About Gina

Update 6/25/2022:

Just wanted to give an update on my About page since I originally wrote this when I started my blog in 2015. I have been NED (no evidence of disease- i.e. “no sign of cancer returning”) since my mastectomy in November 2015. I continue to take a daily med which is an estrogen synthesis inhibitor; so it prevents my body from producing estrogen (my cancer was estrogen-fueled). Some people stop taking it after 5 years, since it can affect bone density, as well as cause things like hot flashes; and most cancer recurrences are within 5 years. However, research has shown that the longer you take it, the more effective it continues to be, so if the side effects aren’t too bothersome, the doctor will often continue to prescribe it. I’ve got great bone density, and luckily don’t suffer too much from hot flashes, so I’ve continued to take it. So far, so good.

So, you know how some people get all fancied up and super do their makeup to take a selfie? Or they use an old photo from when they were still skinny and young looking?
Yeah, not so much me… This is me after a particularly creative birthday hair styling event by my daughter, Reagan, in 2014.

I have a wonderful (and very busy!) family life that includes my husband and our 5 children. I work full-time and write books, geocache and do karate in my spare time. I also love to quilt and knit, but unfortunately rarely find the time for these anymore.

I was just diagnosed with breast cancer. As I have been awaiting test results bit by bit over the past month, I have spent a lot of time on the internet looking for information and for stories. What I found was a ton of medical sites, with lots of information, but very little personal stories to it. I found one site where a grieving husband told his wife’s story after she had passed on. I found some comments on medical posts from cancer patients, most of whom were either very sick from treatments, or very upset about something specific. What I wanted to see was a personal story from the first moments of “Oh my God, what is that lump?!” through the testing, and treatments. Feelings and worries and thoughts along the way. So I decided to start this blog to capture my own story along the way. If it helps someone else as they take this same journey, then wonderful. If it is nothing more than just a way for others to take a glimpse into the exciting world of having cancer, then that’s fine as well.