I got a call from my doctor late last night. He says I have to go back for more surgery. They didn’t get all of the cancer. Damn that luck o’ the Irish. Just gotta keep moving forward. Springtime is here to help me through. Etta James’ song Out of the Rain comes to mind for some reason. It’s a powerful song, from a powerful woman; maybe that’s why.

Keeping the sun on my face.

Photo: Prayer shop on Jackson Street in San Francisco

Dare I say, "she has risen"! Grazie mille and merci beaucoup to all of you for your kind words of support. Physically the surgery was a breeze. Emotionally it’s been tough. The worst part of my recovery has been that the surgery hastened my period, and hence my menstrual migraine. But at least it kept me in bed for two days solid, otherwise I might have been tempted to get right back to my routine. The silver lining of a migraine, ha!

This is what I look at from my perch on the sofa:

I must say, springtime is a great time to be reborn! Warmest wishes to all of you. xo xo xo

P.S.
My soundtrack right now is Stevie Wonder- A Place in the Sun (1966).

Tomorrow is my cancer surgery at Stanford Hospital. I feel good, other than the fact that I have to get up at 4am, ugh. Must be washed, dressed, and have had my coffee (black only) and be out the door by 5am. Let’s hope I have the luck o’ the Irish.

I love you all !

I’m back online. Whew! I have so many kind people to thank. First of all thank you to Lillian and Helmut. The many hours spent by Helmut repairing my computer were embellished by the gift of massage and a lovely meal granted by Lillian. Thank you both so much! I want to give honorable mentions….
to sweet Tina for her genorous offer to pay for all of the neccessary repairs, unbelievable!…to Scott, Mitchell’s "Dad" (pictured below with my Marcel), for his special offer to tackle the repair…to Colleen, from Saffron and Genevieve, for propositioning her friend Ray…and to Ray, of course, for his offer to fix my computer gratis. If you’re in the Santa Cruz area please patronize this kind man’s computer retail and repair business, Serengeti Systems.

Marcel & his friend Mitchell

I count my lucky stars to be surrounded by such special people. I can only begin to express how much I appreciate your support. Merci for your prayers, your offers of help, and your beautiful uplifting words. I have been touched by you all. All of the people who have taken the time to comment here, and to share. Being in touch and feeling connected is so important. People taking pause, in the middle of daily strife and routines, to make a difference. Connecting. Taking time to be real and humane. It’s what really matters, afterall. Merci to the thoughtful people who made dedications to me on their sites…Sharon from Vintage Studio; Sheri at Designer Junk Finder; and Holly at decor 8, who psychically chose me for Blog of the Week on the day that I was diagnosed. And mucho merci to those who have sent me gifts. I will share them here shortly.

And big hugs and kisses to my family for keeping me smiling and giving me reason to be. I am the patient, but you are the ones who are patient! I love you!

I am aching to email each of you individually, to say thank you deeply for your words. As it happens though, I’m using a friend’s PC to post this. I won’t be posting or emailing for some time as my computer was attacked by a virus (?) and I don’t have the money for the repair at the moment. What timing! What else can go wrong. On one hand the repair seems like an extravagant expense, on the other hand this computer has been my lifeline. I feel like I’m spiraling down without it, without my link to you all, and the wealth of information at my fingertips. F#*!  Excusez-moi.

I want you all to know how warm, supported, bonded, and rich you’ve made me feel. I will be back in touch.
Merci beaucoup. Love, Sylvie

You may have noticed I have not been posting much these days. I have been preoccupied by doctor visits, tests, and more doctor visits. Last week I had surgery to remove several lumps from my right breast. They were biopsied, and today I learned that I have breast cancer.

"What? Me? This kind of thing doesn’t happen to me. I eat all organic food. I use non-toxic home and garden products. I don’t smoke or drink. I’m careful about what I furnish and paint my house with. I should be healthy. How could this happen?"

Just over a year ago I detected a lump in my breast. I called the doctor who agreed to see me promptly. He also felt the lump and scheduled me for a mammogram. It was the most excruciating pain I have ever experienced. They took my suspicious little lump and put it in a vice and squeezed it…for good measure. So they think. The doctor didn’t even bother to contact me with the results. When I called him he said that the radiologist said it was nothing.

Then about four weeks ago I noticed that I had at least five lumps where previously there was one. I scheduled an appointment with my new doctor; the other one had graduated and left the practice. She confirmed the presence of the lumps. I told her that I would not ever have another mammogram. I insisted on an ultrasound. She scheduled it. When she didn’t get back to me with any results I left a message for her to call. Then I left messages for the director of the clinic and one of her peers as well. Finally she called. She told me over the phone that I needed to see a surgeon for a biopsy.

You always hear that time is so critical where cancer is concerned; that early detection is important. Well I detected my cancer early. It took the medical "professionals" over a year to agree with me. I agonize over the unnecessary damage that was done over that period of time; the progression of the disease; the radical solution that will now have to be carried out.

There was a report on the news tonight about a national study whereby mammograms were sent out for readings by radiologists across the country. It was discovered that the accuracy rate for being able to identify cancer ranges from 27-100%, depending on how experienced the radiologist is that’s reading the mammogram. So early detection is one thing, but if the person who reads your mammogram, the person who holds your life in their hands, is not experienced with breast imaging, then early detection is of no value whatsoever. Make sure that the radiologist has the experience of reading breast images at least 20% of the time. And get a second opinion.

I would be grateful if anyone has anything to share with me on the subject of breast cancer, or knows anyone who does. I am quite lost at the moment and in need of hearing from those who’ve have been through this. Thank you ever so kindly.