I got an A on the last Chem test. WOOHOO!! The class is over in a couple days with my last test on Thursday.
Signed up for the NLN today. I will be taking the Nursing school entrance exam on Sept 8.
I hope I can be a good nurse and do some real good for people.

In a couple weeks, I am launching a web business. I have some websites that I am in the final process of touching up and launching. As I am unemployed and have no idea how long I will be that way, I was looking for something that I can do and manage and market from home. The proceeds from my sites will go towards my medical bills with 10% going towards Sarcoma research. I am very excited about launching these but I have a Pre-launch question.

What book or movie made a huge impact on you? Why?
Did your choice change your viewpoint on an issue? or did it give you hours of pure happiness?

If you want to answer, leave me a comment or email me or join my Facebook page.

Sarcoma Awareness Week

It's International Sarcoma Awareness Week and many events are taking place to advocate for and teach about Sarcoma. I know I sound like a broken record. Before diagnosis in 2006, I erroneously thought that all cancers were the same and that treating Sarcoma would be no different than treating breast cancer. Little did I know that there were no chemotherapies for my Sarcoma type and grade, at least nothing outside the experimental realm. Little did I know that the subset of the population most afflicted with this disease were children. Little did I know that a typical sarcoma patient tries multiple chemos, endures multiple radiation sessions, and goes through multiple invasive surgeries only to have this cancer return again and again and again. Little did I know that the prognosis for stage 1 high grade sarcoma is only slightly better than stage 3 breast cancer.

During this Sarcoma Awareness week, please tell someone, forward an email about Sarcoma, show someone a patient blog, or donate to this most worthy cause. 10,000 sarcoma patients are diagnosed yearly. 5000 die before the magical 5 years. While the prognosis for some cancers has improved little by little, the prognosis for Sarcoma patients has not gotten better. This week is yellow ribbon week. Help us spread the word. For more information on sarcomas, make a donation towards the CURE or meet some of the great fighters out there, see www.fightsarcoma.org

My last scan showed without a doubt that the largest nodule is growing at a rate of about 1mm a month since Christmas. I did not walk out of the office skipping with joy but nevertheless, I have gone on with the business of living. As my Onc was out that day, I could not speak to him about the possibility of just zapping that little bugger, removing it or negotiating with the drug company to open my file and determine if I'm on the live pill or the memorex. I will have this discussion with him tomorrow. Since that lovely revelation, I spent an awesome 4th of July weekend at the ball game, eating BBQ, hanging with friends and family, riding coasters at Great America, studying Chemistry and taking a weekend trip to our Summer home for a little R&R among the trees.....and bugs, but like cancer, I for the most part, ignored the little critters until they became too obnoxious. Then I doused myself in bug spray. The weather was perfect. It was sunny, warm but not hot, and there was little humidity. The clear sky gave me a perfect view of the stars and up there, they are like nowhere else.
I have a "totally cool" list. Those are a few of the things in life that I just do not get tired of. My partial list:
1) Lily pads. I have no idea why I find lily pads so great but on my way to the cabin is a small minnow pond that is loaded with them. It's welcoming eye candy.
2) Cat tails. What is NOT to like about cat tails? As a little girl, I used to slosh through swamps to get some of them. They line the sides of the county roads by our cabin in clumps and bring back some great childhood memories.
3) Tadpoles. I can watch those little critters swim in a pond for hours. When I was a kid, I went to a local pond often and caught a few. I never could keep one alive long enough to see the metamorphosis so now if I find a pond full of them, I leave them alone.
4) Hummingbirds. I love Hummingbirds. One of my absolutely frivolous purchases this weekend, a Hummingbird feeder which is installed in plain view of the windows of the screen porch at the cabin. I hope they find our feeder so when I get to take my real vacation, I can watch them. It's a little late in the season but, there is always hope.
The sighting that I get all excited about the most is shooting stars. Last year, I traveled to the cabin during the annual meteor shower. I saw MANY driving up there. What a GREAT drive! It was the middle of the night but I didn't feel tired. This trip, I saw three!
It was a good trip.