What A Difference No Chemo Makes

Amidst the crazy running around I've been doing -- from the gym to Whole Foods to meetings for the Foundation to mandated quiet time to work on my book -- I managed to sneak in a quick game of full court hoops.

I rejoined OMM's women's basketball team last night, and let me tell you: full court basketball without chemo in your body is A LOT EASIER than during chemo treatment. I ran up and down the court, sinking shots and defending well, without ever being anywhere close to out of breath. I easily could have played another game after ours. And I had just come from Educogym, where I finished a grueling chest and triceps workout. I am an animal!! Or maybe my body is just super jazzed about not having to deal with chemo or cancer.

I'm really enjoying my body's new lease on life. When I want to push it in the gym, it readily complies. When I wake up in the morning, it feels like I've slept for days. And I don't even want to tell you how perfect my poop is. If you think about it, it's been quite some time -- probably several years -- since I was both without chemo and cancer. My energy is up, my body is humming along, and I've never felt better. The fact that I am truly blessed is not lost on me.

I am grateful all of the time.

The WunderGlo Foundation

While I've been living the good life in Paris and London, my lovely attorneys at O'Melveny & Myers have been helping me make my dream a reality. The WunderGlo Foundation is now a registered corporation in the State of California. It won't be too long until the Foundation is granted tax-exempt status from the Federal Government (these things aren't guaranteed but with my awesome team of lawyers, I'm not worried). I'm insanely excited to be in charge of my own non-profit organization and one that stands for something so close to my heart.

So what's the WunderGlo Foundation all about? You can probably guess, but here's our mission statement:

The WunderGlo Foundation will not rest until there is a cure for colon cancer. The Foundation strives to save lives and support cancer warriors everywhere by raising funds for colon cancer research, promoting awareness about prevention of and treatment for colon cancer, and encouraging healthy lifestyle choices. Through its efforts, the WunderGlo Foundation seeks to empower and inspire those fighting the disease and those finding ways to eradicate it.

There's so much to celebrate these days, but it's not all toasts and parties (although there are plenty of those). Lots of work needs to be done to make The WunderGlo Foundation a success, and I can't wait to get started.

I'm not sure how dealing with cancer made me a more productive person, but I'm glad that it did. If you want to find out how you can help, just shoot me an email at glo@WunderGlo.com. If you helped me beat cancer (and you did), you can help make this organization a smashing success.

Home Sweet Home

The last couple of days back home have been great. Jet lag has turned me into a morning person, I've caught up with family and friends, and planning for my charity basketball tournament and silent auction is coming along swimmingly. I'm drinking my green juice and working out at the gym and cuddling with Winston on the couch. Everthing feels just right, and I can officially say I'm back in action.

Even though my European vacation was epic, filled with beautiful sights and breathtaking moments, being back home feels even better. It's a pretty good sign that you're living the life you want to live when, at the end of a wonderful trip, you're jazzed about getting back to your normal life. I think I've always been this way, but going toe to toe with cancer made me even more grateful for my "normal" life.

You see, cancer rudely deprives you of your previously-scheduled life, forcing you to fill your days with doctor appointments for chemo or scans or surgery. The fabric of your everyday life is changed immediately. For me, the absolute worst part of it was taking a medical leave from O'Melveny. I loved my daily life as an attorney and letting go of my cases and my daily interactions with colleagues was worse than chemo plus surgery combined times ten. Not being able to work out or play basketball during post-op times were a close second. Not being able to see a ball I shot glide gracefully through a hoop and swirl down into the net was more troubling to me than post-op pain. All I wanted were the simple pleasures of my life back (yes, I considered working a pleasure and I still do). But I had to scratch and claw and bleed and fight to get it back.

These days, I can hoop whenever I want. And I'll be back at O'Melveny in under two weeks. I earned my life back, and I'm returning to my normal life wiser, stronger, and determined to live it even better this time. And I will.

Bastille Day in Paris!

Bastille Day, or France's equivalent of the 4th of July. I'm pretty sure there's not a better day to be in Paris. It was truly unforgettable.

We started off our day at the Luxembourg Gardens, the lush park lined with colorful flowers, stone sculptures and -- oh yeah -- the stunning building in which the French Senate meets. Think Central Park plus the Capitol Building with a European flair that simply has not been duplicated in the U.S. We had a magnificent picnic -- bread and cheese (vegan for my mom and I, non-vegan for our husbands who haven't had cancer and like to roll the dice on diet as a result) and nectarines and avocado and champagne. After detoxing from my days of half pints in the UK, I finally had a little bubbly after abstaining for at least five days. Hard to beat a mimosa in the Luxembourg Gardens on Bastille Day.

You know, despite my focus on fitness and healthy eating, I saw on the first leg of this trip how easy it is to slide into less-than-perfect lifestyle choices. Chips and cider are incredibly delicious, and working out hurts sometimes. And once you slide into bad habits, they are really hard to break. But it can be done and I even did it while on vacation, so take heart if you're still slacking in some areas. Just resolve to get your butt in gear and don't take no for an answer.

Ok, back to Bastille Day.

We followed our picnic with a walk around town, popping into boutiques here and there and taking the plunge into Ernest Hemingway's old haunt, the Shakespeare & Co bookstore. I loved walking around the cramped aisles filled with books, and remembered "Papa," one of my favorite writers. Then I had to get back to the hotel to work on my book a little bit before dinner. I was too inspired.

Dinner wasn't just a great meal - it was a fantastic experience. We went to The Gentle Gourmet, a tiny establishment run out of a Paris flat turned B&B. The meal was three courses long, completely vegan, and totally delicious. The first course consisted of quinoa, cucumber, and tomato, fashioned to look a little like tuna tartare but tasting equally as good (I'm not going to say better because I know first-hand how friggin' good tuna tartare is). Our main course consisted of the loveliest tofu steak I've ever eaten, leeks, semi-glazed carrots and a few fingerling potatoes. Dessert topped all the others: vanilla ice cream with a poached peach. While we gobbled down this gourmet meal, we sat at a cozy table with fellow vegans and their plus ones. All were American but one Aussie couple, and all were from California but two Floridians. Dinner discussion was lively and fun, but I didn't mention why I was vegan. Why bring up cancer on Bastille Day, right? Especially when all that crap is behind me. Especially when the other folks at the table were vegan for strictly political reasons and might be horrified at the fact that I miss cheeseburgers and salami sometimes.

After dinner, we walked as close as we could to the Eiffel Tower for the impending firework show. I have never been a part of a crowd that huge (millions were out and about -- think NYC on NYE but times about 20), and I've never been shoulder to shoulder and back to belly with so many strangers. By the end of the magnificent show, I actually really liked all those strangers, my fellow sardines. We oohed and ahhed at the fireworks, and even though the dude right next to me was smoking (seriously, Paris? STOP SMOKING!), I loved him when he looked with wonderment at the night sky, shouting "Magnifique! Beautiful!" as if he was a child.

The show lasted for nearly an hour and was the most fabulous fireworks display I've ever seen. And while I watched those beautiful lights light up the sky and the Eiffel Tower, I couldn't help but feel utterly grateful. For being in Paris, for celebrating France's triumph, and for celebrating my own.

Inspiration in Paris

The last couple of days in Paris have been jam-packed and fun. From a trip to the Notre Dame to a cruise on the Seine to a walk down the Champs-Élysées to the Arc de Triomphe, we've hit many of the sights that make Paris the fabulous city it is. We've gazed at the Eiffel Tower at night and shopped at boutiques by day. With a bit of effort, we've also managed to find fantastic vegan eats (although ordering something without cheese is close to heresy over here). On top of our action-packed sightseeing which always includes miles of walking, I've managed to either complete my Insanity workout or hit the hotel gym on a daily basis -- you remember what I said about no days off, right?

I'd have to say, though, that my favorite experience in Paris thus far was my time in the Louvre. Of course, I took in the most popular attractions -- the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo --  and was blown away by the grandeur of Napoleon's Apartments (after seeing those incredible rooms, I can only conclude that the French are not minimalists). I looked with wonderment at the art produced in Italy during the Renaissance period -- a truly magical era for art and expression. I gazed at the Grecian sculptures, perfect renditions of the human body with faces etched in marble that held so much emotion. 

It was in the sculpture garden that I found my favorite piece, one that spoke directly to me and will continue to do so forever, I hope. It was a sculpture of a man, holding a rock in his right hand, poised to throw it down with force. His left hand grasped a snake, a huge and fearsome looking creature just itching to attack him with his massive fangs. The man's face is determined, as if he was steadied and utterly focused on besting his nemesis, and his stance is strong and in control. From the flow of the work, it's pretty clear that he's got the upper hand despite the life-threatening pickle he'd got himself into.

I immediately connected to this work and felt it symbolized my own battle with cancer. Yes, the beast was ugly, and scary, and powerful in its own right. But unfazed by all that, I simply got down to business. I grabbed cancer by its neck, grabbed a rock (a rock that looked a lot like chemotherapy drugs and a scalpel) with my free hand, and beat that sucker down. And that's what I'm doing every day. Every trip to the gym, every meal I eat, and every breath I take is focused on keeping that snake down, defeated, and dead. Every cancer patient thinks about recurrence of the disease, and I'm no different. But as I owned my battle against cancer when it was running wild in my body, I'm owning it now in remission. My health and my triumph over the disease for now and for the next 100 years, is up to me. I am the warrior with the rock in my hand, and I'll always be poised to attack the evil interloper.