The Savvy Survivor

For the last 8.5 years, I've been battling Stage 4 breast cancer; in that time, I have, unfortunately, developed a few more health concerns. In the next few blog posts, I'm going to focus on the other health concerns; sharing with you the research I've done on how to manage/care for them. The newest health concern of mine is a peptic ulcer; I had to have abdominal surgery, to repair a perforated stomach, because the ulcer had become a life-threatening situation. I didn't realize I even had an ulcer, until I was told my stomach had ruptured. That's what's known as a "silent ulcer"; they're caused by overuse of NSAIDs; and there are no symptoms. For years, I've been taking too much Ibuprofen (1K mg at a time), too often (multiple times a week); you could say I was addicted to it. It became the only pain reliever I could use, that didn't make me feel loopy, like narcotics do. Having become addicted to it, my stomach reacted and formed the ulce...

Do any of you know an alcoholic, or a drug addict? If you do, then you understand how difficult it is for them to abstain from the substance they're addicted to; or, you should understand that. Addiction is a powerful disease, that nobody ever realizes they have, until they're deep in it. Sure, they "try" the alcohol, or the drugs; but in just trying it, they're not aware that they're eventually going to get hooked on it. That may not even become a reality for them, once they are hooked. I am a junk food junkie; addicted to fast food, and junk food, the way an alcoholic/drug addict is addicted to booze and/or drugs. I can't just have one (fill in the blank), or a taste, or "just a little bit". The cravings get bigger, the more I try to control the amount of junk food I eat. It's best for me to abstain from eating fast food, or junk food; and living in a world that makes bad eating habits sexy or hip, is not an easy thing for me to do! I ...

I was fat-shamed by a stranger, this afternoon. Typically, I wouldn’t give two shits about what anyone thinks of me, but he blindsided me. What he said hurt me; and it shouldn’t have. Back story….yesterday, I commented on the health and environmental benefits of going vegan, on one of the Facebook pages I'm a fan of, and had all manner of replies from a few people, which I dealt with; it was a heated exchange of opinions vs. facts. However, nobody has said anything else in that conversation thread, for a while; then, suddenly the fat-shamer shows his ugliness. Not only did this person insult me, belittle me, and call me out for being overweight (as if my being fat was the sole cause of everything that was wrong with the world); he also used my portion of the thread against me. He twisted everything I had previously said to the others, and made it all about how much I don't deserve to feel that way....because I'm fat. This was my reply to the attack... " In cas...

My therapist said something, the other day, that turned on an interesting "light bulb" in my brain; I updated her on my current health concerns (recent diagnosis of high cholesterol), and what I had planned to do about it. And she told me that some people can manage just fine, with baby steps, while others need to go cold turkey. And then she asked me if I knew which one of those applied to me. I stopped smoking, over 15 years ago...by going cold turkey. When I lived in Knoxville, TN for a year (back in 2015), I began my vegetarian lifestyle....by going cold turkey. After I recovered from being paralyzed (while living in GA, back in 2016), I notice I started taking baby steps, back to healthy; and my health is getting worse, not better. I'm not good at baby steps. It seems that that particular approach gives me too much leeway, to drift back into old habits; and it's my old habits that are causing all these health issues! I have to be the one who goes cold tu...

I've been battling Stage 4 (metastatic) Breast Cancer for almost seven years; my cancerversary is in July. When I began this battle, I started calling it a journey; I’m in it for the long haul, come walk with me. Except I haven’t been walking the walk I was meant to walk. My journey has turned into the life of a sick woman who still believes she has forever to live. At the rate I’m going, I don’t have much time left...I’ve given myself high cholesterol and high triglycerides, on top of everything else. As it stands these are the things that are going wrong inside my body... breast cancer (terminal) arthritis osteoporosis cataracts high cholesterol/high triglycerides I had to explain my newest medical issue to my two very young grandchildren. It was pretty easy, after I told them that cholesterol is a goopy substance that your body is supposed to have, but I have too much; having too much goop inside of you, is very dangerous. This link will explain things to you, i...

My first blog of 2018!! 🎉 Wow...I am so excited, and feel incredibly blessed,  that I'm still alive! As most of you know, I was diagnosed with Stage 4 Breast Cancer, back in 2012; and, according to medical science, I'm supposed to be dead. For the last 5.5 years, I've been living on borrowed time, but not really...living. For a while I've been plugging myself as "The Savvy Survivor", and I've really tried to live by that persona. Being savvy, while in the care of others, has proven to be very difficult! Most of the time, I still eat what everyone else eats; and, I still struggle with food addictions. No offense to those who love me, but I really wish they'd stop feeding me normal food! I don't want it, but I have trouble saying "no". I've even gained weight, that had previously been shed. This year, I'll have to get a little more assertive with them. I don't want to live with cancer, anymore; and I certainly d...