This  is  where I will try to share info of progress recovering from many different procedures I will need to have to eliminate the aggressive Her2+ invasive ductal carcinoma that has taken over my left breast and some of the nearby lymph nodes.   For now I am planning a double mastectomy with reconstruction using implants .  Operation is scheduled on October 1.  This is  likely to be followed by some months of chemotherapy.

This is a hard thing to tell people because it's such a bummer, but it is what it is and I think I will try a diary because, as a person just diagnosed, I've been reading other people's diaries to find out what I'll need to be prepared for and I am already wanting to share smoothie recipe successes and my  experiences with dissolving pain using biofeedback therapy.

 Besides letting people know what is happening with me, my intention with writing this is to share the journey I will have into the space between pain and the perception of it.  I first learned how to manage pain using Open Focus training with Dr. Les Fehmi in 2008 when I was a client.  I noticed that a side effect of the exercise is the presence of healing energy that I discovered when exploring the concept of 'timelessness' as a sense.  It  is made of love/prayers (angels?) past, present and future.  This 'space between' is where pain goes to dissolve.   Here is a sample exercise that I find very helpful.  It was recorded by a student of Dr. Fehmi.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrSrBN_3BMo

This diagnosis challenges everything I was planning in my life and I am  not sure where it will go from here, but I got a Nutri-Bullet for blending up  healthy organic food and some great cancer fighting recipes to experiment with.  I live in an apartment surrounded by nothing but trees only steps away from a path that leads to a park.  I have insurance and  a job to go back to if I am able to get back to work in 6 months.

Anna, my daughter, will be coming  to stay for a while to help me.  Andrew, my son, will be in and out a lot too.  We  plan to catch up on all of the movies I promised I'd watch if I was ever laid up.  In addition to wonderful friends and neighbors, many have offered to help.  I'm grateful and bummed at the same time.