Hanging in There
Sometimes life gives you what you think is more than you can handle. But, try running away from it and it just follows you. Hide from it and it will find you. What we are supposed to face, will face...
View ArticleElusive Happiness
Photo by Elizabeth Munroz What ever happened to happily ever after? That was all hype, like Santa Claus, Leprechauns, the Tooth Fairy, and all that other bunch of lies that were perpetrated upon us as...
View ArticleMy Best Friend Forever
Linda while pregnant with Andrea. You can see her joyous glow. My best friend, Linda Watkins, would have celebrated her 63rd birthday this month. I believe on the 24th. But, she died of cancer close...
View ArticleDoes Leukemia Run in Families?
1918 Myron Rockwell Borden and son Alvin Last night I had a vivid dream that I was having a discussion with a doctor about my leukemia. He was asking about family history of diseases and conditions....
View ArticleHeart Stress Test
Elizabeth Munroz at 30-ish When I was in my thirties, I had my first heart palpitations. I was in my eighth month of pregnancy. Due to heart disease running in my family, I went to the emergency room....
View ArticleLeukemia's Link to Oil
Not an oil derrickLocated in Orcutt California where I oncelived a stone's throw from real ones. I keep coming across the same statement "exposure to some chemicals, such as benzene, increases the...
View ArticleRESILIENCE
Hang in there, GirlPhoto by Elizabeth Munroz A friend of mine in the cancer community recently said, "Resilience is defined as the ability to harness inner strength that can help a person to rebound...
View ArticleThank You, Cancer
Chondrosarcoma a rare form of bone cancer Thank you Cancer, for changing my life for the better. Ha ha! Bet you thought you couldn't do that. But, you did. Oh yes, you made me suffer. But, you know...
View ArticleTrying to Stay Positive with Pills
For the most part, I think of myself as handling the fact that I have leukemia just fine. I don't give it much thought. It's not always on my mind. But, today is a different story. I have "forgotten"...
View ArticleCelebrate
This evening I've learned of the death of a friend. She "passed with grace and dignity" said her nurse. "She finally got her wings" her sister reported. Digital Art by Elizabeth Munroz Her name was...
View ArticleVanity... Vanity... All is Vanity
Watching Diane Sawyer on the news tonight, it struck me how well she has aged. Granted, she might have had a little "help". But, she still wears her make-up well. It seems to me that older women, no...
View ArticleWhat You Don't Know Can Kill You
Since being diagnosed with CML my blood lipids climbed. The reason why? Because I could no longer take any statin medication to keep it healthy. Statins are contraindicated with Dasatinib (Sprycel)...
View ArticleWhat Are The Chances?
Late for the first day of class, I took the only seat available next to a mysterious young man wearing a dark trench coat and classic fedora hat. He glanced up to acknowledge my presence as the...
View ArticleCatching a Cold from Cats and Cataract Surgery
I am told my Leukemia is technically in remission as long as I keep taking the Dasatinib. I have issues with the chemo in that it keeps me nauseated much of the time. That can be quite debilitating...
View Article20/20 Vision
Doctor's visit today revealed that my right eye, the one with the new lens implant put in during the recent cataract surgery is now 20/20. Woo Hoo!!!
View ArticleEye Surgery and Leukemia
I was concerned when my Ophthalmologist told me it was time to have my cataracts removed. I totally agreed that my vision had gotten progressively foggy. But, being a Leukemia patient, I thought this...
View ArticleThe Gift of Sight
It's amazing! I can see close up in my left eye just fine. I can read without straining, a book, kindle, newspaper, computer, instructions on a medicine bottle. I can see to trim my fingernails and...
View ArticleGratitude for Two Years of Living
It's been two years since I was told I have leukemia... specifically the Chronic Myelogenous type. If I had been diagnosed with CML before Gleevec came into existence (about twelve years ago) my...
View ArticleHow did I get cancer?
I wrote this article for my chondrosarcoma support group and I've decided to post it here as well. I've often been told, "Elizabeth, I just don't understand how I got cancer! I've lived a clean life,...
View ArticleComing Out of the Closet
Saw my oncologist yesterday for a regular follow up appt. Everything is "normal" (she says) but I dont feel well. She thinks it has nothing to do with CML or Sprycel. During the appointment I asked her...
View ArticleSprycel and Fatigue
Every month the drug company calls me on the phone. Voice: "It's time to renew your Sprycel. Would you like to do that?" and I tell them yes. Voice: "Do you have any changes in symptoms to report?" Me:...
View ArticleOngoing Fatigue, Exhaustion and Malaise with Leukemia and Sprycel
I've written about the fatigue before. It just seems never-ending. I approached my oncologist about this issue, but she denied it had anything to do with my leukemia, since it is technically "in...
View ArticleCancerversary Time
Today is my "cancerversary". It has been three years since my diagnosis. It's kind of ironic that CML awareness day is the same day I was diagnosed. I have to admit in this situation I'm in right now,...
View ArticleFive Year Leukemia Survival
Life is like the weather. It changes. Here I am today. It's a few months past my five year diagnosis day of surviving Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML).I barely ever give it any thought these days....
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