Kickin' It!

                    Brother John, Mother and me at Brie and Jesse's wedding in Stanley Park

Up and kickin' it! Well enough to attend a family wedding yesterday and make breakfast on my own today.

Watch out Wells...here I come!

Boy In A Box.

                                            Izeah driving his paper car.  April 2012

Personal theory regarding child rearing. Give a child an empty box and they will play until there is no paper left.

I am doing well! Thanks to those who contacted me to offer support and caring.

The surgery happened and is over. One week ago. There was a lump. I am now
patchwork quilt. Pain killers are not required at all now.Results will come in two more weeks. Don't feel scared this time.

The grumps are mostly over. Who could be grumpy in the spring?

Can't wait to be fully mobile so I can start splashing around in concoctions. In the meantime I will just sketch and stitich away. To be born in a very few weeks.

Am watching the movies Georgia O'keefe, Artemisia, and the Piano.

 Salt Garden Continuing to bloom. Like me! 2011-2012

Fighting Fairies!

The breast cancer fighting fairies. Meet two of my lovely loves, Dani and Charlie, at the "Walk For Survival". They walked in full costume and lit a lantern for me. They know a lot about breast cancer and that fairy hugs help the most. They are a big part of my healing team.

Resurrection Series Patricia Chauncey 2005 Image transfer on silk, stitched, handpainted photograph, pyrotextile. From a series of twelve works about surviving breast cancer.

I haven't been posting much lately.

Some of you know that I have been dealing with the impact of breast cancer for a few years now. Things are mostly pretty good but a little while ago I found another lump in my axialla (arm pit) area. Right over the place where my cancerous lymph nodes were before. The images were taken of it. It has grown since then.

I went into today to see my amazing surgeon, Urve Kuusk, and she booked me in tomorrow morning.

I am so glad I live in Canada where the cost of my treatment is negligible. I live in Vancouver where survival rates for this kind of cancer are the highest in the world and as a result have some of the best Docs in the world.

I will have a conscious surgery. So I am preparing psychologically for that.
The thing that I know about lumps is that they aren't always cancer. Cancer isn't a death sentence all the time. Most of the time now.

A little word to the wise. I have used the full arsenal to get rid of this and embrace modern medicine. So far so good! All of the people I know who embraced alternative cancer treatment alone are dead. This week another friend who did that entered palliative care for the little time she has left. Most of them just lived a couple of years despite deep faith in the alternative , positive thinking and prayer. Most had a cancer with high survival statistics. All of the people I know who did a Cancer Clinic regime are alive except one. Give me science and empirical data over anecdotal product pushing or faith healing anytime!

My little rant.

Textile artists have a gifted sense of touch. We read with our fingers as much as our eyes. Take those gifted fingers and learn to read the topography of your breast. Listen to that little voice in your head. Don't wait to get care if you find anything. Argue if you are dismissed. Survival rates are now nearly 90% with early diagnosis and treatment.

Keep posted for good news and inspiration from this experience.

White Chocolate

Today we took the most inspiring walk in the beautiful West Coast forest. Found some life forms we had never seen before. Also some we only get to see in the spring. Ate a delicious picnic with strawberry asparagus salad, fiery green beans and lamb, chewy baguettes, white chocolate bunny and drank pomegranate ginger punch. Soaked up sun and fresh air.