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A Humorous Look at the Bright Side of Cancer... and There Is One

The Marie/Maria Project

November 4, 2012

Marie/Maria Project Update #4

“Hi, Marie, haven’t seen you in a while,” Connie, the secretary of my former naturopath, greeted me. “Do you have my happy pills?” I asked her. She nodded and slid them across the counter. “By the way, I read your book and it was wonderful. I can’t believe how that chemo knocked you down. You […]

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July 16, 2012

Biking

I’m currently not taking Femara, Lupron, or Tamoxifen as preventative measures against my breast cancer returning for all the various reasons I’ve blogged about in the past: sick as a dog, threat of blood clots, threat of death (really, they consider that a side effect?), unrelenting hot flashes, mental instability (those of you thinking, well, […]

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March 30, 2012

Baby Steps

I was scheduled to see the oncologist Monday for my three-month checkup. I cancelled because Ken does not start his new job until mid-April; I’ve had enough insurance problems and medical bills to last a lifetime, so until our health coverage gets settled, the oncologist will have to wait. Another one of my doctors, Haley, […]

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March 8, 2012

Hiking 2012 – Take 1

If you’ve been following this blog for any length of time, you know that I took up hiking last spring. I’ve also mentioned how dismal the prognosis is for people in my shoes (high-risk breast cancer) when they’re overweight. Taking up hiking should be a win-win, right? Well, hiking in Whistler on icy trails in […]

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May 22, 2011

Breast Reconstruction – Take 9

I have been gearing up for my upcoming breast reconstruction surgery: 1. Hiking to increase my stamina. 2. Weight-training for getting in shape. 3. Gardening like a mad fool so I don’t come back to a mess. 4. Juicing blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, carrots, parsley, blackberries, and black currants (not together… blech). 5. Ordering “poop tea.” […]

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May 13, 2011

Split Personality… Continued

I’ve blogged about my little schizophrenia problem before. [Please see post of 5/5/2010.] I think I still have it. The other day, I texted my husband: “Hiking Fragrance Lake. On trail in 1 minute. Me no likey being scared of bears & cougars, so gonna conquer panic. Me no likey heart attack either, so gonna […]

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May 4, 2011

Breast Reconstruction – Take 6

  Yesterday, everything was going fine on my lone hike to Fragrance Lake: I was on the trail by ten, I was making great time, a fellow hiker out with her friends told me I smelled good (?!). Then, I began to fret about bears. I had already been a bit leery about hiking by myself. […]

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April 26, 2011

Simple Joys of Life #4

Ah, one of the simple joys of life: hiking in the woods, over streams, in view of the lake, past the wood ducks, traipsing along the trail as the sunlight filters through the trees. It doesn’t get any better than that. Today, unfortunately, was not one of those days.          

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February 1, 2011

Sugar Addiction Has Its Advantages

My sugar sponsor seems to have fallen off the face of the earth, so I’ve had to find ways to preoccupy myself in order to keep out of the kitchen in search of goodies. One flowerbed done, 18 to go, and it’s only February.  

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Marie de Haan

Marie de Haan
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