Audience. That is, who am i writing for?

When I was first diagnosed, I went looking for blogs from other women who had ULMS (Uterine Leiomyosarcoma).  There were a few (see below) but not many.  And no happy endings.

I understand this.  Either the patient dies (and, let's face it Everybody Dies) or they get better, move on with their lives and don't update the blog.  I suppose there are some that are a combination of both.  I've got a dear friend who has a blog about weight loss after bariatric surgery.... same process. 

I'm writing this for myself - to document the ups and downs.

I'm writing this for family and friends - so they can keep track now, or review later. Also so I don't need to give the vivid details over and over again.

I'm writing this for future ULMS  patients or even LMS patients.  This is my journey.  Yours may be different... but it is nice to see the signposts along the way, remembering common sights and sounds and feelings.

This will have too much information for some people.  I was chided at work "TMI" for the comment about not needing to shave my legs for 6 months.  I can imagine his reaction to a Brazilian comment would be to cover his ears and start muttering "Lalalalalalala."

Here is my bias.  I believe in medicine.

I have decided to do basically everything that is asked of me by the oncologist and staff at Moffitt.  They do this all the time, they are the experts. 

So I'm limiting my eating out.  I'm washing my vegetables carefully... yes, even the pre-washed salad.  I'm ordering water without lemon, avoiding fruits at restaurants.  Not eating meat/eggs unless they are cooked well done.  I'm avoiding sick people, sick children, and crowds of all sorts.

I'm not writing this for my mother.  She's scared.  Someday she may read it, but right now, I just want to lie to her and make her feel better.  My mother has lost friends to cancer.  She's battled breast cancer.  She lost her mother to Pancreatic Cancer; her husband to extensive cancer that spread so badly they didn't bother to track it back to the site of origin. 

So if you are reading this, I'm writing it for you.  So you can learn about this life battling an aggressive, rare cancer that has spread from here to there.  You'll eventually learn about my love life, my sex life and my real life.  Don't feel sorry for me.  I've lived an amazing life.  Done some amazing things... and in the end, leave grateful friends, lovers and family.