You have Brain Cancer

Hi all,

My name is Diane.  This is a picture of me standing on the "wee bridge" at St. Andrews in Scotland in July, 2011.  Little did I know I was carrying a tumor along for the ride.  I have a lot more to say and share with you.  Make a journal for myself.  Some of the details are a little vague.  Less than a year after this picture was taken I was awakened in the hospital in Austin, Texas - my husband and my son Tyler by my side with worry I hope to never again see etched in their beautiful faces.  Before the three seizures that night which resulted in a ride to the emergency room on May 14th (my husband's birthday is May 15th - lucky guy), I was going along like any other hard working family law paralegal.  Typing 120 words a minute with only two errors (that's right).  You will never know how long it is taking me to write this post - it started about 25 minutes ago.  Sure takes a lot of thinking, re-writing, spell checking and patience.  But I can be patient. I was diagnosed with brain cancer - an oligo dendro glioma, in the left frontal lobe of my brain. Less than a week after the MRI results were in, I underwent surgery on May 29, 2012.  I have read and have been told by my doctors (and I am an on line reader as well - although I take THAT with a grain of salt.  I am told that 100% of the tumor was removed and I have to say that I am doing quite well.  I am frustrated at times by balance issues, headaches, frustration, fatigue - I am on chemo (Temador) for one year. Five days a week, for a period of 12 months.  I've just finished my 6th round and hopefully I will be considered on the downhill slope.  At least I hope that is the case.

Friends have been asking me to share my story.  I will start at the beginning - but the beginning is my life.  I guess you could call me a "Girl Interrupted".  I will endeavor to write down my memories since diagnosis.  My memory isn't what it once was, which can also cause problems.  Because now when I tell someone I've already told them something and they say, "You did not." I never really know if they're lying.

I hope you will be touched by my situation and that you will find something useful for yourself or someone you love who may be going through the same thing.  They say my cancer is incurable - but I'm alive today so I guess it is curable.  I'm banking on being that miracle you hear tell of.  Not just as often as you'd like. I'd like to share some gruesome pictures with you all too - not too bad.  Just MRIs of the tumor, the "after tumor" and a picture of the 23 something staples that stretched from ear to ear after surgery.  THOSE were fun times.

Oh yeah - fair warning. I am a faithful Christian and I believe that there is a plan for everything. I don't care that I have cancer.  In a perfect world, no one would have cancer.  But from what I've seen in my years on this planet, none of us has it perfect.  I'll write more, just shorter notes.  This blogging stuff is rather exhausting!

TTFN - bring on the followers!

LifeSTRONG and kick cancer's ASS!