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<?xml-stylesheet type="text/xsl" href="https://community.macmillan.org.uk/cfs-file/__key/system/syndication/atom.xsl" media="screen"?><feed xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xml:lang="en-US"><title type="html">Lover of Life</title><subtitle type="html" /><id>https://community.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-blogs/b/lover_of_life/atom</id><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://community.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-blogs/b/lover_of_life" /><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="https://community.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-blogs/b/lover_of_life/atom" /><generator uri="http://telligent.com" version="12.1.2.21912">Telligent Community (Build: 12.1.2.21912)</generator><updated>2011-02-22T16:54:51Z</updated><entry><title>Today I Will Be Motivated</title><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://community.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-blogs/b/lover_of_life/posts/today-i-will-be-motivated" /><id>https://community.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-blogs/b/lover_of_life/posts/today-i-will-be-motivated</id><published>2011-02-23T08:10:52Z</published><updated>2011-02-23T08:10:52Z</updated><content type="html">&lt;p&gt;Despite the fact that I&amp;#39;m anxious to hear from the hospital with a date for a consultation with&amp;nbsp;a microsurgeon&amp;nbsp; to discuss&amp;nbsp;my possible DIEP reconstruction, I will be motivated to do good things for myself today.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I will go for a walk in the lovely heath behind my home.&amp;nbsp; I will do my strengthening exercises to prepare for surgery.&amp;nbsp; I will propagate some seeds in the greenhouse - very early carrots, sweet peas and coriander.&amp;nbsp; I will gather more books for my Kindle library.&amp;nbsp; I will dust and vacuum my home.&amp;nbsp; I will sew buttons on clothes.&amp;nbsp; I will cook a delicious dinner for my partner and me.&amp;nbsp; I will enjoy the feeling of being motivated and happy.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Yes, I will make this a good day for myself!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style="clear:both;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="https://community.macmillan.org.uk/aggbug?PostID=405639&amp;AppID=31547&amp;AppType=Weblog&amp;ContentType=0" width="1" height="1"&gt;</content><author><name>Former Member</name><uri>https://community.macmillan.org.uk/members/formermember</uri></author><category term="reconstruction" scheme="https://community.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-blogs/b/lover_of_life/archive/tags/reconstruction" /><category term="Hospital" scheme="https://community.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-blogs/b/lover_of_life/archive/tags/Hospital" /></entry><entry><title>Beginning the Fight Again</title><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://community.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-blogs/b/lover_of_life/posts/beginning-the-fight-again" /><id>https://community.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-blogs/b/lover_of_life/posts/beginning-the-fight-again</id><published>2011-02-22T15:54:51Z</published><updated>2011-02-22T15:54:51Z</updated><content type="html">&lt;p&gt;Well, I thought this blog would be a great place for me to explore my emotions by writing about&amp;nbsp;my second journey with cancer.&amp;nbsp; I&amp;#39;m hoping that it will help motivate me prepare for surgery and do all the things that make me happy in life: playing and listening to music, cooking, gardening, reading, being with my new partner, and enjoying my friendships.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I was diagnosed with breast cancer (type unconfirmed) on Wednesday the 9th of&amp;nbsp;February.&amp;nbsp; I had a mammogram, ultrasound and core biopsy the week before and had a bad feeling about the outcome because of the amount&amp;nbsp;of time the hospital staff spent with me as opposed to the previous year.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Yes, the cancer cells were found in the lump that was examined the previous year when it was thought to be glandular tissue.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I&amp;#39;ve been worried about breast or lung cancer since my diagnosis with Hodgkin Lymphoma 17 years early.&amp;nbsp; I had early stage Hodgkin&amp;#39;s, stage 1a, in my chest next to my windpipe.&amp;nbsp; It was cured with radiation to my upper mantle.&amp;nbsp; At the time, my doctors advised me that I would have a greater risk of contracting breast or lung cancer due to the radiation treatment.&amp;nbsp; So, I guess I&amp;#39;ve lived with the risk for a long time.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Despite knowing the possibilities, it still was a shock to hear the breast surgeon tell me that they found cancer cells.&amp;nbsp; It was an even greater shock once I realised that the best outcome for my recovery would be to have a bilateral mastectomy.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;My blog is going to be about my journey, with the support of my amazing partner, to fight until recovery,&amp;nbsp;to say goodbye to my beautiful breasts and to continue to love the life I lead as the strong and loving person that I will always be.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style="clear:both;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="https://community.macmillan.org.uk/aggbug?PostID=405527&amp;AppID=31547&amp;AppType=Weblog&amp;ContentType=0" width="1" height="1"&gt;</content><author><name>Former Member</name><uri>https://community.macmillan.org.uk/members/formermember</uri></author><category term="reconstruction" scheme="https://community.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-blogs/b/lover_of_life/archive/tags/reconstruction" /><category term="Lymphoma" scheme="https://community.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-blogs/b/lover_of_life/archive/tags/Lymphoma" /><category term="Hodgkin Lymphoma" scheme="https://community.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-blogs/b/lover_of_life/archive/tags/Hodgkin%2bLymphoma" /><category term="cooking" scheme="https://community.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-blogs/b/lover_of_life/archive/tags/cooking" /><category term="Hospital" scheme="https://community.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-blogs/b/lover_of_life/archive/tags/Hospital" /><category term="radiation" scheme="https://community.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-blogs/b/lover_of_life/archive/tags/radiation" /><category term="surgeon" scheme="https://community.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-blogs/b/lover_of_life/archive/tags/surgeon" /><category term="gardening" scheme="https://community.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-blogs/b/lover_of_life/archive/tags/gardening" /><category term="Bilateral" scheme="https://community.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-blogs/b/lover_of_life/archive/tags/Bilateral" /><category term="Breast cancer" scheme="https://community.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-blogs/b/lover_of_life/archive/tags/Breast%2bcancer" /><category term="Hodgkins" scheme="https://community.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-blogs/b/lover_of_life/archive/tags/Hodgkins" /><category term="Removing the breast" scheme="https://community.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-blogs/b/lover_of_life/archive/tags/Removing%2bthe%2bbreast" /><category term="biopsy" scheme="https://community.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-blogs/b/lover_of_life/archive/tags/biopsy" /><category term="mastectomy" scheme="https://community.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-blogs/b/lover_of_life/archive/tags/mastectomy" /><category term="Lung cancer" scheme="https://community.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-blogs/b/lover_of_life/archive/tags/Lung%2bcancer" /><category term="mammogram" scheme="https://community.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-blogs/b/lover_of_life/archive/tags/mammogram" /></entry></feed>