A Letter from Emilie

 Hello friends and family,  I met with the Radiation Oncologist this Monday. He had very good news. We will be able to treat this spot in my brain with only one treatment. I am so very relieved! He presented the other options as well. He said we could radiate the whole brain. (If there is one spot, likely there is another.) He said he does not recommend this method because of the short term memory loss. He also consulted with a neurosurgeon about surgery. He did not recommend this option either because the tumor is in the part of my brain that controls motor function. He made the decision easy to make.  So, we are calling it the "Nuke as you go," plan! I will get a MRI done every few years and we will radiate anything new that pops up. It can be done in one treatment and a few careful planning visits beforehand. I have another MRI scheduled tomorrow with "thinner slices" that will help us be more accurate as we aim at this small spot.  I am grateful. I know it is st...

Dear friends and family,  I am so grateful for all of the love and support that I have received over the last few weeks.  Thank you for your kind notes and thoughtful words. You have lifted me and helped me more than you know. I love words. I love kind words. I love when people use kind words to lift and carry me through tough times. It truly fills my soul and gives me courage. Yet, I feel a bit guilty. Guilty because I am not special or unique. EVERYONE is experiencing some kind of challenge. I feel that I don't deserve so much love and attention. In fact, if you could see the daily struggle you would see how "not pretty" it really is.  I wish I could spotlight each one of YOU and YOUR courage and strength as you face many unseen trials. I have been able to spend time with some amazing women over the past few weeks. As I think about what I want to share with you this week, I believe that I want to share some of the lessons I have learned from these dear friends. They are...