Quitting Smoking

Alright, alright, I know what you're all thinking after reading the heading of this blog. "Damn, she's been diagnosed with cancer and she still smokes????" Yes, I'm still smoking. I have exactly two cigarettes left in my pack and then I'm done. I've bought the Nicotine Lozenges, tried to talk myself out of buying any more smokes and am trying to find ways to NOT smoke. This really requires an entire rearrangement of my life.

Please understand (those non-smokers out there) that cigarettes are not as easy to give up as one might think. When I was pregnant, I quit cold-turkey, because I had an innocent baby inside of my body. Sadly, this is STILL so surreal that while my mind says I have cancer, I still feel pretty normal. I feel emotionally drained sometimes, but otherwise I'm fine. It's hard to convince myself that I'm "sick" if I don't feel like I am. And if I don't feel like I am sick, it's hard to convince myself to stop a habit that I've had for years (even though it IS gross, and desgusting).

But, on a good note. I am quitting. I'll keep you all updated on that.

Also, I've done some research on things that are bad for those with breast cancer (and those with high risk). Drinking is bad, but if you do have one or two drinks, taking folic acid should actually help "counteract" the effects. Also, organic foods are much better for you because the dairy (sorry, Dad, Uncle Lee, and Uncle Paul) products have hormones in them that are bad for your body. Likewise with most meats these days. Vegetables are better if they're organic, too, because they don't have pesticides on them. Seems like a small thing, but since everything that you normally put into your mouth has pesticides or hormones, it can do some damage to a body that is already at risk. Since hormones are one of the leading factors in causing breast cancer, all of those years of taking birth control pills probably hasn't been a huge help, either. I've got one word for Tim: Vascetomey! lol!

Anyways, that's just a touch of what's going on right now and a little of the research I've found out. My appointment is on Monday, and I'll leave an update after that. Oh, and be sure to check out the blog below this one about Aimee's 3 Day walk for the Cure. Support her and her team! She's doing this not only for me, but for every woman in all of our lives! Mothers, sisters, cousins, aunts, nieces, and so on. Clearly we never know when this will strike someone you love. I'm only 31, and it struck me!