The Cancer Chronicles

It’s a bit like going in reverse. It’s always the most selfless that feel so undeserving and the cheaters who think they deserve everything, like a short cut into an Ivy league college when they did not earn it. The Marcus Family raised $100,000 last week for Chron’s Disease and Intestinal Fortitude despite the very recent loss of their mother and grandmother. Trevor Art Design donated a beautiful Cape painting, a new shop called Echo donated a gorgeous wellness basket, the Onset Bay Association gave me a framed antique map of Onset, a local artist is giving me a shell wreath, and my carpenter’s wife is contributing wall art in the form of a  hand crafted and framed glass mermaid.

In February we all head to NYC for Cancerland/Ana Ono/Metavivor’s NYC Fashion Week show (#notjustone) featuring all models walking the runway with metastatic breast cancer, including me. To be near you, To be free I am flying, I am flying Like a bird ‘Cross the sky I am flying, Passing high clouds To be with you, To be free Can you hear me, can you hear me Through the dark night, far away I am dying, forever crying To be with you, who can say We are sailing, we are sailing Home again ‘Cross the sea We are sailing

First, we had a very successful time in Washington DC with Metavivor and MET-UP holding a die in and lobbying on capital hill for funding research and waiving the wait time to receive Medicare coverage. Evan and Tim took apart the furniture in order to get it up the stairs and Evan did significant painting throughout the house. I am a bit melancholy due to the miserable weather and missing the comfort of home town life but Tim and I have had a sunset cocktail most nights up in our third floor loft overlooking the ocean and we have had coffee every morning in our sun room watching the happenings at the marina. We have joined the local library, figured out where the nearest ER is, visited the movie theater, checked out a bunch of restaurants and found the big stores we like to frequent.

Dr. Rachel did a peer-to-peer appeal and went up four levels and still they denied it since they won’t approve “surveillance” scans in the absence of a symptom or sign of cancer. The good, perhaps amazing, news is that my tumor markers are stable and the Cat Scan did not show any signs of cancer other than the inactive tumor under my right kidney. I did the podcast about metastatic breast cancer and Metavivor with Candace Dalton, the Medium, along with Blanket and my friend Brunnie. I also plan to join Beth and Metavivor in San Antonio for the Breast Cancer Symposium in December where the new #This Is MBC campaign will be revealed.