#359 Oops! But It Wasn't a Disaster

“It is unwise to be too sure of one's own wisdom. It is healthy to be reminded that the strongest might weaken and the wisest might err.” 

― Mahatma Gandhi

A little bitty mistake

Sometimes when we make mistakes and we wish there was an immediate do over button.  If not a do over, than the ability to divvy up the blame to lessen the "duh" hit on the head, what was I thinking--kind of reaction.  Rob and I "shared" one of those moments last week and are still banging our heads against the wall wondering how it all happened.

The story goes that I was to attend an event in another city using the friendly skies to get there.  After Rob read the email and reported to me that it would take place on Sunday; he booked the flight to leave on Friday and return the following Monday (remember his over efficient self? It proved to be a little too quick on the draw--more on that later).

Perfect, I thought, as I had read over the email about time and place.  All was set for me to leave, arrangements had been made to reconfigure the home front weekend's activities I would be missing and everything was good to go.

Until...

A telephone call and a mention of "see you on Friday" stopped us in our tracks. No! No! No!  The event will be taking place not this Sunday but in FOUR WEEKS. A big gigantic Oops!  Definitely a senior moment on both our parts, however, I do think Rob needs to take a teensy bit more of the blame since he read it first and mentally put the incorrect date in my head.  

Fortunately all's well that ends well and we were able to cancel the airline tickets without a penalty,  realign our canceled weekend events and not be completely embarrassed by showing up on the wrong date.

Mini life mistakes happen and there was no harm done except allowing us a good laugh at our blunder. I do wish our children would think the same instead of giving us that look with the thought of a nursing home in our near future.

Thanks for reading #359 of 7777.

#358 365 Days of the Year

While I appreciate the hardy souls who lobbied for October 13th to be Metastatic Breast Cancer day, why in the world would they choose the number 13? I may be a tad superstitious but this number does not instill the feel of being terribly lucky.  Actually it has the opposite effect--was this why no one else wanted it?  HISTORY_OF_METASTATIC_BREAST_CANCER_AWARENESS_DAY.


We live with this *&^*%^ disease 365 days of the year.  I want everyone to think about MBC every single day--like we do--until there is a cure.  One single day of the year when the media may highlight us, people will give their sympathetic looks, nod their heads about the lack of funding; and then October 14th rolls around.  Phew, done with that business now move on past those poor metsters on "their" day--let's find the survivors--they are a whole lot more fun.

Is that how it works?  I hope not.  If you follow Facebook, there is a rumble starting to brew and we will not sit by and let this day pass without finding a place in your back pocket (or your heart) for the next year.  Our time is short. We can not wait until October 13, 2016 for another day of recognition.  Right now. Right now hear us roar...and do something about it.

Go to DONATE NOW! and then pass this on.  My dear friends and family have been beyond generous; and now we need to let others join in on our cause.  I am matching the donations contributed for the month of October.  The house is still in tact so keep the money rolling in.

Thanks for reading #358 of 7777.

#357 Save the Sand Castle

My dear husband is the guest blogger today. It was written after learning about a friend's relapse with this disease.  This says it all.  Love, love love this man of mine.

"People ask me what it is like to have a loved one deal with a terminal disease like metastatic breast cancer. One image is building a sand castle. You build this beautiful castle with towers and a moat around it. Then you build this giant outer wall to keep the waves from washing it away. But you know the tide is coming in and no matter how often you rebuild the wall from the water washing it away there is nothing you can do to keep the waves from eventually wrecking the castle."

Please stop the tide from coming in, go to Stop The Tide and donate.  Remember, your dollars will be matched for the month of October.

Thanks for reading # 357 of 7777.

#356 Not the Sounds of Silence

Thinkstock

The Fat Lady Singing

Listen to that sound. Do you hear it?  It is the sound of our collective voices asking to be heard.  We are still educating and pleading and shouting about metastatic breast cancer because it's not over until the fat lady sings and when there are 110 of us dying today...TODAY...we can not celebrate the survivorship of breast cancer.  It simply is not there for any singing to begin.

Click here for an interesting read--Let's do something different this year.

Remember the $10 matching drive from blog # 355?  It is still October and it continues so go to donate today and click that button that will save lives.



Thanks for reading # 356 of 7777.

#338 October 13th--a Date to Remember--Forgot to publish this one!

METAvivor

A big whoops and I have no idea how I missed it. This post--#338 was to be posted way back when and it was missed.  How did that happen?  It's your lucky day--you get a twofer today.

I am on a mission to get 110 people out on the Capitol steps in Madison on October 13th.  The first ever "die in" for metastatic breast cancer will be held to send the word to our legislators in Wisconsin and in Washington that we need more funding from NIH.  Please shout out to your friends to join us on the State Street side at noon.  Below is an itinerary of the event.

We will be meeting on the steps beginning at 11:30 to get instructions.  If you can’t get there until closer to noon, no problem.  We just need you.  The agenda will go as follows:

1.  Congregate at the Capitol steps by State Street.  Bring a towel or blanket if the ground is wet.

2  Line up 10 people in a row facing the capitol

3.  A welcome address will be given and then the signal to begin the die-in.

4. The first person will lie down when the bell chimes, then the person standing next to them and so on until all 110 are lying down.  You may want to link arms with the person next to you. Silence is important.

5.  After the last person lies down, a eulogy will be read followed by 110 seconds of silence.

6. A signal will be given to get up, embrace and the die-in will be done.

Hopefully the press will be out—we are working on it—and bystanders will be educated. 

Email, phone or holler at me if you are coming.

Thank you for your support.  It is critical that we show the public what has NOT been happening and what SHOULD happen in the metastatic community.  MORE MONEY and MORE AWARENESS.

Thanks for reading # 338 of 7777.

#355 Do You Love a Challenge?

wikipedia

I have a new challenge for you and we (the metster community) are going to love it.

 The month of pink is upon us and is all about breast cancer awareness--you see it EVERYWHERE, can't escape it and it comes yearly (like Halloween only scarier for metsters).  You know the facts and figures of early diagnosis because we have been bombarded for years--yet there still is no cure to what kills us.

 Metastatic breast cancer--the only breast cancer that leaves us with no options, none, there is no cure---yet.  All those grim details on the awful next step after an initial breast cancer diagnosis do not add up to a pink smiley face and a happy ending for the 155,000+ of us living every day with this illness.  Not your fault that you haven't heard--it's been a dark hidden secret-- that's why I EDUCATE and RANT and now CHALLENGE  you!

Back to the challenge I mentioned--it is a simple one.  You donate $10.00 (or more) and I will match it.   Ten bucks--that's a latte and a sweet treat at Starbucks--and you would be donating to a cause that will save lives. Plus, I'm matching it so let's do a little calculation--10+10 = $20--easy math and an easy way to get us one step closer to a cure.  This challenge will take place right now--for this whole month--for finding a cure.

Spread the word and pass this on.  Make me sweat on how much money will come pouring in.  I'll sell the house if I have to--it is that critical.

Go to Make a difference today and donate ( and to find out more about MBC). Make a comment on this One Woman Many Lakes Facebook post on how much you donated and I will write out my check.  It takes a click of your finger on the donate button and you and I will be best buds forever because you cared.

Thanks a gazillion and more for donating and reading #355 of 7777.

#354 Mythbusters

I can't remember who posted this on Facebook but thought I'd share it on October 1st--the first day of OCTOBER AND THE PINK TSUNAMI!

From a metster Facebook friend: "So I'm giving a talk on the 8th of October. I just rehearsed it and it is a tiny bit short on time. I'm calling it Mythbusters and have 8 myths that I have addressed. They are:
1. Early detection = cure
2. Breast cancer is more survivable than ever.
3. Early detection is always possible with regular mammograms.
4. Late stage diagnosis= neglect by the patient to spot indications of disease or to be screened in a timely manner.
5. Breast cancer is an older women's disease. young women do not get breast cancer,
6. Annual mammograms protect women from dying of breast cancer.
7. Buying pink products and race registrations help the cause of ending breast cancer.
8. That there is such a thing as breast cancer prevention."

Remember-- these are all myths surrounding breast cancer.  Help our cause by educating others and donate to an organization that will send 100% of its donations directly to research. Click here to go to METAvivor saves lives.

Thanks for reading # 354 of 7777.