I'm new here.....

[Tulane1993]

Hello from New Orleans!

I am a survivor of stage 2 Breast Cancer. I had a lumpectomy, 5 weeks of radiation and 12 months of chemo . My last chemo treatment was approximately a year ago.

All my six month check-ups in December were clean and I am very thankful for that.

It's funny - having survived, all of a sudden family and friends are turning to me for advice, etc. like I am some sort of expert. I started a blog - movingbeyondcancerinnola.bl... - so I would easily be able to share the answers to the questions people were asking :- )

My biggest challenges are:

1. Finding a new full-time job

2. Learning how to cook (and love) leafy green vegetables !

I am glad that I found this community

Cathy

[missa13]

Hi Cathy! Wonderful to "meet" you Glad to hear your most recent scans were clean! Just a heads up, you may want to check out Cancer and Careers for assistance in finding a new job. Their site is cancerandcareers.org.

[Tulane1993 in reply to missa13]

Thanks for the welcome and the link to Cancer and Careers. I plan to thoroughly go through their site today. I am so glad that I found this site and can share it with others

[BklynCatwoman]

Hi Cathy,

Thanks for sharing your story. I'm from Brooklyn, NY but happen to be visiting your fair city for a few days. I love the friendliness...and food of NOLA.

I've also noticed that post-bc we're considered experts. (I'm 3.5 years out from stage 1 bc, mastectomy & chemo.) Bravo on your blog. I usually just email or talk to friends' friends on the phone when newly diagnosed. And I always direct them to SHARE.

The best of luck to you and continued good health,

Cathy

[Tulane1993 in reply to BklynCatwoman]

Welcome to New Orleans....and thanks for bringing us some cooler weather! We get so excited when we can wear something OTHER THAN shorts --as long as it is only for a couple of days!

In the midst of all this, I lost my job and still have not been able to find full-time employment, So after I was approached after mass on Christmas Eve, the bkig idea came to me ---I was treated by the wonderful people at Touro Infirmary's Cancer Center and they gave us a BIG binder with all sorts of WONDERFUL information. But while I was undergoing treatment, it was just too much to work through. Then, of course "Chemo Brain" kicked in .... : - ) and what I did /did not remember was-a for awhile - an "adventure"

Besides keeping my programming skills up, the blog led me to SHARE and other really good resources

Remember, there are no :"bad" calories in New Orleans!

Cathy

[daf10]

Welcome to our community It's great being part of a team and feel connected.

There is a great website called Cancer and Careers, cancerandcareers.org It

is a great site to go to get information on getting back to work after treatment. Cancer and Careers helps many women diagnosed with cancer cope with the workplace — online, in print and in person — by providing valuable information and resources via expert advice, interactive tools and educational events.

Investigate what resources are available to you either in the hospital where you were treated or the city that you live in Often organizations like the American Cancer Society and the Cancer support Community offer classes in healthy eating as well as basic cooking. Here, where I live the local high school offers low-cost cooking classes.

Best of luck with your endeavors and special thanks to helping other in their need for support.