Sweet Blog O'Mine

v. 2.0

  • First Steps

    After bloodwork, genetic testing, an additional breast biopsy, an additional breast MRI, and some waiting, I learned that I was not accepted to the clinical trial I was hoping for (thanks, PEComa/sparkly unicorn cancer!). So, we are starting with the current standard of care treatment for Triple Negative Breast Cancer, and we are starting quickly: weekly chemotherapy (Taxol/Carboplatin) for 12 weeks combined with immunotherapy (Keytruda) every 3rd week. After 12 weeks, we’ll do an MRI and reassess to determine the next steps. I will receive treatment at NYU’s Perlmutter Cancer Center. I got a port put in yesterday (Karen, who has earned naming rights, named it Chester), and unless I decide to make changes, chemo will be on Thursdays, starting this week.

    I will be getting a haircut soon in preparation for losing my hair so will be super on-trend with a pixie cut for a few weeks before I go full G.I. Jane. This is a bummer because, as you can see, my hair has been looking amazing lately. I have decided to make use of all my bandanas (why do I have so many bandanas?!) and make it hot pirate summer. Arrrrgh! Avast ye swabs!

    The rules still apply — please don’t send me gifts or food without asking — but I would love playlists for treatment, videos/pictures to make me smile, and I’ve been loving the good wishes, cards, flowers, and company. Mostly, it’s great to hear from you and see you — the best gift is knowing that I’m not going through this alone.

    I hope to be as social as my body and immune system allow, (my team seems optimistic on both of these fronts) so don’t hesitate to reach out.

  • Before

  • Transforming Nutrition Habits for a Healthier Lifestyle

    Vulnerable post alert. Last year, I went away for a beach weekend with the Kismet ladies. One of my friends looked fabulous and STRONG. She is my height, and we have discussed weight struggles in the past. At that time, I was the highest weight I had ever been. I had been strength training 3-4x/week consistently, but knew that my nutrition could be better. She connected me with her nutrition/fitness coach, and I’ve been tracking my food since Labor Day weekend 2025, on top of the strength training, and aiming for at least 10k steps per day (which, in NYC, I hit easily most days).

    On the nutrition front, I have been in a very manageable calorie deficit — I’m not hungry, and have been able to work in social events, vacations, holidays, etc. I have specific protein, carb, and fat targets, as well as a fiber target, a water target, and the goal of having protein/carbs/fruit or veggies at every meal, with 4+ servings of fruit/veggies per day. In addition, my doctor wants me at 120% of the recommended daily value of calcium. Every day isn’t perfect, but I’m generally consistent.

    The results are above as of the end of April. I feel fantastic and these habits will serve me very well as I navigate cancer treatment.

  • Navigating Triple Negative Breast Cancer: My Journey

    TL;DR — On April 9th, I was diagnosed with Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC). Thankfully, in the words of my oncologist, “you’ll be just fine.”

    As many in my life know, I had a very rare soft tissue cancer (PEComa) that was removed in 2024. The breast cancer is unrelated and first came up on one of my regular PEComa follow up scans.*

    Navigating the past few weeks between the April 9th biopsy results and the April 28th appointment with the oncologist has been one of the biggest challenges of my life. I felt like a ticking time bomb, had to go through a myriad of tests to see how far it had spread, and was filled with anxiety the likes of which I have never experienced.

    One friend gifted me a reiki session — it’s not something I ever would have done normally, but during this time, it relaxed me and helped shift my outlook for this entire process. The language so many of us use around cancer is violent — you fight it, you battle it (which puts a heavy burden on anyone who loses that “fight”) — but my reiki practitioner suggested reframing it around restoring and healing, which very much resonated with me (PS there will be more reiki in my future).

    I am giving my body the support it needs — including my team at NYU, the best science can offer regarding chemo/immunotherapy, self-care, healthy food, consistent exercise, and all of my friends and family — to allow it to heal and restore itself. I have also been thinking a lot about all the triathlons I’ve done. The determination and ability to do what it takes to achieve a successful outcome will serve me well here. 

    As for next steps, all of my tests and medical care so far have been through NYU Perlmutter Cancer Center. Memorial Sloan Kettering, where I had my PEComa surgery, had a waitlist, but I will have my first meeting next week with a surgeon there for a second opinion.

    Assuming I move forward at NYU, (which is most likely because 1) they have been fast, 2) every person I’ve encountered has been great, and 3) all of my other medical care is through their system except for the PEComa), they are currently screening me for eligibility in the I-SPY clinical trial. As someone with TNBC, this would mean starting with an immunotherapy treatment block tailored to TNBC (Ivonescimab). I would be tested at regular intervals to monitor its effectiveness. Depending on the real-time results, we would either proceed to surgery, or add more traditional chemotherapy/immunotherapy (starting with Paclitaxel + Carboplatin and escalating to AC + Keytruda if that isn’t working). If I am not eligible for the trial, I will proceed with traditional chemotherapy/immunotherapy and then have surgery. Type of surgery TBD, and likely radiation to follow regardless.

    I’m still in the screening phase, which takes a few weeks, so I don’t know when treatment will actually start, but I have been assured these weeks won’t impact my care.

    Stay tuned for next steps, but I am very, very relieved.

  • My Newest* Cancer Journey Begins

    I’m trying to get this thing to look decent as I’ll probably be posting here more soon. I’m not much of a journal person, so this will have to do for now. It has been a harrowing few weeks as I’ve recently received a diagnosis of triple negative breast cancer, and am currently undergoing a series of tests and procedures to get me ready for treatment. What was initially thought to be stage 1 is now definitely not, but no matter what, we are starting with chemo. I feel like a ticking time bomb and know that I’ll feel better once there is a plan in place and treatment starts. I am prioritizing my mental well being and am already plugging into all the resources at my disposal through NYU’s Perlmutter Cancer Center and beyond. More info on Tuesday after my initial oncology appointment.

    *I had a small PEComa in my stomach and gastric lymph nodes; all removed surgically in December 2024.

  • Rebirth!

    Dealing with the sudden shutdown of Typepad — I’ve imported all the text but think I may lose all of my past media from my old posts. Heartbroken.

  • COVID-19: A Food Diary – In the Thick of It

    I'm currently on day 22 of the Whole 30 and it has truly been an interesting and somewhat all-encompassing experience so far. I know I mentioned this in my last update, but I think about food and meal planning a LOT more than I normally do and spend a good amount of time searching for compatible recipes that mesh up with what I have in the house or are expecting in upcoming produce boxes from Farm to People. I've discovered a few websites with great Whole30 compatible recipes, many of which which lean heavily towards Asian cuisines, which I love and cook a great deal. Nom Nom Paleo has meal plans in addition to recipes, I Heart Umami, which has a Whole30 compatible potsticker recipe that saved me during a particularly fierce dumpling craving, and The Defined Dish, which gave me a hearty and comforting bolognese. These websites have been chock full of recipes, ideas, and inspiration — thanks to the women behind each of them. 

    I've also been posting pictures of all of my meals and snacks on my Instagram story — you can find all of them on my highlights. I hope I can inspire others who are interested in Whole30 or who are just looking to incorporate more veggies into their world. 

    People ask me if I'm feeling any different. Truthfully, I'm not sure. I feel less "puffy" and have probably lost weight (no scales allowed on Whole30 and my sweatpants all still feel the same) — I still wake up during the night and can't get back to sleep for a bit, but it seems to be slightly less often. My energy levels are back to normal (they most definitely took a dip in the beginning), but I can't say I have the TIGER BLOOD that everyone talks about. I'm also really missing the foods I haven't eaten during the program and I'm looking forward to (slowly) reintroducing them soon. Here are some of my more picturesque meals since the last update.

     

     

  • COVID-19: A Food Diary – Shifting Gears

    Well, it's been a minute since I last posted. I figured you had your fill of my cooking adventures, but for the past week, I've been doing a round of the Whole 30, which has both challenged me in the food/cooking department and made me focus much more intently on food and meal planning. What is Whole 30? It's a 30 day dietary reset of sorts that eliminates foods that either tend to irritate people (gluten, dairy, soy, additives) and/or that create cravings (sugar, booze). At the end of 30 days you reintroduce each category one by one to see how your body reacts both physically and mentally. On a practical level it means that you are eating meat, seafood, eggs, veggies, fruit, nuts, and healthy fats like olive oil, and avocado. And coffee is allowed, thankfully! For me, I've gotten into some less than healthy eating habits during the pandemic and wanted to reset.

    That said, the Whole30 is extreme. It doesn't allow legumes (beans) or grains, and between that and the other restrictions it is NOT intended to be a forever shift in your eating. And given how much I LOVE food, it is not something that would ever be sustainable. I'm looking at it as an experiment and a challenge, and it's definitely easier to do now, during the pandemic, when I'm not going out and have no social or professional obligations that involve food/drink. 

    Lessons learned so far: 1) If I had to do this during normal times, it would involve a massive amount of weekend meal prep to keep up. Even now, I'm prepping stuff constantly to ensure that I'm meeting meal guidelines (protein, veggies, plated healthy fat); 2) I am blowing through produce like a maniac, which is no doubt good for me; 3) I'm sort of enjoying the challenge of cooking this way, but I'm already really missing some of my favorite foods, and I'm only on day 9; and 4) I can't decide if, given the state of the world, this was an ideal time to give up booze. 😉

    If you want a meal-by-meal showcase of everything I'm eating/cooking, I've created a highlight called "Whole30 Meals" on my Instagram page. Otherwise, here are some highlights so far:

     

  • COVID-19: A Food Diary – Day ???

    PhotoGrid_1598888117670Honestly, I've stopped counting. The summer is winding down, which is astonishing. This has somehow been the longest shortest year ever. Since August 1st, I've been up in Maine, spending time both at a cabin on a lake in Casco, Maine, and at my family's house in Portland (after negative pre- and post-flight covid tests). So what has this meant for food and cooking? I started with an online shop that my sister picked up curbside for me in Portland, and when we drove out to the lake from the airport, we packed that up along with some odds and ends. Near the cabin, there's an amazing organic farm which I knew I'd visit, and there was a lot of sharing with whatever my parents had in stock. I ended up cooking a ton for my parents, taking advantage of all of the abundant produce (corn, tomatoes, zucchini, lettuce, more corn, more tomatoes) and the grill (which they don't use as much when I'm not around), and of course, eating lobster several times. One huge sleeper hit that I made for my family (including young nephews) was barbecue pulled chicken (served with tomatoes and corn, naturally, but without smoked paprika this time). I make this recipe a lot at home, and you can use any barbecue sauce you want or make your own. At home, I've used Trader Joe's Kansas City BBQ Sauce, but here I used Stubb's Sticky Sweet BBQ Sauce. Equally delicious.

    PhotoGrid_1598888185512I've never stayed up in Maine this long in the 20+ years my family has lived here. Ever. And for the majority of the time here I didn't have a car, so I basically stayed put for a few weeks and used what I had/what was brought to me or shared with me. It didn't suck. When I relocated from the cabin to Portland, they were pretty much in charge of purchasing, but I did a lot of the cooking. Once again, tons of fresh summer produce was our guiding principle. Pasta with fresh tomatoes, lobster, and a dollop of ricotta, grilled rib eye steaks with roasted potatoes, grilled salmon tuna nicoise salad, and grilled pizza (plain and white pizza with zucchini). I also ate out for the first time since the pandemic started — at Chaval — which was a real treat, and got take out along the way. Dumplings and more from Bao Bao and fried chicken, slaw and biscuits from Figgy's.

    That said, I miss being in more control of my food shopping/cooking/intake (I miss you, Trader Joe's!), and it's starting to get colder, making me think more about my Instant Pot than the grill. I'll be here for a bit longer and plan to get the most out of the last of summer until I return to NYC.

  • COVID-19: A Food Diary Days 94-108 – Nothing to See Here

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    Yes, I've been cooking. A lot. Still. Have I been cooking anything particularly exciting? Interesting? Photo-worthy? Not really. Some stir fries, a really tasty smashburger (served with to-go fries and a piña colada from The Happiest Hour), chicken saltimbocca with roasted baby artichokes, lots of salads with my produce deliveries (some with Trader Joe's sriracha ranch, which I finally bought, and love, but they are discontinuing, and some with homemade Mexican Goddess dressing. A lobster roll lunch picnic from Bar Sardine, bagels with cream cheese and whitefish salad (2 "mini" bagels w/spreads on one = 4 days' worth of breakfast once redistributed) from Brooklyn Bagel, delivery from Ayada Thai (thanks J&D!), chicken gyoza and scallion pancakes from Trader Joe's, brunches of TJ's protein waffles (made extra for the freezer) with sausage, and bacon, eggs, & hashbrowns.  And, of course, leftovers galore from a lot of the above and tons of fresh fruit. I think I've finally, legitimately, gotten into a better food supply groove. Until yesterday, when my Imperfect Food delivery never arrived. Grrr. . . 

    Oh — almost forgot. I pickled some beets, but haven't tasted them yet, and bought a little hand-held spiralizer, which I also used on some raw beets to put in salads (I am flush with beets at the moment).