay, kids to raise, families to tend. But what is most striking to you are the mistakes you made, whatever it is that you must have done to make all these friends disappear. Everyone is so uncomfortable around you. You are overwhelmed with shame.
You cling to those last few people. One of your caregivers is an old friend from way back. You lean on her. She thinks that you should be handling the illness one way, and you think you should be handling it another. Tempers flare. Words flail like sharp weapons- and it becomes a game of who can cut the other deeper. It's like a bomb went off inside you both, and feels like the worst breakup ever- even though it's not even with a guy. You feel like a limb has been severed. You both are miserable, but neither will admit it. A friendship 20 years old, gone like the snap of your fingers.
Because you're sick of it! You're sick of it all! To have to endure everything, and then, in the midst of it bare the psychoses of those around you? To have to carry their inadequacies as they dump them on you for being sick? You're the cancer patient! These are their faults, not yours! Why are they lashing out at you, making your life even worse? Shouldn't I be the one being taken care of here?
What is it going to take?!? It's all been ripped from your clutches- your life, your health, your body, your future, you friends, your dreams, your time, your energy, your job. It has even taken your personality. You are shaken to your core. You are a naked shell compared to what you once were. You are Job. You look around you and it is a desolate wasteland of nothingness that surrounds you now. How did you even get here? A year ago you never would've believed that this would be your life now. You were so naive. The destruction from your life has created a huge void. Is this rock bottom? Please tell me this is rock bottom. Please tell me things get better from here.
There is nothing left to do but rebuild. You discover that the whole time you thought you were alone, there was a prince right beside you. He was there holding you up when you weren't looking, all along. The cancer seems to be gone. You can allow your body to begin mending. It will take years, and the fatigue and pain never fully subside. You try to figure out who you are now. You try to build your old life again, but everything is different. Everyday is a brick. Brick by brick, though, you make a new life. It's not as carefree as it was, but you are alive. Things are not easy, brick by brick. Slowly you rebuild.
Most importantly you find, you are not alone. You find a community of other survivors. Healing is not easy, and many of the symptoms still exist. Nothing is the same as it was, your body has changed, your mind is not the same, your personality is different. But you have learned to accept that. Things are ok. Then things are good. There are still very few true friends, and only one or two people you trust anymore, but slowly life becomes great again. The bricks begin to build a structure, which is still wobbly most of the time. Brick by brick, it becomes stronger. There are cancer scares, and sickness, death and disasters. And finally, after a long, hard road, when you realize that everything is still in shambles, you sigh to yourself and decide to just be happy for the little there is. It is not much, but it is awesome. Life has begun again. It has been six years, and life is starting to look like a life I like to live again. Thank you, God.
You've got a test next week, your best friend is being a b word, there's some repair you need for your car that costs $1100, your cat is sick, your boss is a prick, your tooth has a giant cavity, and you hate your ex-boyfriend. Life is terrible. You want to die.
And you go on like this for years. Years. Going from one crisis to the next. Then one day you get a phone call, and you have cancer. Bam. Like a hit from a baseball bat to the head. Cancer. Everything spins for a minute. The world seems to jolt to a stop.
Everything changes. No more "what am I going to do about my econ grade?" Now it's become "what am I going to do about being dead?" It sucks. It sucks so bad, that unless you've been through it, you can't even begin to fathom the feeling. It hollows you out in a split second. It's like being struck by lightning.
But you know yourself. And you don't quit. So you say, you know what? I can do this. I can beat this. I have no doubt I can beat this. And so you do the treatment. You have a 50% chance of living for 5 more years, so you decide to fight like hell. You have no idea what hell will be like.
The treatment lasts for one year, and the side effects are brutal. You get a rash. You get GERD. You get IBS. You feel like someone is continually hitting you in the stomach for about a year. Your bones ache like they are being frozen within your skin. You get strange shooting pains all over your body at random times for no apparent reason. You are so tired, you fall asleep standing up. You are so tired, you crap your pants- more than once. You are so sick that you have to decide what hurts worse- hunger pains or the pain from eating. You are so sick that your esophagus bleeds. Your mouth is filled with yeasty pustules. You pass out in the shower. You still have the rash. You have a fever almost every single day for an entire year. You feel every moment like you'll collapse if you don't lie down. You miss important engagements- graduations, concerts, parties, dinners- because you are so sick. You get to the point where you can't even run simple errands- you have to take a wheelchair everywhere. You sleep 70% of every day and night. You wake up to realize you've missed whole days. The hormones make you crazy, and when you are awake, everything makes you cry. You gain 50 pounds. You cannot catch an effing break to save your life. You have no control over anything anymore. You have been stripped down to your bare existence. You hate your life, and you want to die. And this time for real.
In this time, when, to no fault of your own, you have reached your absolute low point, mentally and physically, you look around you for love and support and reassurance- and you feel so small and frail and alone. You are alone because, through all this, you not only lost yourself, but you lost so many others. The first was your close aunt- who, in her own grieving process, lashed out at you for the mistakes that you'd made in the past. Why didn't you take better care of yourself? You could've prevented this! She has no idea how to deal with what is happening to you and can't bear to watch it. Her anger at the situation overfills her heart and she thrashes it around wildly. You are in the direct path. She cuts you out of her life.
Your friends from adulthood try to hang in there, but when they've never seen death so close before, they begin to question their own immortality. This ish ain't pretty if you've never seen it before, and one by one, memory by memory, lonely tiny morsels of trust left in your once overflowing life, the friends become consumed with their own lives- after all, yours IS the only one that's stopped- and they disappear. They all have bills to pay, kids to raise, families to tend. But what is most striking to you are the mistakes you made, whatever it is that you must have done to make all these friends disappear. Everyone is so uncomfortable around you. You are overwhelmed with shame.
You cling to those last few people. One of your caregivers is an old friend from way back. You lean on her. She thinks that you should be handling the illness one way, and you think you should be handling it another. Tempers flare. Words flail like sharp weapons- and it becomes a game of who can cut the other deeper. It's like a bomb went off inside you both, and feels like the worst breakup ever- even though it's not even with a guy. You feel like a limb has been severed. You both are miserable, but neither will admit it. A friendship 20 years old, gone like the snap of your fingers.
Because you're sick of it! You're sick of it all! To have to endure everything, and then, in the midst of it bare the psychoses of those around you? To have to carry their inadequacies as they dump them on you for being sick? You're the cancer patient! These are their faults, not yours! Why are they lashing out at you, making your life even worse? Shouldn't I be the one being taken care of here?
What is it going to take?!? It's all been ripped from your clutches- your life, your health, your body, your future, you friends, your dreams, your time, your energy, your job. It has even taken your personality. You are shaken to your core. You are a naked shell compared to what you once were. You are Job. You look around you and it is a desolate wasteland of nothingness that surrounds you now. How did you even get here? A year ago you never would've believed that this would be your life now. You were so naive. The destruction from your life has created a huge void. Is this rock bottom? Please tell me this is rock bottom. Please tell me things get better from here.
There is nothing left to do but rebuild. You discover that the whole time you thought you were alone, there was a prince right beside you. He was there holding you up when you weren't looking, all along. The cancer seems to be gone. You can allow your body to begin mending. It will take years, and the fatigue and pain never fully subside. You try to figure out who you are now. You try to build your old life again, but everything is different. Everyday is a brick. Brick by brick, though, you make a new life. It's not as carefree as it was, but you are alive. Things are not easy, brick by brick. Slowly you rebuild.
Most importantly you find, you are not alone. You find a community of other survivors. Healing is not easy, and many of the symptoms still exist. Nothing is the same as it was, your body has changed, your mind is not the same, your personality is different. But you have learned to accept that. Things are ok. Then things are good. There are still very few true friends, and only one or two people you trust anymore, but slowly life becomes great again. The bricks begin to build a structure, which is still wobbly most of the time. Brick by brick, it becomes stronger. There are cancer scares, and sickness, death and disasters. And finally, after a long, hard road, when you realize that everything is still in shambles, you sigh to yourself and decide to just be happy for the little there is. It is not much, but it is awesome. Life has begun again. It has been six years, and life is starting to look like a life I like to live again. Thank you, God.
Friday, July 15, 2011
3 Great Things
I just wanted to share some hot new finds.
#1 MelanomaGirl.com is a site I found via Facebook (believe it or not). I kinda went off on a tangent on there the other day. I guess I don't know how to deal with it when I see a mole that looks suspicious to me or when my friends post (over and over) "OMG I got so sunburned today!" or "I love my new tanning bed place!" I mean, come on people. All I'm asking is wear sunblock and stay away from tanning beds. (I mean, any advice, btw?) Anywho, speaking of tangents..... lol....what I was saying was.... that I found this awesome site called Melanoma Girl. She's got a well-designed website and an uplifting, amazing attitude to boot. Her t-shirt designs are pretty stellar too. You should definitely check it out. Cuz it's "pretty cool!" (see video)
#2- I got an email from Brenda Becker for MelApp and she informed me that there's a new iPhone app called- appropriately enough called MelApp. According to Brenda,
"MelApp is an early detection mobile app that uses the iPhone’s camera coupled with image diagnostics to assess if users’ moles and freckles are low to high risk of melanoma. Highly sophisticated patent protected mathematical algorithms and image-based pattern recognition technology lets MelApp analyze a user’s uploaded image of their mole or freckle, using an image database licensed from Johns Hopkins University Medical Center. Within seconds MelApp will provide a risk analysis of the uploaded picture being a melanoma."
Ok, not the best named idea out there, but I feel like this is pret legit. And so high tech! It's a very sheek looking app, very functional, pretty intuitive design. All in all, I give it a thumbs up. Check it out at www.melapp.net
and
www.healthdiscoverycorp.com .
#3- You have to know about Funnycancershirts.com! Holy shit. Truly great cancer design going on there. Totally seriously!
Great to be back after a full month taking off!
-MM
#1 MelanomaGirl.com is a site I found via Facebook (believe it or not). I kinda went off on a tangent on there the other day. I guess I don't know how to deal with it when I see a mole that looks suspicious to me or when my friends post (over and over) "OMG I got so sunburned today!" or "I love my new tanning bed place!" I mean, come on people. All I'm asking is wear sunblock and stay away from tanning beds. (I mean, any advice, btw?) Anywho, speaking of tangents..... lol....what I was saying was.... that I found this awesome site called Melanoma Girl. She's got a well-designed website and an uplifting, amazing attitude to boot. Her t-shirt designs are pretty stellar too. You should definitely check it out. Cuz it's "pretty cool!" (see video)
#2- I got an email from Brenda Becker for MelApp and she informed me that there's a new iPhone app called- appropriately enough called MelApp. According to Brenda,
"MelApp is an early detection mobile app that uses the iPhone’s camera coupled with image diagnostics to assess if users’ moles and freckles are low to high risk of melanoma. Highly sophisticated patent protected mathematical algorithms and image-based pattern recognition technology lets MelApp analyze a user’s uploaded image of their mole or freckle, using an image database licensed from Johns Hopkins University Medical Center. Within seconds MelApp will provide a risk analysis of the uploaded picture being a melanoma."
Ok, not the best named idea out there, but I feel like this is pret legit. And so high tech! It's a very sheek looking app, very functional, pretty intuitive design. All in all, I give it a thumbs up. Check it out at www.melapp.net and
www.healthdiscoverycorp.com .
#3- You have to know about Funnycancershirts.com! Holy shit. Truly great cancer design going on there. Totally seriously!
Great to be back after a full month taking off!
-MM
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Separate Vacations
Every few years, Bobby and I do separate vacations. This actually started sort of as an argument the first time. Hilarious. It happened when I, in one of my not-so-noble moments, booked a vacay without Bobby. In retaliation, he did the same, and two weeks later, when we were both back from our separate trips, we were better for the experience. We were both reminded of what independence feels like, happy with ourselves, and more appreciative of our love for each other. I don't know, but I'm guessing that separate vacations either make you love what you have or realize that you need to make a change. And for me, it also makes me really evaluate what I love and how I would spend my time if I wasn't thinking so much about someone else, which is not only good for me, but good for the relationship. Getting to watch tons of bad tv completely guilt free isn't too shabby either. lol
Yes, that's right: I'm on a stay-cation. B went off to LA in pursuit of all kinds of worldly comedian knowledge, and I decided to kick it right here at the casa. The warehome. The old homestead. It's day 3 today, which I have designated "cleaning day." Day 4 will be "art day." These days were preceded by "sit on the couch day" and "healthy indulgence day."Both day 1 and day 2 were allotted extra time for bad tv. This included The League (my fave), Southpark (of course), Jersey Shore (eek!), Bones, Psych, The Unusuals, Celebrity Ghost Stories (I am such a sucker for these!), Archer, along with lots of Food Network, and also Samantha Who?, which I just now found.
Yes, Samantha Who? is a bit cheesy, but I just love the idea of waking up and being completely wiped clean from the person you were the day before. On the show, she has retrograde amnesia, and wakes in the hospital to find that she has no memory of her life before a hit and run accident 8 days before. So she sets out to find out who she is, and progressively realizes that she was a horrible human being. The funniest part is when she asks people to describe her to herself. Pretty interesting, right? Can you imagine waking up tomorrow and having to ask people what you are like? What are your favorite foods? What is your job? Do you like your job? Do you like yourself? Do you like your family? Your friends? Your life?
To just add to that, ask yourself this- if you asked the people closest to you WHO you are, would they even know? Dr. Phil has this thing he calls a personal truth. I'm not a big Dr. Phil fan, but I love what his says about it.
"Decide what your personal truth is. Every single one of us has one — something we believe about ourselves when nobody else is watching. Our personal truth is what we really say to ourselves when our social mask is off. Once you decide what your personal truth is, then you'll be less vulnerable to what others say. Personal truth is so important bc I think we generate the results in our life that we believe we deserve. If you have a damaged personal truth, you generate the results that match that. When we grow up, people write on the slate of who we are. People like parents write on our slate. But the most tragic thing of all is when we pick up the pen and start writing and we write the same things they did."So there's a little something for you to chew on all week: who are you, and do you like who you've become? Would you like a description of yourself?
Rest assured that am asking myself these questions, too. It's what I'm focusing on this week, too. I'm focusing on the part of the description that I want to change.
It's a great stay-cation! Namaste!
-MM
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Holy Moly!
Daily aspirin may protect against melanoma
Long-term use cut risk of deadly skin cancer by almost half, study finds
By Linda Carroll
msnbc.com contributor updated 6/23/2011 8:58:48 AM ET
An aspirin a day may keep melanoma at bay, a new study suggests.
After scrutinizing the medical records of 1,000 people, an international team of researchers have determined that the risk of melanoma was cut by almost half when people took a daily dose of aspirin for at least five years.
“Our data at least support the hypothesis that long-term steady aspirin use has an effect,” said study co-author Dr. Robert Stern, a professor of dermatology at Harvard Medical School and chief of dermatology at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Boston.
You gotta read this!!!! http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43468687/ns/health-cancer/-MM
Monday, June 20, 2011
Dear 16 Year Old Me, Dear Someone Else---
I've had a ton of people send me this link on Facebook, Twitter and even in comments of this blog. It's definitely worth watching, and I tear up every time I see it. I wish I had seen it at 16! But I can still share now with people that don't know. Please repost or send to anyone 16, or anyone who has ever been 16. :)
-MM
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Are you exercising your appreciation muscle?
Probably my biggest goal for myself is to accept the things I cannot change. On one hand, I must give myself credit for how far I have come, and on the other hand, I have to think about how often I get angry and up in arms about the things I cannot change. Always in progress, always complete.
I'm reminded a great deal of the four noble truths: the very nature of life is suffering, suffering is caused to our attachments- and probably attachments to how we think things "should be." There is a way to extinguish the suffering, and the suffering and pain can even lead you to the love and liberation that you know is possible.
Pretty awesome to think of that. So I'm going to present a challenge to you that I have already presented to myself. For today, be your own best friend and say all the compassionate and kind things to yourself that you wish others would say. In doing so, the loving kindness you create will help you to accept the things you cannot change.
As Jill Bolte Taylor said, enlightenment is a thought away. And it is your choice. Love that!
-MM
I'm reminded a great deal of the four noble truths: the very nature of life is suffering, suffering is caused to our attachments- and probably attachments to how we think things "should be." There is a way to extinguish the suffering, and the suffering and pain can even lead you to the love and liberation that you know is possible.
Pretty awesome to think of that. So I'm going to present a challenge to you that I have already presented to myself. For today, be your own best friend and say all the compassionate and kind things to yourself that you wish others would say. In doing so, the loving kindness you create will help you to accept the things you cannot change.
As Jill Bolte Taylor said, enlightenment is a thought away. And it is your choice. Love that!
-MM
Sunday, April 03, 2011
Exciting Stuff!
New Melanoma Treatment Approved by FDA
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Thirteen years of waiting is now over for melanoma patients. That’s how long it’s been since the last therapy became available to treat the most lethal form of skin cancer – melanoma. The FDA today announced approval of Yervoy, an immunotherapy treatment for advanced melanoma.
PRINCETON, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved YERVOY™ (ipilimumab) 3 mg/kg for the treatment of patients with unresectable (inoperable) or metastatic melanoma. YERVOY is the first and only therapy for unresectable or metastatic melanoma to demonstrate a significant improvement in overall survival based on results from a pivotal randomized, double-blind Phase 3 study. ----Bristol-Myers Squibb Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Thirteen years of waiting is now over for melanoma patients. That’s how long it’s been since the last therapy became available to treat the most lethal form of skin cancer – melanoma. The FDA today announced approval of Yervoy, an immunotherapy treatment for advanced melanoma. The drug will be used to treat melanoma patients whose cancer has spread to other parts of the body. It is the first approved drug that has extended the lives of patients with advanced melanoma.
“This is a critical breakthrough for advanced-stage melanoma patients who have far too few approved treatment options available,” said Timothy J. Turnham, the executive director of the Melanoma Research Foundation (MRF). “Patients have been waiting for a life-changing innovation like this one and news of the approval has galvanized the patient community.” --- From the Melanoma Research Foundation Press Release
PRINCETON, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved YERVOY™ (ipilimumab) 3 mg/kg for the treatment of patients with unresectable (inoperable) or metastatic melanoma. YERVOY is the first and only therapy for unresectable or metastatic melanoma to demonstrate a significant improvement in overall survival based on results from a pivotal randomized, double-blind Phase 3 study. ----Bristol-Myers Squibb Press Release
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Ups and downs
I remember when my weeks were filled with a different doctor's appointment every day, when my job was to do my treatment and to be at the right waiting room at the right time. I remember the hours of sitting and thinking, too drugged to read or follow a tv show, too tired to care how the 30 minute fiasco ended. I remember thinking how lucky I'd been just to be able to walk around at one point in my life NOT attached to an i.v. pole, and how mad I was at myself that I had not appreciated it. I remember the exhaustion of just making the decision to get out of bed that day, the shooting pain in my heels as I walked to the bathroom each morning. I remember the nausea and the fatigue and the hell I thought I'd never get through. I remember a year of treatment turning into 3 years of recovery.
Five years later, I have a job that I (mostly) love, where I spend way too much time. I work out almost every day again, have hobbies, stay too busy, paint, read, travel, see my friends often, and have cocktails over lots of laughs. Daily, I am finding myself doing things I used to miss doing- running, dancing, shopping, playing, wearing awesome clothes, and going out with friends.And so to see my friends with my same disease go through hell, retreat back to a life of endless scripts and pharmacies, tests, phone calls, exams and treatments, decisions about chemo and surgery and radiation and clinical trials- it's sometimes too much to have to process.
And so I dedicate this to my peeps still going through it all and those that I don't even know who are fighting the same battle, too. I lift you up with waves of peaceful thoughts. I send healing vibes your way.And I cherish my seconds, my minutes, and my days of freedom in honor of you.
-MM
Saturday, March 05, 2011
Friday, February 25, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Building Castles in the Sky
"The hardest thing in life, is letting go of what you thought was real."
~ Author Unknown ~
What do I really want to do with the rest of my life? Live out loud. Suck the marrow out of life. To totally think about what new risk I'm going to take every day, to want to live in new situations all the time, to try new things (which means that I can't just do the old things), to risk making a mistake. Or mistakes. (Big ones!) To be rejected and live through it and realize it's not that big of a deal. To realize where I really am, without any fibs or guilt or rose-colored perceptions. And to realize, as I'm doing it, that I had been making mistakes and learning new things the whole time. To be free to fail. And to fail! And be okay with failing! And to embrace every breath-taking moment.
-MM
~ Author Unknown ~
What do I really want to do with the rest of my life? Live out loud. Suck the marrow out of life. To totally think about what new risk I'm going to take every day, to want to live in new situations all the time, to try new things (which means that I can't just do the old things), to risk making a mistake. Or mistakes. (Big ones!) To be rejected and live through it and realize it's not that big of a deal. To realize where I really am, without any fibs or guilt or rose-colored perceptions. And to realize, as I'm doing it, that I had been making mistakes and learning new things the whole time. To be free to fail. And to fail! And be okay with failing! And to embrace every breath-taking moment.
-MM
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Such an Awesome Weekend!
Consisting of...
 |
| sleeping most of the day |
 |
| dinner with girlfriends |
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| Birthday celebration for Bobby |
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| delicious birthday lunch |
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| cat naps |
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| hanging out |
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| and celebrating another year of being with my love! -MM |
Wednesday, February 09, 2011
Saying good-bye
But I must say I feel like I should tell you about how great they were.
Did you know JB? He's a fellow melanoma survivor that passed away on February 3rd. One of the things that was awesome about JB was that he could make you see what he was seeing and (almost) feel what he was feeling. Here's a short example from one of his post this last summer:
"Today, I was given my discharge paperwork from the hospital. Discharge from the hospital is almost always an enjoyable time for me; it means that which brought me into the medical system has been addressed and that my doctors feel that I am ready to recover further, and better at home. It is generally the time for IV lines to be pulled out of veins and tape pulled off of itchy flesh; a moment for quick goodbyes to noisy beeping machines, frequent human grunts of pain, odors of cleaning products mixed with urine, as well as grateful nods to the medical staff that have looked after me for days."He was just really good like that. There were a million good things about him: his wit, his honesty, the way he wrote about his cat, his infinite humor, the fact that he loved Margaret Cho, his political views, the way he wrote about his partner Jason, the photos he took of food from his garden, his views on science, his sincerity.... I could go on and on and on. He was just an awesome person, and I felt lucky for knowing him every time we communicated.
I guess the guilt all started with my Dad, who I felt hadn't communicated with me during his illness. And then I had hesitated to see him when I knew I shouldn't have been hesitating. And then there was more drama than any trailer park family should ever have at the funeral. THE FUNERAL. Are you kidding me. And blah blah blah, 5 years later and every time someone passed away, I was feeling guilt. It was like it was the only way to experience it.
Then Linda got sick, and told me before she got near the end that, no matter what happened through her illness, she knew I wanted to be with her. And she asked to be buried in the hat I made her. It was like she cleared up all my death-guilt issues right then. An extraordinary lady indeed.
"Old friends pass away, new friends appear. It is just like the days. An old day passes, a new day arrives. The important thing is to make it meaningful: a meaningful friend- or a meaningful day." - His Holiness the Dalai Lama
I know that's true, but it's just difficult to change sometimes, especially with such good friends. I don't want them to be gone.
I don't want to think about the fact that they were here one day, and the next they were not. Part of the process, I guess. And I must admit in spite of that, I do feel blessed. The ephemeral nature of life, and friends, makes them all the more valuable.
-MM
Thursday, February 03, 2011
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Dear Blog Commenters,
You are the best. You need to know this. Sometimes when I read your comments, my eyes well up with tears, and I think it's because I feel simultaneous: a) loved b) supported and c) perhaps most importantly- understood. I'm having one of those, "the internet has connected me to so many incredible people" moments. But also one of those, "the friends and loved ones in my lfie are super sweet about following my blog" moments.
I love you for caring enough to comment!
-MM
p.s. You rock.
I love you for caring enough to comment!
-MM
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
Terrifying Yoga Epiphany of the Week
That's right- I am bigger than the life I'm living.
With every happy feeling I get in yoga, I see another area of my life that I need to grow. I've realized that I've been living in a box, trying not to come out for fear of scary stuff happening to me. Scary stuff like what's happened before- scary stuff like failure and judgment and heartbreak and cancer and losing family and loved ones. Scary stuff that seemed to have engulfed me a few years ago.
I remember a time when I had mentioned something to a friend about a crazy incident and she said to me, "You've never said ANYTHING scares you. I thought you were fearless." The rational part of me thought about how ridiculous that was. No one is truly fearless.
But looking back- what a way to live. Fearlessly. I
really remember that day and thinking about being perceived as fearless. And I remember who I was back then. I wasn't afraid to talk to strangers or try new things or show up places that I'd never been before. I had a faith in myself that I could do anything.
Nothing was off limits. I had faith that the thoughts I created in my head about how frightening things could be were way more terrifying than anything I'd actually have to live through.
And that's just not me anymore.
I have been humbled by life, humbled by pain, humbled by my body's limits. Humbled by cancer and the everyday turns of life. And yes, humbled by fear.
A friend's chat message bubble pops up on FB and I panic, thinking to myself, "omg, what am I going to say?" as if it's a job interview and this is my only chance to impress them. I don't drive at night much. I force myself to carry mace. I avoid making relationships because I know how easily they can fall
apart.
I see old pictures and wonder what I did to make that Lori go away.
On the other hand, I don't blame myself too badly. It's been a stressful few years. I'm 6 years out of a cancer prognosis that was less than encouraging, and it's only normal for me to need some time to
heal. I've been accused of having PTSD, and I don't doubt that I suffered from that at one point. I feel ok though, like I've grown some, and don't have to live that life of constant fear anymore. When I get a headache, I no longer worry about it being brain mets. (lol) And in the destruction that cancer can bring I realize that relationships can fall apart. Sides that you've never seen to people open up. Things change. In the aftermath of whatever happens, you cling to yourself and you hold on. Primal protective urges take over. People that meant something to you before become ghosts that haunt the spaces they used to fill.
So it's 6 years out, and I realize that I think almost every day about people that are no longer in my life much anymore.
Practicing yoga today, on the exhale of a downward-facing dog, it hit me like a ton of bricks.
It's time to let go.
What is it about letting go that is also so scary? And so sad? I assume it's just the familiar that is hard to let go of. Even if the familiar still sucks.
Today I start a whole new life. People around me tell me "Own it! This is yours!"
I have no idea how to do that, and I say that I'll fake it in the meantime.
"No faking it! You can do this!" they say. There is love in their words.
I don't believe them at all. I have anxiety about even being able to pull off the faking it. I realize that my faith in my ability is almost totally gone.
But maybe that's the point. Maybe this is rock bottom, and I have to
crawl back up from here. Maybe this is where I find myself again and find out that even being so incredibly human, I can succeed.
So today- again, for the millionth time- today is a big, new exciting step.
I've always dreamed of bigger, better things. Now that it's happening, I'm scared as hell.
I think that's ok. :)
I think the point is having enough faith to see if I can do it again. I'm 36 years old, and starting all over. This time, I do it not so fearlessly. I have no idea how to do this.
But I'm still doing it.
-MM
Sunday, January 09, 2011
Weekend Update
What up what up internet dogs. That was me channeling a fifth grader just now, sorry.Life is good. I seem to be chugging along in school, and just like last year I'm surprised that it's already the new year. Not sure how many days it is until TAKS, but I know it's not many.
Overall so far this year I've really felt good about work/life balance. Yay, me!
I've also been a lot happier with my
body lately. I think I should be thanking Geneen, my bestie Joy, and of course my loving and supportive Bobby. I jsut really have been laying off the hate-fest inside my head and allowing myself to be normal. It's like the craziest feeling ever. It's been almost a year since I've had any serious string of workouts (not counting yoga) because I really just got so tired of being in pain every day. And you know how that goes- you don't work out, so then you eat trash food, too. Well, not exactly, but you know what I mean. Anyway, its been a year of not being too active about diet and exercise. And guess what? Not that much has changed. Sure, I'm not as firm as I was, and my skinny jeans don't fit (or my semi-in-shape jeans, either), but I'm really pretty happy with my body just as it is. Now, finally, I feel like I can start building up from here. From my own personal experience, I think you have to love yourself when you're fat, or you'll never love yourself even if you're skinny. And I'm finally within reach of that.
Yoga is still going good. I really have to believe that yoga forced me to be in my body more, and that's why I am able to love it a little more, too. I think I am sorta addicted to yoga.
I catch myself all the time just moving into a yoga pose all the time- when I get tense or while I'm watching tv or after I roller skate. I think I've been doing it long enough now
(about 6 months) that I can tell which stuff I really like and which I find the least fun. I LOVE the balancing poses, for example. I can totally get lost in a balancing pose, and nothing exist outside of that moment. I've also been doing it long enough to know I need to accept that I'm just not in good enough shape to make it through the regular classes at YogaSport yet, even though I really love the place. So for now I'm doing my beginner Baron video at home and working on getting a bit more into shape so I can return without major headaches or other adverse affects. I still heart yoga, and I think it'll always be a part of me from here on out. Btw, who knew you could carry so much tension in your hips! And hips don't lie!
Besides that, I'm loving my school year and loving my work family. It's pretty awesome how I've gathered a small group of reliable peeps over the last 5 years. It makes work so much easier when you have people going through it all with you. I've been dragging up a lot of old shames with friends from the past, and am realizing that I'm still dealing with some of that. All in good time, everything will be cool in the end.
Wish me luck this week! I've got big exciting stuff coming up. Eek! So nervous. But excited too. :)
-MM
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