Tag Archives: cancer

A Screening At The Walt Disney Studios Lot (or “What The F@#- Is Cancer And Why Does Everyone Have It?”

Posted on October 28, 2014 | 1 comment

Through WIF, I was invited to an amazing screening this past week. It was for the film “What The F@#- Is Cancer And Why Does Everyone Have It?”.

Immediately, I was interested in attending the event. I was even more excited when I found out that it was held on the Walt Disney Studios Lot (which I have never been on before).

When I got my ticket for the event, I found out that I got to bring a plus one with me. I asked my Evil Twin, Shey, to come with me. Her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer many years ago and Shey was one of the people who really helped me deal with my mom’s diagnosis and what it meant for me. I knew that this would be a movie that both of us would enjoy and have a deep connection to.

When we got to the lot, we were both so excited to be there. The lot has not changed a lot since Walt Disney was there and it was so cool walking around to see all the different buildings and the signs of what departments they were on our way to the theater.

When we got there, there was a giant poster of “Frozen” to greet us.

The theater was gorgeous and amazing. The seats were super comfortable and Shey and I got there early enough to get some great seats.

The quick summary of the film is when the filmmaker, Allison W. Gryphon, was diagnosed with breast cancer, she looked for a movie to help her understand what it all meant. She couldn’t find what she was looking for, so she asked around to her friends to help and they created this wonderful documentary.

I wish I could explain how amazing this movie was, but I know that my words won’t do it justice. I wish that I had seen this when my mom was diagnosed (I think it would have been great for her to see it when she was diagnosed as well). It was such an honest viewpoint of cancer (mainly breast cancer) and answered so many questions that are either not answered online or are way too scary to look up online.

I know for sure that if I hear of anyone else being diagnosed with breast cancer, I will send them a link to this movie immediately (it’s available on iTunes and you should all watch it).

After the screening, there was a Q&A with the Allison.

The Q&A ran a little long (it was over an hour), but it was all very informative. The fact that Allison was able to create the documentary while she was going through treatments for breast cancer is so inspiring. And it proves that anything can inspire you to create a movie.

After the Q&A, I went up to talk to Allison briefly. She was so kind and generous with her time and all I wanted to say was thank you. This really was such a great experience seeing the movie.

Then, it was time for Shey and I to head out. But before we went back into the parking garage, I really wanted to get a picture of the building on the lot that has all of the Seven Dwarfs on it. We saw a security guard near where we were walking and we asked him if it would be ok to take a picture. Not only was it ok, he walked us to where the best view was!

While Shey and I were taking photos and just being in awe of the fact that we were there, the security guard told us some amazing Disney history. He explained that the Seven Dwarfs are holding up the building because the building was made with the profits of “Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs”. He also showed us where Walt Disney’s office was. Shey and I both assumed that that office wasn’t in use anymore and was preserved as a dedication to Walt Disney. Nope, they rent it out because it’s the best office that gets the most rent money.

We then said goodbye to the awesome security guard (whose name I never got), and then went back to my car.

I wish I could express how amazing seeing the movie was, but I’m really still taking it all in. It was one of those experiences that I know will stay with me for a long time. There are screenings still happening so if there is one near you, I highly recommend going.

And while I hope that nobody reading this has to go through a breast cancer diagnoses, if you do, watch the movie.

1 Comment

Posted in Family, Fun Stuff, Health, Tough Stuff

Tagged breast cancer, cancer, Disney, documentary, screening, studio

500 Posts! (or A Reason To Celebrate!)

Posted on June 13, 2014 | 6 comments

Today’s post is about a lot of good things that have happened lately.

First of all, like the title of this post says, this is my 500th post on Finding My Inner Bombshell! That’s so bonkers to me! I write 5 days a week so that means I’ve been writing for 100 weeks. So yes, that also means that my 2 year anniversary of the blog is coming up soon as well.

I’m still in shock how this blog really has become an important part of my life. When I started, I hoped I’d be able to keep it going. Now when I’m not writing on the weekends, I feel like something is missing. I’ve made new friends because of the blog and I’ve become closer to old friends because of my honesty here. It’s just awesome.

The next part of my awesome news is that my mom got her BRCA test results back and she doesn’t have the gene mutation! When my mom texted me with the news, I cried in relief. This is a weight lifted off my shoulders (and I’m sure the rest of my family feels this way). When I talked to my mom that day, she said that getting these results have allowed her to relax and she can go on and enjoy life. And for me, it means that while I still have a higher risk of getting breast cancer in my life because my mom had it, it’s not nearly as high of a risk if I had had the gene mutation.

I’m still going to be monitored much closer and I’ve already talked with my gynecologist about setting up a mammogram appointment after I see her (I’m sure I’ll be writing about that appointment when it happens because I’m still crazy nervous about it).

The third, and technically, final good news is that I’m finally starting to get back on track with losing weight. I’ve lost about 10% of what I had gained recently. It’s not a lot, but it’s totally a start. I’m working on my eating and I’ve been working out again. My journey is still going to be a long one, but I’m happy to be moving in the right direction again.

And in other celebratory things (but not technically good news), today is my friend Kate’s birthday! I’ll be seeing her next week, so we’ll get to celebrate her birthday then, but I wanted to acknowledge how amazing of a friend she is. She was the first person I talked to when my mom was diagnosed with cancer. She kept the news a secret for a while until my mom was ready to go public with the news. And she was there to listen to me whenever I was freaking out or having a tough time. Not many friends would or could do that and I’m so insanely grateful that she was willing to be there for me.

So to recap: yay for 500 posts, yay for my mom not having the BRCA gene, yay for me losing some weight, and happy birthday to Kate!

I love how my life has become so wonderful and positive!

6 Comments

Posted in Celebrations, Family, Fitness, Food, Fun Stuff, Health, Tough Stuff, Weight Loss

Tagged anniversary, birthday, blogging, breast cancer, cancer, mom, weight loss, workout

A Phone Call Can Change My Future (or Making Plans)

Posted on June 9, 2014 | 4 comments

A few weeks ago, my mom did her genetic testing for the breast cancer gene mutation. This Wednesday, my mom gets a phone call and will find out the result.

My family has been very open about discussing what either a positive or negative result means for everyone in the family. And I’ve talked about it a lot with my mom.

She has her own ideas of what she wants to do in both cases (and it’s not my place to discuss what she wants to do until she tells me I can share it). And I’ve had to make my own plans.

Since I’m all about honesty here, I figured I would share my plans openly. While I really do believe that my mom will test negative for the gene mutation, everything I’ve read has said to be prepared for the worst case scenario.

First of all, no matter what the results are, I’m going to start being monitored much more carefully for breast cancer now. I’ve got a much higher risk of getting it now since my mom had it. My mom’s doctors believe that I will probably have to get my first mammogram this year when I go in for my annual exam. I always schedule my annual exam to be around my birthday (harder to forget to schedule it that way), so I need to talk to my gynecologist about whether or not she wants me to have a mammogram soon and if she’d like me to do it before I see her. I’m a little nervous to get a mammogram since I’ve never had one and I’ve heard that they are pretty unpleasant. Also, I’m a little worried that this isn’t going to be enough monitoring because my mom’s cancer wasn’t found on a mammogram.

If my mom tests positive for the gene mutation, I’ve already made the decision that I want to be tested immediately. I don’t see any reason not to know. If I’m positive, I can make plans that help reduce my risk. If I test negative, I will still have to always be monitored more than most people, but I won’t have to take as extreme of measures.

And those extreme measures do include having double mastectomy. I know that if I do test positive for the gene mutation, I will eventually take this step. I won’t do it until I have kids (whenever that ends up being), but to me, not taking this step is just asking to be a ticking time bomb. I know that many people who do test positive don’t want to do this or have to go through such a tough surgery, but in my mind, if I don’t I will be paranoid all the time. I would also probably have my ovaries removed (since that cancer is normally not detected until it’s very advanced), but again, I wouldn’t do anything until after I have kids.

I have told a couple of friends my plans as well and I think that talking openly and honestly about it has made it all seem less scary. I really am prepared for the worst case now. But every time my mom and I have talked about this on the phone, we both agree that the chances of her testing positive are so slim that we both feel pretty confident that it will be negative.

If any of you have gone through this, I’d really appreciate any advice you can give me. My family is still going through the unknown here and I like hearing the advice and stories of people who have gone through this. Hearing other’s stories has helped me make my plan and feel confident that what I’ve decided will be the right choice for me.

4 Comments

Posted in Family, Health, Tough Stuff

Tagged breast cancer, cancer

Day 2 At Disneyland (or Gardens and Roller Coasters)

Posted on May 1, 2014 | 7 comments

Monday was another fun-filled day at Disneyland. After going to bed pretty late due to the evacuation of the hotel, I was pretty surprised that I woke up early and feeling pretty well rested (those hotel beds are pretty awesome and magical that way).

My parents and I started our day with breakfast in Downtown Disney before heading over to Disneyland for our first adventure for the day.

While planning this trip to Disneyland, I knew that my mom would love it. She’s a Disneyland person like I am. But my dad really isn’t a big theme park person. But I saw that Disneyland had a tour of the gardens of Disneyland. And my dad is a big gardening person. He has a really green thumb and takes a lot of pride in making the front and back yard of their house look really amazing. So I got us all signed up for the Cultivating The Magic tour.

As soon as we checked in, we got name tags and a headphone/audio set up so we could hear our tour guide without her having to speak too loud. I felt a little touristy in my getup, but I was super excited to do something at Disneyland that I’ve never done before.

We had an amazing tour guide, Amberly. She was super knowledgeable about all of the plants and really made the tour a lot of fun.

Part of the tour included going on a few rides. First, we were taken on the Jungle Cruise. Our tour group got a private boat and instead of hearing the usual Jungle Cruise jokes, Amberly gave a tour of the plant life in and around the ride. That was pretty amazing!

Next we went on the Haunted Mansion. We did learn a bit about the plants in front of the ride, but inside the ride we just rode it like everyone else. I’m not sure why that ride was part of the tour, but I’m not complaining since that’s a ride I go on anyway.

The last ride included on our tour were the Storybook Land Canal Boats. This ride is another favorite of mine and I was so excited that this was a part of the tour. Again, like the Jungle Cruise, instead of hearing the usual spiel, Amberly gave us a tour of the gardens on the ride. My favorite (and I think my dad’s favorite) is the succulent patchwork garden.

Our tour pretty much went into every land of the park. We learned that all the plants in Tomorrowland are actually edible or usable in some way and that in Fantasyland by the Dumbo ride, there is a rose that is named the Disneyland rose.

Our tour ended over by Tomorrowland which was perfect because my family’s plan was pretty much to do all the roller coasters in the park. Because that was our plan, my mom decided to not wear her wig at all during the day. This was the first time she has been wigless for an entire day since losing her hair, and I thought that was very brave. Her hair is growing back and I think it looks great!

We rode Space Mountain first and then we headed over to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Big Thunder just reopened after a long refurbishment, and this was my first chance to get to ride it.

It was really great and I love the improvements. The only problem I had was trying to keep my hands up for the entire ride. My parents rode together so I rode alone. And since the restraint in the ride is a lap bar for the entire bench, there was a lot of room next to me. And whenever the ride took a turn, I flew across the bench. I ended up having to hold on with one hand.

Our next coaster was the Matterhorn. I personally don’t love this ride, but my mom does and she really wanted to ride it. I got a great picture of the three of us before the ride started.

I’m glad I took a picture before the ride because my dad really didn’t like the Matterhorn. He had the same complaints that I have: too rough, too little padding on the seat, and it makes your bones hurt.

After the Matterhorn, it was getting really hot inside the park so we took a lunch break in Downtown Disney (where it was nice and air-conditioned!). After lunch, my mom decided she wanted to rest and my dad and I headed back into the park for one final ride.

I wanted to take my dad on Star Tours. It was redone a few years ago, so obviously my dad hadn’t been on the new version yet. And I don’t know if my dad and I have ever ridden Star Tours together. As a kid, I was terrified by the ride. So my dad would take my brother and my mom and I would ride the People Mover while we waited for them.

Fortunately, I’m over my Star Tours fear so my dad and I got to enjoy the ride.

After that, we joined my mom back at the hotel where she was resting by the pool in the shade.

We relaxed at the pool for a while. I had to head back to LA that evening, but I wanted to wait until rush hour traffic died down.

We had a very busy two day trip, but it was so perfect! My parents had a great time and I got to spend some nice quality time with them. I’ll probably see my parents again sometime this summer. I’m hoping to make it to Tahoe and my parents might be coming down here to see a show at the Hollywood Bowl (my dad has never been and my mom hasn’t been in 50 years).

I know that my mom and I will do another Disneyland adventure in the future and now I’m thinking maybe my dad will join us for it as well! And if not, at least I got to show him why I love Disneyland so much and I know that he at least understands it a little bit.

7 Comments

Posted in Celebrations, Family, Fun Stuff

Tagged cancer, Disneyland, rides, roller coaster, theme park, tour

Vacation At Disneyland (Celebrating My Mom’s Badassness)

Posted on April 30, 2014 | 2 comments

Once my mom was done with her treatments for cancer, I knew that I wanted to celebrate with her somehow. I knew my parents would be headed down my direction (they wanted to see my grandparents first) so I tried to think of ways to celebrate in LA. But then I decided that we should celebrate at Disneyland instead (why not be at the Happiest Place On Earth to celebrate?).

I thought that we’d do just one day (and go to both parks), but my mom decided that we would do 2 days at the parks and they would get a hotel room there. And to save me from driving back and forth, I could stay at their hotel room with them for a night.

I was super excited to go! I recently got a new backpack at The Container Store that seemed perfect for Disneyland and I couldn’t wait to try it out.

We all met up at the hotel on Sunday morning. My mom decided that she wanted to stay at the Grand Californian, which is the hotel connected to California Adventure. I had never actually been inside the hotel, and I was super impressed by how amazing it was as soon as I walked inside.

My parents got there shortly after I did, and after a quick stop to put all our things down in our hotel room, we were off to California Adventure. I had gotten my parents 2 day 1 park tickets, which meant that we couldn’t do both parks in one day. But we wanted to spend time in each park so Sunday was devoted completely to California Adventure.

We met up with my mom’s friend Roberta and her family once we got inside the park, but we only really spent the day with Roberta (her son, daughter-in-law, and young granddaughter didn’t want to ride the rides so they walked around on their own).

One of our first rides was the tires in Cars Land. My mom loves this ride because it’s so similar to the flying saucers that were in Disneyland when she was a kid. My dad had only been to California Adventure once (and it was when the park opened so there weren’t a ton of rides there) so this was all new stuff to him. My mom rode with Roberta and I rode with my dad. Somehow, the tire that my dad and I got was a total bust. We couldn’t make it move at all. My mom and Roberta on the other hand we flying around really fast.

Next was on to one of my favorite rides, Radiator Springs Racers. My mom and I both love this ride so much, and in all the times I’ve ridden it, my car has always won the race (I’m sure I jinxed myself now). Before the trip, I was a little worried about how my mom’s wig would do on the rides (because like me, she likes to ride with her hands up). She wore it on Radiator Springs Racers, and as you can see from our ride photo, her wig stayed on without a problem!

And I was super happy that my dad decided to ride with his hands up too! Even though my face is covered up by the photo number, I still think this is a pretty amazing photo. Roberta also took this really great photo of me with my parents while we were waiting in line.

We also rode Soarin’ Over California (the music from that ride is the ring tone for my phone) and Toy Story Mania (where for the first time ever I had the highest points in the car).

Next was another roller coaster, California Screamin’. Neither Roberta nor my dad do upside down roller coasters, so they waited on a bench for my mom and I to ride. We ended up riding twice, the first time in the front row (which is my favorite) and the second time in the second row. Again, I was worried about my mom’s wig on this ride, and so was she. So while we got ready to leave my dad and Roberta with all of our stuff, my mom decided to leave her wig with my dad as well.

It was actually pretty funny when she took it off because my mom said that some lady walking by her gave her a double take when the wig came off. My mom is getting her hair back, and if you didn’t know what she looked like before or with her wig, you’d think that this was just the style that she wanted to cut her hair in.

Both rides on California Screamin’ were awesome, and my mom and I agree that it is one of the best roller coasters out there.

Next we met back up with the rest of Roberta’s family and went to dinner. And after dinner, my mom wanted to rest before World of Color, so we headed back to the hotel.

On the way, we passed all of the bear sculptures that are near the hotel, and since my mom loves everything to do with bears, I took her picture with them all.

I also found the coolest hat for my mom, but she didn’t think that she’d wear it at all.

After resting for about an hour, my mom decided that she didn’t want to stay up for World of Color (the show was at 9:45pm). But my dad and I both wanted to see it so we headed back into the park. But since we had some time to kill before the show, we decided to ride Radiator Springs Racers again. In the dark, the mountains are all lit up and are really pretty.

Then it was time to get into our section for World of Color. I’ve seen the show a couple of times, but my dad had no idea what the show would be like. He was pretty impressed by it, but we got pretty wet while watching it (I guess we were in the splash zone).

After World of Color, we headed back to our hotel to get some sleep before we had our next big day at Disneyland. But while I was in my pjs and getting ready to brush my teeth, the fire alarm went off in our hotel and we were evacuated. The evacuation waiting area was actually right next to our room so we didn’t have to walk too far in our pjs (and I was glad that I brought pj pants instead of a nightgown). We waited outside for about 30 minutes before we could go back into our room. I have no idea if there was a fire, but we never saw the fire department while we were outside the hotel.

Finally, when we got back inside around 11:30pm, I was ready for bed and for our next adventure the next day!

2 Comments

Posted in Celebrations, Family, Fun Stuff

Tagged California Adventure, cancer, Disneyland, rides, roller coaster, theme park

Losing A Friend (or Life Can Be Just So Unfair)

Posted on April 22, 2014 | 2 comments

I got some pretty bad news yesterday. My friend Keri passed away after an almost 2 year battle with advanced cancer.

I had known that this was coming, but it didn’t make it any easier. I’m heartbroken.

I met Keri in 2005 at my cousin Stephie’s wedding. Keri and my cousin Adam had been dating for years by then and the wedding was the first time that she and I got to meet in person. Before I got to meet her, but after she started dating my cousin, Keri had been diagnosed with a brain tumor. It wasn’t cancerous and they removed it, but it did cause some health issues. But she beat that tumor and when I met her, she was the most vibrant and friendly person ever.

A few months after the wedding, Keri and Adam had invited me to Portland to come and visit them. That trip was so much fun! I really got to know Keri and realized then that she was just a super generous friend and so many people in Portland loved her.

We got to go out on my cousin Adam’s sailboat during that trip and even though there was no wind so we couldn’t really sail, we had an awesome time.

That trip is so memorable for all the fun that we had, but also because while I was walking in the Portland airport to take my flight home, I collapsed in pain. I didn’t know it at the time, but that was the start to all my hip issues. While I was dealing with all my hip issues and misdiagnoses from my doctors, Keri was someone who I could call and vent to. She always was happy to listen to me and give advice when it was asked for.

The next time I got to see Keri was in 2007 at my grandparents’ 60th anniversary party. I was at my skinniest then, and as soon as Keri saw me, she said that I was beautiful at my heaviest and beautiful as I was then too. She said that she would love me no matter what my weight was and all she wanted was me to be happy. At the time, she was the only person who I felt felt that for me and it meant so much that she said it out loud for me to hear.

I only got to see Keri in person a few other times after that. But we always stayed in touch. We called when we could and Keri also wrote me the most beautiful handwritten notes that she mailed to me. Sadly, I lost a bunch of those notes when I moved into my current house (they were in a box with all my non-digital pictures and somehow that box never made the move), but I still have one.

Keri and I were also birthday buddies. My cousin Adam and I have birthdays close together (his is August 7th and mine is August 9th) and Keri’s was right in the middle on the 8th. Every year I would call Keri on her birthday and she would call me on mine. It was pretty funny to have calls 2 days in a row, but it was special. And at the end of every phone call, birthday or not, Keri always ended the call with saying that she loved me.

Sadly, about 2 years ago Keri had gotten in a car accident and had some abdominal pain. It was discovered that she had very advanced cancer and that it had already spread. Traditional treatment options like chemo or surgery were not options for her. So she used holistic treatments as well as positive thinking and she did amazing! The doctors had only given her a few months, and she almost made it 2 years.

My Aunt Cindy (my cousin Adam’s mom) called me last week to let me know that Keri wasn’t doing too well. She let me know that the end was probably near and she wanted me to know. For the last week, I panicked every time my phone had an alert because I was terrified that it was bad news. I checked Facebook all the time for news.

And today, after I had gotten home from a dentist appointment, an email from Aunt Cindy came saying that Keri had passed away in the morning.

The news hit me so hard and it felt like I was punched in the stomach. It just wasn’t fair. Even though I knew it would eventually end like this, it just sucks. Keri was so wonderful and had overcome a tumor already. Why did she have to get cancer too? And if she had to get cancer, why couldn’t it have been treatable?

She was doing so much good in the world and there was so much more good she could have done. Keri was a teacher and I’m hoping that her students carry on her legacy by being as kind and gracious as she was. I know that that’s why I’m going to try to do.

I wish I had more to write about Keri. I wish I had more pictures of us together. I wish her story in my life wasn’t ending like this.

2 Comments

Posted in Family, Tough Stuff

Tagged cancer, death, friends, obituary

Happy Birthday Mommy! (or The Past Year In Review)

Posted on April 4, 2014 | Comments Off

Today is my mom’s birthday. I know I’ve written a birthday post to her in the past, but I think that since this past year has been quite a year, she deserves a new birthday post to celebrate everything from the past year.

Since my mom’s last birthday she was diagnosed with breast cancer and kicked ass while completing all her treatments. While my mom was going through her treatments, I got to see her a few times.

The first time I saw my mom was after her surgery but before she started chemo. This was on my trip to Tahoe. And during that trip, not only did we hike a lot, my mom took me off-road driving and drove so aggressively that I had a seatbelt bruise for days afterwards!

I also got to see my mom when we all went to Maui for my brother’s wedding. That was a great week filled with lots of adventures.

After the wedding was when my mom started her chemo treatments, and I have to say that she was able to still be her usual ass kicking self through all of it. I’m still amazed that she still played tennis (and usually won) ever week. She even scheduled chemo around her tennis matches.

Usually, my parents are in Tahoe a lot during the winter (so my dad can fulfill his dream of being a ski bum), but because of the treatment schedule, they didn’t get to go too often. That’s ok since Tahoe had a horrible winter as far as snowfall goes.

Somehow, the universe must have known that my mom was done with all her treatments because there was a good snowfall the other day. So my mom, dad, and Tucker are all up in Tahoe this week celebrating my mom’s birthday.

While thinking back at this past year, I think my family has become much more grateful for the little things. I don’t think we were ever ungrateful people, but we make more of an effort to be grateful now.

I’m so grateful for my mom (and dad) for so many reasons. While they don’t completely understand my desire to act, they support it as much as they can. I’m grateful that my parents are willing to pay for me to fly home so I can see them (and Tucker). I know some friends who don’t have that opportunity so they don’t get to see their family very often. I’m also really grateful that my mom is almost as much of a Disneyland nerd as I am, and we are going to try to get my dad to enjoy Disneyland as well when the 3 of us go to celebrate my mom’s birthday/the end of her treatments later this month.

I know that my mom is going to have an awesome birthday today. I’m sure she, my dad, and Tucker are going to go on some sort of adventure in Tahoe. I’ll just have to wait to celebrate with her in a few weeks.

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Posted in Celebrations, Family, Fun Stuff, Tough Stuff

Tagged birthday, breast cancer, cancer, Disneyland, dog, Hawaii, Lake Tahoe, Maui, mom

The End, Kind Of (or My Mom Is Seriously A Rockstar!)

Posted on March 18, 2014 | Comments Off

Yesterday was my mom’s last radiation appointment. Technically, she is officially done with all the treatments that her doctor prescribed to her to beat breast cancer. I say technically because she is in a drug trial right now and still has to finish that, but it wasn’t part of the original treatment plan.

I can’t believe that my mom is done. It seems like it’s been forever and super quick at the same time. Since July, she’s gone through a mastectomy, 2 different types of chemo, and a full course of radiation. And through it all, she’s kicked so much butt.

She never let any of her treatments get her down or set her back in any way. She’s gone through having our beloved dog get cancer (and having to put him down), getting a new puppy (who passed away suddenly), and raising another puppy. That’s more than most people could handle, even without cancer. But she has really been the rock of the family through all of that.

This has been long journey for our family, and there are still some things that are a bit uncertain. We haven’t gone through the genetic testing yet, so I’m not sure what my future looks like in terms of my chances of getting breast or ovarian cancer. We are going to do this, we just having had the chance yet (although my mom and I have both taken an online class required by my mom’s hospital to start the testing).

Also, I’ve learned that there’s no way to know if someone is completely cancer free after breast cancer. There’s not really a test for it. All they can do it be extra vigilant with monitoring my mom. But I really thought before all of this that there was some blood work or something that you could do to prove you don’t have cancer anymore. You can’t do that with breast cancer.

I really do wish that there was some way to guarantee that my mom beat this. Although there really isn’t a question in my mind that she did, I still want some proof and not just a gut feeling. It sucks that that isn’t possible.

But instead of focusing on that, we are going to focus on how awesome my mom is. Yesterday after her final radiation, she went out to lunch with friends. I don’t know what other celebrations she has scheduled soon, but in month I know how I will be celebrating with her.

My mom, my dad, and I are going to be going to Disneyland for 2 days (and staying overnight in one of the Disneyland hotels) to celebrate the end of her treatments. My mom is a Disneyland person like me, but I don’t think my dad has gone to the theme park for maybe 15 years. He has no idea what he is getting himself into by going to the parks with me and my mom. But in my opinion, going to the happiest place on earth seems like the perfect place to celebrate. That’s coming up in a month.

I also wanted to say thank you to all of you reading this. Throughout this journey, many of you have shared your own journeys with me. You’ve said prayers for my family and kept us in your thoughts. There’s no question in my mind that your thoughts and prayers helped my mom do so well in all of her treatments. I know that some of you know me in real life, but for those of you who don’t, I’m so touched that you took time out of your life to think about my mom. It means the world to me that you did that (and I’m sure my mom would thank you too).

This isn’t exactly the end of the journey for breast cancer in my family, but it’s the end of a major part of it. As more things happen, I’ll update you all. If I have to go through genetic testing, I will share all of that with you (and be completely open and honest).

Here’s to my mom: the ultimate cancer ass-kicking rockstar!

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Posted in Celebrations, Family, Health, Tough Stuff

Tagged breast cancer, cancer, chemo, mom

Time For A Celebration! (or A Pie Date)

Posted on January 30, 2014 | Comments Off

Yesterday marked my mom’s final day of chemo. Not just the final day of a type of chemo. The end of all chemo treatments!

Even though my mom still has radiation to go, the end of chemo is something that everyone in my family has been counting down to. It seems like it’s taken forever and taken no time at all at the same time.

I told my mom that she should celebrate with the nurses at the chemo room. She was already ahead of me and told me that she was going to make a carrot cake for everyone. And I promised to celebrate for her in LA.

A few days ago, it was National Pie Day. My pie friend, Emily invited me out to pie but I had to work a crazy shift that day. So I suggested we get pie to celebrate the end of chemo. We went to Marie Calendars (where we always go for pie) and my friend Kate joined us too.

The way we always get pie is each person gets a slice and then we share the slices among the group. So we got 3 slices: cream cheese, chocolate, and razzleberry.

I know the pie doesn’t look pretty since we cut each slice up to share, but it was still delicious!

It was a nice lunch outing. We spent a lot of time catching up on life and I updated my friends on my job situation. One of the advantages of being laid off is having time to see people I haven’t seen in forever and having a relaxing visit with then.

And of course, we thought about how awesome my mom is. Through all of the chemo, she’s rarely complained. The only times I really remember her saying a thing negative is when I called to ask how she was and she’d tell me that she was having a bit of joint pain. But the pain didn’t get her down. She’s been busy training Tucker and making sure that he is becoming a well-behaved and polite dog (he’s totally getting there). She’s played tennis every week and her record has way more wins than losses.

Even though radiation is an unknown and we don’t know if it will be easy or tough on my mom, I don’t question for a second that she won’t still be kicking butt and doing all of her usual things every day.

The final countdown of my mom’s treatment has begun and I can’t wait until we can really celebrate the end of this.

Comments Off on Time For A Celebration! (or A Pie Date)

Posted in Celebrations, Family, Food, Health, Tough Stuff

Tagged breast cancer, cancer, chemo, mom, pie

400 Posts (or Wow, That’s A Lot Of Writing!)

Posted on January 24, 2014 | Comments Off

Today marks my 400th post on Finding My Inner Bombshell! I remember when I started writing I wondered how long I could keep doing this. Now, it’s a part of my day that I look forward to!

I’ve mentioned in the past how this blog is almost like therapy for me. I’ve gotten so much out of it that I would probably still do this even if nobody read it (but please keep reading it because I love the feedback and stories I hear from you all!). Writing on here has also helped my relationship with my family and friends. There have been many things that I never would have the courage to share with them if I had to say it out loud. But writing it helps to disconnect it from me and make it seem less personal.

In the last 400 posts, I’ve done a lot of things. So I thought I’d share some of the highlights of my first 399 posts.

The scariest (and best) thing I’ve ever put on here was in the beginning when I wrote about my eating disorder and credit card debt. I was so terrified to put that out into the world. I’ve hidden both of those things for many years and even some of my close family had no idea (or if they did, it’s because they guessed it and not because I ever told them). But after writing that post, it was like there was a weight lifted off my shoulders. And people started sharing their stories about money issues or eating disorders. I had no idea so many people had the same problems as me. By sharing my story, I discovered I wasn’t alone.

Another tough post to write was when I wrote about my mom being diagnosed with breast cancer. I knew about the cancer for a few weeks before I was allowed to share her story. I felt like I was faking it on the blog because I couldn’t be completely honest. But sharing that story again has made me feel less alone. Many people have shared their stories with family members dealing with cancer. When my mom was diagnosed, I started to research joining a support group. I never found one that I connected with. Then once I shared on here, I realized that my support group was on the blog. And I hope that I can support others in the future who are going through the same thing. And just to update you on my mom, she’s still kicking butt and only has 1 more chemo treatment to go before starting radiation (the final treatment step)!

The most positive thing that has happened since starting the blog was discovering SoulCycle. I never thought I would connect with exercise this way. But it’s happened and I’m definitely obsessed (this entire list is totally true for me). Celebrating a year doing the same exercise is a first for me, and I’m already looking forward to my next SoulCycle milestone (maybe taking 50 classes?).

I wish I could make some predictions to what the next 400 posts will bring. But honestly, when I started this 400 posts ago, I had no idea that it would become what it is today.

Thank you all for reading and following my journey so far. I just know that the journey will only continue to get better and there are amazing things ahead for me.

Comments Off on 400 Posts (or Wow, That’s A Lot Of Writing!)

Posted in Celebrations, Fitness, Food, Fun Stuff, Health, Saving, Tough Stuff, Weight Loss

Tagged blogging, breast cancer, cancer, debt, eating disorder, exercise, milestone, SoulCycle

Tag Archives: cancer

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400 Posts (or Wow, That’s A Lot Of Writing!)

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