mirletaliz

[mirletaliz]

As we head into my birthday tomorrow, I feel it’s fitting to share that I have a featured article in the Ostomy Canada Society magazine’s #Fall2024 edition!

I was asked to share my #BladderCancer & #Urostomy experience with my fellow Canadian #ostomates.

Without my#ostomy, I would not be alive to see 49. I might now have lived to see 41 even. You can view the article by subscribing at https://ostomycanada.ca/other-ways-to-get-involved/become-an-ostomy-supporter/

#Gratitude to #OCS for the opportunity to! Glad my copies arrived before the postal strike!

[mirletaliz]

Proud to have the opportunity to lend my voice and my experience to advocate for and inspire others, including for #OstomyAwarenessDay. Here's my article published in the October 10th issue of The West River Eagle/Waŋblí waŋ wakpá wiyóȟpeyataŋhaŋ.

https://www.westrivereagle.com/articles/lizs-experience-living-with-an-ostomy/

We are running a special on subscriptions NOW! If you are far from #CheyenneRiverSiouxTribalReservation or #EagleButte, #SouthDakota, you can get electronic subscriptions (viewable on the website) or mailed to your house. Check us out and help us #celebrate the #community and #amplify the #voices!

[mirletaliz]

Happy #WorldPostcardDay!

For those that have known me for any length of time, most know that I’ve always been obsessed with #SnailMail. #Postcards are no exception!

Sending & receiving #mail is a great way to express how important people are to you. It takes time, effort & money to send something through the #PostalService.

For me, it is also an aid for keeping my #depression in check and it improves my #MentalHealth.

Whether you send a postcard, note or 10-page letter, stick something in the mail today and #celebrate the relationships in your life!

#CelebrateEveryDay

@postcrossing

@letterappsoc

@uspostalservice

@monthofletters

[mirletaliz]

Wearing #Orange today because #EveryChildMatters. On #OrangeShirtDay, we are commemorating the residential school experience, witnessing and honoring the healing journey of the Survivors and their families. For more information on #TruthAndReconciliation from the effects boarding schools had on the #Indigenous peoples on #TurtleIsland, you can connect to the Orange Shirt Society or go to their website at https://orangeshirtday.org/ for more information on how you can amplify the voices and support the healing of these generational traumas. #NDTR

[mirletaliz]

Do you know what today is?!

It's my #bariversary!

(In my best Tony! Toni! Tone! voice.)

I have always struggled with my #weight. My entire life.

However, the effects of my MVAC chemo cocktail completely jacked up my metabolism, and despite my efforts, prescription medications, and physician supervision, my weight skyrocketed to an all-time high. Not only did it continue to climb, but it was affecting my health and triggered new diagnoses that will follow me for life.

I was uncomfortable in my own body. I had been resisting the surgical route due to the #MedicalTrauma and #PTSD from my #BladderCancer experience, but I knew that without intervention, it would not have mattered if I beat cancer or not.

I waved the proverbial white flag, got referred to a local bariatric team and started the long process.

It has now been 2 years since I had #GastricSleeve surgery.

My life looks different now. Progress has been slower than me or my medical team would like, but there has been progress nonetheless.

I am proud of the strides I've made even though I still have a way to go to reach my goal weight. I've continued to work despite life challenges and lots of physical plateaus.

Getting #bariatric surgery is not an "easy way out." It is not a quick fix. It is a tool in a long list of possible lifestyle changes that one could make.

Even if you have surgery, you still have to change how you think and how you move through the world. Most of all, you have to continuously DO. THE. WORK!

Highest Weight 380

Surgery Weight 336

Lowest since surgery 275

Current Weight 286

Goal Weight 180

Down 105 lbs, 17.1 BMI points, 18.34% body fat, and nearly 29 total inches...and still going!

[mirletaliz]

In case anyone is wondering, this is what 8 years of no evidence of disease looks like. Today is my 8 year surgiversary/stomaversary/remissionversary! September 23rd, 2016 I had my bladder, ovaries, Fallopian tubes, uterus, pelvic lymph nodes and part of my cervix removed along with my primary grapefruit-sized tumor, had my stomach placement and my post op biopsies and scans showed no evidence of disease (which I didn’t fully know until MONTHS later). Even my doctors didn’t think I’d make it to the 5 year mark due to the late stage at diagnosis and the aggressive nature of my tumor. There is life after cancer and after an ostomy procedure.

[mirletaliz]

Yesterday was a fantastic (but exhausting) day celebrating LIFE with two of my nieces! I should have taken more pics, but we started off at First Watch - Northgate Mall (9721 Colerain Ave) for a delicious brunch! (Check their fall menu!) then we hit up the Halloween store (where we took a photo with the #CorpseBride) and Ulta Beauty for some browsing before hanging out for a casual walk at Glenwood Gardens Park. Great quality time with the girls and phenomenal start to my #surgiversary, #stomaversary, #remissionversary & #bariversary week. Tomorrow, the 23rd, is 8 years since I had my life-saving #RadicalCystectomy with #RadicalHysterectomy to remove my #BladderCancer (including a grapefruit-sized primary tumor that had grown through my bladder wall and was attaching to my cervix), placed my #Stoma for my #urostomy and left me with #NoEvidenceOfDisease. Shout out to Drs. Mark Delworth of The Urology Group and David Waterhouse Oncology Hematology Care, Inc. for helping me survive from diagnosis onward. Next Friday, the 27th, is 2 years since I had my #GastricSleeve procedure, which has enabled me to reclaim even more of my life. #VSG Slow, small steps, but still progress! I’m still alive! #NotDeadYet

[mirletaliz]

August 12,2016. I found out I had #BladderCancer. The world around me blurred out & everything sounded like the adults on Peanuts cartoons. I thought for sure I had received a death sentence. I’m fairly sure medical team thought so too even though I hadn’t met them yet. Still, after doing my own research, speaking with doctors I worked with & learning the treatment plan devised for me, I increasingly became determined to kick cancer’s ass. Eight years later, despite the odds, I am still here. I don’t “celebrate” my #cancerversary in a traditional sense, but I do take time for immense #gratitude & #introspection. I remain grateful to have a life to live when odds were that I wouldn’t. I remain grateful for the understanding, love, support, & grace I’ve continuously gotten from too many sources to name. I remain #focused & #determined despite the physical, emotional & financial traumas I’ve faced since that diagnosis eight years ago. There is no going back to how things were. There is only moving forward into the present. Thank you to everyone who has helped me survive. I am forever #grateful. #8years #EightYears #UrostomyLife #CancerSurvivor #SpoonieLife

[mirletaliz]

I may not be in #Paris for the #Olympics2024, but I did get to write a bit about them! Check out my latest article with

@WestRiverEagle1 at https://westrivereagle.com/articles/first-nations-athletes-compete-in-paris-olympics/! #Indigenous #IndigenousAthletes

[mirletaliz]

My first article with NASHdisease.net has been published! Check it out!

[mirletaliz]

Happy to announce the launch of Health Union LLC's newest site, NASHDisease.net. I am on the first wave of Contributors & Moderators to talk about my experience with this disease firsthand. It is commonly known as Fatty Liver Disease. If you or a loved one have this diagnosis, I encourage you to join this community for information and camaraderie. #NASH#NAFLD#MASH#MAFLD#FattyLiver#FattyLiverDisease

For all my hepatology friends, feel free to check this out and share it with your patients and their families!

[mirletaliz]

1,000 posts! We may never interact and you might never react to my posts, but I hope you find the things I share valuable. Be well!

[mirletaliz]

I started following Alexis before I knew she was originally from Cincinnati. Great content and this is a great article! Her tagline is great, too. Happy snacking! Don't die! https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2021/09/09/173838801/meet-alexis-nikole-nelson-the-wildly-popular-black-forager

[mirletaliz]

Tumeric instead of NSAIDS

[mirletaliz]

The Benefits of Sending a Letter Rather than an Email https://web.4hatteras.com/hatteras-news/the-benefits-of-sending-a-letter-rather-than-an-email

[mirletaliz]

Can You Fix Your Foggy Brain After Cancer Treatment? https://copingmag.com/can-you-fix-your-foggy-brain-after-cancer-treatment/ via @coping_cancer

[mirletaliz]

How to deal with Depression Fatigue via @HealthUnion