So far....

I've done it! Started the blog I've been thinking about! My cancer journey started with a diagnosis of Stage 2 HER2 positive breast cancer in September 2008. My surgery and chemotherapy led me through the gates of hell and by the end I felt like I was dead, hanging on a meat hook, just like Inanna the Sumerian goddess. Like Inanna, before my descent, I had all the trappings of a successful life: home, great career, the protection of a man. All the emblems of success in the patriarchy. Each appointment, each surgery, each trip to the hospital for chemotherapy was equivalent to passing through another gate to hell. In addition, the economy did a nosedive and the wealth I had been counting on for retirement was decimated. By the time I got there I was also like her sister Erishkegal, moaning in pain. My friends supplied me with an unbelievable amount of support and empathy, just like the flies in the mythological story. After a time (3 days in the myth) I came back to life and am now on my way up the stairs from hell back to the outer world. Older and much wiser I hope. More soon.