My Two Anniversaries on Dec 30th

[Paula O]

Today I have two anniversaries I'm celebrating. Hooray!

December 30, 2012 marks 23 years of marriage to my best friend and love of my life through the sunshine and storms.

I wish my cancerversary also didn't fall on the same exact day as the other. Those memories aren't happy like my wedding day and marriage but I made it through the toughest time in my life and grew alot through it so that's a great thing I can be glad about.

Two years ago today was my Well Woman Checkup right before I was supposed to have an anniversary lunch date with my DH. That day my GYN felt the largest of the lumps of multifocal breast cancer and then I went directly from there for my annual mammogram. I was sporadic about self breast exams and regret that didn't catch it myself earlier. Exactly one year from the month I had gone from a "stable/normal" mammo (fibrocystic breast disease which had not changed) to one the radiologist described as "ominous" ( which turned out to be Stage 3A). That day was such a shockaroo.

I initially tried a few months of alternative natural cancer treatment while I monitored the status by ultrasound a few times to see if I could avoid all the measures I didn't want to do but ended up doing because it did not work. My surgeon told me on my first visit a few days after that terrible mammogram that without conventional treatment I would be dead in 6 months to two years. That was pretty sobering.

I'm very thankful to God to be alive and doing very well as far as I know.

As we gear up to a healthier 2013, help yourself to a piece of virtual anniversary cake: my favorite kind to make and eat. The base is a slab of seedless watermelon topped with a variety of fruit: guilt-free delishiousness!

Paula