Hello!
I am a cancer survivor.
I have started this blog to help others who are navigating this same, not same, similar, dissimilar, crazy, unknown, unpredictable path that I have traversed.
I hope it helps.
F*cancer
Fire stick – Tech-y stuff…
This page contains links (affiliate links). If you want to know more about it, please click here. These links are for US based folks.
I love this little device, and I decided to write about it because when I first heard about it the whole thought of it confused me, and I really didn’t understand how it worked. AND, if I knew then what I know now, I totally would have used one of these during my chemo days…check it out.
The one I bought is the one on the left, the 2nd Gen Fire stick. It of course has a fancier sibling, the 4K (that guy on the right, below.) Not sure most people would really notice much of a difference, but the 2nd Gen works fine for me, and does everything I need it to do. I actually bought three, the first one, for my upstairs TV, one for a gift for the boy child, and one for my main level TV, because sometimes my SmartTV gets glitchy with the Prime Video App.
We have Amazon prime, so through Prime Video, I can browse movies and shows, and add them to my Watchlist. It is super easy, there is a menu bar right under the search bar on Amazon with a link that says Prime Video. You click on it, and can search for whatever interests you.
I can’t believe how many years I paid for Prime and never used the video feature. Then one night, I was having a terrible time sleeping (continuation of my hot flashes/night sweats/insomnia), so I grabbed my laptop and looked for something to entertain me. I ended up browsing Amazon, and stumbled across The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel series, then watched two episodes back to back. The next day I asked my techie friend how the fire stick worked – we’d talked about it before, but I never had any reason to think I’d get much use out of it until I found a show I really wanted to watch more of, and not on the small screen of my laptop.
This little thing just plugs right into an HDMI port on your TV. (Every TV we have in our house has at least 2) Then you just use the remote to control it. Since you order it off of Amazon, it shows up already linked to your account, or…maybe you have to add your Amazon email, whatever it was, it was super easy. You can also set up parental controls so that you have to enter a pass-code for the more mature themes. I generally just watch the free movies and shows, and there are some great oldies on there too. Also, entire seasons of Spongebob are available in case you need to entertain the youngsters! I find it easier to use my computer to search and add to my watchlist, then when I use the fire stick, all the things on my watchlist are there, all I have to do is just click on them.
So where does that comment about chemo fit in to all this? During my treatments, we didn’t really care too much for the daytime TV offerings. We inspected the TV in our little room one day in the infusion center, and realized there are available connections that would enable us to hook up a DVD player to it, then watch some movies that we had bought, but not yet had a chance to watch. So, that is how we passed the time, most days in chemo – watching movies. That is where Nick saw Jaws for the first time, on that DVD player hooked up to the chemo room TV. Had we had a fire stick at the time, we’d likely have watched way different offerings, and with greater ease.
I’d call this an F*cancer top pick!!
Boundaries exist for a reason (aka – what not to say to a co-worker)
I was able to work throughout my cancer treatment – chemo, surgery, radiation. The first month was terribly rough, for sure, learning about the fatigue, the dreaded day three, the aches and pains, did I mention the soul-crushing fatigue? But I was fortunate in not getting too many of the really horrible side effects. Once I was able to come to terms with my ‘new normal,’ I was able to pretty much work through it. (many kudos to my boss, and co-workers for all their support through that time, I am forever grateful.)
However…
(and yes I expect that you in your mind saw that and said to yourselves dot-dot-dot)
I have endured more insensitive, rude, invasive comments than I care to share, from people who should just keep their mouths shut. I mean, what does a person gain, from learning about why that other person is wearing a wig, wearing a cap, suddenly lost all of their eyelashes and eyebrows? Why do you – that other person, feel you have a right to know what is going on with the suddenly hairless person you see?
My friends – you know who you are – this post is not about you. You were there for me, and I love you for it. You were, and are, welcome in my life, and you know you have a place there. The people who reached out to me because they have a cancer connection, and would like to talk to someone else in the ring, step on up, I am here for you. The rest…you who I have no relationship with at all and are just thrill seekers? F-off. Seriously, F-the-F off. I owe you nothing. NOTHING! Please and thank you.
So, TODAY! Slightly over three years past my last chemo. Slightly over three years since my hair started growing back. A co-worker – one who has made comments to me in the past about ‘how pretty’ my hair is, and has asked ‘what do you put on your hair’ …
… super fast shuffle stepped over to me today, hand outstretched, “Can I touch your hair.”
WHO DOES THAT?!! OMG, seriously!?!? Seriously.
I have very expressive reactions to many things, and occasionally (ahem, Mike – occasionally – xoxo) I don’t hide my feelings well. I shied back, said “NO!!!!” more loudly than maybe even I expected, I am positive my face contorted into very unattractive-forehead furrowing disgust – then followed up with “that is just weird!!,” and as she looked confused at me, added, “I don’t want anyone to touch me!”
Thankfully, at that point, the elevator doors shut, and I was removed from her presence. I was angry, furious for a while after this encounter. My personal space was nearly invaded, and I was very angry by the lack of social decency, WHO DOES THAT, is all I could wonder. I did briefly consider filing an HR complaint, seriously I did, only because this person had made SO many unwelcome comments in the past, and this was just so far over the line…
People. Don’t touch your co-workers. Just don’t. And if they lost their hair, and it came back..NO you cannot touch it. Keep your meat-hooks to yourself.
Please and thank you.
Post breast cancer deodorant dilemma
This page contains links (affiliate links). If you want to know more about it, please click here. These links are for US based folks.
This once is difficult for everyone, isn’t it? Deciding on what deodorant to use during treatment, after treatment, for all time – which one is safe?
We’ve all heard the stories, haven’t we? Wondered if they’re true. Does aluminum in deodorant have the potential to cause or contribute to breast cancer? Some stories are scary, and when you read them you wonder why on earth would anyone ever use THAT product?
Then you look at people you know, that use those products every single day, and nary a worry in the world.
I used to do it sometimes. Super hot day out, when I knew I would probably sweat a lot, I’d use my husband’s aluminum-laden man deodorant so I wouldn’t be a giant stinky mess. Most of the time I was fine with my fairly sensible, all natural products, which occasionally would allow a sweat break-through, but overall worked pretty good.
Then, I finished chemo…and maybe it was during the radiation phase, while the chemo was still (I guess) working its way out of my system, when I noticed that ewe, gross, I was sweaty with an odorous scent. I decided to consult the expert. “Dr. Google, please tell me what could possibly work!”
I looked for natural deodorants. I looked for lots of stars. I read the reviews. I found a local store that sold it. I figured, here goes anything let’s see what happens. I bought it, tried it out for a couple weeks, and…it worked! I was very impressed. It was much cheaper than most of the natural deodorants I had been using, and it really worked.
Sure, I may sweat a little when I’m really working out, but hey, sweating while exercising is a good thing. Not stinking is even better, and this keeps the stink away. And the rest of the time? I don’t get any break through sweating, so I’m a huge fan.
Aluminum free deodorant which actually works:
Arm & Hammer Natural (affiliate link)
One other thing about this, the rosemary and lavender is the scent that I have right now. I don’t notice any discernible scent to it, it is just kindof, fresh smelling if you will. So, you shouldn’t have any concerns about walking around smelling like garden…or Sunday dinner. 🙂
Perfect little picture frame
This page contains links (affiliate links). If you want to know more about it, please click here. These links are for US based folks.
This picture frame is great. In this digital age, who ever really uploads, prints out, or does anything with all those pictures you have stored in your smartphone?
We needed one that could support both iPhone and Android. Pictures can be uploaded through a app called Frameo (free app).
Set up was super quick, I turned it on, connected to WiFi & once it went through a firmware update that took about a minute, I followed the instructions to ‘add a friend.’ It generated my code which I entered into the Frameo app, and boom, I was connected.
Uploading pictures is actually really fun, since you can add a caption to the picture, I like to add in where and when the picture was taken.
We connected eight people to the frame, and everyone started uploading pictures, and we set the frame to cycle though them randomly.
It automatically turns off at night (default is to run from 7AM – 11PM), which is perfect.
It is super light, which surprised me, which makes it feel a little cheap, but honestly, once you set it up, it just sits there, so who cares? I also bought the 3-year warranty just in case, but hopefully won’t need to ever use it.
If anyone is looking for a great gift for birthdays, mother’s day, maybe even valentine’s day, I highly recommend this product!
10″ Digital Photo frame (affiliate link)
Enjoy!
Hair products
I created a page to link all the hair products I used when my hair was growing out.
As I was creating it, I surprised myself with remembering how much effort I had to put into my locks those days. Not like I was living in the ’80s type of effort, but for what I was used to before, it was quite a bit.
Now, I’m back to my pre-chemo routine, where I wash, condition, comb and go. That’s it. But I’m glad to finally go back and consolidate all I did in one link.
Enjoy!
Product recommendations
Now that I am what my son referred to as ‘done with cancer’ I’ve been asked several times about products.
I’ve freely shared my thoughts on products that I really like, products I’ve used, products I use, products that have come highly recommended from others, and have been happy this advice can help others.
So, I finally sat down and educated myself on affiliate marketing, and decided to give it a whirl. I have seen so often in other’s blogs and posts about the post ‘containing affiliate links.’
At no cost to the consumer, companies will give anyone a wee bit of money to advertise their products, you just have to be willing to do the legwork to create accounts, and promote them. (and of course add a disclaimer about it)
So, I’ve added a page to my blog, where I can link items, my own affiliate links, that I love and that I’ve already been freely recommending to people.
So far, I’ve only put links to Amazon products. I like the confidence that comes with linking through Amazon, I like the reviews, and I like that it’s super easy to see that my links are at the same cost as if you didn’t click on my links. (proof that there is no cost to the consumer.)
I’ve added a link on the side of my blog, to a page where I am collecting all the items that I am willing to recommend. Go look for yourself, or just click here.
I also had to make sure that I’m disclosing that I could receive some monetary gain from these links, so, I’ve done the right thing by disclosing that on my products pages, as well as put it visibly here.
So far, these links just work for US consumers, I haven’t yet figured out how to get my links outside the US, but will have to work on that.
I’ll be updating often, so be sure to check back!
Also, would love feedback on what you all think.
Thanks & happy shopping!!
Jan 24, 2020
January 24th would not be complete without an annual anniversary photo. Here I am, exactly three years after my last chemo treatment. How perfect was it that right after I took this selfie, I got in the car, and heard these wonderful lyrics from Incubus,
“Whatever tomorrow brings
I’ll be there with open arms and open eyes
I’ll be there with open arms and open eyes
Whatever tomorrow brings
I’ll be there, I’ll be there”
I’ll be there, I’ll be there”
Yes, yes. I will be there.
And a look back at the past year’s anniversary photos….
Happy anniversary to me!
Fcancer!!
