Cancer can strike anyone.

My dear friend, Deana Price, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer yesterday. God put me exactly where I was supposed to be, at her side, holding her hand, navigating this confusing and impersonal health care system. My heart fell when the radiologist said the world “malignant” and I put my arm around her and pulled her close. You can’t imagine what it feels like when that word is spoken aloud in reference to your body. Everything around you shuts down and the moment becomes very surreal. How can this be happening to me? How can I have cancer? Cancer is something that other people get, but not me, I am strong and healthy.

Well, cancer can strike anyone, anywhere. It has no ability to discriminate and it has no boundaries to which it is beholden. Young, old, black, brown, white, it doesn't care. It invades your life and makes itself at home. Changing your daily routine, the way you look at yourself, your God, your friends, your family. It requires you to reassess the things that are important to you. In certain weird and strange ways, it can be a blessing. Because it makes you think of so much more than yourself, you begin to think what is important in this life. If, heaven forbid, I don’t make it, what will matter the most? And if you listen to that voice, you will start to focus on what is important and it will enrich and enhance your life, as it takes pieces of it away. I guess it’s a trade off, so you take what you can get in this world and make the best of it. I like what Deana said yesterday, true to her faith and spirit and her determination to survive – “God is an expert at making lemonade out of lemons.” Go Deana. Her surgery is scheduled for next Wednesday in Seattle, so include her in your prayers and her family, Husband Keith, son Jake, daughters Erin and Sarah. I was honored to be with her yesterday to hold her hand and love her with all my heart, I hope in some little way I made an awful day a little easier.

I am off to start my second round of chemo. I am going to wear my new shoes, not Naughty Monkey, but “Not Rated” which is still pretty good, maybe “X-Rated” would be more fun, but probably not appropriate for outside wear!! As I said last night, my mom bought them for me and they are fabulous, of course, purple flowered with a cute bow on the side. I have matched them up with a cute purple sundress, the appropriate purple bracelets making me look like a gypsy and a good Chinese good luck coin around my neck from my dear friend, Chris Brinton, in Seattle who is currently fighting her way through leukemia. Yeah Chris, I love it, and it will be me lot of peace and luck!! I am ready for the next round, ready to let it do its work.

My kids are stepping up and taking care of so much around here lately, when I come home my son has walked the dog, watered the flowers, picked up the house. They joined in with my parents on Monday and cleaned my house top to bottom. I can’t say enough what all that means to me. The other thing cancer teaches you is that it is okay to let people help you. Well thanks to my family and all my friends out there who seem to bring something to me everyday. It is you who are all getting me through and because of you and God’s awesome power, I will climb this mountain and I will see the view from the top. I'm doing all I can to enjoy the sights along the way, there are some pretty amazing experiences to be had. Say a prayer, I'm off to kick some ass.