Sunday, January 18, 2009

New Poem

We are headed to the Gospel Music Artist Association Convention next weekend. I recite my poetry instead of singing so here is the one I wrote this week. I think I might read it at the convention.

Savor the Moment

Are you too busy to stop and pray?
To find the pleasure of each new day?
Do you race to and fro without any fun?
Do you spend your free time on the run?

What’s for dinner? Time for bed.
Turn on the TV my brain is dead.
Sometimes we forget to take a deep breath.
Savor the moment and forget all the rest.

So hug the kids and kiss your spouse,
Take a break from cleaning the house.
Buy everyone an ice cream cone,
Have some quality time for your own.

Give God glory, whisper a prayer.
Thank the Lord for being there.
Life’s too short to dash it away.
Savor each moment and seize the day.

Friday, January 2, 2009

I'm living pink!

I am a breast cancer survivor of three months. I am very blessed that the cancer was detected by a routine mammogram and it was very tiny. I had a bilateral mastectomy and reconstructive surgery on November 26th, my mother's 80th birthday. I had this surgery as opposed to a lumpectomy because I tested positive for BRCA-2 gene mutation, which increases my chances of recurrence by 55-60% instead of 10%. Now, my chances of recurrence is down to 5-8% and with the pill I will be taking it is even lower at 1.5-2%. My dad died of pancreas cancer and when they did all the preliminary tests they found a cyst on my pancreas. It was aspirated on Dec 18th and found to be normal. So now I am ready to move on. The lymph nodes were clear so I did not require any chemotherapy or radiation. There are a few more surgeries to complete the reconstruction and remove my ovaries so I won't have to deal with the chance of ovarian cancer. I am 55 and do not plan to have any more kids. I have three grown children and they have four grand kids between them so we're good to go. That surgery will be after the other is finished. That's okay, I have a great faith in God and all this has been part of a bigger plan. My family is taking precautions and having the gene study so I know the cancer deaths in my family and the survivors are saving the lives of the rest of our big brood. My dad had a lot of siblings and they have a lot of offspring so there is a bigger purpose in place. God has used me to save my family. I feel special for having been chosen. He knew I could handle it and as painful as it was after surgery, I am feeling so grateful today for being an instrument of God.

The pain is pretty much gone or minimal and I go back to work on Monday. That should be fun. I've been laying around and getting up late for five weeks so I don't know how I'll make through 8 hours but I'm going to try.

So, now I'm thinking pink. My jewelry I've been making lately has a lot of pink ribbon themes. My clothes are pink. I'm not trying to show off, it's just that pink has a whole new meaning for me. I totally understand it now. So many breast cancer survivors came up to me and offered support. It's like a club you don't want to join but you find the nicest group of people once you get in. I was welcomed with open arms and caring hearts. What a great year this is going to be.