A New Year?

On January 4th I woke up to my boiler not working. Thankfully I had no guests in NYC and my plumber came to fix the problem that evening.

I was recording some videos and saw that the ceiling had a leak… Called the roofer, handyman and got it fixed.

Then I called the doctor for biopsy results. I found out that I needed to implement ”Plan C,” as I discovered I was just diagnosed with breast cancer.

The Plans and Reality:

Plan A: All is well. I sell the house, ship stuff to Puerto Rico, and keep going with my life.

Plan B: The tumor is benign, but it needs to be removed. Sell the house, ship stuff to Puerto Rico, rent an apartment for a couple of months while I do the procedure, and then proceed with the next steps.

Plan C: The tumor is malignant (cancer). Sell the house, ship stuff to Puerto Rico, rent an apartment for a year, and start the journey of chemo, surgery, radiation, and everything else.

At the moment I’m on a revised Plan C:

The House hasn't closed yet. I’ve rented an apartment in New York. Thank God for amazing friends.
I’m about to ship furniture and paperwork to Puerto Rico. I’ll start chemotherapy February 3rd.

I moved out of the house even though I don’t have a closing date, because I want to be settled into a new sanctuary before I start the cancer journey.

Answers to Your Questions:

My gynecologist found the lump during my annual exam.

Had I felt it? I don’t recall, but I definitely feel it now. All the time.

I was diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma, stage 2, triple-negative. Dr. Klein, my oncologist from Mount Sinai is very positive about the outcome.

The treatment will start with chemo: 4 cycles of A (Doxorubicin Hydrochloride [Adriamycin]) and C (Cyclophosphamide) once every other week, and 12 cycles of T (Paclitaxel [Taxol]) once a week. Yes, that's 5 months of chemo.

After a month off, then I’ll undergo a lumpectomy or more, depending on chemo, and other tests.

I'm unpacking at my new apartment and settling in before the February 3rd start date.
My besties live in the same house, in another apartment, which is perfection since I'll have both privacy and support.

This Reality

Javier is in Puerto Rico and we haven't decided when and if he is coming up. He has responsibilities that are hard to take time off from. And there is COVID.

I have an amazing group of friends in NY who have been more than just fantastic.

And there is a pandemic which is making things a bit different. People aren’t allowed to come with me during appointments or chemo. But we’re making it work.
I will go through this path gently and with ease.

I'll be talking about this journey on the podcast; but it will NOT BE all about cancer, because my life isn't about what happens to me, it's about how I decide to experience it.

I know you feel sorry, you wish it wasn't so, you know someone who beat it, who died from it, you're thinking of your own mortality, etc, etc.
But this isn't a pity party.

Life happens…it changes…it's a journey.

Now go and touch yourself. Be familiar with your body and any changes that might be going on.

Wishing you a healthy 2021.

Links:

The Hosting Journey Facebook Group

PS: Want more…