Now we’re in the present day and I’m in the midst of Round Five of the Great Cancer Battle … or the “GCB”. Not long after my last chemo session in August of 2006, my markers began to climb again … a sure indication that something was cookin’ inside. Lovely. At this point, I can’t say I was surprised. There’s just something about me that cancer loves. Just doesn’t want to let me go. Sorta like a stalker that’s always out there, hiding, waiting to strike.

I’m no longer scared of cancer. It just pisses the hell outta me. So our next move? A new drug called Lapatinib. Hadn’t even been approved by the FDA when I joined a drug study that was being conducted in Illinois and have just entered my fifth week of treatment. Last week the FDA approved the use of Lapatinib and I’ll now be able to get it through my regular oncologist. The meds are all oral … which is a nice switch. No one sticking needles into you on a weekly basis. Five horse pills at 6:00 a.m. on an empty stomach, three smaller horse pills (Xeloda … which is an oral chemo) at 7:00 a.m. after eating something and then another three Xelodas at 7:00 p.m. (again after eating something). Side effects are the usual. Fatigue, weight loss, mouth sores, diarrhea … yadda, yadda, yadda. My personal favorite is an odd red rash that you can get on your palms and the bottom of your feet. It would be just my luck to get that one. Ain’t gonna lose my hair this time. There’s a plus. So far, I’ve only had the dubious pleasure of diarrhea. Ick. Oh, and blisters on my feet. No one said anything about that! Nasty little buggers. Fortunately with a reduction of the Xeloda (from an original five to the present three), they appear to have cleared up.

The good news is that I think this treatment is working. One of my indications that the big C is back is that I get an aching pain in my hip and small of my back. That pain has definitely lessened. Yay!

Repeat after me … “YOU ARE A CANCER WINNER”

I’m always excited when I come across a new author that I know will make my “keeper” shelf, but these are books that I’ve read and re-read numerous times and still haven’t tired of them.

- “When the Splendor Falls” by Laurie McBain
- “Message from Absalom” by Anne Armstrong Thompson
- “Contact” by Susan Grant
- “Stardust of Yesterday” by Lynn Kurland
- “Down to a Sunless Sea” by David Graham
- “Knight of a Trillion Stars” by Dara Joy
- “Swan Song” by Robert McCammon
- “The Last Stand” by Stephen King
- “Guilty Pleasures” by Laurell K. Hamilton
- “The Dragonriders of Pern” by Anne McCaffrey

What are some of your favorites?

I’m fairly mellow on Margaritas tonight. Rough day at work, but its amazing how much can be forgiven on a Friday evening after a half-pitcher of Margaritas.

Just over a month to the first big conference and I’m busting my butt checking out promotional stuff. Gotta get my ducks in a row because this is my first conference since being published. “Forget About Tomorrow” comes out on the 17th of April and the Romantic Times Conference begins on the 25th. Although I won’t be one of the authors at the big book signing, I can still peddle my wares. I’ve been trying to find something unique that won’t automatically be toss out. I may have come up with something (with the help of my friend, Edie). We’ll see if the company I queried will get back to me ASAP.

Gotta admit, I’m excited. I love conferences. I’m not a smoker, nor a heavy drinker (all evidence to the contrary with my margarita comment above), but I do love to travel and attend writers conferences. This is my opportunity to meet with fellow writers, catch up with cyber friends and meet new ones. All of this without having to worry about hubby and the little darlin’. This is my time to relax and socialize.

What do you reckon? What’s your favorite relaxation?

Okay, last week was the introduction and a rah-rah talk. Now I’ll talk a little bit about my cancer history. Imagine my surprise when the biopsy came back positive for breast cancer. Me? Cancer? Naw! I was only 35 years old. I led a fairly health lifestyle (if you discounted the occasional junk food I indulged in), worked out regularly and there was no family history.

It wasn’t even a lump that I found, but a dimple. Don’t know about you, but I’ve never had a doctor tell me to look for a dimple on your breast. They’ve always touted “do your self-examinations and watch for a lump”. But a dimple appeared just above my right breast and during a routine checkup I mentioned it to my doctor. She was all over it.

Within weeks I had the biopsy (with the previously mentioned reaction laced with four letter words), a mastectomy and scheduled for chemo … just to be on the safe side.

Fast forward to where I about to hit my seven year mark of being cancer free … the holy grail for cancer patients. My left hip was bugging me, but because I’d just started taking Tae Kwon Do, I figured I screwed it up somehow. By this time I’d been seeing my oncologist on a yearly basis and he immediately ordered a battery of tests. Sonavabitch! The cancer had metastasized to my hip. This time it was radiation that knocked it out. I was carefully monitored after that and within two years, the little suckers were back again. Now we’re into heavy duty chemo. Six doses, once every three weeks. This is where I lost my hair (absolutely everywhere), endured a yucky feeling 24/7, lost 15 pounds (which was good), and this is the one and only time I tossed my cookies (not good). Peppermint is great for an upset stomach, by the way. This was followed by weekly infusions of Herceptin in an attempt to keep the cancer off … but no dice. Came back again and I went through a slightly stronger bout of chemo. Pissed me off, too, because I’d just gotten my hair back. Same deal as far as reactions go. The final session was August of 2006. By December we discovered it had returned for a fifth time.

But enough of that. We’ll talk my present experience next week. Or, as I call it, Round Five of the Great Cancer Battle.

Repeat after me … “YOU ARE A CANCER WINNER!!!”

Here are my top ten favorites regarding music:

- Steely Dan
- David Bowie
- Rolling Stones
- Men at Work
- Melissa Etheridge
- Eagles

Geez … I gotta keep this at ten? This could go on for days.

- Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
- Aerosmith
- Huey Lewis and the News
- Bob Seager

What are some of your top ten tunes?