Race for the Cure 2

Hi all,
Last weekend was my second Race for the Cure as a survivor and I had a great time again. A bunch of friends came out from work, mountain biking and Andrea Dwight came all the way from Toronto! Thanks to everyone who supported me either through a donation or by walking with me.

Quick update on my health... I am doing great. My surgery has actually moved up a few days and is now on October 26. I expect to be out from work for 2 weeks to recover. Just in case you missed my last blog, the surgery is the final (major) stage of my breast reconstruction and I will have the chest expanders removed and silicone implants put in.

I continue to see my oncologist monthly and i get a physical exam there as well as a blood test where they are keeping an eye on my tumor markers.

I went to see my radiation doctor who might possibly be my favorite doctor of all, although my breast surgeon was really awesome too, and everything went well there too. He was impressed at how well my skin recovered from the radiation.

My hair continues to grow all funky and curly and I hope that I will get used to it one day. When I wake up in the morning, i have a bit of an afro going and it needs some major calming down. Strangely, I still have a few fingernails that have remnant side effects from the chemo and they just don't look normal, but expect this to disappear over time. the nail bed seems a little dead in spots but far better than before.

So, generally, everything is great. I consider myself cured... and really, what else would I want to think. I find it a bit creepy when people ask if the cancer is gone. Geez, I sure hope so! I really try not to think too much about it. I just can't...

As for the rest of me, I am trying to train myself up for a few major bike rides next year. One is a big mountain bike ride in April and the other is a series of three really hard road rides in April and May. As I was riding up Maple Springs today... I couldn't help but think about how the only way I am going to get stronger is by suffering. It made me think of Lance Armstrong and how he thought that the reason he was so successful was because "if it was suffer-fest, he was good at it". So that's what I need to do. Get good at suffering.

I am also working on losing some weight, so I can be in top shape and have less poundage to push up those hills. Doug and I are both on weight watchers, and while we have only been on for 1.5 weeks, things are going really well. It is making it really clear to me, what I've been doing wrong in my eating and I am eating a really great, low fat and high fiber diet now. It's also getting me to make more dinners at home which is always important to good health. On our first weigh-ins, Doug and I both lost weight so we are really motivated to get this done. Looking forward to reaching my goal sometime in November, if possible.

That's it for now. I hope that you are all well and to my family on the Wolfson side... Shana Tova and to all my peeps in Canada... Happy Thanksgiving next weekend!
Mo