Cancer is Not a Color

As we approach the season of being assaulted by the color pink, I would like to state the following truth: CANCER IS NOT A COLOR.

Do I sound bitchy? Perhaps I am. When I am being told that buying pink toilet paper will help raise awareness of Breast Cancer, I am thinking, "This will probably raise awareness somewhere else in my body, south of my breasts!"

When I cannot buy a can of soup without being told in obnoxious pink letters that almost half of my purchase will go to support the Susan Komen Foundation, which in turn helps the Susan Komen Foundation sue small charities for their use of the language, "For the Cure" or their use of the color pink, which they think they can trademark. With my purchase of this soup I will also be helping to pay the six-figure salaries of the management of the Komen Foundation...an awareness that they don't want you to be "aware" of. I wonder why? Isn't all about "Awareness?"

Perhaps I am bitter as all this pink hysteria eats into my current cancer's "Awareness Month." I bet you don't even know what it is! Of course you don't. An old ad campaign for my current cancer consisted of female celebrities with tape across their mouths with the statement, "No one talks about Ovarian Cancer." Guess what? People still aren't talking about it. Perhaps breasts are more acceptable than ovaries in everyday conversation.

PMC 2011

Although unable to train because of surgery in June, I was able to finish the PMC before 4pm! I had the help of my buddy Lisa who is responsible for starting all of this!!

Thanks to all who supported my ride this year. I promise to share pictures of the party we throw for the kids.

No Lance sightings...he was probably done before I hit the first rest stop! Only fell off the bike once!

Nice helmet hair!

All Better Now!

Surgery went very well yesterday! Although I did not sleep very well last night, I am feeling much better this morning! I am enjoying some long awaited coffee on my deck!

Although feeling a little nauseous from my antibiotics, it is nothing that a little Zofran won't cure!

Which reminds of my funny pre-surgical story..one of my many anesthesiologists asked me if I had a problem with waking up after general anesthesia, to which I replied, " I get a little nauseated, but nothing that a little Zofran won't cure!" He responded, "Are you guys in the medical field?" "No," I replied, "just frequent fliers!"

My MGH surgical chart n0w consist of three massive folders! How pathetic is that?

As I keep telling everyone, regardless of my mammoth file, aside from the cancer thing, I am pretty healthy!


Have good a Fourth of July!

God is Coming, Mem-saab! (Out of Africa ref)

I have put in about thirty miles over the last two days! It has been beautiful here...but I am very,very scared about the PMC, which is only 5 weeks away! I am in no way ready for this!

What I am ready for is my breast surgery tomorrow which I have been waiting to have for a VERY LONG TIME!

And it almost didn't happen after a huge scare about the scar mass in right breast, 21 years after lumpectomy and 6,000 rads of radiation! All is well after mammogram, biopsy and MRI found nothing! Yeah! I will be out of commission for about ten days...which will leave me less then four weeks to get trained! It is going to be UGLY!

I am very excited and happy about my surgery tomorrow...imagine...me having a surgery that doesn't require a bowel prep! AWESOME!

Wish me luck!

Everything is Falling Apart! I Have Bruins' Fever

A beautiful morning for a ride today! I am completely frustrated! My phone, which I use to take pictures on my rides was seriously injured texting back and forth with Mike Yoffe in LA and my cousin Carolyn in New York and my brother during the Stanley Cup Finals! Then I dropped it and it is now dead! So I used a badly edited pic of me in Vancouver for today's post!

I was only able to do a lousy seven miles today in this beautiful weather thanks to my usual IT Band problems and my neck, which I strained during a 40 mile trek on the Cape Cod Rail Trail, in a torrential and cold rain storm!
It was not only awful weather, my brakes broke and my Cat Eye stopped working...after four faithful years, my bike is failing! I am not used to this! I am used to my body not working...but not my bike! I can take my IT Band and my neck......but NOT MY BIKE!!!!

Having reconstructive surgery on the 30th after all these years! I am happy about it...but the rcovery time is going to eat into my training and the PMC is only 8 weeks away!

Maybe I am just suffering from Bruins' Fever!

Beautiful Memorial Day Ride

Beautiful Sunday on Memorial Day Weekend! Nice breeze, but still a little hot even in the late afternoon!

IT Band is still a painful thing to deal with...just finished stretching and icing! I have got to start increasing mileage soon! PMC is looming!

Back on the Road Again II

The morning started off beautiful and warm! I got a few good miles in before the IT band starts acting up.

Stopped to change battery on my cat-eye and it starts to thunder...sky turns ominous and it's time to go home! Still too much sand on the roads!

Beautiful Day For a Ride!

What a great day for a ride! The rain seems to have washed a lot of the sand off the roads, although it is still a little scary on the road!

Knee is killing me, but I have clean CT Scans...what's a knee?

Back on the Road Again!

Back on the bike after almost three months! The snow is gone, but the sand remains! Tackled this huge hill! Not bad for the first time out!