Stupid Cancer

This is the new t-shirt I bought at the conference. I saw another really good one that said, "YES, THESE ARE FAKE, THE REAL ONES TRIED TO KILL ME". I should have purchased it, but then again, do I really want people staring? Not so much.

Dallas Conference

Here I am with the Seattle girls in Dallas at the Young Survival Coalition's National Conference. It was a great weekend and I am so glad I went. Everyone was in a different phase of treatment, recovery and reconstruction. It was very emotional for me, everywhere I looked there was a young woman going through what I have been through. I gained a lot of new information and met many other women with triple negative. One of the women in our group is triple negative and three years out, so that is encouraging! We received medical updates from some of the nation's top oncologists, heard a very motivational speaker talk about "Embracing Life Through and After Cancer", explored exhibits and had plenty of time for Q&A, networking and relaxing. My favorite classes were: "Breast Cancer Reconstruction Options", "Raising Healthy Children when a Parent has Cancer" and "Triple Negative News You Can Use". There are lots of targeted drug therapies in the works for triple negative, especially a drug called Avastin, which I will ask my oncologist about. We had receptions each night, went out for a delicious Tex-Mex dinner on Friday and dressed up for dinner on Saturday. I am part of the Seattle group, but have only been to one meeting because it's the same night as Girl Scouts. I feel like I've bonded with these women now and really look forward to participating more during the summer. What an incredibly strong, inspiring, real group of women. Thank you to my friend Andrea for connecting me to the Seattle YSC leader when I was first diagnosed.

On Deck for the Cure

Kristen and Brett went on a Carnival cruise recently. One of their activities was "On Deck for the Cure", sponsored by Komen and Carnival. They, along with Brett's family, participated in my honor. Very cool!