LittleLifePreservers.com

These are just some of the homemade cards I've received from Lesa, a breast cancer survivor in MA. I put these through the scanner which doesn't show how intricate and beautiful they are-hand-embossed paper, stamps-the yellow card here has 8 distinct layers of paper. Very beautiful. She does post some of her cards on her blog. (http://lesasbreastcancer.blogspot.com/2009/03/isnt-she-sweet.html) Anyway, since I've begun treatment, I've received 5 of these amazing cards and they have brightened my mood considerably.

I am slowly improving in running and now am up to 2.5 miles. Still lots of stops but I am recovering faster. According to Susan Love, 50% of women on breast cancer chemo gain 10 lbs or more. As the lymphoma patient ranter I posted a while back said (see: http://suzannekesten2.blogspot.com/2008/11/surviving.html), chemo isn't the weight loss opportunity that everyone thinks it is. I have no idea if I gained weight as I refuse to look at the scale as I need no more additional reasons to be depressed but there seems to be more not to love. I have definitely lost muscle tone. Reading through numerous blogs it seems that the ladies who have been thin all their lives have gained the most. Alot of it is steroid induced water retention. My fingers are still bloated sausages 18 days out from my last poisoning. Aside from the health issues of this extra weight-very much associated with mets, I don't know if I can fit into any of my nice dresses for the wedding in 5 weeks. Run, run , run.

After my run yesterday, I took a walk in the nearby woods (no running in there anymore-that's where I tripped and broke my arm). The little frogs in the pond were making their little duck sounds. They aren't peepers, which sound like crickets. I have a friend who especially loves little frogs but when I took her back there later, they were silent. The temp had dropped 20 deg by then. They were silent again today as it is much colder-if that indeed is the factor that influences their behavior.

Steve and I went today to a former colleague's memorial who lost his battle recently with a glioma. He was given 3 weeks to live at diagnosis but held out almost 3 years. I hadn't seen his 20 year old son for awhile. He is the spitting image of his father. I went with some trepidation as I had visited him only once and I really feel I should have helped more. His wife  was very welcoming and I do like and admire her alot. I saw more people that I've hadn't seen since our big lay-off and all were very supportive. Several people there have gone through incredible ordeals making BC look like a walk in the park.