March 29, 2015

I hope you have been voting! The Honorary MLB batgirl contest continues for the next few weeks.  I appreciate everyone who is taking a few momemts out of their day to vote a few more times.

Here is the link again:
http://mlb.mlb.com/honorarybatgirl/2015/gallery.jsp

Go to the Giants Team page and scroll through the pages for Team Sosa.  Click on my picture and click on vote.  Type in the number, then do it again and again.

I found out a friend of a friend is a candidate for the Oakland Athletics Honorary batgirl, too.  The winner participates in the game ceremonies on Mother's Day.

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I saw some daffodils today and bought some bouquets. A year ago, a friend bought me some to wish me well and I kept buying them until the Easter season was over.  Last year at this time, I had left work to start treatment and seeing these flowers made me smile.  The American Cancer Society offers Daffodil Days as a popular fundraiser for cancer awareness, as a sign of hope and life.  This year's campaign is over, but here is a link to the program:

http://www.cancer.org/involved/participate/daffodildays

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I hope you all have a good week. Thank you again for all of the continued support.  I don't know how I would have made it through the past year without the support of everyone. 

Love, Sosa

 

 

March 22, 2015

 

 

I am taking this opportunity to share some news from TEAM SOSA.  I was at work one day last week when I received the call from DP to consent to the application to be an Honorary BatGirl with Major League Baseball.  She left me a voicemail and I did as I was told. Seriously...

 

I have posted the link on Facebook and Instagram, and many friends and family have voted multiple times a day.  I have sent out emails which have forwarded the link as well.  I smile when I think of the opportunity, and I am grateful to be around to participate in any way.  Last year, the entire baseball season carried me through the longest year.  Another friend who was diagnosed, who is also a big Giants fan, attended a game with me, and shares the passion.  Having the Giants win the World Series was an emotional experience made more so by the reality of the disease that could have taken that experience from us.

 

I am sharing what my friends wrote about me for the website, as well as the link to vote.  I hope you will take some time to vote, as well as read about the other nominees for the Giants and other teams: 

 

"Even though I have a history of Breast Cancer in my family, it didn't truly hit me until February 2014. A co-worker and amazing friend told me of her diagnosis - Stage IV Breast Cancer. I was in shock that a 37 year old, vibrant person who I knew so well, was diagnosed this severely. I also felt honored that she wanted to share this with me and 2 other co-workers in person at my house. From this point forward a game plan was set in place and has continued to move forward. The support from not only her friends but ALL of our co-workers as been amazing. But that's how Sosa is - Amazing. She has written a weekly blog to keep us informed as she goes though her treatments and life. She has been to many Breast Cancer Functions and has spoken to not only inform but inspire others. As you see by the picture below, her smiles continue to shine. No matter if it is during her chemo treatments, getting her head shaved, or attending softball games at Fresno State and San Francisco Giants Baseball Games - Her Smile is As Big As The Sun. Sosa knows that this will be a lifelong commitment but that's "Our Sosa" - fully committed to everything she does until the end."



 

 

Click the link below and search by team: Giants, then scroll through the pages for TEAM SOSA.  There is a picture of me from the second week of chemo, and I am wearing my Giants gear. Click on my picture to vote.  You will be given a number to type in, and there you go.  No registration needed.

 

http://mlb.mlb.com/honorarybatgirl/2015/gallery.jsp


Love, Sosa

March 15, 2015

Hello Everyone,

I spent the weekend with friends and family back home watching softball.  Because 90 degrees in March is just normal.

I was lucky enough to have a conversation with another cancer survivor who is my age.  While her type of cancer and subsequent treatment was different, being able to have the conversation is a reminder of the struggle to survive.  Many people will offer welcome and support, however, the people who have gone through treatment, like chemotherapy and radiation, are the only ones who went through treatment itself.  Survivors share a common, painful, and real understanding of what it requires of someone to live through what we live through.

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Just a few things for people to have a better understanding of breast cancer and breast cancer treatment options:

I have been approached by many who may not understand why my breast cancer diagnosis did not require a mastectomy or breast removal.

When breast cancer is caught early, through mammograms or additional testing, minimal surgery can be recommended to remove the cancer and margins surrounding the area.  Chemo, along with radiation is a common treatment for women, to ensure the best chances for cancer not to recur.

When breast cancer has been discovered, and it has metastisized or progressed out of the breast and into the lymph nodes, surgery is also sometimes recommended to keep the spreading of cancer throughout the body.  Chemo and radiation also usually follow, as the best way to treat cancer in the body.

And then there is me.  My breast cancer started with a large tumor that metastisized to my lymph nodes, and progressed throughout my body, to my bones.  Women with Metastatic Breast Cancer are also sometimes referred to as Stage IV or V.

Unlike patients who have been diagnosed early, surgery is not an option to treat my cancer.  What that means is the cancer cannot be cut out of my body without cutting all the other places where the cancer has spread.  I will live with cancer and be treated for the rest of my life.  I have accepted my disease and I continue to live because I can.  At some point, I will try different medicines and face chemotherapy again. 

But, I am not dying. I feel pretty much normal with my medicines. I'm sore a few more days than I used to be, like after a night of dancing.  As long as research continues to develop, I should have many more years to do what I have always wanted to do, travel wherever, and live and love, as if I did not have a shorter life.  I appreciate everyone who joins me in this understanding of my cancer. 

Patients who have their breast cancer found early, can eliminate the cancer with minor or major surgery, and very likely prevent it from recurring elsewhere.  The development of newer drugs and better chemotherapies has resulted in survivors on a greater scale then ever before.  Continue to get the early screenings, especially if you have a family member with a breast or ovarian cancer diagnosis.  Consider genetic testing and understand your chances of developing cancer in your lifetime.

If there is someone with cancer that may benefit from this blog, please share it with them.  I am available for support for the loved one or for the ones who love.

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If you are participating in cancer awareness walks, please let me know because I would like to join your team.

March 9, 2015

It's very late and I wanted to make sure I left you something for your Monday morning. 

I looked for poems for awhile, when I came across the image above.

Little things in life occur often, and sometimes people are so wrapped up in other things to see them for what its worth.

Take some time to acknowledge the little thing today.  Maybe its the help you gave a friend or coworker, or maybe its the good weather.  Missing the little things in life results on missed opportunities and lost time.

You never know when that smile or good attitude or generosity becomes the little thing that makes life better for you or someone else.

Have a good week,

Sosa

Sunday, March 1, 2015

Are you who you were a year ago?

Do you have a different job?  Do you drive a different car?
Do you have different friends? Do you have different sized clothes?
Or a new haircut?

A lot of things can happen in a year.  Whatever those were, resulted in the person you became.

A year ago, I learned the news that would change my life.  Every day since then, I have faced the reality of living with cancer.  My perspective is not, however, that I am dying from it.

A year ago, I had long hair.  Now, my hair is growing back, after losing it all from chemotherapy.

A year ago,  I made plans that had to be cancelled so I could begin treatment.  Now, I am doing my best, with the help of my friends, to make up for lost time.

A year ago, I did not appreciate as much as I should.  Now, I enjoy every single day.  I laugh more, because holding on to negative emotion is just exhausting. 

A year ago, I spent hours with friends and family explaining what would happen to me over the next few months.  Now, I can have conversations with others about the disease with a better understanding than before.

A year ago, I knew a lot of people who had never known someone close to them with cancer.  Now, my friends and colleagues are welcome to come to me and talk about how cancer has affected their loved ones.

A year ago, I had a more stressful perspective on work and my career.  Now, I learn something new every day, even if I learned it once or twice before.

A year ago, I did not have as many close relationships.  Now, I am grateful and overwhelmed to have the support of so many, in varying degrees.


A year ago, people thought I was going to die.  Now,  I'm still here.


Whatever happens as my treatment progresses and my cancer progresses, I will do what I can to be here next year.

Love, Sosa

 

February 22, 2015

 

 

Aloha Friends and Family,

 

I apologize I was unable to post a picture from my recent vacation, but I will work on it for my next posting.

 

Over the past few weeks, I embarked on a few adventures and spent time with wonderful friends.  I enjoyed the beginning of softball season and helped plan my good friend's wedding.

 

The best part about the past few weeks has been my ability to go somewhere I have never been.  Whats important about the trip is that I could go.  Over the past year, I endured treatment for a disease that is incurable.  Without that treatment, my health may or may not have allowed me to go.  Its entirely possible, I may not have ever known I had cancer until I turned 40.  I planned on taking a trip like this before then, I just had a better reason to go now.

 

I also would not have been able to go without the support of Team Sosa and my traveling friends, "Sunshine and Gemini."  Having their support and encouragement to take this trip was a large part of why I went.  That and a great deal on the flight, of course.  We made lots of memories and ate some great food.  I hope to return again in a few years.

 

Besides my trip, I was able to participate in the Fresno State softball kickoff and see friends and family.  It was great to see the people and the team, especially after I missed the whole season last year.  Barring another treatment decision, I plan to attend games and support the team. 

 

I have been fortunate enough to be of some help to my friend and her upcoming nuptials.  I offered to help, as long as she paid me in lunches. Everything that a friend would do, I have been able to do because I have recovered from the hardest part of treatment.  As my hair grows back, and my energy level increases, I will continue to take on similar activities that I used to do.  Its easier not to think about cancer all the time, when life and living, are both easier to think about.

 

As the anniversary of my diagnosis occurs, I will be faced with treatment options, or adjusting to the continued maintenance of the cancer I live with.  Its all about perspective.  Some days, its less hard to not think about.  Some days, its all I think about.  Some days, I just want to watch TV.

 

Thank you all again for returning and reading the blog.  I appreciate your comments and emails.  Your support has always been so special and I am so blessed every day to have it. 

 

Love, Sosa

 



February 1, 2015

Hello Everyone and Welcome Back,

The end of February marks the one year anniversary of my diagnosis.  Its crazy to think about how much has happened this year and how much my life has changed.

One of the best things that has happened this year is the development of support from my friends.  There are plenty of people who reminded me all year that no one fights alone.  I remember daily text messages to check in, and inspirational quotes and prayers. I received visits and blessings from so many people in my community.  I welcomed new friends and renewed relationships.

My friends showed me their growth and compassion and generosity.  While I learned to accept my diagnosis and unknown future, these people were supportive by keeping me company and listening to what I was facing. 

As this anniversary comes upon me, I reflect on how relationships have grown and become more important.  Some friends have become much closer.  Some friends have distanced themselves for a variety of reasons.  What I appreciate most is those who reminded me that I am still me, no matter how I look.  I thank those who treated me as normal as possible, and didn't forget about me as the year went on. 

I remember the times people were most real with me.  Honesty for some, became easier.  While a lot of people confided in me about their cancer experiences, some spoke with me about other personal experiences.  I am grateful to have been there for friends who needed me as much as I still need them. 

With honesty and compassion comes forgiveness.  Anyone can tell you, I am someone who can be a great friend, but I am in no way infallible.   Cancer doesn't make all your sins forgiven. I still make mistakes.  I say the wrong thing or make the wrong choice for myself.  I fault because I lead with my heart, which means I am sensitive and I take things just as hard. I am grateful for those who are closest to me who can be direct with me when necessary. What should also be acknowledged is the ability of my friends to communicate expectations and forgive.

I surround myself with the best people.  I do not fight alone.

Love, Sosa


My next blog will be February 22, 2015.  I hope you return.