Livestrong Summit

I'm back from a whirlwind weekend in Austin for the Lance Armstrong LIVESTRONG Summit! I have never been so motivated, and so humbled at the same time. Amazing people that have gone WAY beyond to work towards something that affects SO many people. Did you know that nearly 1.4 million people in our country alone will be diagnosed with cancer this year?!? We can not afford to be bystanders anymore. Some of the motivational words that I got during the event that still echo in my head:

-Cancer is both ruthless and relentless. In order to survive it, you must match it. Be ruthless and relentless in your quest to find the best cure, the best treatment, the best facility, the best physician for YOU.

-Cancer survivorship requires unwavering faith and the discipline to prevail, even as you confront the most brutal facts about the disease and how it will affect you.

-It's okay to be angry at cancer. Anger can be a gift, a vehicle to motivate you to fight.

And the most interesting thought that was shared by the majority of survivors was the concept that cancer often becomes a person's defining moment. It forever alters their personality, their priorities, their calling in life. Nearly every cancer survivor I talked to said they were a better person because of their cancer. It requires you to focus on what is important, to shake away the unnecessary and the petty details of life, and to work to make a difference.

friendsofcathy.com Wristbands!

Friends of Cathy wristbands!?!?!? To say that my jaw dropped to the ground when I looked at the website is an understatement! It's my understanding that an individual that wants to remain anonymous donated the wristbands. All I can say is thank you thank you thank you. I am truly touched, and blessed to have you in my life.

Conversations and Prayers

Over the past two years, more and more requests for information come to me via this website (and a thank you! to my wonderful webmaster!). I end up talking for hours on the phone sometimes to people that I will never meet, yet have an incredible bond with. Naturally, not everyone beats cancer. This week has been rough. I would like to say a prayer for Maggie and Jim and Jennie. Godspeed.

The Simple Things in Life...

The irony of it all. I was at the UT campus this past weekend, as a guest at my son's fraternity for a football game (and there's a whole other story there, but....). Anyway, I got to talking to another parent, who has a recurring condition that makes it hard for her to get out of bed some days. She shared with me her irritation about how sick people desperately want to just do the normal, day in day out stuff that everyone else does. But because of their condition, they can't do it. "If I was normal, like all my friends, I would be estatic about running errands and grocery shopping and taking out the trash and driving carpool---all the things my friends complain about" she confided. Isn't it ironic that the very things that one person hates, another person wishes for? I find that sick people often don't wish for extravagant things like traveling to Europe or going on a cruise....they dream about the day they can simply go to work, run a few errands on the way home, cook dinner and go to bed. So perplexing....

Home

I have decided that there really is 'no place like home'. It's good to be back in Texas (even though I was born in New York and spent most of my youth in Florida, I'm hooked!). I'll be getting ready to do a chemotherapy regime in a week or two, and get back on the track again. I will share a story with you though, about the payoff of teaching. While I was in Mississippi, I ran into a student from a LOOONNNGGGG time ago, around 1991 I believe. (Of course, I was but a child when I taught him). He was the biggest rebel in class, and now he is the Program Director of a major radio station in the Jackson area, all grown up and very successful. And he said the magic words "everything you taught me was true." Which of course, were followed by the second most magic words "I'll buy lunch!" Another blessing.

Treatment, take two

It's Monday and I am still in Mississippi. My radiofrequency ablation procedure on Friday had to be cut short, so the plan is to finish everything today. Again, I appreciate all the prayers...keep 'em coming!