Ovarian cancer month

I just found out the month of September is dedicated to Ovarian cancer awareness. There is a special color, teal , that goes along with it. I went to the Arroyo Grande Hospital yesterday and met some dedicated people from the Cancer Connections group that are quite involved in their efforts to help others afflicted with any type of cancer. The goal is to help newly diagnosed people by giving them a person to talk to. Phone # 805-235-2997. We had a nice lunch after meeting at the hospital and supporting the awareness campaign led by Maureen Clancy, a survivor.
I also found out there is a new Ovarian cancer patient support group meeting at the Hearst Cancer Resource Center at French Hospital on the 3rd Monday of the month at 4pm. Hopefully I will go to it this coming week.
That's a lot of information and now that I'm feeling better and getting out more, it's nice to know what's available to me. Meanwhile, I keep busy doing what I want to do and feel good enough to do. I like that. I'm grateful that the experimental drug I'm on now allows me to feel almost normal (whatever normal is.)

Fall is here, leaves are falling

With September comes the hope of some decent weather and a time to plant some bulbs. I am not that excited to get the soil ready, but willing. My irises have been crowding each other out for months, but I finally got the energy to dig them out and separate them. They were really enmeshed, kinda like a dysfunctional family! Time to spread them out and give them room to grow. I ordered some new ones from BHG, talked my oncologist, Dr. Palchak, into sharing the cost. He's an avid gardner when he's not killing cancer. In fact, we share the thought that crab grass is kinda like the beast, only 3 ways to kill it: poison (chemo), removing it (surgery) or finally burning it out (radiation.) And, it only takes one root (cell) to start growing all over again.
Anyway, these new irises bloom more than once in the year. Cool!

I am still part of the clinical trial and have a treatment today. So glad the side effects are minimal. I really feel fortunate I am able to participate in this, not only for the opportunity to help others by putting a new weapon in the arsenal in the fight against ovarian cancer, but to keep the beast at bay in my own body. Thank you, Doc, for being the person to make this available to me and others like me. You're the bomb!