words

i like words. mostly, i like to talk. so, indirectly i like words. it's adam who's the real wordsmith in our family. i mean i like to write and talk and all that, but i wouldn't say i'm good with words. shortly after my diagnosis in the summer of 2010 (sidenote: really bizarre to refer to it as something that happened almost 2 years ago), i started writing more. i have always gone through phases where i like to journal, but there are huge gaps of time among those. i think i felt like i wanted to soak up everything we were going through. or rather, record it. whether for myself to look back on or something to leave. my writings and musings have lessened as we continue to walk this road. for whatever reason. some of my writing is more specific, like letters to Charis. and sometimes i still rant/ramble. there is a lot to write about sometimes....stupid things people say or processing not having breasts or taking note of my heart during this time. recently i went through my "cancer ramblings" folder and found the document "words." these are a list of words that were not a part of our vocabulary (on a regular basis) prior to June 2010. i'm still building on it, but it's interesting to me to see that in a moment when your life changes, so does your vocabulary.

Recovery

Home health care nurse

Drains

Recurrence

Pathology

BRCA

Biopsy

Genetic mutation

Prophalactic

Prosthetic bra

Axillary

Bald

Wigs

Inductive chemotherapy

Triple negative

Radiation

Oopharectomy

Oncologist

Reconstruction

Tram flap

Free flap

DIEP flap

expanders

lupron

radiation oncologist

lymphedema

estrogen cream

survivor

thyroid

pre-menopause

fertility

recurrence

scans

node involvement

blood work

scars

clinical trial

study drug

malignant

benign

brochoscopy

second or additional opinion

young survivor

pleural effusion

finish strong

final wishes

drain

cancer center

Duke

chemo

......