A Fresh Look, a New Subscription Link, and Thanks

Greetings! Feedburner finally stopped sending emails, so if you want to subscribe via email to Simplicity by Lateblossom, click the follow.it link at the top of the sidebar! 

And since you are here on the blog, you'll notice that I've freshened up the design. I hope you like the simplicity of it!

Today's card was made to thank a friend who's being extra supportive of me right now. You see, she had breast cancer last year and went through that terrible rollercoaster of fear, hope, pain, surgery, treatment, and long-term healing. Cancer sucks. 

I made this card to thank her for her support of me because two weeks ago, I was diagnosed with breast cancer myself. 

Hero Arts butterfly and dies, StampinUp embossing
folder, Copic markers

My provisional diagnosis is invasive ductal carcinoma, no specific type, grade 1, stage 1. So it's early. I found the lump when rolling over in bed. My thumb grazed the spot, and I thought, "Hmm. That was weird." I felt the site thoroughly and knew it was bad. I got an appointment, where the nurse practitioner said, "Wow! It just jumps right out at you, doesn't it?" Yep. She ordered a diagnostic mammogram and ultrasound. The radiologist found the lump "very concerning" and ordered a biopsy, which came back positive for hormone-receptor positive breast cancer. 

Check your boobs, ladies. 

I'd planned on getting a mammogram that month anyway, as I was due for it. Nothing shows on last year's mammogram, and the biomarker testing indicates it's not a particularly aggressive cancer. I'm feeling rather lucky in that. 

So August is filling up with appointments and will end with a lumpectomy and sentinel lymph node removal on the 30th. After the pathology report comes back on the lump and nodes, we will decide treatment. 

Any of you who've been where I am now (and surely there are plenty of you!) know how scary and overwhelming this is. My plans for this fall for refreshment and focus on creativity have been derailed. I'm angry about that. I'm angry at my boobs for betraying me because I've taken very good care of them over the years. I'm angry that so many people I love are affected by this and are scared for me, too. I'm angry about becoming a statistic. 

But I'm also grateful--deep in my bones and radiating out of my heart grateful--for women's health nurse practitioners, radiology technicians, radiologists, surgeons, oncologists, and my psychologist. I'm grateful for family and friends who have prayed for and supported me in this unexpected challenge. I'm grateful we caught this early and the prognosis is good. I'm grateful I've spent the last year of my life getting fit and losing weight and focusing on my mental health. I'm grateful for my faith in a loving and healing God. 

And I'm grateful for you for sharing my love of simplicity and stamping and laughter. So of course I have a funny story about this experience. 

My darling husband went with me to the surgery consult on Monday. When the surgeon told us about his post-op infection rate, he said, "I've only had one post-op infection, and that patient was clearing her drain with a rusty screwdriver." WHAT!!!! After the gasps of horror, George said, "So what you're saying is we clear the drain with a CLEAN screwdriver. Got it." 

The surgeon, without missing a beat, said, "Dip in in alcohol, light it on fire, and you're good to go!"  

It was awesome! 

Mercy, grace, peace, and love,

Susan