My Journey with Triple Positive Breast Cancer

Meet Freddy, our resident squirrel. We may have more in common in the coming days... 🤕 There is a word that sends a slight tremor of tension through our household, it's the word "surgery." For obvious reasons (ICU stay post lumpectomy blogged about  here and schwannoma removal "day" surgery that resulted in an overnight stay on the Obs unit, blogged about here ), no one is keen to see me go under the knife. Well, at least until we figure out why I have such difficulty coming up again! Thankfully, my next surgery can be done under local. 😬 Several years ago, a routine dental x-ray showed a cyst that had developed between my bottom left wisdom tooth and the molar next to it. What complicates matters is that my wisdom tooth is super lazy...as in, lying horizontal beneath the surface of the gum. It's never really bothered me and the wisdom tooth I had removed about 30 years ago was so difficult, the dentist put his knee on my body to brace himself as he wrenc...

Please excuse the extra lines radiating out from the scar,  I'm just thrilled to be without pain! I thought I was prepared, but as I frantically searched for my healthcare card at 4:45 the morning of my surgery, the thought occurred to me that I simply hadn't allowed myself to think about it. I was just looking forward to having 2 functioning arms again! Also...denial. (Not a huge fan of surgery for some funny reason! 🤷🏼‍♀️) I arrived at the Day Surgery Unit in the basement of the Royal Alexandra Hospital where I was given the coolest hospital gown. Make that, the warmest hospital gown. 🙃 They're called "Bair Huggers" and are fitted with a vent to allow a hose to blow warm air into the gown. Yes, you inflate like the Michelin Man, yes, you look absolutely hilarious, and yes, it was glorious.  Not me, just a photo of the Bair Hug with the hose attached below the waist.  You can also attach it at the shoulder, depending on where you want warmth. I wasn't able...

At the Butchart Gardens last month.  Our Canadian happy place. 💗 I apologize; it's been a wee while since I posted on my own personal blog (as in, not since June, 2025) and I haven't been prolific on Ken's blog either, but I have an excuse! Actually, I have many excuses, but the main reason is that typing hurts. I could type with just my right hand, but that gets annoying rather quickly, so I just haven't. Why does it hurt to type, you ask? Well...😬 Back in December of 2008, someone asked me if I could knit a sweater in an hour. Actually, I think it was more along the lines of "I bet you can't knit a sweater in an hour!" In my youthful years, I rarely said no to a challenge. Thankfully, years have brought the maturity that was lacking - or maybe I'm just too tired/sore/unwilling to exert myself at someone's behest? 🤔 After successfully completing the sweater in under an hour (a cute capelet knit in very thick red yarn and gifted to my sister-in-...

Walking across the pedestrian bridge in Capilano Park. "So how've you been?"  Hmmm, what to say... 🤔  Do they really want to know, or are they just being polite?  How much do they want to know? How much sharing is oversharing? Do I have the emotional bandwidth to talk about what's been going on?  Will they think I'm attention-seeking?  Will they even believe me? I'm having difficulty believing this is my life and I'm smack in the middle of it!  "I'm okay, how are you?" 🤥 I thought it was time for a quick update. It's been a while! (Turns out that time flies even when you're not having fun!) On May 6th, I passed a major milestone: I'm 5 years melanoma-free! At the time of my diagnosis, in early March 2020, I thought that my world had crashed in. Nope, that's what happened on my birthday this year with Ken's diagnosis, but I digress...as usual. 😁 Thankfully, my cancer was caught early, and other than a hideou...

  One of my fears, upon hearing "you have cancer" for the second time, was that my cancer would be wasted. I know, I know, how do you waste cancer? Well, if I don't use my own experience to help others, or if I don't allow God to use my cancer to glorify Him, then it's wasted. The number of lessons I've learned since my breast cancer diagnosis is seriously mind-blowing. To say that I'm not the same person would be a rather ginormous understatement, so allow me to share a few! When you receive a dire diagnosis such as breast cancer, you realize something rather quickly; you want more time. You don't necessarily want to plan a grand tour of the world, or cross items off your bucket list, though these are not bad ideas and some patients find them helpful in giving them hope, but what most patients want is just more "normal time." You want more time to laugh with your loved ones around the supper table, to go shopping at Winners with your bestie,...