Workshop for The OCAM Group Friday

As you may have read in a previous post, today I got to venture out to do more than just get prescriptions filled, have an occasional lunch or dinner out with family/friends, pick up items from the grocery store or get picked up and taken to the weekly doctor appointment(s).




Yep, I got out today and taught a WORKSHOP!  I still have not gotten the "go ahead" to drive from the doctor yet, so my friend Linda Bucci picked me up this morning around 9:15 to cart me to the venue where the workshop was being held.


Ooooh, how good it felt to get out and be around like-minded people.  You know, people that "get it" as far as creating stuff goes :)


Here are the ladies having fun creating their one-of-a-kind charm necklaces using Fragments and other trinkets I included in their kits.  Some brought their own personal charms to add as well.  Some of the ladies had to leave early so they have promised to send me photos of their necklaces later.


Barbara laying everything out for her necklace . . .

Carolyn and Barbara looking over some pieces . . .

Carolyn working on an Alice in Wonderland Charm Necklace . . .

The completed Alice in Wonderland Charm Necklace . . .

A lot of the ladies from OCAM wore pink today!  How sweet was THAT?! . . .

Nancy, Jody and Linda . . .

Linda laying out her Frida Kahlo prints for a necklace she was creating . . .

Glenda wearing her necklace . . .

Here's a closeup of Glenda's necklace of family photos . . .

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This is Kim (Glenda's daughter) proudly wearing her Think Pink shirt and the gorgeous necklace she created in class today! . . .

And here's a closeup of Kim's necklace . . .

Kim even made a pair of earrings to match! . . .

Nancy and Jody working on their creations . . .

Johnyne making decisions . . .

Thank you again for inviting me to come and teach for your group today.  I soooo enjoyed getting out and hanging with all of you! *smiles*

PS Stopped and had a "lite lunch" after the workshop with Linda . . .

Now it's REALLY time for a nap!  LOL

Kicking Cancer's Ass!

"WOW!" is an acronym we use on my "day job" to recognize employees for a good job done.  It stands for "Witnessing Outstanding Work".  And today, even though I am not at "the day job", but instead at home doing the whole healing and being patient about it all thing, I am definitely "Witnessing Outstanding Work" on the blog network this morning!

My friend Linda Ledbetter and her Pink Ribbon Warrior Women Blog Team (say that 7 times quickly - LOL) are hosting a Warrior Woman Blog Hop to celebrate the healing journey I have been on fighting breast cancer.  


Won't you please join me in thanking each and every one of these ladies on the team for taking time out of their busy schedules to put together such a grand event for breast cancer?  You can thank them (along with me) by visiting their blogs, creating some art, and helping spread the word about early detection and self-breast exams and mammograms!


The Pink Ribbon Warrior Women Blog Team Members are as follows:

Their fearless leader:  Linda Ledbetter from Studio L3

Ellen Vargo from Ten Thirty-Six Arts & Crafts blog

Hels Sheridan from Ink on My Fingers

Jennie from The Artistic Stamper

Judy Wood from  Brush with Angels

Nancy Crissinger from What's Next?

Sharon Sutton from My Craft Journey

Tracy Jacobs from Not a Moment to Spare

I don't want to re-hash the whole story in this post, so for those of you that are visiting my blog for the first time or maybe you just haven't been here for a visit in awhile, you can catch up by reading my blog posts starting with this one.  


In short, everything started on Sunday, August 1st when I found a lump in my right breast.  

It is now Tuesday, October 12th and both breasts have been removed - my decision solely, no lymph nodes were affected by cancer, I don't have to go through chemotherapy or radiation, I will start taking a pill on November 9th to block estrogen for the next 5 years, and today?  This is the day the Lord hath made - rejoice and be glad in it.  Yep, that's what I'm going to do today . . . rejoice and be glad in this day!


Thank you all for your continued love and support and e-mails and RAK's and prayers and . . . I'm just overwhelmed and out of words to express how I feel toward all of you.  And yes, I know, that's probably hard to believe . . . Sherry at a loss for WORDS?!  LOL


Oooooh, I almost forgot!  I asked Linda what my duties were as the Warrior Woman being honored, and she said I just needed to sit back and soak up all the love and on October 31st, choose a winner from the Warrior Women Blog Hop Flickr group.  So that means that you all need to get to creating those works of art and submit them to the Gallery no later than October 30th.  

Now get to blog hopping already!!

The Best News Blog Post EVER!

As many of you know, I had my first appointment (after surgery) with the Oncologist was yesterday.  


I was prepared with my list of questions for the doctor and gave my cousin Pam (she went with me to the appointment) a little notebook to take notes.


With the pathology report in hand, the Oncologist informed me of the following:


My larger tumor (I had two) in the right breast was 1.3 cm


My margins - also known as "margins of resection," refer to the distance between a tumor and the edge of the surrounding tissue that's removed along with it.  When a tumor is removed, some tissue surrounding it is also removed. The tumor with surrounding tissue is rolled in a special ink so that the outer edges, or margins, are clearly visible under a microscope. A pathologist checks the tissue under a microscope to see if the margins are free of cancer cells.  My margins? - NEGATIVE!  That means that there were no cancer cells found in the ink!


Her2 status:  The HER2 gene plays an important role in cell growth and development, and status is characterized as HER2 positive or negative in the pathology report.  My Her2 status? Normal/Negative!


Grade of my cancer:  2 out of 3 - most common.  Like golf, a low score is better than a high score.


Stage of my cancer:  Breast cancer is staged between Stage 0 to Stage IV.  My stage number is 1, which means that the tumor was smaller than 2 cm (1").  No cancer found in the lymph nodes in the armpit or outside the breast.

Some types of breast cancer depend on estrogen to grow.  Anastrozole can stop tumor growth by blocking estrogen production.  I will need to start taking Anastrozole in a month (after I heal more).  I will take this pill for the next 5 years.  Of course there are side effects like hot flashes, arthritis and bone health issues, but HEY, everything has side effects RIGHT?


But here's the best news EVER!! . . . No Chemotherapy and No Radiation!

After hearing the Oncologist say those words I looked at my cousin and then back at the doctor and repeated what he had just said to be sure I was hearing correctly.  He said it again . . . No Chemotherapy and No Radiation!  You can only imagine my JOY as I type this blog post today.

Thank you - each and every one of you that has been by my side and will continue to be by my side during this journey to fight breast cancer.  I want you to know that your continued thoughts and prayers mean more to me than I can ever tell you!  X O X O  

Gorgeous Artwork in the Form of RAKS!

 RAKS from Linda Hoffman over at Scrappin' Bears Studio . . .

 RAKS from Susan Kesselman over at Nimble Fingers . . .

 RAKS from Kathy Eddy over at Inkin' It Up and Sandi Malloy - ATT yahoo group . . .

 RAK from Louise Granlund over at Kard Krazy . . .

 RAKS from Angela Pryor over at A Day in the Life of a Tomboy . . . A business card was enclosed with a phone number so I decided to put a voice to Angela's blog and photo and picked up the telephone and called her.  I am so glad I did!  *smiles*

 And look at this gorgeous book that Ibis Arrastia from Smiles by Ibis created and sent to me!  Click on each photo to get a closer look at each page . . .

 
 

RAKS all the way from Belgium that Inge Bekaert from Pinke Pinke created for me . . . 


Inge suggested that I write a word, a quote, something that happened that day . . . something that made me smile, gave me joy.  No big things - just small things in life that make life worth living.  


Wow, Inge's RAK couldn't have come at a better time!  It was raining the day I received this little journal, and I remember being thankful for the gift of sight, sound and smell.  So that was my 1st entry in my new mini journal - *smiles*

 This is a photo of the back side of the little journal . . .

Inside pages of the journal . . .

And here's another RAK from a cancer survivor - Gail from Oklahoma (diagnosed in 2008).  Gail is a member of the ATT yahoo group of which I am also a member.  A beautiful breast cancer ribbon/winged magnet was also included, but I failed to get a photo of it because it's already on one of my magnetic boards . . .

I had always admired the hibiscus that my good friend Linda Bucci has in her garden.  So on one of the days that she came to pick me up to take me to a doctor appointment, she brought me a Cosmic Dancer Hibiscus of my own . . .

Oooooh, and how could I forget to include the gift of Sharis Strawberries that were sent to me from two of my instructor's at "the day job"! . . .  I guess they don't realize that I'm still healing and can't do much exercising to get these delights off my hips!  LOL

I can't say it enough.  Thank you Thank you Thank you for the outpouring of love in the way of RAKS, continued thoughts and prayers, rides to the doctor and the store and an occasional lunch or dinner out on the town *smiles*.

Tomorrow (Thursday) I see the "Quarterback" - my Oncologist.  One of my cousins is driving from Altadena to take me and play secretary while the Quarterback and I talk over the next play in this came of Cancer.  I will let you know how everything goes.

Luv ya!  x o x o  Sherry

Part II

Well, that nap took a little longer than I had expected.  I have received soooo many RAK's that it's overwhelming!  

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

   

  

 

  

 

 

   

  

  

 

 

    

And yes, I've been keeping up my strength . . .

I REALLY enjoyed THIS lunch! . . .

So that's it for today my friends.  I can't thank you enough for the love you have given me and the continued prayers you pray as I go through this journey.  And if you missed the post pre-surgery, here are some other RAK's received:  http://gotart4u.blogspot.com/2010/08/my-new-journey-and-outpouring-of-love.html 


I go back to the doctor tomorrow (Wednesday) to hopefully get the JP drainage tube on the right side out.  I'm really looking forward to just getting outside *smiles*

Much love to you!  X O X O   Sherry

Time for another nap, some meds and mindless television now :)