Your thoughts…

http://lemlem.typepad.com/lemlem/

 

Changings are Coming

Great news readers, our site is getting an makeover  -> any suggestions?

 

Sunny Days

Ahh, great day to be in the sun, catching some rays. Don’t forget your sun screen, even on cloudy days, the rays can get ya!  My favorite is Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunblock with Helioplex. 

Voted by Allure Magazine as Best of Beauty for Sunscreen, this new sunscreen contains a complex called Helioplex, which helps save the skin from UVA rays for twice as long as traditional sunscreens. The company tested the new product by applying it to panes of glass. After six hours, no UV light came through. That’s saying ALOT!

So head outside, enjoy the rays, and protect your skin! 

Be of courage!

 

Happy Easter

Couldn’t resist the giggle! Hope you had an awesome day and ate tons!

 

Easter 2009

Can’t believe I’m still awake, it’s officially Easter! Last year this time I had no idea what life was about to send my way, the clues were there, I just chose to ignore them. Last year this time I began to see things differently, my life and the world around me started to look differently, I even began to laugh and speak differently. Cancer changes the person you are inside, not a little, but a whole lot.

Todays Easter, I’ve been mad at God since last year this time. I’ve pondered his existance. I’ve questioned and considered other religions, anything to get away from a God who I blamed for an illness I can’t run from.

Today I can’t promise I will stop being mad at Him, but today I can promise to try and reconsider my relationship with Him. Today I will look past the Cadbury, and attempt to look towards something everlasting. I see another chapter in life emerging. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’m glad you, my readers, are with me on this adventure.

May each of you have a wonderful Easter!

Be of courage.

 

My LIl’ Life Saver

So what is my lil’ life saver you ask? 

My mascara, silly! Let me tell you, DiorShow is the bomb!

Ok so you know my story…cancer, treatments, 3 times a week, felt like crap everyday..blah..blah..blah.  But then came my knight in shining armor – DiorShow Mascara.  He’s a cult-followed mascara that leaves your eye lashes ultra thick, long, and curled.  I mean come on, what eye lashes wouldn’t want to look like that!? 

So before my knight in shining armor came, I walked into the hospital looking oh soo sad and sickly, but than after an application, I felt better, glamourish like, and looked better too. 

Woo – hoo, my cancer is in remission, but my knight in shining armor and I are forever a couple. He saved a girl’s life and made her feel beautiful again!

Smooches – be of courage!

 

Famous with Cancer

I tend to read and research Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma daily.  Today I decided to focus on those we know. 

Born in 1968, I learned what I know about the Kennedy family in High School & College.  I remember following the stories of John-John and his relationship with one of my famous actresses, Daryll Hannah.  The rumor is that John-John’s mom, Jacquelyn did not approve of his relationship with Daryll.  Apparently Daryll was there the day Jacquelyn died – died of non-hodgkins lymphoma. 

I guess it’s strange, we or I tend to think of the stars as ‘untouchable’, it’s a shocker to learn, that they are humans susceptible to all the things we un-famous get.  The list is full of famous folks with not just non-hodgkins lymphoma, but all other types of cancer.  My heart goes out to them and their families – those living with it and those who have passed on. 

Be of courage.

 

Traffic

I tend to wonder why I find myself in the worst of situations. Like being sick, bad job choices, having deceitful friends, etc. Is it a bad road I chose years ago, that I can’t get off of??? I used to think of life as us traveling down one single road, and we got on new roads along the way. But maybe its more like a highway or freeway, where we get off an exit, but we get onto another highway that connects. Makes me dizzy thinking about it.

Everyday life brings me good and bad experiences. The bad I always blame myself for, I feel think I should have known better.

I dont know where I’m heading with this blog entry today, I guess it’s that I feel overwhelmed by soo much in life right now.

If life is like a highway, then today I’m stuck in traffic.

 

Back to Work

I know I’ve been away for sometime, been loads on my mind. As you know I had taken 8 months of leave from my job in order to get my cancer in check. Well it appears to be in check wooo hooo! My latest biopsy showed it to be in remission. My treatments are reduced to once a month – but for life. As my doctor says, this is the type of cancer you have to learn to live with, and that’s what I’m doing -> living.

So I’m back to work – but with a new perspective on life. I really would have loved to remain home – to be there when my boys came home from school, but benefits are what I need – to survive. During my time away, I’ve seen, experienced, and learned a lot – both good and bad. It’s been a humbling journey that has filled me with a new set of compassion for those around me. I feel like my spirit has changed, but my outer body is the same, and we are each trying to get comfortable with one another.

So here I sit at my kitchen counter, just in from work. My personal time has switched its time zone to p.m., that’s ok…

New chapter in my life, thanks for being a part of it!

 

PUVA Playlist

I’m very happy that my doctor suggested that I bring my IPhone in the treatment box to ease my anxiety, it has really helped.  Not only can I surf the net, instant message, update my facebook, watch a movie, and make calls to my friends, but I can listen to my music.  I have put together what I call my “PUVA Play List”.  Just a bunch of songs with good rhythmic beats to make the box rock (smile).  

• It’s a New Day – Will.i.am
• Life your Life – T.I. ft Rihanna
• In the Ayer – Flo-Rida ft Will.i.am
• Miss Independent – Ne-Yo
• Pocketful of Sunshine – Natasha Bedingfield
• Seasons of Love – Rent Soundtrack

 

Funnies

It just dawned on me that I have an extensive collection of pens that I’ve “accidently” picked up from all my doctor visits. Some light up, some have changing words – all very cool. Of course they each represent various pharmaceutical drugs – which could potentially be embrassing (viagara). Hopefully there isn’t a law or pending legislation for my accidental sticky fingers.

 

Patient Educational Forums

The Cutaneous Lymphoma Foundation has the following upcoming events:

January 28, 2009: New York, New York Frequently Asked Questions in Lymphoma: Answers From the Experts Please join The Leukemia Lymphoma Society and the Cutaneous Lymphoma Foundation for a forum where participants can learn the answers to the most frequently asked questions in lymphoma and ask specific questions of their own. The evening will provide a rare opportunity for patients and their families to have an interactive dialog with five experts in the field. This event will be held Wednesday, January 28 from 5:30pm to 9:00pm at Baruch College. To register, contact Maria Maculaitis at The Leukemia Lymphoma Society at 646-660-9031 or maria.maculaitis@lls.org. More information may be found on our website.

February 21, 2009: Tampa, Florida Cutaneous Lymphoma Patient Educational Forum Join us on Saturday, February 21 from 9am to 3:30pm at the Sheraton Tampa Riverwalk Hotel for this Cutaneous Lymphoma Patient Educational Forum. Speakers include Dr. Hernani Cualing, Dr. Frank Glass, Dr. Lubomir Sokol and Judy Jones. More information coming soon!

February 28, 2009: Seattle, Washington Cutaneous Lymphoma Patient Educational Forum Join us on Saturday, February 28 at the Sheraton Seattle Hotel for this Cutaneous Lymphoma Patient Educational Forum. More information coming soon!

March 14, 2009: Scottsdale, Arizona Lymphoma Workshop Presented in collaboration with the Lymphoma Research Foundation. More information coming soon!

Save the date! Cutaneous Lymphoma Summit
Join us in New York City on October 9-11, 2009 for the first annual Cutaneous Lymphoma Summit. Experts from around the world will gather to discuss this disease. Details will be available on our website soon!

Now online!
North American Educational Forum on Lymphoma Webcast AND Cutaneous Lymphoma Basics and Treatment Options Podcast and other presentations from past educational forums!

FREE Educational Materials Available
The Cutaneous Lymphoma Foundation has several educational materials available – click here.

 

Your Emails

Thanks to all of you for emails of encouragment to me, encouragement to each other, treatment questions, etc. I promise to respond to them all very soon. I have been under the weather lately, but am beginning to feel better.

 

Tired

Treatment total to date is 70, and it’s not getting any easier. I don’t know what it is, but PUVA and psolaren make me feel so blah. During the holidays I missed 5 treatments, I felt like my old self again, I miss my old self!

 

New Year Resolutions

Excerpt from Kris Carr’s blog, Kris Carr’s Crazy Sexy Blog  (My Crazy Sexy Life), is something to ponder and consider applying going into the New Year!  I’ve been soo down, it’s ridiculous, so I am gonna give it a try! 

“Here’s the deal, cancer is a just a silly metaphor, like it or not, it’s in each of our lives in some way. For me it’s tumors for you it may be a bad job, your weight or a dead end relationship etc, etc. It’s spooky but it doesn’t have to be taboo. It’s just life, so we have to wake up to it! Some skeptics have asked “what’s so sexy about cancer lady?” My response: the women who have it! We are crazy, sexy, whole, loving, surviving, delicious women, so get out of our way! Granted, it’s not always easy to be positive but more often it’s a pain in the butt to be blue”.

Smooches Kris, this makes awesome sense!  Thanks ~ Raquel

 

Checking In

Wanted to see how everyone who has posted comments regarding their illness is doing. Please let me know. Though we’ve never personally met, not a day goes by that I don’t think of you all, and hope that you heal quickly.

Continue to keep in touch and be of courage.