Family Ties: Navigating cancers together

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair." I read Dicken's "A Tale of Two Cities" in high school English, grade 10 or 11, I think.  Few things from high school classes stuck with me as much as memorizing certain required quotes from English class.  I don't know why that is but it is.  The quote above describes my life right now - getting a cancer diagnosis is really the worst of times, but learning who will be there for you, finding your own strength and resources, healing through the process in all aspects, well, that has been the best of times as well.  In the past few weeks, I've learned so much (wisdom) about radiation and endocrine therapy, but also (foolishness) the many frustrating delays in treatment and hiccu...

Life is a Highway, by Tom Cochrane, was released the year I graduated from high school, 1991.  I remember it sounding like a song of freedom, as I was getting ready to head off to university and new adventures, living in residence, meeting new people and figuring out what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.   Life's like a road that you travel on When there's one day here and the next day gone Sometimes you bend, sometimes you stand Sometimes you turn your back to the wind At the time, I loved all the choices I was getting to make - which classes and labs to take, what to eat in the cafeteria, when to study and when to go to Stages on a Thursday night or Ritual at Clark Hall Pub starting at noon on a Friday!  When I was diagnosed with cancer, I didn't think there would be any decisions to make.  I thought it would be a straight forward line from diagnosis to surgery to recovery, where someone else would be making the decisions.  For the most part, that...

I've always loved words, how they are spelled, how they sound, how they look when written.  My favourite book when I was little was " We like kindergarten" , if you can believe it.  I used to love spelling bees and word searches, the game " Boggle"    and " hangman".  Growing up, I was a reader and cherish the memories of reading a book purchased at a local second-hand book store in Golden Lake, on the front porch of a rented cottage.  When I first heard rap music, I was intrigued by how fast they could string together words and rhymes, making up new words and expressions in songs that are still fun to listen to even now.  Think about how much fun it is to hear "It's Tricky" by Run DMC or "Baby Got Back", all these years later! I'm also fascinated by peoples reactions to words, and I'm not talking about poor grammar like the confusion about their/they're/there, but those words that seem to cause a visceral reaction. ...

This one should be an obvious reference to anyone reading this blog that I'm referring to the 1993 movie starring Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell not the day in early February where we look for a sign from a rodent to tell us if there will be 6 more weeks of winter (spoiler alert - it's Canada, there will ALWAYS be six more weeks of winter!).   "I'll give you a winter prediction: It's gonna be cold, its gonna be grey, and it's gonna last you the rest of your life." If it's been a while since you saw the movie, this is the one where Bill Murray is a weatherman who is cursed to repeat the same day on a loop until he works out all his personal issues and learns how to be happy.  Or something like that.  It's been a while so I don't recall all the details, just the main storyline.  Bill Murray's character has some fun with being caught in the loop, playing pranks and living consequence-free for a while but there are also some really dark moment...

This one is not a song reference, but rather a TV show reference. And not the 2017 remake that lasted only 3 seasons which I had no idea was even done because, quite frankly, in 2017, I was busy advancing my career, being a hockey trainer/manager/mom, helping my kids get their resumes written and distributed, and worrying about them starting to drive!  The " One Day at a Time"  that I am referencing here is the original, 1975-1984 series that starred Valerie Bertinelli.  I only vaguely remember watching some of the later episodes of this show. I imagine that, when it debuted, if my mom had had cable at the time, she might have watched it on our old floor-model TV, after my sister and I were tucked away in our shared bedroom in an apartment in Bayshore.  She might have enjoyed the sit-com about a single mom and her 2 strong-willed daughters without any extended family around for support.  I imagine that, while she must have preferred watching British comedies, th...

  (buckle up, this is a long one) I'm free, but I'm focused I'm green , but I'm wise I'm hard, but I'm friendly, baby I'm sad, but I'm laughing I'm brave, but I'm chicken shit I'm sick, but I'm pretty, baby These lyrics by Alanis Morissette so describe Faith to me, at this moment in her life, well, except for being chicken shit.  She is the bravest person I know.  So many of you have asked questions about Faith's thyroid cancer, and, like many Gen Z'ers, she lives her life openly, posting on social media about events, activities and life's ups and downs.  She supports my sharing of her story knowing that it might help or inform others.  As many of you know, Faith is passionate about cross-country skiing, having discovered the sport in high school.  Despite her small size, she worked really hard and loved being on both her high shcool and university teams, for a total of 9 years.  While she was at Laurentian, she started guidin...