Kicking cancer's ass - day 4111

 Happy 23rd birthday to the boy who made me a mom!!!!

 

Kicking cancer's ass - day 4092

 

What do these numbers signify?

That is data pulled from the Guttmacher Institute which provides abortion statistics on a monthly basis by state. This table is for 2023, when 1,037,500 abortions took place in the United States.

There are four arguments for abortion that almost everyone is in agreement on:  rape, incest, if the health of the mother is in jeopardy or if the pregnancy is not viable due to a fetal deformity or condition. There are 36 states in the country where you can get an abortion for one of those reasons.

Look closely at the table. More than 95% of abortions in 2023 were for social or economic reasons, or no reason at all. That is 985,695 babies that were killed "just because".

Only 4.5% of all abortions in the US were for rape, incest or health of mother/baby. 

4.5%

Let that sink in.

You want to preach about "reproductive rights" and immediately throw out rape or when the mother's life is at risk? And yet those only account for FOUR AND A HALF PERCENT of all abortions.

Many states allow abortion up to 24 weeks. 
This baby was born at 24 weeks.

Face the facts. American women are using abortion as birth control.

If you are a mother, if you have ever lost a baby.... that fact should be abhorrent to you. It is to me.

Kicking cancer's ass - day 4091

 

Kicking cancer's ass - day 4090

 Posted by @WarClandestine on X:

Democrats, if you’re wondering why America voted for Trump, allow me to explain:

The truth is, the American People are sick of your shit.

You ruined our nation and our culture. You openly mocked, belittled, and discriminated against us, then called us racist, misogynist, Nazi garbage when we started noticing.

You defiled and corrupted all of our great institutions, to include the media, social media, tech, academia, intelligence, health, pharma, Hollywood, entertainment, sports, EVERYTHING! You weaponized every aspect of American life, and used it to push your insane far-Left agenda down our throats.

You told us Trump was a Russian asset that was going to start WW3 and would be worse than Hitler. Then you used that as an excuse to justify hatred towards Trump supporters and to riot in the streets. You used it as an excuse to obstruct and ruin Trump’s entire first term, and it turned out it was all a lie. 51 FEDERAL AGENTS lied.

Then during Covid, you demanded we all be forced to take medical experimentation without testing. You wanted dissenters locked in prison. You wanted children taken from their anti-vax parents. You wanted the anti-vax in camps. You were rooting for our deaths. Then it turned out you were wrong about everything from the man-made origin, to masks, to vaccines, to social distancing, to ivermectin, to HCQ, to natural immunity, and everything in between.

Then during Ukraine, you told us that Ukraine was a bastion of Democracy, and that they desperately needed all of our tax dollars. Then it turned out that Ukraine is one of the most corrupt nations in the world, with literal Nazi military forces, and it was actually just a money laundering operation to steal from the American taxpayer. You want to defend Ukraine’s borders more than our own. You sent hundreds of billions of dollars on the other side of the planet, while Americans are suffering, all based on more lies.

Then there’s the whole Epstein, Diddy, human-trafficking element. You all told us VEHEMENTLY that human-trafficking was a myth, you told us the border was secure, and you told us that anyone who questioned it was an irredeemable conspiracy theorist. You said anyone who watched “Sound of Freedom” was a QAnon extremist and threat to democracy. Then it turned out to be true, and the elites really are engaged in unspeakable crimes against children. After you all told us for decades this was not true. You covered up the most heinous crimes imaginable, for political gain.

I could do this for days, but I think you get the point. The American People are awake to the scam and the true evil going on around us, and we are not going to stand for it anymore. So we hired Donald Trump and his team of Patriots to rectify the situation, and bring America back to her greatness.

This is the reality of the situation. You are the bad guys, and you have been deceived. The sooner you wake up to it, the sooner you can join us in repairing this nation. Or you can choose to deny reality, and spend the rest of your lives consumed by hate, based on lies.

The choice is yours.

-------------------------------------------------------

I am not a racist.
I am not a fascist.
I am not a white supremacist.
I am not a Nazi.
I am not garbage.

If you know me and believe any of those to be true about me because of the person I voted for, you are free to leave my life. I'd rather have a small circle of friends who love me (even if we have to agree to disagree) than a large circle of pretenders who look down on me as the poor, dumb, misguided, brainwashed Trumpster.

I'm just a conservative Gen X wife and mom who believes in America first. I don't care what color you are, where you live, who you love or who YOU vote for.
Donald Trump was already president for four years and he didn't take away any of the rights you are saying he will.
I care about my safety and the safety of my family.
I want us to be prosperous, not working three jobs just to stay afloat..
I want Americans who are suffering, whether that be homeless veterans or displaced hurricane victims, to be taken care of before we send billions of dollars oversees.
I want people in the government who are working for the people, not getting rich and doing nothing.
I want closed borders. I am the daughter of a legal immigrant. The millions of people who flooded into this country illegally are criminals. Send them back and have them come in the right way. 
I want to keep men out of girls sports, girls locker rooms and girls bathrooms. 
I want every day in America to feel like the 4th of July instead of the green haired dumpster fire it is right now. We are all red, white and blue. Let's act like it.

Kicking cancer's ass - day 4089

GOD BLESS THE USA 💖🤍💙 

These are the reasons I voted for Donald Trump

More than 71 million Americans said "we've had enough"

Congratulations Mr President

Kicking cancer's ass - day 4019

 

Over 4000 days of kicking cancer's ass!! Eleven years ago tomorrow I had my first chemo. Sixteen weeks of chemo, six weeks of daily radiation and a dozen surgeries, plus 10 years of taking an estrogen blocker that enhances menopause symptoms like joint pain, weight gain and mood swings. NOT FUN. But I fought hard and I'm grateful to be alive & well.

Three weeks ago I had my annual MRI for pancreatic cancer screening. Since I'm positive for the BRCA2 gene mutation, I'm high risk for a bunch of other cancers. I've had this MRI every year for the past six or seven years. This time, something showed up. ON MY BREAST.

You might not know how bizarre that is... but in 2014 I had a bilateral mastectomy. That means my breasts were removed. Later that year I had reconstruction, where the doctor took tissue (fat) from my upper thighs to make new "breasts". They look great. They feel great. They are me. But they are not actual breasts. So the fact that something suspicious showed up there on my scan sent me into a tailspin. 

I'm notorious for researching EVERYTHING, but Dr Google can be scary. I forced myself to not go crazy trying to look up what this could be. I did find out that the chance of a breast cancer recurrence in a reconstructed breast is 2-3%. That did nothing to reassure me, though, because anything that shows up as "new" on a routine scan can't be good.

They ordered a mammogram (on a fake breast!!) and an ultrasound, which I had last week. There was not one, but TWO spots that showed up. It was an emotional appointment, and I'm so grateful that Boyd and Kelsie were there with me. After a few days, the results were posted. One spot is most likely an oil cyst (whatever that is), so they didn't bother with it. The other was indeterminate, so a biopsy was needed. 

I can tell you this is not the road anyone wants to travel - ever. Especially not twice. I have not handled it well at all. I haven't slept. I might have raided Hubby's stash of Xanax more than once. Knowing there might be something insidious growing inside me was an obsession... it occupied my thoughts 24/7. I have been so stressed, anxious, sad, mad, defeated, disheartened... I couldn't even find it in me to pray for myself. I had zero faith that it would be anything other than what I didn't want it to be. My poor husband has had an empty shell of a wife for weeks.

The biopsy Monday was awful. Not physically... due to all of the surgeries, I have little feeling in my chest, so it didn't really hurt. But just being there, in a sterile room at the cancer center, with not very warm or reassuring nurses and doctors, and knowing they are doing this procedure to look for CANCER in the exact same place as my original cancer.... it was horrendous. The whole thing only lasted about 45 minutes, but by the time we got to the car I broke down and sobbed. 

The doctor who did the biopsy said they would call me with the results in 3-5 days, which would be Wednesday-Friday of this week. My stomach dropped when I got a phone call yesterday from UT Southwestern. I just knew that a call that quick (the next day!) had to be bad news.

I was wrong. NOT CANCER! 💗

I don't know that I've ever felt such relief. 
I don't know what the suspicious spot is - she didn't say - but I know what it's NOT, and that's all that matters. I will ask at my next app0intment in September.

I have posted this on Facebook several times, and probably included it in a blog post, but - especially now - it bears repeating.  I did not write this, but it is 100% accurate. 

Imagine you're going about your day, minding your own business, when someone sneaks up behind you... 

You feel something press up against the back of your head, as someone whispers in your ear. 

"Sssshhhhh.... don't turn around. Just listen. I am holding a gun against the back of your head. I'm going to keep it there. I'm going to follow you around like this every day, for the rest of your life." 

"I'm going to press a bit harder, every so often, just to remind you I'm here, but you need to try your best to ignore me, to move on with your life. Act like I'm not here, but don't you ever forget... one day I may just pull the trigger... or maybe I won't. Isn't this going to be a fun game?" 

This is what it is like to be diagnosed with cancer. Any STAGE of cancer. Any KIND of cancer. Remission does not change the constant fear. It never truly goes away. It's always in the back of your mind. 

Please, if you have a loved one who has ever been diagnosed with cancer, remember this. They may never talk about it or they may talk about it often. Listen to them. 

They aren't asking you to make it better. They want you to sit with them in their fear... their sadness... their anger... just for the moment. That's it. 

Don't try to talk them out of how they are feeling. That doesn't help. It will only make them feel like what they are going through is being minimized. Don't remind them of all the good things they still have in their life. They know. They are grateful. 

But some days they are more aware of that gun pressing into the back of their head and they need to talk about it. Offer them an ear. 

❤Written by Sherry McAllister❤

That gun pressed a little bit harder against me these last three weeks, and it was a brutal reminder that my fight will never really be over. I got complacent, and the fear nearly broke me. August is the worst month. 

If you've read this whole thing, thank you. Thank you for being the listening ear for me today.

Kicking cancer's ass - day 3992

 

Eleven years ago on August 1st I heard the words "it's cancer". 

I have been a cancer survivor for almost FOUR THOUSAND DAYS!! 

My life was forever changed that day. Weeks and months of treatment and more than a dozen surgeries, plus ten years of anti-hormone therapy have done a number on me physically. But I am still here!!

About a week ago my daughter found out that she has the same breast cancer gene mutation that I have (BRCA2). It's not a guarantee that she'll get cancer, but she's very high risk for breast cancer & ovarian cancer, plus elevated risk for melanoma, pancreatic cancer and others. Shitty news to give to an eighteen year old right before she leaves for college, but we are going with the "knowledge is power" motto. We have an appointment with the genetic counselor today and once Kelsie turns 25 she will have yearly MRIs and be under the care of (my) high risk breast cancer doctor. The team at UT Southwestern saved my life, so it gives me some comfort to know that she'll be seen by the best of the best.

If you are the praying type, please pray for many, many cancer-free years for both me and Kelsie.

One side note:  Happy Anniversary to my mom and her hubby!

Another side note: Happy graduation day to Brooke (Jared's girl). She's officially an RN!!!

Kicking cancer's ass - day 3991

The last time I wrote anything here was December.

DECEMBER.

Yikes.

Can I just say that Kelsie's senior year was crazy busy??? When you have a girl who is involved in everything at school, plus church, plus a job, plus a million friends, plus a boyfriend... the things to do and plan and buy and attend were ENDLESS. There is not enough space in this blog for the 3,418,943 pictures I have taken this year alone.

I don't have the energy to summarize the last six months, but let's just say Kelsie made the most of her senior year... that girl got more out of high school than anyone I know. She graduated with honors and a 3.7 GPA, and we are SO proud of her and all of her accomplishments.

So far 2024 has been the year of Kelsie. And this has especially been the SUMMER of Kelsie. Do you want to know what it's like to be in Kelsie's orbit? This is just a glimpse of the last eight weeks...

Graduation week was full of celebrations, including Grammie & Dana visiting and a combo birthday/graduation party for 30 of Kelsie's closest friends. ha ha   We rented out the pool area of a local AirBnB on the last day of school and I think everyone had a fabulous time. 

Watching Kelsie graduate was kind of surreal. When Justin graduated, I had a six month old baby, so I was a little distracted. When Jared graduated, the world was shut down due to COVID so nothing was normal about that and everyone was distracted. It was fun/sad/exciting to watch my baby girl get her diploma, but I still to this day say I'M NOT READY! Can we just turn back time a little bit????

After graduation we made our annual trip to Oklahoma City to watch the Womens College Softball World Series. It was extra exciting this year because the University of Texas was the #1 seed and they made it to the championship series (but choked) against Oklahoma.  

We usually don't go for opening day, but that was Kelsie's 18th birthday so we decided to go and spend the entire week. It was fun but exhausting, even though we mostly just sat around watching softball!

A week after we got home from OKC we hit the road again to see Parker McCollum and George Strait at Kyle Field (Texas A&M). It was my first time in Aggie land and it was incredible to be at a concert with over 100k other country music fans!

A week after THAT road trip, Kelsie left yet again. Along with some of her besties, she attended her last Beltway summer camp as a student. It was bittersweet and at a different camp that wasn't as much fun as previous years, but knowing my daughter she made some wonderful memories with her friends before they all move on.

Hubby and I took Kelsie (and Justin & Meagan took Alexa) to Jamaica for a week. It was INCREDIBLE!! But, what's a Kelsie vacation without some drama? We arrived in Jamaica the day before a category 4 hurricane hit the island! We weathered the storm in our rooms and were on the beach the following day! So many people thought we were CRAZY for even going... but I'm so glad we did. We were so lucky to be at that resort on that part of the island. Huge concrete buildings, amazing staff, and generators kept us safe and had the resort up and running again by 8pm that night. 

We had some much needed relaxation time... poolside, on the beach, Kelsie went horseback riding in the ocean and we even got Boyd on a catamaran! 

The hurricane was the strongest between 2pm & 6pm. This video was around 5pm... 115mph winds.

Hubby decided to do his best Jim Cantore impersonation with his very own weather report from our balcony during the hurricane...

Our last "event" of the summer before Kelsie leaves for college (sniff) was a little getaway for me and her. We spent two nights at Winstar casino and attended Morgan Wallen's concert's at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. The first night was really great (Jelly Roll opened for him and he was fantastic)... but the second night was EPIC. Of course, being at the home of the Dallas Cowboys, my boy Troy Aikman did Morgan's walkout with him. Our seats were incredible - like 20 feet from the stage, and Morgan put on a hell of a show. Energetic and having fun and he sounded amazing. I'm ready for night #3!!  

We even had luck at the casino! Kelsie took home $500!!

Are you exhausted yet? I know I am, but I am SOAKING UP every minute I can with my girl. She leaves for college three weeks from today. I don't know what I'm going to do without my little broke bestie. She really is the energy and heart and laughter in our house. 

One last thing... Kelsie and I did a spur of the moment thing yesterday. 

We each drew a heart where they were intertwined and had it made into matching tattoos. I LOVE IT. Every time I look down at my arm I smile and think of her.

I don't know anyone who can pack so much life into... well... LIFE as my daughter. I love her so much and I'm so happy we've been able to make so many memories with her before college life swallows her up.