CancerCancer.org - The Social Support Network for People Living with Cancer

Geology major/Astronomy Minor at New Jersey City University in Jersey City, NJ and proud to have gone there.

I had brain cancer.  I suffered a seizure early in the morning of October 12, 2007, my stepson's 13th birthday, was rushed to the hospital and told I had 3 tumors and significant inflammation and had to have surgery.   They were able to take 2 of the tumors out but one was wrapped around an artery and nerve bundle and they decided to leave it in.  I had 34 staples in my head and have 3 titanium plates in my skull.  I was given steroids and contrary to my oncologists/neurologists beliefs, the steroids started to dissolve the cancer.  After 9 months, it and the flare were gone.  I am a walking miracle.

Cancer Survivor!  Was a legal assistant/office manager for 27 years before the cancer.  Am married to a wonderful man and have a 14 year-old stepson who we're having problems with at the present.  I love animals and have17 pets:  13 finches, 2 parakeets, a bunny and a dog.  I was an abused and neglected child but have grown up to be very loving and am a kissy/huggy person.  My only problem is that I am Italian and have hot Mediterranean blood and my husband's family are mid-west conservatives who seem to be cold blooded and unemotional.  Drives me crazy!  They didn't even send me flowers, a card or anything when I had my brain surgery.  My mother-in-law was in OK taking care of her mother and she called me once to see how I was, my father-in-law who was in AZ never called me or contacted me in any way.  All they were concerned with was their grandson and what he needed.  It's a sticking point with me because it made my ordeal with cancer tougher since I don't have any family of my own in AZ, and very little except for 2 wonderful much older cousins in FL.  But, I have wonderful friends throughout the country who sent me emails, cards and gift baskets and kept my spirits up.  I am still struggling with Epstein-Barr virus, trigeminal neuralgia, sleep apnea and a possible new virus that the ear specialist will help me with at my appointment tomorrow morning.

Retired Legal Assistant and Office Manager

Worked as a legal assistant, working my way up to office manager.  I worked on Park Avenue in New York, met John Spencer, an actor on LA Law, wrote a contract for actor Christopher Plummer, worked briefly for Mary Higgins-Clark's lawyer son and worked on a contract for her and hated every minute of it!!!  I loved my last job before the cancer, working for a tiny law firm in Flagstaff, AZ.  I loved one of the attorneys of the 2 more and had a great relationship with all of the clients and am great friends with one of the boss' wifes.  I simply want to get well enough so I can get a fun job working at Blockbuster or some other such where I can use my organizational skills for good and not evil.  :-)  My days of excessive stress and impossible deadlines are over.  I want to enjoy life now.

Shaun of the Dead, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, most of the Star Trek movies (all the even numbered ones), Rocky Horror Picture Show, View Askew production movies, old movies starring Cary Grant, Lucille Ball, James Cagney, Doris Day, Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon, Abbott and Costello, the Marx Brothers, Jimmy Stewart, and lots of others I can't think of, Eddie Izzard stand-up DVD's, The Producers (old and new), Pixar and Dreamworks animated films, The Wild, and lots others I can't remember right now.

Green Day, The Ting Tings; Local Phoenix bands such as Creepsville666, Hands on Fire and Matt Revilles; Lily Allen; The Beatles; Smash Mouth; Squeeze; 80's New Wave such as Adam and the Ants and Madness; Spin Doctors; Amy Winehouses "Back to Black" CD; Social Distortion; The Brian Setzer Orchestra; 60's-70's-80's-90's Rock, Big Band, Punk, most music excpet rap, hip hop and any music that yells at me.

Pizza and most Italian foods, high-fiber low-fat foods, all vegetables, all fruits, Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese, bagels and cream cheese, Dryer's Slow-Churned Half-Fat butter pecan ice cream, 8th Continent Complete Vanilla soy milk, no-sugar added fudge sicles, Mom's Best Honey Nut Tasty O's cereal from Sprouts, Hodgson's Mills Buttermilk Pancake mix from AJ's Fine Foods, Dannon Light and Fit yogurt, Activia Light yogurt, Progresso Light Italian vegetable soup, Weight Watcher's Smart Ones Florentine Lasagna, Olive Garden's salad with the dressing on the side, salmon, and Greek salad with the dressing on the side.

Any by Agatha Christie, all of Jane Austen's but especially "Pride and Prejudice", "Mansfield Park", "Emma" and "Northanger Abbey", all of Christopher Moore's books but especially "Lamb...", all of Janet Evanovich's and Diane Mott Davidson's books, "Wurthering Heights" by Emily Bronte, "The Bone Garden" by Tess Gerritesen, "The Stand" by Stephen King, "MacBeth" and "Hamlet", all of the "Harry Potter" novels, reading classic novels in general.

None.

Barrow Neurology in Phoenix, AZ

Yes.

Only had to undergo brain surgery and steroids.  Feel blessed.