It's hard to know what to say anymore. I'm now in the follow-up stages of this aweful disease. Mamo's, MRI's set for Nov. Had bonescan in Oct. Had CT scan just before that. I am so thankful that I made it through, and I am doing well. Now I want to help those continuing to fight. I may have mentioned this before, (chemo-brain, bear with me), I want to start a non-profit to help mom's in our community who are going through cancer treatments either by organizing meals, cleaning bathrooms, babysitting, etc. I have a friend who is also interested and the two of us will be brainstorming to get it off the ground.

I understand that there are all kinds of fundraisers out there to cure cancer, but I want to help the women here today who are in the trenches of this disease, managing everyday life. That's where friends and family come in, but take it from me, it is hard for someone going through this to ask for help, and sometimes, there is no one to ask, and people don't know what to do or when to step in. I am hoping to start an organization to facilitate help for women going through this. Women in particular since they are usually the primary caregivers to their families, take care of the children, household, dinners, driving, working, etc. The spouse must continue working to help pay hospital costs, to keep medical insurance, and must manage extra duties that his wife cannot during treatments. It adds to the stress of the situation. If I had an organization that could do their laundry once a week, provide a meal or two a week and clean their bathrooms during their treatments, find a babysitter to get the kids off the bus, just to be a blessing in the middle of the storm. You come to realize how much the little things mean when you go through this. You can't take time off from being a mom, even when you are going through cancer treatments.

Anyone have any ideas what to call this new non-profit? Mother's Helper? Mom's Blessings? Get creative and let me know what you think. I'm sure when we get this off the ground we will be doing a fundraiser. That's way in the future for now. I'll hit you up, I mean, I'll let you know when we will need your help! Meanwhile, thanks for all your help. You all inspired me to do this since you helped me through my sickness and back into health. Now I want to give back to the communtiy.

All is well with the bone scan. They just noted arthritis in the joints, so that accounts for the joint pain. I have a big laundry list of routine appointments coming up. Just follow-up as usual. My two daughters and I did the Support Connection Walk last Sunday in the pouring rain. It was very moving and uplifting. I am happy to be there again, however, I didn't see Glen Close. She is the celebrity spokesperson, and I saw her last year. The rain must have deterred her. We all had our reasons for being there, and I wasn't going to let soggy shoes get in the way. Last year I walked with peach fuzz on my head. This year I couldn't help notice other ladies doing the same. Every year there will be more. I found out others I know indirectly who were diagnosed recently.

If you don't hear from me I'm either at a PTO meeting, council meeting, Girl Scout Meeting, teaching Sunday School, planning a women's group meeting, planning a Sunday morning brunch for church, going to a long list of doctor's appointments, doing laundry, dishes, homework, driving kids around, blah, blah, blah! I can't fit one more thing into my day. Help...