Hooray for Howard!!

After a full and fun Saturday, I hauled my sore muscles out of bed and headed for the MegaBus. Given that this is a WunderGlo kind of trip, you know I had to up the activity ante a little bit, right? Well, I did. The bus was headed to Washington DC and I was headed to my dear friend Howard's victory (over cancer) party.

Many of you will remember Howard, my tag-teammate in cancer-killing and a producer over at 60 Minutes. Given the same diagnosis as me (with a bit less peritoneal disease than yours truly, the lucky guy), Howard and I met by chance and became fast friends. Throughout our treatment plan, we've supported each other through every step of the way. Hightailing it to DC and back in one day to celebrate complete remission is just part of what cancer warrior friends do for each other, and that's what I did.

The party was great -- hosted by 60 Minutes legend Bob Schieffer -- and I loved seeing Howard and his wife Katie basking in the glory of his success. Howard even called me up to the stage during his thank-you speech, explaining our connection and introducing the crowd to me, who Howard called "the future mayor of L.A., Governor of California, and President of the United States." Clearly, he knows how to give a girl a compliment. But he is the real star -- a wonderful man who beat Stage IV colon cancer with a smile on his face and courage in his heart.

It'll just be about a month until I'm throwing my cancer-free party, and I can't wait to celebrate with Howard then, too. And the rest of you, too!

Big Things in the Big Apple

The last day and a half in NYC have been nothing short of legendary. Only in a city like New York (and L.A., of course) can you pack so much good stuff into so little time. Yesterday is a prime example of high times in almost no time at all.

I woke up in Brooklyn (we're staying with my BFF from Stanford Law School, Rhett) and hopped on the subway and headed for the Hilton off 6th Avenue in Manhattan. The reason? To catch up with one of my brilliant classmates from Duke, Sunny, and to talk with him about the possibilities of my taking my non-profit and advocacy about cancer survivorship and healthy living to the next level. Without letting any cats out of any bags, I'm happy to report that your very own WunderGlo has very big plans for the future.

After our meeting, during which I met his awesome brother Sanjay (still at Duke) and wonderful parents, I headed back to Brooklyn to practice what I preach -- daily exercise. Rhett and I hit the gym in his building and had a quick but grueling legs workout that I designed specifically to make our muscles burn and hearts pound. Mission accomplished.

After enjoying my first ever green smoothie made by Rhett (the smoothie consists of half leafy green veggies like spinach and chard and lettuce and half frozen fruit), we were on our way back to Manhattan. I met up with another friend, Kelly, who I first met when I did the keynote speech at the Ms. JD conference a couple of months ago. After sipping on some sparkling water while enjoying the misty drizzle that started to fall (in addition to laughing so much that my face started to hurt), I left Kelly and headed up the street for a quick snack before the coolest theatrical experience of my life (more to come on that, naturally).

Not only did I find my favorite treat, iced herbal tea, at Soy Caffe, I also discovered one of the most delicious things ever: a New York City bagel with soy cream cheese. I had one yesterday and I had one today, too. Seriously, so good. I don't advocate for eating bagels every day, but I felt like I deserved a little splurge after ignoring them all year. We are back in touch now, though, and it was a delicious reunion.

After my life-altering bagel experience, I had a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience at the Chelsea-based production called Sleep No More. Essentially, the theater company revamped a huge warehouse in Chelsea and turned it into a 100 room hotel/psych ward/private residence/graveyard/English candy store/church/grand ballroom. The intricacy of the set detail would blow your mind. The play itself was a deconstructed MacBeth and Rebecca (luckily I've read the play and the novel, respectively) and was spellbinding. Little scenes would take place throughout the warehouse, and you'd follow an actor throughout the warehouse, up and down stairs and through halls, until they performed another scene or you just decided that you wanted to wander somewhere else. We all wore masks and were instructed not to speak at all. It was a completely free-flowing event, meaning that you could go literally wherever you wanted for as long as you wanted, and even though they wanted everyone to split up, Rhett and I managed to stay together for all three hours of fun. Will was upset at first to be separated from us, then said we were "too slow" when he found us later and took off on his own - go figure! We all had a blast.

The actors interacted with some audience members, caressing their arms or kissing their hands, and I was one of those lucky few. It was truly an intense and exhilarating experience; watching theater while participating in it. Totally super-HD type stuff.

The night was capped off by a gourmet vegan dinner -- which included a cheese plate, spanakopita, and a salted chocolate caramel tart -- and a trip to the West Village to celebrate the legalization of same-sex marriage in New York. Gotta love justice for all.

You couldn't really ask for a better Friday. And these days, I'm wise enough to stop my life while I'm living it and really be grateful for it. Life moves fast, but we always have time to take a second and say, "Wow, I'm lucky."

Wow, I'm lucky.

More Scan Results!!

And more great news. I'll need one more follow up scan in about six weeks, and as long as that is clear, I am officially a free woman (as in, free of the port currently cruising around in my chest).

You know, I've heard that a lot of people feel betrayed by their bodies when they receive a cancer diagnosis. People feel angry that their body has turned on them. But I never felt that way. My body was always fighting to be well and survive, and the cancer that grew in it was a sick, confused set of cells that just couldn't get with the program. Cancer helped me grow as a person in incredible ways, and gave me the opportunity to really look at my life and the people in it and revel in how great everything and everybody really is. I had to kill cancer, but I know, without a doubt, that it made me a better person.

These days, my body, mind, and spirit are in harmony and I couldn't be more well. It was nice to have those scan results as evidence, but I didn't need them to illuminate the truth: I am a survivor of Stage IV colon cancer. Victory is sweet. Heading to New York City to celebrate.

Being Vegan Isn't That Hard

I'm not going to lie. As the days wore on in gorgeous Waikiki Beach, eating vegan and eating healthy started to become a challenge. We visited the same vegan cafe three times in three days, and had a few disappointing dinners. 

The first disappointing dinner had nothing to do with the food -- the veggie sushi and salad was totally delicious -- but with the staff's utter ignorance about what ingredients actually went into their food. At one point, there was a sauce that came on the steamed eggplant that might have had fish flakes in it (which was plausible), then the waitress told us that it might have egg in it (totally not plausible). We erred on the safe side and sent anything back that looked remotely non-vegan, but ended up on the hungry side. I ate a lot of steamed rice that night. 

The second dinner just wasn't that great -- rice noodles that were firm and distinctively un-sauced which came with some limp steamed veggies. Oof.

But take heart, dear readers. Being vegan, 99.9% of the time, isn't hard. Especially in L.A.

Los Angeles, besides being my favorite place in the world, is a veritable treasure trove of healthy and fresh vegan eats. I am like a kid in a candy store over here (but not a kid, really, and definitely not eating candy). It took a delightful trip to a state in love with pork, fish, and spam for me to truly realize it. Eating vegan, and eating deliciously, is just second nature to me while living in the beautiful city of mine.

Take, for example, three of my most recent meals in L.A.:

1) BBQ Seitan sandwich and quinoa salad and green juice at M Cafe in Beverly Hills.

As you can see in the picture, I couldn't keep myself from taking a bite of it before taking the picture. The sandwich was awesome -- thin slices of seitan (known as "wheat meat") covered with BBQ sauce, garnished with vegan cole slaw, served on a delicious whole wheat bun. The quinoa salad was light and yummy, and the green juice, like all green juices, was refreshing and oh so good for me. 

2) Vegetarian chili, some baguette bread, and a garden salad at Urth Caffe in Downtown L.A.

Seriously, this was the best chili I've ever had. And as a vegan weightlifter who eats a lot of chili for its powerful protein content, that's saying something. Insanely delicious. As you can gather, the baguette bread was crunchy and soft at the same time, exactly what you want in a piece of crusty bread. The salad, tossed in a balsamic vinaigrette, was easy to wolf down and super tasty.  

3) Mediterranean platter at Panini Cafe in Downtown L.A.

I got this lovely meal at nearly 11pm, after strong workouts at Educogym and L.A. Athletic Club. The fact that I can just waltz into a restaurant at 11pm, with shorts soaked from my swimsuit, and eat a delicious vegan meal for about 12 bucks makes me smile. The hummus was creamy, the pita was warm and chewy, the olives in the salad were so good I didn't even miss the feta cheese, and the falafels were full of flavor. My taste buds and my belly couldn't ask for anything more.

Today, for lunch, I had an heirloom tomato sandwich with avocado and romaine lettuce along with some vegan potato salad. For dinner, I had asparagus and avocado sushi with lots of smokin' hot wasabi. See what I mean? This kind of culinary satisfaction is almost effortless. 

Without exaggeration, I can honestly say that I look forward to my meals and truly enjoy them. The fact that the food I eat not only tastes good but provides my body with excellent nutrients -- you know, the kind of stuff that cancer absolutely hates -- means I've got the best of both worlds. I look great, I feel great, and this trusty body of mine is being treated the way it deserves.

Baring My Bikini Body

Today was our last day on Waikiki Beach, and we soaked up every last bit of it. Lots of quality time spent on the beach, in the pool, laying out, and -- my favorite activity -- enjoying the beautiful Pacific Ocean on a catamaran. As every other day on this vacation, I spent the majority of my day in my bikini, flaunting my incision scar the only way I know how -- with a proud smile on my face. I caught a couple of people giving me a couple of extended looks, but I didn't mind them. I also had to endure a totally obnoxious teenager in the jacuzzi talking about all the people she knew that were "dying from cancer" but I shut her up quickly by simply standing up nonchalantly, baring my midsection that she gaped at with a half-opened mouth. On the catamaran today, Will took a picture of me in my swimsuit in front of all the other tourists on the vessel. After the picture, I was approached by one of them. 

"I couldn't help but notice that amazing scar you're showing. I'm in the medical field. What is it from?" I told her enough to elicit genuine good wishes from her. She called me a survivor. I believe she was the first person who I didn't know personally that had called me a survivor, and it was probably the best compliment from a stranger that I've ever received. 

You may think that putting my foot-long incision wound on display for several hours a day could be a nerve-wracking or intimidating experience, but it wasn't. It was totally and completely empowering. I know I look great and, even more importantly, I feel great. And most importantly of all, I earned every last inch of this scar and every last moment of this vacation, and I intend on enjoying them both.