I can’t believe that I have completed a year since returning to work.  Nothing shy of a gift for me, especially when a doc initially told me to put my affairs in order as I’d likely have 6 months.  Sept 23rd 2023 was 2 years since my initial “no evidence of disease” was documented.  My GYN ONC from Buffalo told me that each day that I go without a recurrence places my closer to decreasing the likelihood of ever having a recurrence.  Game on!  

I’m doing well.  Work is so fulfilling, I am doing exactly what I’m suppose to be doing with my life.  I love my NP Palliative care position and all the staff I come in contact with at the Cancer Center.  Life is good.  I am so very blessed and grateful to have been able to experience these past 2 years.  My brain aneurysm remains very stable (yippee!!!).  My physicians and I are planning to stop my daily oral chemo in March 2024.  The research demonstrates that if you are on PARP Inhibitors (my chemo) for greater than 2 years, there is increasing chance of developing other cancers.  Having the sense of increased vulnerability will be another bridge to cross.  

We just closed up the lake house.  So bittersweet, another year has passed of “lake time”. Good news though.  I am hoping that I will be in the sunshine of Florida, working remotely x 4 weeks in the month of Feb or March.  I will be renting something that is within reasonable driving time from the beach.  I could never afford an “on the beach“ home.  Gabby and the girls (our 2 dogs) will be traveling down with me.  Gabby can do her Masters program anywhere as it is all online.  She has 2 classes and 1 internship to complete and she is done with that chapter of her life.  Gabby was asked by her old work place, Kohls in Buffalo, if she could come in and help in a management position as they are very short staffed considering the holiday season quickly approaching. So she left this past Thursday and will be there into early Jan.  Danny is working 2 jobs and he and his gf continue to search for a house.  This market is close to impossible for a young couple to purchase a first home in.. I kid you not, every home that’s for sale, they have to place an offer with additional 30k just to be in the running.  Even with the additional 30k on top of asking price, they have been out bided each time. And that’s with no contingencies such as a home inspection!  They are troopers though.  Determined to do this on their own, they just keep persevering and moving forward.  So very proud of them. So I suspect Danny will be with me into the spring as they continue to house search.  

My next goal is to begin to incorporate a more structured exercise plan into my life.  I do my daily 10k steps and rode by bike a lot this past summer.  But, to help keep the cancer away, research repeatedly demonstrates the role of exercise in doing so. So that’s next up! 

Well that’s my life in a nutshell.  Thank you for reading this to the end.  My prayers for each of you is that you have daily joy and peace filled moments.  I wish you the most blessed of holidays.  I am so grateful and blessed. You and your thoughts and prayers for me are the reason why.  Always, thank you.

With much love, 

Denise. 🩷🙏💙🙏💚🙏❤️🙏💜🙏