Umm...I'm back

Wow, as I said back in December when I lasted blogged...I've never been good with diaries and journals. I'm one of those people trys really hard to keep it going, only for it to fall by the waist side:) We'll not any more...

Let's see, when we last left off I was probably getting ready for my 3rd or 4th treatment. Since then I've completed all eight of my treatments, had a cat scan that came back clear, and followed up with a hysterectomy. Yep, they took all of my girlie parts in July. I'm feeling pretty awesome, thanks to The Davinci Robot. It's a less invasive way to have a hysterectomy, giving you a shorter recover time and less scaring. Dr.'s guide the robot during surgery enabling them to get everything they need to including extensive tissue samples of surrounding lymph nodes.

I didn't have kids prior to my surgery, but I'm okay with that. I'm blessed and grateful to be alive. Don't get me wrong, I've had my moments. I won't pretend that this something that I haven't struggled with. It's super hard when you see mother's and father's with their children living the American dream. I'll always live with a sense of sadness for myself, but mainly a sense of lost for my husband and what I'm not able to give him.

The great thing about my husband and I is that we are both warm and loving people...seriously, people love us:) We had always planned to adopt at some point. We often joke that my husband has wounded bird syndrome, he will take in anyone in need of a hand up. We love people...whether they're related to us, born to us, or just someone who needs a helping hand. So I know that we will have children someday and I'm excited about what's in store for us.

I've launched a new campaign. As most who are reading this know, Ovarian Cancer(often referred to as the silent killer) is the number 1 gynecologic cancer death amongst woman. They say 1 and 55 woman will be affected by this disease. They say around 22, 000 people each year are diagnosed and out of that 22,000 about 15,000 will die from the disease. And cancer, like many other illness' are shortening the lives of many woman. Throughout my journey, I've learned a lot about the disparities in health care when it comes to minorities and their Caucasian counterparts. As an African-American woman I was surprised to see a void in the number of women being treated who looked like me. Only to find out later that yes minorities were diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer, they just weren't living as long. African-American and Hispanic women are not living as long due to lack of health care options, a breakdown in communication and education, and of course a lack of awareness. Because of these startling statistics and because I've been blessed with a second chance at life I've made it my mission to help as many women as can. Even if it means saving one life at a time. We may not be able to avoid illness' such as Cancer, diabetes, and hypertension but we can arm ourselves with enough ammunition to take control of our outcome.

I've recently connected with some wonderful woman who were gracious enough to give me a swift kick into action. Thank you ladies, you know who you are!!!