Easter and Spring Break

We went to Scott and Julie's for Easter brunch. It was awesome. We hid eggs for the kids and each egg had money and a note in it, telling them something they had to do. A few things Tori had to do was to stand on her head, pat her head and rub her tummy at the same time, and sing the happy birthday song. Kyle had to put a pair of his underwear on his head, do some push ups and put his hand in the toilet. They loved finding their eggs and doing the crazy things Grandpa and Grandma have conjured up. After brunch, we headed to the Lincoln City area for the week. We rented a house along with our sister and brother-in-law. The house was fantastic and on the Silitz Bay. There were huge windows so we could see the ocean and the lights of the little town of Taft.

Randy likes to cook, so us gals lucked out and enjoyed his great meals. Unfortunately, Julie and the kids got sick and didn't feel too good most of the week. The house was so fantastic that we didn't mind spending time there playing games and cards while they were recuperating. We were able to go to the outlet stores a couple of times, drove into Depoe Bay and played on the beach. We had sunshine, rain, hail and snow! I have never been to the beach when it snowed. It was pretty awesome.

It was my birthday so they had a party for me. It was so special to spend my birthday with all of them while at the beach.

One of the gals from my support group had an extensive surgery today. She will be in the hospital 10 days and it sounds like the surgery went well. Another gal, just went on Hospice. She is such a sweetheart. So I have been thinking about them both a lot lately and sending good thoughts their way.

Since I have been gone for a week, I have lots to do, but like sitting here and playing with my computer. Ah, better go and get something done!

Love to you all,

JO

Barb's Memorial Service

Just want all of you to know that Barb's memorial service was great. All the Lunch Bunch gals and friends from Hilhi, sat together in the third pew. During the service, it was nice to see her and Don's picture on the table right in front of us. It felt like she was right there with us. She would have been so pleased that we were all there. How she loved our get togethers. In fact, they were usually her idea.

Elaine did a fantastic job of ordering flowers for us. I wish we would have thought about taking a picture of all of us with them. As a few of us were walking out of the church, we saw the flowers and couldn't resist taking our picture with them. We thought Barb would approve.

Barb will be missed and never forgotten. All of us are getting together on May 10th, her birthday, to celebrate her. Sounds like a nice tradition to me.

Thanks, gals, for making Barb's service a pleasure to attend. It was nice sitting around the table at the reception, laughing while telling "Barb" stories. That is what I expect at my service .............. laughter, no tears!

Love to you all,

JO

Shamrock Run -We Rocked!

Julie, (our daughter), Lori (my sister-in-law), and I participated in the Shamrock Run on Sunday. Lori and some of her girlfriends, from Dundee school, decided it would be fun to do so they invited Julie and I to join them. We originally signed up for the three mile walk but changed it at the last minute to the 8K ( five miles) run/walk.

I haven't been doing much running, but Denny and I walk five days a week and we walk hills. So I decided I would run as much of it as I could and then walk some. Lori ran/walked with her girlfriends and Julie and I took off running together. At about the two mile mark, I told Julie to go ahead because I wasn't sure I could keep up with her. She is a great runner and runs at least five times a week. The first mile seemed like it took half an hour. Then the second mile was a killer. It was almost all up hill. So I was going to stop once I hit the two mile sign but I noticed we were going to be going down hill some, so I kept running. Then about at the 2 1/2 mile mark, we started up hill again. I kept looking for the three mile sign but I never did see it. But I could see that a lot of the rest of the course was down hill or flat. All of a sudden, there was the four mile sign. I knew at that point I was not going to be stop running. So, I ran the entire five miles! Before the run, I had thought that if I had the energy, I wanted to sprint at the end. So when I was about a block away, I sprinted as fast I could. It felt so good. I really was proud of myself and I finished in 58 minutes. I was four minutes behind Julie. I wasn't even sore afterwards and went shopping the rest of the day. I ended up with over 21,000 steps on my pedometer. I usually try to walk 10,000 steps each day. Julie said she ended up with over 30,000 steps because she parked her car a ways from the race site and also went shopping.

Running takes so much more time and effort for me now then it did years ago. When I worked for the Hillsboro School District, I would get up every morning at 4:45 AM and run for 45 minutes before I went to work. Still can't believe I got up that early! Anyway, it was so easy then because I would just get dressed and run out the door. How times have changed. To get ready for the Shamrock Run, I had lots of preparation to do. First of all, I had to put on my knee straps which I don't wear for walking but if I run, they help my knees from getting sore, then I had to put on my compression shorts to keep my flab from flabbing, then I had to put on my super-duper sports bra to keep from jiggling, then I had to wear a hat (even though it makes your head hotter) because my hair is so sparse in places, then I had to take an anti-inflammatory pill because my toe sometimes hurts when I run or walk. So I figured I had a six handy-cap before I even started the race! Oh, almost forgot, add metastatic cancer to that. Now I have a seven handy-cap! Plus, I had to put on my pedometer, cell phone, and I-POD. Like I said; it wasn't like the good old days when I just walked out my door and went running!

Don't know if I will run much in the future. I am satisfied with walking. But I like to set goals and challenges for myself. And I had decided that I wanted to run as much of the Shamrock Run as I could. So, I feel like I "stepped up to the plate" and met my challenge and goal. I feel very blessed to have been able to do that. I know how lucky I am to have the energy while having metastatic cancer. Hope it lasts for a long time, but if not, I can always think back on sprinting to the finish line!

Love to you all,

JO

Our Special Friend, Barb

Today is a sad day. I went to the hospital to say goodbye to a very dear friend, Barb. Recently, she developed double pneumonia, and it was just too much for her body to handle.

She was diagnosed with breast cancer about 3 years before I was. She was such a big help to me when I was going through my chemo and radiation. We both had Kaiser insurance so we could relate to our treatments and our doctors. She was always calling to see how I was doing.

She was one of the gals in "The Lunch Bunch." The group started when all of us worked at Hillsboro High School. We ate lunch together and had the most fun. We laughed and cried together. We talked about anything and everything. Sometimes, even our principal, Phil , would join us. He always treated us with such respect.

When Barb had her breast cancer, Karen, one of "The Lunch Bunch" gals, decided we should walk the Hood to Coast for her. We had so much fun and even though Barb couldn't participate in the walk, she was there with us, in spirit. She met us along the way to cheer us on.

Another thing we did for Barb when she was battling her breast cancer, we rented a stretch limo and drove around Portland and looked at the Christmas lights. It lifted her spirits.

When Barb turned 61, she mentioned that she had never had a birthday party. So "The Lunch Bunch" decided to give her a 16th birthday party. We gave her gifts like a teenager would receive. She especially loved the padded bra that Karen gave her and the note she wrote (like a teenager would write) and talked about Shirley hanging around the boys in her rally uniform, Amy always being in the vice Principal's office, some of the gals going to get a blouse with their initials on it, like they saw in the "17" magazine, and Betsy going to detention again. We all laughed so hard. It was a very special time for Barb and all of us.

Barb will be missed. "The Lunch Bunch" has lost one of it's best. But we are all strong and like I said, we have all cried together before.

We all love you, Barb.

Seaside With My Girlfriends

Recently, I went to Seaside with Carolyn and Amy. They are friends that I have known for years. Amy and I worked together for 20 years for the Hillsboro School District. The three of us have done a lot of traveling together. It all started when we were part of a bicycle group and we went to different places and biked. We went to the Bend area several times, and our favorite trip was when we biked the San Juan Islands. The three of us have traveled together to Hawaii several times, Sedona, Seattle, and the beach. We always have the best time. We all love to shop for bargains and makeup!

Denny and I have a couple of up coming trips. We have rented a huge house in the Taft area at the beach. We are going with our daughter, Julie, our son-in-law, Scott, our grandkids, Kyle and Tori, and Denny's sister, Lori and her husband, Randy. We will be there during spring break.

Then in April, Denny and I are going on a Mexican cruise for a week.

So, as you can tell, we are trying to take advantage of my "chemo break!"

Love to you all,

JO

Recent Trip To Vegas

I am very fortunate to have gone on a couple of trips recently. It is important to me to take advantage of my "chemo break." I went to Vegas a couple of weeks ago to see my mom, brother and sister. They have all lived there for years. I try to see them twice a year. This year I took a girlfriend with me...Marion. She and her husband, Sonny, went to Arizona with us for a month and to Maui for a couple of weeks last year. Mom knows her because she was friends with Marion's mom. We had a great time. We both have pedometers so we walked each day and especially enjoyed walking the strip. We shopped a lot but didn't really end up buying much. It was so much fun to spend time with her and my family. We all get along so well. I am very blessed to have such a terrific mom and siblings. My other brother, who is a doctor in Asheville, N.C., usually goes to Vegas the same time I do, but this year it wasn't possible. So everyone is coming to Oregon in August for a family reunion.

Love to you all,

JO

Blogging Is New To Me

Well, I have decided to give blogging a try. I love reading other people's blogs, so I decided it would be a good way for people to get updates on me. Since I have metastatic cancer, I have friends and family who are interested in how I am doing. So, hopefully, this blog will give them the opportunity to check on me when they want to.

Just for a quick update about my cancer. I was diagnosed with breast cancer in September of 2004. I had a lumpectomy, chemo and radiation. Less than two years later, in June of 2006, I found out that I had metastatic cancer. I have what is called a "triple negative" cancer, which is a fast growing and aggressive cancer. I had a terrible experience with my oncologist because he didn't tell me that I had metastatic cancer. After calling his office several times, to find out the results of my CAT scan, I finally received the results in the mail stating that I had metastatic, stage 4, cancer. My oncologist, hadn't even called to tell me about my cancer. So, I changed oncologists! My husband, Denny, and our daughter, Julie, started making phone calls to any cancer places they could think of that might be of help to us. I met with doctors at OHSU and NW Cancer Specialists. I took that information to my new Kaiser oncologist. Again, I had chemo treatments (six). I finished them in December of 2006. My oncologist believes that everyone should have a chemo break, so I went off chemo for two months and then had a CAT scan. The scan showed my tumors were decreasing in size and no new ones were present. So I will not have chemo treatments again until my tumors start growing. I will continue to have scans every 2 - 3 months and my tumors are now, not measurable. I am considered in remission! This is unbelievable since my cancer is the type that is supposed to be fast growing and aggressive. I feel so fortunate and blessed to be having this "chemo break." It has been 15 months since my last chemo treatment.

Unfortunately, my hair did not grow back good this time. Last time it grew back curly and dark. This time it is again dark, but it is very fine and I have some spots in the back where my hair is very sparse. So I usually wear a wig or hat when I go out in public. The thing I dislike the most about my hair (or lack of!) is that it is a constant reminder that I have cancer. But I know how lucky I am to be in remission. With metastatic cancer, I know I will have to have chemo again, so I am really appreciating my "chemo break!" I feel that one reason that I am doing so well with my cancer is because I have a positive attitude. And the reason for that is because of the support I am receiving from my family and friends. I am the luckiest gal in the world to have such a wonderful family and wonderful friends. There is no way I could be fighting my cancer without their support.

So this is a mini update about my cancer. From now on, I plan on writing about more interesting things!

Love to you all,

JO