Was thinking of going with “Live Your Life” but realized I’ve been thugging exactly NONE of my life, I decided to go Bon Jovi instead, since I actually own several albums and went to a concert in high school… but the line for today:

I just want to live while I’m alive.

Once before I used this when I was talking about my dear friend, Tricia Moen, who lost her battle with colon cancer at 39 last year.  Totally unacceptable outcome, but she has been my role model on how to face the scary stuff with grace and honesty.  Tricia was a producer at KOMO, where I worked with her for several years, and she was very open with talking to the viewers there about her fight, so they would know that colon cancer can strike at our age. She was my view into what my mom was going through in HER fight with colon cancer on days Mom didn’t want to talk.

So I can only think that Tricia is smiling down on me that I’ve offered to take my ninja self to her audience, the KOMO 4 News’ 11a show this Thursday, 10/25, to talk about what it’s like to live a normal life while fighting.

I guess an alternate title to this blog could be “Message Testing” as I thought I would practice what I think I’ll say… I welcome feedback on anything you think I might be missing, although I’m assuming the interviewer will have her own thoughts or direction and where I’m going. 🙂

I’m thinking I’ll start with finding my lump and diagnosis this summer. I can talk about my treatment and final pathology, etc.

But the reason I pitched the story is how I’m seeing the reaction happen in my work, family, and community at large.

Everyone I mentioned this to started talking about the people they knew. And with the exception of one colleague and a couple of other friends, everyone has talked about a “Mom, Aunt (like mine) or Grandma.” My mom can’t find a t-shirt that says “I wear pink for my daughter.”

We all should know our risk, and stay on top of what that means.  For me that was genetic testing, and volunteering for additional testing that will teach researchers about more genetic traits.  And then do something about it.

Did I touch my boobies enough before?  Evidently not, or I wouldn’t have had 3 masses and needed a mastectomy.  So I am a cautionary tale. At 38 years young.

But finally, for other young survivors… we’re out there. But we’re all doing exactly what YOU are doing.  We haven’t shut down our lives.  We’re still wives, mothers, colleagues.  Some women hide it altogether, because they don’t want the attention.

Admittedly, it can be exhausting for the woman who has sold you dog food once a month for the last year to see that you’re bald beneath your hat and ask how you’re feeling.  Or even to be the constant recipient of thoughts and prayers while being physically and emotionally exhausted, just trying to heal.

But that’s a part of continuing to live while I’m alive.  And as I’ve said, I’m only 0.25 years into my 50 year survival plan.  I’ve got at least 49.75 years that I’m planning to be around.

There’s my general plan, let me know what you think!

In case anyone wondered where I was this weekend, the answer: napping.  Sat: Went to the little one’s pee-wee football, came home, took a nap.  Sun: Breakfast out, grocery, dog food & Target run, start watching Pats game… you guessed it, go upstairs to start laundry and end up taking a nap.

Evidently, even though I was feeling WAYYY better that’s what my body needed.  Right now, it’s my life.