Making Strides in more ways than one.

Since my treatment has been over, I've really been trying to get involved with breast cancer awareness and really trying to reach out to people in their time of need. In doing so, I reached out to the American Cancer Society. In just a few weeks, they had me do a photoshoot with realbeauty.com highlighting breast cancer survivors, an interview with ABC News (scheduled for October 1!) and just recently, to speak at the annual kickoff breakfast for the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk.

I can't even begin to explain how lucky I feel to be healthy, happy and to be able to share my experiences. There were women who came up to me after the breakfast just wanting to introduce themselves, wanting to kiss Nate the Great, give my mom a hug and kiss and thank me for telling my story. Having these women approach me and say the things they did just gives a little bit of reason behind going through such a terrible thing.

So I'm writing this entry to thank all of you out there for keeping me strong and keeping me positive and allowing me to share my story with you.

We are all making big strides, together!

So much has happened!

Almost a year since my last post! You should see my hair! It's past my shoulders now can you believe it? More than that, my sister has had a baby girl: Caroline Hafner. She is by far the cutest thing I've ever seen in my entire life. So many joys have taken place over the last year. My mom is doing so well, my friends have gotten married and had babies, my sister has given birth to my favorite person in the world and I am feeling better and healthier than ever.

There have been some things that I will get into that aren't 100 percent ideal but they aren't bad! Things like finding out hummus has natural estrogen and that maybe I'm not approved to bear children...but watching your sister raise a child and learn to breast feed and walkthrough the challenges of being pregnant and giving birth with such ease makes me so happy that even if I can't, I'm just so thankful that she can. Because I would have been utterly pissed at god if he took that away from both of us.

So much to be thankful for this past year. I said in the beginning of 2011 that I think it's going to be the best year ever and I believe it! Until next year, when that's the best year! And then the next and then the next and so on!!

I have to go to bed because I'm extremely tired. But I have to end with this. Kim kardashian, please for one minute stop f-ing worrying about your psoriasis and come crying when you have one real thing to worry about. I normally love watching your show, but you truly made me annoyed tonight. Please just appreciate what you have. Because you're acting ridiculous.

Goop

Well, I had my first colonoscopy yesterday. As everyone who has ever had one knows, the prep is much worse than the actual procedure. You have to drink 64 ounces of goop. Cherry flavored goop. Its so disgusting.


After each glass Nate and I would practically do a cheer! 2 down!! 6 down!! Then finally 11 glasses of goop down!! (In 2 hours)

The day came and went yesterday. At first lying in that hospital bed getting ready made me tear up. Mainly because it brought back memories of my mastectomy surgery. But once I started to get realistic about it, I started tearing up because I was so happy. So happy that I was going in for a colonoscopy and not anything more serious. People get these things ALL the time!
After waking up from my drug-induced drunken stupor, the doctor came in and said there were no pollups, just some minimal issues. No cancer! Nothing to worry about! Phew!

Nate the Great was by my side the whole way (as always) and my spirits were high through the whole process.

All the b-s is truly behind me. And I'm just so very thankful! Thank you God.

Good one!

Wishing me continuous luck...

Yes, the results came back from Dr. Sklarin with no malignancies (yey!!!). But got a call from Yelena yesterday that I have an inflamed colon.  What the heck?

It's nothing I'm worried about, but just something I really don't feel like dealing with.

So, please keep the prayers coming. Just another crappy visit to the doctor.

Malignant Free!

The best words you could ever hear!

On Wednesday of this week, I had to get a Petscan and CT scan to determine if the spot on my liver was anything to worry about. After spending 3+ hours at the MSKCC breast center, getting blood taken, getting injected with dye, drinking a liter of fluid they claim tastes like Crystal Light, being told I was so radioactive I shouldn't be around pregnant women or small children, and feeling like my arm was going to fall off, needless to say: I was exhausted.

Dana was there for comfort (thank goodness!), so we headed back to Chelsea, laid out the new rug and ottomans I bought and started to feel a bit better. Then we headed to Co. to have some brick-oven pizza! Thanks Dana for bringing me back to life!

It's been 2 days since the scans, and we've been anticipating the results. Well, a call from Yelena (my favorite nurse hehe), made my day! Cancer free! No Malignancies! All is fine! YIPPEEE!!!

Yup, it's official...

I'm a model! Not sure if you remember the post I wrote a little less than a year ago - but it was that Malia Mills, bathing suit designer, had me model for her website. For the longest time nothing had been posted and I thought for sure that she had decided not to use me.

Well, Thursday afternoon, I checked my email and my hands started shaking! I'm officially a model! hehehe...She posted images of me on her website (below) that not only showcase my new healthy boobies, but my little itty bitty hair!

It's not the pictures that I love so much - it's the fact that I did it. These pictures were taken exactly one month after my exchange surgery, and looking back I can't believe I had the courage to do it. But I did and here they are - for all the world to see!