Life is too short to skip dessert Life is too short to skip dessert

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    • Nothing more can be done

      Posted at 8:00 am by Marnie Stitz
      Oct 18th

      You may recall that one of my first blog posts was about becoming older than my mother. Yes, technically in months and weeks, I have surpassed her, but neither of us are going to reach 45.

      I am back in hospital again. A different one. Nurses are doing everything for me to conserve my energy to concentrate on breathing and spending time with family and friends.

      The cancer has won and there’s nothing more to be done.

      When I was telling you about my triple negative cancer, I told you how the median survivability after a stage 4 diagnosis was 12.9 months, which is November for me. That seemed preposterous at the time as I had been feeling so well. I can’t believe I’ve become such a cliche.

      It is now about managing my symptoms and trying to give me some quality of life. Today the left side of my torso joined my left arm in becoming completely numb. It is weeks to live not more. And maybe not many weeks. But who knows?

      I am not in any pain. I am not afraid (yet).

      This would be a very different experience if I had a family. I would’ve liked to have had a family, but maybe this is why it didn’t happen. I think I would have been a good mother. I don’t think I would be handling this as calmly if I had to think about my children growing up without me and missing all those important milestones in their lives.

      Of course, I am sad for my friends and family. My Dad has had to endure so much grief in his life. It is totally unfair.

      Can I leave you with any advice before I shuffle off this mortal coil? Be kind. Be kind to others. Be kind to yourself. Don’t put off what you want to do until it’s too late. Laugh. Smile. Love people and tell them before it’s too late. If you’re a smart cookie, never dumb yourself down to make other people more comfortable. Be as lucky as I was and surround yourself with the most loyal and supportive friends in the world. And remember, life is too short to skip dessert!

      Posted in travel, Uncategorized | Tagged advice, breast cancer, cancer, dying, Family, friends, gave it my best shot, stage 4, terminal, triple negative
    • Diagnosis Day

      Posted at 9:00 am by Marnie Stitz
      Sep 17th

      When I last left you, I was waiting to hear from the GP about the results from my mammogram, ultrasound and biopsies. When I didn’t hear anything over the weekend, I figured that no news was good news.

      Continue reading →

      Posted in illness | Tagged breast cancer, cancer, chemotherapy, diagnosis, GP, grades, stages, surgical oncologist, triple negative
    • When are you going to get angry?

      Posted at 4:30 pm by Marnie Stitz
      Aug 30th

      I know I have friends who want me to yell and scream and swear and rage against the dying of the light.

      But that’s not just in my nature. Maybe I will get to that point in the future, but I’m not there yet.

      Continue reading →

      Posted in illness | Tagged advice, angry, breast cancer, calm, honest conversations, metastatic breast cancer, patient, stres, talking, triple negative, znger
    • Triple negative

      Posted at 4:30 pm by Marnie Stitz
      Aug 21st

      I have triple negative breast cancer.

      Whenever I say triple negative in my head, I can’t help saying it in my best robot/Dalek voice: t-r-i-p-l-e n-e-g-a-t-i-v-e. Exterminate, exterminate.

      Continue reading →

      Posted in illness | Tagged breast cancer, cancer, chemotherapy, hormonal therapies, immunotherapy, Keytruda, metastatic triple negative breast cancer, Nina Riggs, research, survival rates, targeted therapies, The Bright Hour, triple negative, triple negative breast cancer
    • Recent Posts

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