What a miracle am I!

The family is spending our last evening of winter break enjoying one another and I have the following childrens song going through my head. Do you know this one?

I’ve got hands, watch them clap

Oh! What a miracle am I

I’ve got feet, watch them stomp

Oh! What a miracle am I

Oh what a miracle, Oh what a miracle

Every little part of me.

I’m something special, so very special

Ain’t nobody quite like me!

Tonight I am feeling the miracle of my life. Six years after a stage 3/4 melanoma diagnosis, I am returning to work full time! I’ll be doing my dream job with a dream team at the kids’ school. I feel prepared, energized and as ready as I can be (with perhaps a little nervousness mixed in!)

It’s strange that without reflection this feels a bit like I’ve been home with the kids for these 11.5 years just doing the stay a home mom thing. But with reflection that comes with saying goodbye to a dear friend who passed away Jan 1st after a melanoma battle, hearing a friend jokingly say I should be given credence because I had dodged death, sharing my story of hope with a friend looking into clinical trials for pancreatic cancer, I relaze this is HUGE!

I’m not proud of myself for surviving this far. I have done nothing to deserve this. I am a beloved child of God, but so is my friend who passed away this week. I am seeing amazing doctors in a time when medicine is advancing quickly and successfully treating many cancer patients. So was my friend. I didn’t juice or kale my way healthy. I am lucky. And thankful for that. SO thankful. And tonight I’ll sing that I am a miracle. Not out of pride, but with a thankful heart and full of hope for my friends who are facing melanoma and other cancers. We all deserve miracles.

Tomorrow and for the rest of the semester, I will go spend the day with 28 2nd graders. We will get to know one another as we study fractions and adjectives and write poetry. My students won’t know about my cancer journey. It’s not a secret, but it’s not applicable in the classroom.

CANCER will NOT be relevant in every area of my life!

Thank you God. Thank you to everyone who has supported us. My cancer journey isn’t over, but it is limited in it’s power. I’ll give it one day a month when I go have my infusion for a few hours. And I’ll enjoy this gift of life. Oh what a miracle.

  

I err on the side of love

Today I am thinking about my dear friends who sincerely believe that the Supreme Court’s ruling on marriage is wrong. They feel this is an embracing of sin and wonder why I am celebrating it. I understand this view because there was a time not so long ago when I would have mourned this ruling. My motto was “hate the sin, love the sinner.” A phrase which makes me cringe now. When someone identifies himself down to their DNA as something. You can’t separate that as sin from the soul of that person. And so to say “hate the sin, love the sinner” you are heard as “I hate you and who you are.”

I have a unique perspective as a 35-year-old who is past her expiration date. The type of cancer I have and the path I was on, I quite simply should be dead today. I’ve thought a lot about what my legacy will be and someday sitting with God and discussing the life I have led. I want to have erred on the side of love. And if God says I erred too much on the side of love, that’s a decision I am willing to live with at this point. That’s a choice, a risk I’m willing to take because I feel I am walking in the footsteps of Jesus in defying the religious culture of his day to err on the side of love.

Jesus only once during time on earth gave a “new commandment” explicitly. He said clearly “A new commandment I give to you, just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35

So today I celebrate that love wins.

Cetaphil Dermacontrol SPF Review

Cetaphil

CETAPHIL DERMACONTROL MOISTURIZER SPF 30, 4 FLUID OUNCE

 

This is one of very few facial sunscreens of which I have used the entire bottle! I tend to have an oily face. This provided just enough moisture to make my face feel great. I sometimes mixed it with a tiny bit of foundation to make a tinted moisturizer. Make sure to apply generously! Leaves skin matte without a shiny sunscreen sheen!

I snapped the photo when I was about to toss this empty bottle thinking I had better review it! I’m afraid I don’t have pictures of the texture of the product on skin, but it is very thin and rubs in very easily. It is translucent and matte. Excellent for daily wear by men or women.

Review Criteria
Price $13 bottle, $3 per ounce
Mineral or Chemical Chemical
Ease of application Very easy, goes on like any light moisturizer, soaks in and makeup applies well on top. Very thin liquid.
Concerning ingredients Avobenzone- can be an estrogen emulator much like tea tree oil; does not stop me from using it
Scent None
Face/Body Face
Adult/Kid/Baby Adult at my house, will give to teens/tweens when/if acne becomes an issue
Water Resistance None. Pick something else for swimming or working out.

Not an ad. I purchased this product on my own dime. The link above is an Amazon affiliate link. If you buy with the link, I get a very small percentage of what you pay to help offset my review costs. I only review sunscreens which I would use on my family and myself based on basic requirements such as broad spectrum and a minimum SPF of 30.

Sophie

Daniel and I adopted Bro 11 months ago today from our county shelter. We have had a wonderful almost year with him and the whole family has  just fallen head over heels. 

We’ve also become acutely aware of the overcrowding at the shelter and although we were sure we were a one dog family our heartstrings were constantly tugged by the need and sheer number of pets who needed homes in our town. So after lots of thought and a family meeting about the meaning of fostering, we decided today to head to the shelter and see if we could help out by fostering a puppy or two for this summer. Well, that didn’t exactly work out and instead we met and fell in love with Sophie. She came home with us after meeting the kids and Bro. 

Sophie is another Border Terrier mix. She’s estimated to be 10 months old. She was very insecure and nervous at the shelter. She’s done great with the people in the family and with lots of patience from Bro, she is warming up in spades toward him. She has floppy ears and a long long monkey tail. She seems very sweet. She was spayed yesterday so we look forward to getting to know her personality as she feels better physically and more secure in our home. She’s here to stay! 

Her name is still under debate. We may change it to Lil Sis to match Lil Bro, but for today she is still Sophie. 🙂  

          

 

Sun Safety Essentials!

mom2015dove1

I am thrilled to be attending my first Mom 2.0 Summit at the end of the month! Bloggers from all over the country and even Canada are gathering in Scottsdale to share ideas and inspiration. I am lucky enough to live in Arizona so I can drive with some friends to attend!

I know many people are looking forward to soaking up our beautiful Arizona warmth and weather! And by golly, we look forward to sharing it! But, there is danger associated with our sunshine I’ve faced firsthand.

I am a fair-skinned red-head and grew up in Arizona. I wore sunscreen most of the time, never laid out in the sun nor went near a tanning bed. Yet, the UV is so extreme in Arizona, I ended up being diagnosed with melanoma (the bad skin cancer) at age 29.

I’ve been on a 6-year journey battling lung and brain tumors and want everyone to avoid what I’ve been through. Here are some tips so you can enjoy our beautiful weather and avoid injuring your own skin and risking your health.

Who wants cancer or to look old prematurely?
Not you?
I thought so.

Slip, Slap, Slop and Seek Shade

UV levels are highest between 10am and 4pm. I looked up the UV levels at the Phoenician over the next 4 days. You can clearly see from the image below when you need to use sun protection!

UV levels in Phoenix April 2015

http://uv.willyweather.com/az/maricopa-county/scottsdale.html

My mantra for when I teach sun safety for children is, Slip on a shirt, Slap on a hat and sunglasses, Slop on sunscreen and Seek shade outside!

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Stability

Stable melanoma

One year stable!

 

Many of my melanoma friends (aka “mela-homies” if you tend to the dorkwad side like I do) reach a place where they take a photo of themselves holding a sign that says “NED” to celebrate scan results which show “No Evidence of Disease.” NED is the best it gets in late stage melanoma. There isn’t remission status because melanoma is too sneaky in returning.

Perhaps one day I will be NED, but I had a lot of tumors and they leave scar tissue and shadows on scans so it may be difficult for me ever to be declared “NED.” My scars just may be too numerous and deep.

But, I had a CT scan yesterday and got a call from my nurse today that my results were STABLE! This is the best we could have hoped for and worth celebrating! So here is to stable scans!  My first stable scans were on Jan 27, 2014 so yesterday was my one year anniversary of stability. It is time to celebrate a year of stability!!! Hurrah!

Long overdue Keytruda dose 21 update

Once upon a September and October, I began having a few strange symptoms with my Keytruda doses including weight gain that didn’t match my calorie intake, loss of pubic hair, some hot flashes. I mentioned them after discussing them with a nurse practitioner here. I had my estrogen levels tested and menopause was ruled out. Yay!

At my November appointment, my oncologist had taken a look at my symptoms and labs and diagnosed me with metabolic disorder. I certainly have a family history of these symptoms, although I don’t know if anyone in my family has actually discussed the overarching diagnosis of metabolic disorder with a doctor in the past.

My oncologist believes these symptoms are probably something that eventually would have been diagnosed with age, but the clinical trial medications or perhaps just the stress of this cancer journey have brought on the symptoms on a good 20 years early. Thankfully they are treatable and may not need medication but sweat therapy (aka exercise!)

It was after I finished with the doctor that my triglyceride levels came back from the lab and were high enough to rate a grade 3 adverse affect which meant I couldn’t get treatment that day. I came back the next day for fasting blood work which reduced my levels from 400 to 300, but not low enough to get me off the hook for a medication. I began meds and had beautiful blood work and dose 21 two weeks late on November 21st. It went without a hitch, thank God! Now I wait to see an endocrinologist to treat medication induced metabolic syndrome.