The Savvy Survivor

Look at all those yummy colors! "Eat your vegetables!" Who didn't hear that, growing up? I wish I had kept up the practice of eating vegetables, a couple times a day….I probably wouldn't have breast cancer, if I had! It's not that I disliked them...I just found the food-like substances of the Standard American Diet more tasty, more convenient, and more affordable. My bad!  For the last seven years, I've learned to incorporate lots of different plant foods, every day. Brief PSA, here - Always choose organic fruits, veggies, grains, beans, legumes, nuts and seeds, whenever possible; and eat them raw, but soak them, first! Soaking them reduces the anti-nutrients in them, making them easier to digest, and easier for your body to assimilate nutrients. Wait….let me backtrack here. Some veggies are healthier  cooked  (steam them); and you should always cook beans and legumes. The rest, I encourage you to eat raw. Cruciferous veggies, are great!  L...

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...

Breast Cancer Awareness happens every day, for me. I've been battling Stage 4 ER+ Breast Cancer for the last five years; I was given six months to live, after being diagnosed. I am a survivor, a warrior, and a fighter; I have quite a few ongoing responsibilities, and plans that require me to be able-bodied and alive. In my journey, I've come across warriors who say their diagnosis was devastating, and others that say it was a blessing or a gift. I have to agree with the latter observation. Most of my life, I spent mistreating my body....too much alcohol, smoking, overeating, no physical fitness routine, etc. I arrogantly believed that if I were to get a disease, it would be diabetes; my father died from complications of that disease, and my mother is currently dealing with it. But I'd never get cancer....that's not something that runs in my family. It wasn't until after my cancer journey began that I was told my father's aunt died from breast cancer. Here...

The last time I had a Blog, I stopped posting right around Christmas time....two years ago.  So, now it's time to start over. A lot has happened since I dropped the ball on my Blog, two years ago...my health has been a constant yo-yo, between feeling good and struggling (repetitive infections, short stays in the hospital, etc); it got so bad, I moved in with my daughter and grandchildren in GA. At one point, I became temporarily paralyzed, as the result of an aggressive tumor in my lower spine (it's all good now). I also helped her get herself and the babies away from an abusive man. The four of us have relocated to Ohio, and are in the process of rebuilding our lives. Side Note: If you, or someone you know, is in an abusive relationship please call the Domestic Violence Hotline ! They are there to help...and they will! Now that I'm back in Ohio, I'll be getting back in touch with the folks at Akron General Medical Center , to continue my fight against breast...