101 Cancer Fighting Foods: Chemo Edition

Smoked salmon, Caesars, sushi: my top three food groups... none of which I can have during chemo.

Last night I woke up at 3AM thinking of two things.

1) How torturous and terrible insomnia is (if I'm going to have a year off, can't I AT LEAST sleep in?!). I think it's proven that any thoughts you have after 1AM are never good ones. My friends and I have discussed multiple times how nothing good ever comes after 1AM. Unless you count poutine after going to the bar, and that usually happens after 1AM: and poutine at any time is never a bad thing, right?

2) All of the food that I want to eat (I'm one paragraph in and have already mentioned poutine and I spent an hour making food collages so that's probably a good indicator).

I had written an entire post detailing my chemo and all of my updates from round 3. Then I erased it all.

I couldn't even type, write, or talk about cancer for one more second without wanting to jump off a bridge.

So, instead, here are pictures of all of the food that my steroid induced brain is craving (steroids for anti nausea make you HUNGRY!). This is me checking in, saying hi, and that round 3 went smoothly, I am halfway done, and I escaped it without nausea! The chemo scoreboard is now Sam - 2 Cancer - 1. 

As a side note, some of my lovely friends held a hockey tournament for me this weekend. I was interviewed by the Ottawa Sun, and next thing I knew my face had a one page spread in the paper.

Can my claim to fame be that I told the Ottawa Sun that I "was happy not to be barfing my brains out" on Christmas? Someone needs to coach me on what to say before I do any more big time interviews....

xx

Sam

PS - the title of this post is a joke. Just so, y'know, I don't get backlash for telling everyone that a Kraft Dinner burger and smoked meat poutine cure cancer. ;)

(un)wind: Life After Diagnosis (+ link roundup!)

 I've had quite a few people ask me what I do with my days now that I'm off. Truth is, I actually try not to lie around that much. In the beginning I found it hard to find a reason to get out of bed in the mornings: I wasn't working and my life didn't feel like it had a ton of "purpose". I've tried to abandon that idea and plan and fill my days with fun activities (even something as minor as a trip to Target, or a walk to Starbucks). This last week I haven't been that tired and I wanted to get out and do as many things as possible before my next treatment!

"Learn, laugh, love, smile, cry and dream. Care deeply. Don't hate. Mostly, though, laugh. Share the passion of life's grand adventure"

Can I eat this again?

I love days when Jeff is off. I take advantage by trying to get him to wake up at 6AM with me (he really loves that). We were excited to have a few days that didn't involve hospital visits, so we decorated our apartment for Christmas and had lunch by our place! I thought the quote on my place mat was very fitting.

 Salvation army Christmas concert with my aunt & family! Tradition.

Alas, on Wednesday, I had a rough one. I was tired. I had a sore throat (which I learned Thursday, is a common side effect of the flu shot! Which I had this week. Since my immune system is low, it's actually totally normal for me to get a bit sick from it). I was having some major hot flashes. My body hair started falling out, and then this morning my actual hair started coming out in clumps.

I was so hard on myself yesterday for not going out and crossing a bunch of activities off my to-do list. Instead, I laid in bed and listened to the ENTIRE Serial podcast. All 12 episodes. (Have any of you listened to it? I become obsessed fairly easily with TV shows, but this was the first time I've listened to a podcast. I loved Sarah's voice and diction. I found listening to someone speak totally relaxing. It's now made me super interested in trying out audiobooks!).

 This is what 14 hours in bed looks like. 

 I think part of me may have been nervous for my oncologist appointment which was Thursday afternoon. Thankfully, it's as if the universe knew I needed some GOOD news, and as some of you may know: I got back great news!

1) Since my side effects from the chemo were minimal the first time, it likely means I will have a fairly easy ("easy"..ha) time throughout the rest of the treatments. This means... I may escape chemo without any nausea! Woo. Let's keep our fingers crossed on this one.

2) The biopsy I had done on some lumps in my left breast came back as benign (TMI? If so, Sorry but...). Double woo! This may have an impact on the eventual surgery I choose to have.

3) My oncologist then asked me..so, is it working? I told him I wasn't sure. The tumour still felt fairly large to me. He measured it, and told me he'd have to disagree... that when he originally measured it, it was 10cm, and now it was 8cm. And, if you do the math: 10x10x10 = 1000... 8x8x8=512. This means, despite how I felt... it shrunk quite a bit with only one treatment! He smiled and told me to go  celebrate this Christmas because he couldn't have given me better news.

So, going into the weekend I'm super relieved (and also super in need of a wig). I think our mind gets the best of us sometimes: I tried to make myself feel guilty for not being active when in reality my body is fighting a major battle. Even though I feel better on the outside, my insides are fighting hard for me right now. A bed day may be what the doctor orders every once in awhile and I guess I accept that (I did hear the Real World just started up again... ).

Anyways, I have been spending SO much time clicking around the internet that I thought I'd share some interesting links to make your Saturday (and visit to this blog) all that much more interesting! (also, less cancer related... so much for not making this a cancer blog...)

Weekly (un)Wind:

-  How To Be Powerful, Likeable, and Female: This article talks about my favorite subject(s): women, the workplace, management style, and Jenna Lyons.
- Why Authors Don't Compete: this article by Seth Godin is awesome. "More reading is better than less reading, even if what's getting read isn't ours."
- This etsy shop makes all "miniature" doll sized, diorama friendly (amazingly adorable) accessories. Picture mini Harry Potter, mini Vogue, mini Ouijia board.The detail in them is crazy!
- My best friend is getting married this summer, so I've spent my fair share of time looking at wedding blogs. So far, this wedding is the most unique and fun I've seen yet!
- Also, if you're looking for some good book recommendations, this is Amazon's list of top books you should be reading in your lifetime (dated last February).
- Lastly, I have talked about one of my favorite blogs on here before, but A Beautiful Mess has been great with the holiday inspiration! I am obsessed with this Palm Springs gingerbread house, and these no bake oreo truffles (I just made them...they're amazing and so easy!)

Happy Saturday! (Now go listen to Serial if you haven't done so already)

xx

Sam

(un)Finished: In Transition

 

Time to do some major catch-up!

Jeff and I have been laying low lately. I have been loving my quiet time: taking baths, starting (very hard and frustrating) 1000 piece puzzles, reading a book a week, being able to finally make a dent in my very long "I'll read it later" list of internet articles. Listening to  Beyoncé on repeat. Eating all my favorite foods! February has been a very indulgent month for "me" time.

We have also been on the hunt for a new home, looking at apartments every weekend. It's fun to see an empty space and try to picture yourself living there. I love where we are now, but it isn't hard to become obsessed when you see modern white finishings and a fresh bagel shop next door. It looks like we may be looking at an April 1st move in date - the day Jeff and I celebrate our five year anniversary! I couldn't imagine a better way to spend it then settling in our new place. I have also had a few interviews (hint, the "transition" title of this post). I don't want to jinx anything, so that's all I'll say about it here!

      

 

We planned a last minute roadtrip to visit some friends in Toronto in January. I LOVE roadtrips. I also love having great travel buddies! We're all pretty similar in the way that we don't always plan ahead: this time, it led us to some pretty hilarious and unexpected adventures.

We spent quite a bit of time at Bellwoods brewery, where the boys dreamed of brewing beer and starting their own business. Of course, we also had to stop in at every bakery and burger joint until we couldn't fit any more food in us if we tried (trips that revolve around food = win!). We even managed to squeeze in some shopping time on Queen Street. 

Before heading home on Sunday, we went to the Drake Hotel for brunch. Jeff had told me that it was incredible (not only the food, but the decor and ambience was very unique). Made-to-order blueberry scones and chicken and waffles are their signature items, and I can honestly say there isn't a day that has gone by since where I haven't thought about that meal. Ah-mazing.

Their general store is attached to the hotel, and it was a full-on hipster hangout. I can't say I didn't love the selection of quirky merchandise though - this is where I saw the above Gin & Tonic card. I think it was made for me. Instead, I walked out with more then a few rolls of washi tape and the new Kendrick Lamar record. Totally guilty.

 

Despite MAJOR sickness going around in our household, I was spoiled with a three course meal this Valentine's day - see above for our delicious Mediterranean eggplant/lobster pasta dishes! I am SO grateful to live with a good cook. He's a pretty good boyfriend too I guess ;). 

I told Jeff I would make dessert, and my strawberries and cream cake turned out pretty delicious.  And pretty cute too! I feel like it's okay to compliment myself, mainly because I have no problem admitting that there has been so. many. failed. recipes in my past...Ha. I adapted the recipe from Gimme Some Oven. My favorite part of baking this cake was definitely reading the sayings on all of the hearts before I stuck them on. "My Pet" and "Baby Luv" were my favorites.

I just realized most of this post revolves around food. I guess I'm okay with that, because most of my life revolves around food as well! In fact, it's just about time for me to sleep so I can dream about the vanilla latte and fresh chocolate chip muffins I'm going to have in the morning...

What are you eating this weekend? 

Adventures in Tulum

Well, it's safe to say: I had a love affair with Mexico. I loved the people, the culture and the experiences we had there! Having an entire week to eat, drink, adventure, and spend time with my friends (and myself, of course!) is more then I could have ever asked for.

 

We managed to squeeze a lot into our little seven day retreat: a crazy first day (that I'll never forget), cliff jumping into a big blue lagoon (little mermaid fantasies coming true),  a (scary) underwater cave tour, a failed canoeing trip, zip-lining, a birthday party, the Mayan ruins and amazing and authentic Mexican food at a little restaurant on the beach. 

Swimming with sea turtles and through a coral reef was definitely a highlight, as were the outrageous games of Cards against Humanity. I came home with a sunburn (still paying for that one) and 600 photos (I spontaneously bought an underwater Nikon camera before we left, and it was the BEST purchase ever!) along with some souvenirs. Endless laughs and reading three books later... that doesn't even cover half of it!

We've been back for about a week, and I'm happy to say I don't have the vacation blues. We returned to beautiful spring weather, and unpacking inspired me to de-clutter and organize nearly my entire house! It feels good when everything has a proper home.

I finally began to scrapbook after printing pictures from my trip. I've been gathering up art supplies in tupperware for years now, waiting for the day when I would feel like starting again. It's hard to get that push when your days feel so busy and you come home from work so tired!

Feeling energized, I promised myself that this summer instead of mindlessly watching TV or losing myself in the internet, I would do something for ME. And that is going to be scrapbooking! I love finishing a page and looking back on past memories. I feel like it's something I'll have fun looking back on when I'm older as well.

Jeff surprised me yesterday by cleaning our patio from top to bottom (we live in a construction area, so over the winter it got VERY muddy), and planting us some colourful new flowerbeds! I'm excited to read and have breakfast in the mornings outside again.

I love spring. Bring on the sunshine!

Sam

(PS - I should dedicate this post to my love for my new photo editing app by A Beautiful Mess. You can find it in the iTunes store!)