bountifulplate

I knew it was just a matter of time before I would be diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. Since the passing of my mom almost a year ago, I had turned to my favorite thing to do when dealing with stress - EAT. There are those of us who don't eat when we are stressed and those that love to eat when we are stressed. You don't even have to be hungry to eat. You just want to eat and it's usually not a craving for a cucumber, you crave something sweet, like things with lots of sugar. You would think by now, at age 55, I would have figured out a better way!!! Anyways, I went and saw my primary care doctor back in January of this year. After taking a look at my lab "numbers" she said, "your triglyceride number is still high and it's been high for five years, what are we waiting for? I'm putting you on Metformin ." I love my doctor, she is also kind of like a mental health therapist. She is the one that diagnosed me with Generalized Anxiety Disorder and pu...

Long gone are the days that I would sit on the beaches of the Atlantic Ocean for HOURS at a time with just baby oil on my skin for protection. When I look down and see my 3 1/2 inch scar on the back of my left calf, I know it was a very small price to pay for getting diagnosed with Malignant Melanoma Stage 1B Skin Cancer in January of last year. Melanoma is a deadly cancer. I know that I was really, really lucky that it hadn't spread to the rest of my body. Once you have Melanoma, your chances of getting it again increase. The sun and I have a much different "relationship" now. I mow the lawn with sunblock, sunglasses and a hat. The umbrella we have been using for years is not meant for a table on a deck - it's barely bigger than a regular umbrella. I did some research and got a nine-foot umbrella with UV protection - I didn't even know such a thing existed! Even though it is the summertime, the first time I went to my dermatologist after my surgery, I got an ...

I had my first dermatology appointment since my March surgery on August 14. It was recommended to me that I go every six months the first three years after my surgery and then yearly. I went into the appointment thinking everything was fine, I would be in and out quickly and I would have plenty of time to do some shopping! The gal that I had at the dermatology office, examined me quite thoroughly, asked me a bunch of questions and then started circling moles! Hmm, I knew that wasn't a good sign. In that moment, I realized my routine appointments to the dermatologist will never be "typical."  She began telling me, "you do know that since you had malignant melanoma once, you are at a higher risk to get it again and for the cancer to metastasize, don't you?" I knew I was at a higher risk to get malignant melanoma again, I didn't know about the metastasize part. She said, "I need to do two biopsies, you have some moles that I would rather ha...

Now that it has been a little over a month since my cancer surgery, I have had time to reflect on the entire experience. From the time I found out I had skin cancer in January until right now, I haven't cried. I think that was because I was trying to convince everyone else that I was going to be fine!! One of the very hardest things I have ever had to do was to continue to tell Dominic I would be okay, even though I really didn't know.   It was difficult for Lauren, because she was at college and couldn't come home. My husband was so strong through all of this. He never for a moment was negative. He kept everything positive the entire time. I relied on my faith enormously. I told three priests about my cancer and one of them anointed me with oil. The feeling of calmness after he did that was incredibly powerful. When things are out of your control, sometimes the only thing you can do is pray . The amount of support I received from my family and friends was trem...

I am what you would call "lackadaisical," about using suntan lotion and sunblock. Back in my teenage years, I thought using baby oil would give me that coveted glossy "sheen." I would be that gal on the beach that would be there for hours, with NO umbrella. More than once, I burned my skin so bad that it hurt to sit down. Did I ever think I would get skin cancer? Nope. Did I think I was invincible? Yep.  Below is me from the early 1990's when I went to Jamaica.  I was red as a lobster. Well, flash forward to the Summer of 2016. I was at an appointment with my doctor and I showed her a mole on the back of my left calf. She told me at the time it was nothing to worry about, the mole was okay, she didn't suspect skin cancer. Towards the holidays, I began to notice the mole getting larger and changing colors. I was super busy and figured I would ask my doctor to take a look at the mole at my physical in January of 2017. Well, once she took a look, she w...