Keeping Track of Cancer

I have a lot to do in my life...one of my new responsibilities is to keep track and up to date on a slippery disease called "cancer".   When I interviewed oncologists, one told me something I will never forget..."This is not a fight, this is a very strategic process and you must act smart...be aware".  There are no guarantees, but I do this with the tools that a number of great organizations out there provide for the cancer community - see "connect with others" on this page.  Under organizations like CancerCare and The Lance Armstrong Foundation you can find information on specific areas of the disease that may be of help for your own individual journey.   Take advantage - these are truly dedicated organizations and are there to help!  

In the past month I have learnt new up-to-date information on Colon Cancer Health with over 1,000 individuals on the teleconference from around the world.  The content featured doctors and nutritionists from MD Anderson, Dana-Farber and the State University of Louisiana - serving as the largest teleconference call in the history of CancerCare.  I also participate in additional teleconferences offered through CancerCare on being a Survivor, am on the message board with the Colon Cancer Alliance and keep a up to date on how I can care for myself in general through exercise, nutrition and spiritual practices or "mental time outs".    You can also help others and make a contribution - I have highlighted both

 CancerCare and LIVESTRONG for your convenience....

From the Manifesto of The Lance Armstrong Foundation:

...."We believe in life.  Your life.  We belive in living every minute of it with every ounce of your being...and that you must not let cancer take control of it.  We believe in energy channeled and fierce.  We believe in focus: getting smart and living strong...Knowledge is power.  Attitude is everything...."

Gratefully,

Jen

North by North East goes to SXSW

Oh - to wait and ponder....if you wait too long the moment goes and with it the senses - the smells, the laughter, the sounds of what happened...never to happen again in quite exactly the same way. I hesitate to write. I too get caught up in the "suppose to activities" of life...you would think I had learnt that lesson...

March carried me and mine out of the cold. We journeyed down to Austin for family warmth of heart and the sun too. We got all that Texas hospitality from Michael's dad - Phil, and his wife Linda and seeing Clayton - Michael's son. Surprisingly, Amelia joined us for a few days of her spring break and Jeff, Michael's brother, came for a little reprieve. We missed having Jeff's family - Adrianne, Lola Grace and Blake to make the whole Brooklyn clan complete - they stayed back home holding down the fort.

Michael relished in the warmth like a desert lizard. I stood, figuratively, with my hands out to my side whirling around at the prospect of so much newness in my life - family and destinations. I had not been back to Texas in sometime. In April 2007 I went to see Michael before a new job, and before that at about 18 years old. I hung in downtown Austin with friends for a weekend, dancing and taking in the handsome cowboys during the Pecan Festival - just another reason to party in Austin. Before that, my time in Texas was under the escape my mother took with her kids and new husband to live on South Padre Island, in a teepee on the beach, when I was 10 years old....another story.

For that week in March - when that north east cold just won't let loose of your bones in NYC, we ate Texas BBQ (oh I wish I could eat it every day!)

kayaked with the view of the Austin skyline, heard Billy Joe Shaver ...and thought could I live here? I had the good fortune of meeting with folks at The Lance Armstrong Foundation, Andy Miller the VP of Program and Policy, and know there is a strong community here.

Most importantly though is the contemplation of joining two families together and are

we ready? Michael will leave NYC this fall and go back to raising his wonderful son. Amelia will be in her second year of college and I...well I am finding my way in a new life. Will I go south too? Texas - the heart of the Southwest, with rodeos and the open range is familiar and carries memories of my childhood both in Texas and in Colorado - and now something different - something new...

I am grateful to have such full experiences, even the difficult ones, and that I can still wonder the planet and take in all the sights, sounds - the tastes, touch and smell of life.

xoxo

Jen