Dec 18, 2007

{NOTE: This was originally published on Vanessa’s CarePage. We are copying all those posts here to have her story in one place that all can access. We are back-dating the posts to match when she originally published the post there, and are marking the blog post here with Vanessa as the author, as these words that follow are her own.}

Posted Dec 18, 2007 10:05pm

ready to leave cincy for NYC

Wow, it’s been awhile since I posted an update, but I guess that’s because I’m feeling great!

I’ve been finished with radiation for over a month, and my skin has finally healed back to normal. The week or two after my last radiation treatment was really rough. It was very raw and burnt so bad that it was bleeding, so it was very painful, but now it’s 100% better.

Nowadays I’ve just been taking my chemo pills, and there hasn’t been many noticeable side effects, so it’s been rather uneventful lately which is good. Once the one set of chemo pills is over, I will have my reconstructive surgery (probably in February sometime). So nothing really until then.

My fun news is that I went to New York city this past weekend with Billy and Christina! It was lots of fun. We went so I could take part in the SCAR Project, which is a project that David Jay, a professional photographer, is currently doing. He is taking pictures of young women under 30 who are surviving breast cancer. He was very nice, and it was really neat to be able to be a part of it. It was loads of fun!! I am going to post some pics from the trip, so be sure to check them out!

getting my make-up and hair done for the scar project photoshoot

me & christina in the bathroom (don't ask)

big smile

me & david jay, the photographer

me & joanie, the fashion director

During our quick trip we saw the Time Square and the Rockefeller tree, The Museum of Modern Art, went to Frankie & Johnny’s Steakhouse (where there apparently was a mob hit back in the day), walked down 5th Avenue, went to the new Apple flagship store, mastered the art of subway transportation (sort of), and saw the off-Broadway show Altar Boyz (where I got pulled up on stage and serenaded!). It was super cold and kinda nasty weather-wise, but it was all worth it. :)