I feel a bit like the boy in the story crying "Wolf." I have been crying "cancer" for much longer than I expected (and I suspect longer than most of you expected.) When I got the prognosis that said "Five percent make it to five years" I didn't think I would make it. Those odds didn't look good to me and I prepared myself. I got my affairs in order; I prepared a client transition plan; and I bade farewell to doing first aid. All this in the face of my brother telling me to go buy a cruise ticket for five years out. I didn't do it.

Remind me not to leave it three months before I write a newsletter. Get a cup of coffee and settle in. There is a lot of water under the bridge and a lot to read.

Before you get started if you want to make a donation to my Run for the Cure campaign the link is: https://support.cancer.ca/site/TR/RunfortheCure/RFTC_NW_odd_?px=12977008&pg=personal&fr_id=28512

Double your donation

From October 13th to 15th CIBC will match all donations made. So sorry for the short notice BUT

I'm running again. And yes I'm doing the pink thing again. Only this time it will be my first in person run in three years! So not only am I running but I will be doing it with a lot of others. I do have a goal. In the spring I ran a 30 minute 5K (I think) and my goal is to do that again under more controlled circumstances.

A personal report on the Health eMatters Conference.

At the end of March I attended the Health eMatters conference in Toronto. Sponsored by Myeloma Canada, it brought social media influencers together face to face.

Two themes emerged from the conference as I thought about the experience. Stories and connections. As I reflect on each of the presenters and their stories, let me see if I can weave these two threads together.

Who drags a two foot plywood ribbon from The White Ribbon Project with them when they travel? Or maybe it was the other way round. Why does a large ribbon that will not fit in a purse take a person with it when it decides to go traveling? In the tradition of Australian Aboriginal people, going walkabout is a spiritual experience often associated with awakening.  My ribbon from The White Ribbon Project decided to go modern walkabout for the first time in two years.

Ever been stuck in a hallway? As a student late for class, kicked out of a class? Maybe waiting for an appointment, or on a gurney in a hospital hallway? Hallways are long echoing place filled with doors and behind each one you can hear the buzz of voices, of life. Doors represent choices.

I'm still trying to figure out which of those doors to open. But I want to recount another medical story and then present the challenge that I face.

I have mentioned my issues around blood pressure. They have come up off and on throughout this journey with cancer,

The social media cancer world has its own unique language. Muggles describes people who don't have cancer. "Carcinomies" is a gentle blending of carcinoma and gnomes (or maybe homies) words for loyal friends. It is a word that we often use to describe ourselves. Language as it turns out is becoming more and more important to me.

What a year! I like many others kept thinking this pandemic craziness is going to slow down a bit. But no it just keeps on giving like an overenthusiastic puppy that just doesn't know when to quit.

But there are good things that happen. My watercolour has been a great solace. Another novel. And started in April - a poem a day. So there is that.

Funny that I learn so late in life how important people are. There is no better illustration of this than the recent CIBC Run for the Cure 2021. Billed as virtual this year I didn't expect it to be much about people but it is.

This story actually begins back in June. I got an email calling for sign-ups for the CIBC Run For The Cure on Oct 3rd, 2021. I enjoyed the Run last year so I signed up. Might as well put all that running that I do to some kind of good use.

When Sandra asked me how many different advocacy projects I was involved in, I answered "Just a few." When I finished describing them, we scheduled another call to talk about what was happening in her life.