May 01, 2014

There and back again

In a small homage to JRR Tolkien, last week I went "there and back again" -- to Philadelphia for a conference on metastatic breast cancer and a short family visit. I had a chance to spend some real quality time with my mother, enjoyed a shorter visit with my sister and brother-in-law, and made a new friend at the conference.

D offered to ship my conference notes back to Seattle so that I wouldn't have to carry them on the plane. I was delighted to take him up on that offer, even though Alaska Airlines comped one of my bags into the baggage area when I arrived at the airport.

The conference, sponsored by Living Beyond Breast Cancer, was the usual mix typical of these events. Some speakers were highly technical and medical in their comments; others were more accessible (I suspect) to the average attendee. I came away with some good info, none of which I remember now, but will blog about when my box of stuff arrives.

I was surprised to see a small but significant number of women with lymphedema, maybe 20 out of 300 or so. When I travel by air I have to bandage my affected arm, but I have never seen another woman wrapped on an airplane. However, in Cancer Land, there are always a few women with bandaged fingers or toes, arms or legs. I was surprised that LBBC didn't offer a session on lymphedema.

I attended a break out session on writing, which I found very interesting, although the speaker took an hour to get to his point and "prompt" us in a five minute writing exercise. We chose from writing about a piece of music that you find especially important; going back in time to talk with your ten year old self and explain what the future holds; or describe that your cancer looks like and what you would say to it. After we wrote, some people volunteered to share their pieces (I of course volunteered first). I wrote about music and song bringing joy into my life, and after I read, they asked me to sing. I gave them a few lines of Begala E Vena, a Bulgarian song in which I get to yip. I think they liked it. I'll post this bit of writing when the box arrives.

More later, as always.


7 comments:

  1. Jill, you didn't happen to be the woman I spoke with briefly on the bridge in Conshohoken that was trying to get to the train on time? On that beautiful Saturday evening? I wish I would have known you were going - I so enjoy your blog and would have loved to have met you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Laura, No, I wasn't on the bridge with you but I was at the conference. I wish we had the chance to meet too. There was limited opportunity to meet everyone in a networking session. Maybe they should have had a speed dating style activity?

      Delete
  2. I actually thought of that Sunday morning; I would have loved to have met people who may live near me. Although you probably wouldn't have met too many except the speakers :) Keep writing great stuff and stay healthy!

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  3. maggie.danhakl@healthline.com8:13 PM

    Hello Jill,

    I am happy to inform you that your blog has made Healthline’s list of the Best Breast Cancer Blogs of 2014. Healthline diligently selected each of the blogs on the list, and you can see the full list here: http://www.healthline.com/health-slideshow/best-breast-cancer-blogs

    We welcome you to create a badge a for your site recognizing this feat here: http://www.healthline.com/health/60343

    Thank you again for providing this great resource. Please let me know if you have any questions.

    Thanks,
    Maggie Danhakl • Assistant Marketing Manager
    p: 415-281-3124 f: 415-281-3199

    Healthline • The Power of Intelligent Health
    660 Third Street, San Francisco, CA 94107
    www.healthline.com | @Healthline | @HealthlineCorp

    About Us: corp.healthline.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. Nicole.lascurain@healthline.com7:47 AM

    Hi Jill,

    I am happy to inform you that your blog has made Healthline’s list of the Best Breast Cancer Blogs of 2015! Healthline’s editors carefully selected each winner based on quality, frequency of updates and contribution to the community. You can see the full list here: http://www.healthline.com/health-slideshow/best-breast-cancer-blogs

    We created a badge to help you publicize your achievement: http://www.healthline.com/health/breast-cancer/best-blogs-badge-2015 We encourage you to embed this badge on your site and share your status with your followers.

    Thank you again for providing a great resource to the Breast Cancer community! I’m happy to answer any questions you may have.

    Best,

    Nicole

    Nicole Lascurain • Assistant Marketing Manager
    p: 415-281-3130 | e: nicole.lascurain@healthline.com

    Healthline • The Power of Intelligent Health
    660 Third Street, San Francisco, CA 94107
    www.healthline.com | @Healthline | @HealthlineCorp

    About Us: corp.healthline.com

    ReplyDelete

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