I’ve never been into birthdays but this one is kind of a big deal.
I posted already about what a crazy year we’ve had. Here’s the photographic evidence of some of the change we’ve experienced. While the physical changes are the most obvious, there’s a whole lot of mental and spiritual healing going on in there, too.
I think it’s important to note that with “standard treatment” this progression would have been much different: the physical changes would have been loss of my hair, and baggier, sadder eyes; the only setting would have been the US. The series would have ended somewhere April to June – maybe July since I’m young and a fighter.
Instead this has been one of the most incredible years of my life. Brad and I have grown closer, kinder to each other and others. We’ve seen more of the world than we ever thought we would. We’re stronger and more flexible in both our minds and bodies.
I’m inexpressibly grateful for:
- your love, thoughts and prayers
- having the resources to take charge of my health
- that I live in an era of such miraculous medicine and had a mutation that could be targeted
- that the metabolic paradigm shift is happening such that there’s real hope for those who aren’t as lucky as I am and hope that I can live long enough to see more effective treatments
- that when it does inevitably end, I’ll have truly experienced and cherished every moment
Age 40 Commemorated in Selfies
![Maggie & Brad Selfie 30 September Manilla](http://cancerv.me/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/IMG_20180930_175748852_HDR-700x525.jpg)
Pre-Diagnosis
![Maggie & Brad Selfie 20 October 2018](http://cancerv.me/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/20181020_124835-700x525.jpg)
First weekend after diagnosis, one day before diet change
![](https://cancerv.me/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/IMG_20181103_133722521-700x525.jpg)
![Maggie and Brad Selfie 8 December 2018](http://cancerv.me/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/20181208_133116-700x341.jpg)
Planning for our last Christmas together
![Maggie & Brad Selfie - Macao](http://cancerv.me/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/20181215_161305-700x341.jpg)
![Maggie & Brad Selfie Dec 2018](http://cancerv.me/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/20181224_125457-700x341.jpg)
![Maggie & Brad Selfie Jan 2018](http://cancerv.me/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/20181229_152636-700x341.jpg)
![Maggie & Brad Selfie - Feb 2019](http://cancerv.me/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/IMG_20190205_143313549-700x525.jpg)
![Maggie & Brad Selfie March 2019](http://cancerv.me/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/20190401_120615-700x341.jpg)
![Maggie & Brad Selfie April 2019](http://cancerv.me/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/20190405_115354-700x341.jpg)
Switched on you!
![Brad and Maggie in Guilin May 2019](https://cancerv.me/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/20190509_094557-700x341.jpg)
![Maggie & Brad Selfie - May 2019](http://cancerv.me/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/20190525_154318-700x525.jpg)
![Maggie & Brad Selfie - June 2019](http://cancerv.me/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/20190607_112818-700x525.jpg)
![Maggie & Brad Selfie](http://cancerv.me/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/20190620_131303-700x525.jpg)
![](http://cancerv.me/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/20190621_103131-700x525.jpg)
![July 2019 - Tai O Fishing Village](http://cancerv.me/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/20190727_105608-700x525.jpg)
![](http://cancerv.me/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/20190804_104645-700x525.jpg)
Sparkling water with a whisper of kombucha.
I know! Two months in a row in Hong Kong. WTF, right?
Don’t fret, we’re heading to Bali next week!
![I survived age 40 despite terminal lung cancer spread to the brain.](https://cancerv.me/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Selfie-Pinnable-700x1485.jpg)
4 comments
I love the matching hats!
Doing our part to spread the perception of Americans as douchebags as far and wide as possible. And not identical – Brad’s is fancy, mine was bargained off a Thai tourist shop.
Hugs, hugs, hugs! Happy Birthday and have fun in Bali. Come and visit us!
Thank you!! We definitely need to hit Florida in our next large-scale US tour. =D