Taking Care

I'm happy to report that our first attempt at cutting out meat was a success! We made some pretty tasty dishes Sunday through Wednesday this week and I hardly noticed that none of them included animal protein. I even ate out and was able to easily order some really delicious portobello mushroom fajitas. When we added meat back into our meals on Thursday (tacos), Jason was up with me during the night with a stomach ache (I was having one of my usual night sweats). I felt fine after eating meat Thurs/Fri, but after eating chicken tenders at our friend Andrew's birthday party on Saturday, I felt awful! I can't say if it was the chicken or the fact that they were fried, but it made me feel terrible (and happy to say buh-bye to them). Today we started day one of five days we're eating meatless so we'll see how this week goes!

In fitness-related news, I've been using the LT Bucks I earned for joining Lifetime Fitness over Black Friday to try out a few TEAM classes. For two weeks I was part of the TEAM Weightloss, and now I've moved on to TEAM Fitness. The fitness class is one level up in terms of difficulty, and instead of mostly cardio, we've been doing some serious weight lifting (my first attempt at kettle bells made me feel like an 80-year-old lady; I'm still nursing sore back muscles!). I like it, but my danceline background has me gravitating toward the cardio classes. I've also been back on the treadmill a few times slowly logging miles, and I'm pretty excited about how much I'm still looking forward to it. Yesterday my challenge was to do a 5K, which is something I've done many many times, but this time my goal was to run as much of it as possible and I don't think I did too bad. I wasn't really going for speed, but of course the faster you run, the faster you can be done. I finished nice and sweaty at 40:30, so with short stints of walking thrown in, I'm averaging a 13-minute mile. Certainly nothing to brag about, but it'll be interesting to see the improvement the more conditioned I get!

Finally, I had an appointment Thursday with Dr. Sanan, the surgeon who first discovered my cancerous lump. It's been about six months since I've seen him and ta daaaa - after examining me he determined there are no new lumps (not that I was expecting him to find any). Physically I've been feeling great and it's so great to have a confirmation from a professional. I also spent a little time with Lynnae, Carrie and Ali (the hospital's social worker) which was wonderful! They're all such great resources and care so much for their patients (me!). Ali's hooking me up with the oncology nutritionist to make sure I'm still getting enough nutrients now that we're modifying our diets. Once again I'm thanking my lucky stars I have them for my long term healing!

Natural remedies, here I come!

I Did This

As you may know, I've been hitting the gym quite a bit over the past couple of weeks. To get into shape? Sure! Because I finally can? Absolutely! I spent the better part of five months in pain, and when I wasn't in narcotic-zone pain, I was very uncomfortable. I'm finally back in my stride and am absolutely loving it! I look forward to lifting weights for an hour, and get this: yesterday I woke up at 6:30am and challenged myself to run a mile (I did, and then almost one more too!). I'm becoming addicted, and I kind of love it.

So now that I'm moving my booty again, I thought it'd be a good idea to take an overview at how I'm eating. I definitely ate my (and 4 others') fair share of cookies, treats and snacks (ones you just know are so naughty you better just avoid) over the holiday season and it's left me feeling gross (and flashing like no other - no really, I can't stop). Jason's been tugging at my sleeve trying to get me to watch Forks Over Knives for a few months now, so I finally sat down last weekend and watched it. No joke, the movie changed my life. It slapped me hard with the reality that it's very likely I contributed in giving myself cancer based solely on the food I've been shoving into my mouth for 29 years.

Basically the movie "examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting animal-based and processed foods." Both of my parents were raised on farms so it was natural for them to feed me good ole meat and potatoes with a glass of milk as a typical dinner. I have friends who are vegetarian and while I always admired their willpower and compassion, I never thought I'd be interested, even in educating myself about it.

It's all different now; I'm taking a good hard look at what I eat and have decided to try eliminating animal-based and processed foods. If not eliminate all together, severely cut down my intake. Jason's on board with this too, so we've decided to do a little tapering. First is meat. We're going 4 days this week without consuming meat; next week we'll try 5 days, then the following 6 and eventually all 7. After that will be the hard part: dairy. I eat a yogurt for breakfast every day, and Jason can polish off a gallon of milk in no time. Have I mentioned he's from WI, the land of cheese? The tapering for dairy might take a bit longer, but that's ok. At least we're trying!

Forward Thinking

It's finally here! I said goodbye to 2013 with a quick tear and welcomed 2014 last night surrounded by people I love (and then strangers in a conga line). I started this year already breaking one of my resolutions (to swear less; I lasted until about 10:30 this morning...), but it's ok. The beauty about resolutions are that if you mess up, you can start over again right away.

This past year has certainly put things into perspective for me. We said goodbye to Jason's sweet grandpa George, to my beautiful stepsister Margie and her daughter-to-be Olivia, and to Jerry, a long-time friend of Jason's family. My mom and stepdad sold the house I grew up in and moved to Texas. Breast cancer happened. We had to sit through a very painful two weeks in a courtroom. It was the longest 365 days I've ever known. Definitely challenging by comparison to the years I've had before it.

So, where there are valleys, there are hills, and I truly believe that 2014 will be the hill (a steep one so I'll get in shape along the way) that I'll use to climb out of this valley of sadness. How's that for a metaphor? There are so many things to look forward to this year. Weddings, babies, new challenges in my fitness, career and personal life. All of it will slowly remind me of what the "easy" years feel like, and I'll appreciate each day more because of what 2013 showed me.

I hope to end this upcoming year in a better place than I am today, even if today I'm better than I was on this day last year. It's all about evolving to become me at my best. Hello 2014, let's see what you have in store.

Merry Christmas!

Judy gets me every time; hope your holiday week is filled with food, family, happiness and love!

http://youtu.be/5g4lY8Y3eoo

Uncertainty

So every year I have a stack of movies I watch in the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Typical holiday-type flicks: It's a Wonderful Life, Home Alone, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, White Christmas, The Santa Clause, and The Holiday. Another that I always watch is The Family Stone, which I love because of the giant family and the complicated dynamics between each member.  In the movie Sybil, the mother to a handful of grown children, has recently found out that her breast cancer (which she's battled in the past with a bilateral mastectomy) has returned.

I've watched this movie every year since its debut almost a decade ago, and of course, this year it hits home. I cried at all the parts I cried at before my diagnosis, but this year as I watched, a red flag was raised. What if my cancer comes back too, and what if we don't catch it in time to have the prognosis I had this summer?  I know the chances of it returning are statistically in my favor, but there's still those single-digit percentages that the cancer will return. I've been doing a great job not thinking about that happening, but I'm certainly not immune to it.

So what do I do?  I can't obsess over it and go into every appointment with fear or over-analyze every ping of pain I feel. No one has time for that! All that I can do is be aware of major changes, see my doctors as they suggest, and live the healthiest life I can. That's all any of us can really do, right?  No one has immunity when it comes to cancer; it sees no difference in race, class, gender or birth order.  I just hope that the battle I've already gone through wins me points if there is ever a round two.

Terrific Lady Day

Tis the season for baking, shopping and being oh so busy!  Sorry for the lack of updates.  Quick rundown: last week I met with a group of ladies who had all been diagnosed at 40 or younger.  Quite the difference from the group I've been meeting with through United.  We had a great discussion and it was so nice to commiserate with ladies my age.

2013 has put my family through the ringer, so I've been thinking about how I plan to start fresh in a few weeks.  Step two: lopping off and donating my hair (step one was joining a gym, which I'm loving so far!).  You heard it here first - the mane is now a little bob :)  I went into the cut feeling ready for it, keeping in mind how lucky I was to not go through chemo, unlike a lot of other women.  I hope my hair can make a nice wig for one of those ladies!  

Total donated: 8" :)

I had a quick appointment with my plastic surgeon after my hair cut to check in on my new boobs.  All is going well on the healing front - swelling is pretty much gone (we'll check in again in 6 weeks), and the incisions are looking great. She addressed the pain I'm having in my arm and thinks it should go away eventually. I'll just keep doing my stretches and hopefully it'll be soon!

ACS Newsletter

I'll update on personal matters later tonight or tomorrow but wanted to pass this on from the American Cancer Society; all are great, inspiring reads. Also, on the awareness end of things, be sure to check out the article on knowing your breasts.

Hope everyone's having a great week!