A Reprieve from Cancer-World

I realize it’s been a while since my last post. That usually happens when i’m traveling. Too busy visiting my peeps, having fun, and living life. Miss M, grandpa, and I just spent a week in Massachusetts visiting with my mom’s family (and all our friends who are essentially family). We went up to Provincetown…

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Enjoy It The Best You Can

Living with metastatic breast cancer is such an odd reality…  (As I imagine living with any chronic or life threatening disease is)…  You’re caught in a place between life and death.  Aware the days may be numbered. Facing your own mortality changes you. I am now supremely aware of the passing of time.  I don’t…

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Whatever Works

Everyone is talking about Angeline Jolie & her decision to have a preventive double mastectomy.  And everyone’s asking me what I think… So what do I think?  I think preventive surgery is a very individual decision.  A decision that is best left to the individual to make.  Would I have done the same thing?  Who…

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Terri Got Her Groove Back

Spring is officially here (well at least in Ohio it is).  My surgery is done.  I have no more treatments scheduled or drugs to take.  I’m feeling good.  Ready to leap forward & embrace life.  Got myself a new pixie haircut and am starting to feel like I’m getting my groove back again.  Hallelujah! Saw…

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Having Cancer Does Not Feel Good

A few days ago the NY Times ran an article in their magazine entitled “Our Feel-Good War on Breast Cancer” by Peggy Orenstein. Everywhere I looked people were re-posting it, adding links to facebook, emailing it to me.  Yesterday, I finally got the chance to read it. Orenstein takes on a few important topics…  …

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Family Love

The da Silvas have finally returned “home” to Ohio.  As always, it is bittersweet. Miss M is overjoyed to be back with all her stuffed animal friends…  Hubby is thrilled to be sleeping on his comfy king size bed again…  I’m happy to be back in my kitchen & reunited with my juicer.  But it’s…

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Surgery Update

I survived yet another surgery. Hopefully it’ll be my last. By all accounts the surgery went well. I went in to the OR around 10am on Wednesday and woke up again around 3pm (although the surgery itself only took a few hours). Upon waking I wasn’t puking all over myself like last time (thank god!)…

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Making Peace With My New Normal

My heart is fluttering. My heart is aching. I am sitting on the Amtrak train heading to NY… Heading towards my next surgery (hubby and I check in at 8:30am tomorrow morning)… And heading away from my family, friends, and my darling Miss M. Sigh… I miss her already. Miss M and I had a…

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Making Peace With the Unknown

“When you are in tune with the unknown, the known is peaceful.”  – quote from my Yogi chai tea this morning This has been one of the bigger lessons on my cancer journey – Accepting the unknown and releasing the urge to control.  In doing so, I have come to a greater sense of peace.…

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The Elasticity of Time

What a weird & emotional week it’s been.  Full of travel, sickness, milestones, pure joy, memories, and anniversaries…  To name a few. Plus, I have now officially entered the “surgery prep” zone. This morning I had my pre-surgery breast ultrasound…  In the exact same room that I found out I had breast cancer back in November…

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