[Update: I wrote this in October of 2014. It’s been 3 years, and I’m still doing great. Thanks to all of you who continue to check up on me and wish me well!]
It was February 5th, my mother’s birthday and a month before the 20th anniversary of my becoming vegan. I was sitting in a breast surgeon’s office in a paper gown, cradling my biopsied breast and waiting. After about an hour and a half, my surgeon finally appeared, apologizing for keeping me waiting because the results had only just come in. He took a deep breath and said, “You don’t have cancer.” I thought, “I didn’t think I did.” Unfortunately, as I would later find out, we both were wrong.
He went on to explain that the biopsy found abnormal cells, officially called ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), but often referred to as Stage 0 or pre-cancer. While I was still reeling from the word “carcinoma,” he explained that these cells might become cancer, so they had to be treated like cancer. My options were a lumpectomy with radiation or a mastectomy. I asked whether there was any chance that the pathology report could be wrong, and my doctor said no.
I was stunned. I left in a daze and went over to my husband’s office nearby to give him the news.
Three months before, a routine mammogram had spotted a place that looked different from my last mammogram. I was sent to the Breast Health Center for another mam and then an ultrasound to get a closer look. The spot was so small and deep inside the breast that the ultrasound technician couldn’t find it at all, so I was given an appointment to return in three months. At that three month mammogram, the “spot” was clearly visible even to me as a glowing white circle in a sea of black and gray. A ultrasound-guided biopsy was scheduled for early the next week.
I’d had one of these biopsies four years ago, and that spot had turned out to be nothing but a harmless cyst, so I had been expecting the same results this time. Like most women, I didn’t think “The Big C” could happen to me. But because I was a vegan, I think I was even more positive that I couldn’t have cancer. After all, wasn’t I doing everything the vegan doctors tell us to do to protect ourselves from heart disease and cancer? Low-fat, lots of green and cruciferous vegetables and brightly colored fruit? No animal products? Moreover, no one in my family had ever had cancer. I naively thought I was immune.
So I didn’t really believe the pathology report, and I became even more skeptical when I read an article that said that DCIS is sometimes misdiagnosed. I decided to get a second opinion from one of the doctors mentioned in that article, a pathologist specializing in breast cancer in San Francisco. I had the hospital send him my biopsy slides, and a week later, I had a consultation with him on the phone. He was unable to confirm DCIS or rule out actual cancer because the radiologist who had performed the biopsy had noted that he had actually missed the “mass.” The biopsy needle had gone in front of the suspected tumor and gathered cells from there, just a few that looked abnormal. But until the actual mass was tested, the pathology specialist couldn’t rule out either DCIS or invasive cancer. He suggested I get another, more accurate, biopsy called a stereotactic biopsy, and I asked my doctor to schedule it.
I had high hopes that this second biopsy would show no DCIS and no cancer. Those hopes were shot down when my new medical oncologist called to give me the results: I had a small invasive cancer, Stage 1, that showed signs of being aggressive. She recommended surgery within the next 3-4 weeks. Just to be sure, I had the slides sent to the pathologist in San Francisco, who agreed with her diagnosis.
So I did what any logical person would do: I took a vacation. It was Spring Break, and my husband and I had planned a 5-day trip to take our high school junior (now senior) to visit 6 colleges in the Midwest. We wanted to do it while we could because we knew that after the surgery, I would need 6 ½ weeks of daily radiation treatments and might not be able to get away during the summer. The trip was a great distraction, but as soon as we got home, I made an appointment with the surgeon and scheduled my lumpectomy for the following week.
The surgery went perfectly. The surgeon removed the tumor and the area around it, as well as three lymph nodes which tested negative: the cancer had not spread to them. A week later, I returned to the surgeon’s office for more good news: The final pathology report showed that the “margins” or edges of the material he had removed were clean, meaning that all of the targeted cancer cells had probably been removed. The only worrisome thing to my husband and me were some figures in the report that seemed a little scary, particularly a “grade” of 3, meaning the cancer was aggressive. My surgeon was unconcerned, and my oncologist said that she would order a genetic test called Oncotype DX to more conclusively determine my chances of having the cancer recur.
A few weeks went by as I recovered from the surgery and waited for the results of the Oncotype test. I was expecting to start radiation soon when my medical oncologist called with the test results. They indicated that I was at a moderately high risk of recurrence. She was recommending that I have chemo.
This was the first time the other Big C word had been mentioned, and for some reason, “chemotherapy” scared me more than “cancer.” The oncologist explained that the type of chemo she was recommending was “well-tolerated” and without all of the serious long-term consequences of other treatments. I wasn’t convinced, and I began frantically researching the chemo itself and alternatives to it.
I was in a panic. On the one hand, I’ve always believed in fighting disease with nutrition and had always been opposed to taking any medication if it could be avoided. On the other hand, hadn’t I been doing just that for the past 20 years? My oncologist was telling me that chemo could reduce my risk of having the cancer recur and spread, that preventing it now would be much easier than trying to stop if it spread to my other organs. I went back and forth, one day deciding that chemo was just too dangerous and the next deciding that I didn’t want to take the risk of the cancer coming back. I was, frankly, a mess. I couldn’t sleep or eat for worrying about the chemo. I finally decided to get a second opinion from a highly recommended breast cancer oncologist at the University Medical Center.
My second opinion doctor came back with the same recommendation as the first: Have the chemo. She assured me that I was young (me!) and healthy and I could handle it. And it would cut my chance of recurrence in half.
My husband was very careful to stand back and let me make the decision for myself, but I knew that he hoped that I would have the chemo. And I was afraid that if I didn’t have it, I would be anxious for the rest of my life, afraid that I hadn’t done everything I possibly could to prevent a recurrence. I’d read the stories of people who had fought their cancer with diet and lifestyle choices, but those people weren’t already eating a whole foods, plant-based diet like I was.
So I decided to do the chemo, four rounds, three weeks apart. I read everything I could find about the treatments and armed myself with supplements that could help prevent side effects. And I found out my oncologist was right: the treatments, though no fun, we’re not as bad as I’d feared. My side effects were minimal, the most annoying being a bad taste in my mouth that would come and go and made it difficult to create new recipes.
Just after my initial diagnosis, I’d begun getting up at 5:30 every morning and walking with my husband and our dog. During chemo, and later radiation, I considered it a point of honor that I never missed a walk. On the weekends, my family and I tried to get out of the house and do a little hiking or local sightseeing so that I wouldn’t feel like the treatment was making me isolated. I ate lots of fruits and vegetables to support my immune system and was careful to avoid coming into contact with people who were sick, and I sailed through my summer of chemo without so much as a sniffle.
When chemo ended, I was determined to take a family vacation before I had to start radiation therapy, so at the beginning of August, we spent a week in the mountains of North Carolina and a few days in Nashville, seeing my newest niece for the first time (and, of course, my brother and sister-in-law).
I got back home and jumped right into daily radiation treatments–33 of them. Again, the treatments weren’t nearly as bad as I expected, but I was thrilled when they ended last week. I couldn’t wait to put all of this cancer stuff behind me.
I didn’t write about this while it was going on mainly because I was afraid that people would offer suggestions and criticisms of my decision to go through with chemo and radiation, and I just couldn’t risk the additional stress that would have put on me. So why am I telling you now? Even though this blog is recipe-oriented and not usually very personal, I wasn’t sure if I could go on writing it if I had to pretend like something this big hadn’t happened to me, something that has consumed the last eight months of my life and has changed the way I see myself and the way I think about diet, veganism, and health.
My first month post-diagnosis, before I had the specter of chemo to worry me, all I could think about was “why” and “how”: Why did I, a vegan who tries to eat healthy, get cancer when no one else in my Standard American Diet-eating family has ever had cancer? What had I done wrong? Had I eaten too few nuts? Too little cilantro? Not enough flax seeds? BPA? Soy?! I worried that I had caused my cancer by never being able to get to my goal weight and stay there, that I didn’t exercise consistently, that I had had only one child late in life and that I hadn’t breastfed her long enough.
I was blaming myself, and I had a lot of help from the Internet. I couldn’t visit Facebook without seeing posts about how eating X (broccoli, nuts, soy, orange) would help prevent cancer. Or people posting about their frustration that a friend or family member had breast cancer and refused to treat it by adopting a plant-based diet. If I, someone who had been eating all the right things (and not eating all the wrong ones), got the message that I was to blame for my cancer, how must other cancer patients feel, the ones who hadn’t been stuffing themselves with kale and mushrooms? Is there a way to promote a plant-based diet that doesn’t point the finger of blame, that doesn’t make grand promises of health, and that doesn’t make people like me feel so confident in the invincibility of our diets that we put off mammograms or other screening tests?
I don’t know. But for me, it’s been helpful to think of the vegan diet as promoting health, but not providing a “Get out of Disease Free” card. My friend Maria made me see that even if my diet didn’t prevent me from getting cancer, perhaps the cancer would have grown much more quickly if I hadn’t been vegan. Perhaps I wouldn’t have sailed through chemo without ever needing nausea meds if I hadn’t been nourishing my body with fruits and vegetables. Perhaps my immune system wouldn’t have stayed as strong as it did or my energy as high if I had been consuming animal products.
It’s also been helpful to me to remember my real reason for being vegan. Though I’ve followed a McDougall-type diet ever since I became vegan, my ultimate reason for becoming vegan was not to improve my own health but to decrease the suffering of animals. So if you’re reading this and worrying that I’m going to be another vegan blogger who goes back to eating animals for her own health, don’t. No diagnosis in the world could convince me to eat another animal or animal product.
As for my current health, I feel great, and I’m confident that I caught this cancer early and have done and am doing everything medically and nutritionally possible to make sure I never have to worry about it again. I’ve tweaked my diet to reduce or eliminate foods I don’t need (sugar, soy, wine, and coffee) and to increase those I wasn’t eating enough of before (broccoli sprouts, flax seeds, organics). I walk at least once and sometimes twice a day, and soon I’ll be starting a workout routine at the gym. I plan to lose the extra weight I’ve been carrying around, which is the biggest threat to my health.
I think the hardest struggle I’ve faced isn’t physical but emotional. My image of myself as a healthy person who never took pills and was confident her vegan diet would protect her from anything–that image took a pretty big hit. I’ve been worried about “coming out” as a vegan with cancer for fear that non-vegans would see it as proof that a vegan diet “doesn’t work” and that some vegans would skewer me for resorting to traditional medicine. In the end, I decided that I had to put my truth out there so that I can get past it and get back to blogging as usual. Next post, you can expect a recipe. Cancer isn’t on the menu.
Thank you to all my family, friends, and friends of friends who offered love and support. And to my church, the Unitarian-Universalist Church of Jackson, and my parents’ church, The First Presbyterian Church of Hammond, LA (love the shawl and cap, y’all!) And to Maria Maggi, Nava Atlas, Dreena Burton, and Stephanie Weaver–wise women all, whose words of advice and offers of support helped me more than they probably know.
Stacey Gwinn
October 9, 2014 at 2:18 pmI’m so sorry. It sounds like you’re on the right track. I hope the cancer stays away. Thank you for all of your recipes. They are great. I really appreciate it.
Anna@stuffedveggies
October 9, 2014 at 2:23 pmThanks for sharing a great post. You brought up so many great points: blaming someone for their illness is not good (even if they ate the worst diet, or made the worst lifestyle choices on the planet). And it is so important to let others decide, with their doctor, which treatments are best to help them with their very unique diagnosis – and to respect the decisions they make. A good diet does not guarantee good health – it only helps with the statistics. And, I’m so glad that you’re staying vegan : ) I wish you continued good health.
Lisa
October 9, 2014 at 2:26 pmSusan, thank you for sharing this. I am so happy to hear that you are doing well right now. I don’t know if you remember, but we emailed years ago about this topic around the time of your first biopsy. I’ve thought of you off and on since then, hoping all was well. I’m so sorry to hear you’ve had to go through chemo, radiation, and all the physical and emotional complications but am glad you’ve had the support of family and friends.
I can really understand the worries about the diet-health connection when our own health isn’t perfect. I can think of concrete ways that my health has improved since switching to a mostly plant-based diet, but a few minor health scares have made me brace myself for the additional judgment I imagined would come. Basically, I agree with you: eating well promotes good health. It’s not a magic bullet or a guarantee – nothing is. Because I don’t have an alternate-universe Standard American Diet me to compare my current self to, I have no idea exactly what difference my choices have made. I can only hope that the decisions I’ve made are making it easier for Future Me, no matter what happens. And I believe and hope that your healthy choices are making your present and your future easier.
ps – E looking at colleges? Jeez, I feel like she was 6 when I started reading your blog. Best wishes to you all as she seeks out a good fit. 🙂
Vegyogini
October 9, 2014 at 2:28 pmSusan, thank you for courageously sharing your journey. I have read your blog for more years than I can recall and I am deeply touched by your incredible insight and mindfulness, especially with respect to the enormous decisions you’ve had to weigh. I support and admire you and wish you the best of health, always. <3
Eva
October 9, 2014 at 2:31 pmThank you so much for sharing this story – it was very thought provoking and touching to read. It is always sad to hear that someone who does everything for health runs into a health issue but it is also true that just because we lead a healthy life, it doesn’t mean that nothing like this can happen. I guess it’s a lesson to not take anything for granted. At the end of the day, what really matters is whether you did everything you could to prevent it (just like you say you knew you had to do). I hope there’s nothing but health and happiness in your future!
chris
October 10, 2014 at 5:01 pmEva just read my mind but, she wrote it so much more eloquently than I could. Just want to add that my husband and I are benefiting from your recipes which helps us both with chronic medical conditions. Susan I wish you spiritual, emotional and physical health and well being.
Liz Durst
October 11, 2014 at 10:07 amI agree with Eva! Hang in there Susan, you are an amazing lady.
Heather
December 24, 2014 at 10:20 amThank you so much for sharing your story. I too have felt immune to this because of the way I eat. I’ve lost two friends recently to breast cancer and one was only 21. I’ve read a lot about mammograms and not getting them because of the radiation and other reasons too. So I’ve been very conflicted and the information is so conflicted. I am going to have one. Thank you. I love what Eva said and agree, I too hope that you have a lifetime of only health and happiness.
amy
October 9, 2014 at 2:33 pmHi Susan,
I don’t take the time to comment most of the time, but I’ve been a fan for 6 or 7 years now. I’m glad you made it through your ordeal no worse for the wear. Here’s to staying cancer free!
Jan
October 9, 2014 at 2:48 pmHi Susan,
Thank you for sharing your story. It shows the importance of getting a second opinion. I’d hate to think how things would have ended up if you hadn’t gotten that initial biopsy re-done.
I was diagnosed with an auto-immune disorder about 18 months ago. I am taking some potentially nasty drugs to treat it. Whenever I feel like someone is being judgmental about my choices, I just make a silent wish that they never have to deal with my condition. I find that is a better way to handle the situation than calling them an idiot. 😉
Shilpa
October 9, 2014 at 3:05 pmHi Susan,
Stopped by to look for some food inspiration, as I’ve always done since 2006, and I chanced upon this recent post.
Thank you so much for sharing your story. When you said “I think the hardest struggle I’ve faced isn’t physical but emotional. My image of myself as a healthy person who never took pills and was confident her vegan diet would protect her from anything–that image took a pretty big hit.” I was hit with a chronic medical condition over 8 years ago, and people would often say “How are you sick? You meditate, do yoga, are vegan…” so I really understand where you’re coming from.
You should know that you’re an inspiration to many many people, and continue to be today more than ever. I wish you all the best.
Amy
October 9, 2014 at 3:05 pmThanks so much for sharing this.
Cherie
October 9, 2014 at 3:06 pmAlways hard to hear. So glad you are doing better.
Your honesty and openness can only help things, (I think).
Patsy
October 9, 2014 at 3:16 pmSo glad your reports are free and clear. I was diagnosed with terminal Stage 4 cancer 18 months ago and changed to a vegan diet and keep my focus on God and his promise. Twelve months after they thought I should have died, I’m still here to tell about it. I wish you continued good health.
Patsy
Marie
October 9, 2014 at 3:18 pmThank you for posting this I don’t think I could. I have been diagnosed with a stage 2 breast cancer I had surgery on Monday to remove the lump and now I wait for the biopsy result and to see if I will need radiotherapy or chemo. Like you I am more scared of chemo than cancer! I was vegetarian for years I’m underweight rather than overweight and I walk miles every week. It can happen to anybody!
Good luck for the future.
Susan Voisin
October 21, 2014 at 4:09 pmMarie, I’ve been thinking of you and hoping that you won’t need chemo. If you get time, let me know how you’re doing at susan AT fatfreevegan DOT com.
Carolina
October 9, 2014 at 3:20 pmThank you for writing about this and Good Luck. I have been given a diagnosis of precancer and the very first thought I had was – Great! Every non-vegan I know will say – “See! Being vegan didn’t help you at all.”
I am in it for the animals too. I will always be vegan. Nothing will change that. I would also choose the path you took. Once again, thank you!
Jeff
October 9, 2014 at 3:21 pmI’m grateful for you and all that you do. Praying for good health.
MaryEllen
October 9, 2014 at 3:22 pmAny illness is a very personal experience. We all fight, and live to tell the tale, in our own way. My prayers are with you, and thank you, for a really excellent post. I’ll reread, I’m sure. You’re a brave, strong woman, Susan.
Marilou Garon
October 9, 2014 at 3:23 pmMy very best wishes and thoughts to you and your family. Lots of love and support, albeit from a distance!
Stacy
October 9, 2014 at 3:26 pmI wish you love and light.
judi
October 9, 2014 at 3:27 pmThank you for sharing this very private and difficult period of your life. I think many of us vegetarian/vegan’s think we are spared some of lifes health issues because of our diets. Genetics also plays a role..and then there is that word “luck” that also plays a part. Wishing you a good journey in your recovery, good eating, and stay in the moment.
sharon randall
October 9, 2014 at 3:27 pmSusan,
I so admire your honesty, your spirit and your writing. I wish you all the best.
Grace and peace,
Sharon
Linda
October 9, 2014 at 3:28 pmI’m sorry that this has happened too. I underwent stage 2 colon cancer two years ago and I fact did face some criticism regarding conventional treatment. My response was, “Walk in my shoes for a bit.” It’s quite one thing to project that one will refuse treatment ( I used to do that) and quite another when an actual diagnosis occurres.
I had a vegetarian diet for most of my adult life and no family history. Mine started at the 38 years old to boot. I went undiagnosed for 10 years. Naturally I asked why. But in remission, the focus became on my present and my future. I hope that you continue to find healing and wellness. Thanks for sharing your story.
Meghann Gervais-Lynch
October 9, 2014 at 3:28 pmWow, Susan, you have got to be one of the bravest people I’ve ever (online or in reality) met. I am astounded at how strong you stayed, and I’m so sad that you had to keep this whole life-changing, scary ordeal a secret from the online community who loves you, for fear of the really nasty trolls. I wish I could have at least written small words of encouragement to you while you went through all of this, but I am SO, SO , SO happy that you are doing well and have a supportive family and community around you. I am sending positive thoughts of encouragement, love and healing to you. BIG hugs and thanks for sharing your story. You’re wonderful 🙂
lani
October 9, 2014 at 3:29 pmWow..I am so sorry you went through this. You had alluded to troubles in your previous posts but never said so I was careful to respect your privacy. Just remember, we can eat as healthfully as we want, but unfortunately some things are just out of our control…No blaming…just accepting and moving on!
Cheryl
October 9, 2014 at 3:29 pmThank you so much for sharing your story. For your honesty and for sharing your fears. As I read your journey, I had an anxious pit in my stomach because I have, admittedly, avoided the annual mam because of my belief that my WFPB way of eating protects me. Your story proves that it can help in recovery and in dealing with it, but that my diet is no excuse for avoiding the tests. I will schedule mine this month! Who knows, you may be saving my life!
BTW, can’t wait for the new recipe! 🙂
Andrea
October 9, 2014 at 7:16 pmOops, second that for me. If nothing else, you are going to wake all of us up to the fact that we are NOT bullet proof. Gotta schedule that damn boob squishing test.
Fascinating discussion and LOTS to think about. Wishing you a perfect, full recovery and many many many happy healthy years. You are truly a shining light on this planet.
Sara
October 9, 2014 at 3:29 pmThank you SO much for courageously sharing your story. I am so pleased to hear that you are doing well.
Kelly
October 9, 2014 at 3:30 pmSusan – we are with you, behind you, beside you, surrounding you with love & encouragement. I love your recipes and I thank you so much for being so strong to share so much of yourself when you are fighting so hard. Know that you are thought about and treasured by bunches of strangers on the internet who thoroughly enjoy your work.
MELANIE
October 9, 2014 at 3:31 pmDear Susan
I truly admire folks who can share their most intimate moments. Given the societal statistics I don’t think anyone is immune from the scourges of our society (even if they live in a bubble!). Be being vegan you are better off in so many ways but no one can totally control the environment. Thank you so much for your honesty and thanks so much for the wonderful recipes that we all have benefited so much from.
Diane Young
October 9, 2014 at 3:31 pmI’m so glad you decided to post all this. I know so many people who blame themselves; it’s great to hear from a winner too!
db
October 9, 2014 at 3:31 pmlong time vegan reader, first time commenting…this was so well-written, admirable, and it sounds like you did everything ‘right’…for YOU, and in turn, your loved ones! sending you healthy, healing thoughts. hoping that the universe cradles you gently from here on out : )
PAMI
October 9, 2014 at 3:32 pmI went though this 6.5 years ago aggressive triple negative BC and at that time I was a raw vegan. I gave up my breast but did refuse chemo as I knew it would kill me. I am still vegan(not toatally raw) now gluten free also (tested sensitive) and believe my lifestyle helps me stay alive. I am BRCA 1 so was set up for it. Blessing to you and am happy you have made it though. I had to go through all the same emotions about my lifestyle. But have stayed the course no matter!
PAMI
Leslie
October 9, 2014 at 3:33 pmNothing but the very best wishes to you.
Philippa Sonnichsen
October 9, 2014 at 3:33 pmSusan,
My family and I wish you the very best. Please don’t feel that you are at fault. You are doing everything humanly possible to stay healthy. Your blog has been an inspiring and delicious addition to our lives, and we are forever grateful to you and your fabulous ideas.
Health and blessings,
Philippa
Nicole
October 9, 2014 at 3:33 pmWhat an incredible article. I’m so sorry to hear of your diagnosis but I’m so happy to read that you did so well, and I am absolutely sure that your body will continue to fight this off. Two years ago, my dog was diagnosed with lymphoma. At the time, he was a meat-eater (I truly didn’t realize dogs could be vegan), but I’ve since switched him to a vegan diet and he’s been in remission MORE THAN TWICE as long as he *statistically* should be – and he’s still in remission. SO, while it’s scary, I’m glad that you continue to stand by your vegan diet, and know deep down in your heart that *by eating a vegan diet* you’re doing everything in your power to help your body maintain a clean bill of health.
Since my dog got sick, I have done a TON of research on anti-cancer nutrition, and I’ve found a lot of information about foods that most aggressively fuel cancer: animal products (obviously) AND foods that make your blood sugar spike (high-GI foods) – some of which, as I’m sure you know, include fruits/veggies. I’ve also read in multiple places that the foods highest in antioxidants are organic beans and blueberries. I also give my dog Algae Omega, Wholly Immune (an immune boosting supplement), a Chinese herb called Scrophularia, Essiac tea, and a probiotic every day to support his immune system.
I’d say good luck, but I know you don’t need it. Thank you for sharing your story!
Emma Snow
October 9, 2014 at 3:34 pmThank you for having the courage to share what you have been through the past nine months. I pray that you will continue to recover and go from strength to strength, although not a strict vegan I have no doubt that this style of eating promotes better health and recovery from illness. All the best for the future.
Jcb
October 9, 2014 at 3:35 pmKeep it up. You are such an inspiration to me and I am sure to all your followers.
Susan M.
October 9, 2014 at 3:35 pmThank you for being honest and sharing this part of your journey. You are so right–eating healthy does not guarentee we will never get sick. We live in a world filled with sin. It happens–even to people who eat healthy. Your sharing will help encourage others to take care of their health, no matter if that taking care of is through medical science as well as through good eating.
Mary S
October 28, 2014 at 11:00 amWhat does the sin in the world have to do w/ physical illness?? I’m inferring some blaming here.
Lisa
October 9, 2014 at 3:35 pmSo, so sorry you had to go through all of that stress, Susan! Here I am putting myself in a little bubble that my diet can protect me from all things evil and after reading what you wrote, I no longer think that’s the case. Gosh, darn!! My hope is that someone who may need to read this…will read it and that you stay cancer-free!! By writing this, you may have helped others. Glad you decided to share it w/all of us. Best of health to you!
Susan
October 9, 2014 at 3:36 pmSusan thank you so much for this brave and honest post. You have great integrity to share your experience. I think many of us vegans either overtly or subliminally consider ourselves bulletproof , or are trying to stack the deck. It gives us some measure of feeling in control, even if that is not our primary- or stated- reason.
Good health is always a blessing. You are strong and healthy (and young!). You are also contributing to the good health of others with your fabulous blog (which I love- thanks for it). You will have a long life to continue your important work.
I will keep you in my heart. xx Susan in Ohio
Kim
October 9, 2014 at 3:36 pmI’m very glad to hear you’ve made it to the other side of this. All the best for continued good health!
Kim
Karen
October 9, 2014 at 3:36 pmThank you. It was a very personal story. I wish you continued good health
Annie
October 9, 2014 at 3:37 pmI read every word and sent you great affection with every one. Congratulations on sailing through the chemo without needing nausea meds. It was good to learn that as unwelcome as the treatment was, it wasn’t as bad as feared. Hopeful words for all of use WFPB easters or not who might someday face what you did.
Betty in Vermont
October 9, 2014 at 4:02 pmMaria took the works right out of my mouth. Because you have taken such care of your self, this was not much worse. This made me cry. You had the support of those you love, but not the support of those of us that love you. Congrats for coming out the other side, and know that you have hundreds, if not thousands of people who are now sending you good thoughts and prayers. xoxo