Denise (Dee) Polestra:  

Life Update January 23, 2013 Still in remission and feeling better each day! Basically have a single life now with my boys, although they are grown and do their own thing! Me and the dogs chill together! Same things for Nick as below and Mike and Laruen are still together and they are doing the same thing! 5 months with no chemo feels good. I have so much energy now! Need to update that damn profile picture! I am still with Pitney Bowes so that is good! Wish all the best for whoever reads this! Life Update September 20, 2012 Well after many tests, CT Scan, PET Scan and MRI - The shadow that they see on the tests have been confirmed to be scar tissue. There is no evidence of reacurrance of cancer ... so I am in remission! It has been a most difficult year for me. Chemo for 6 months - just finished end of August. Worked throughout the entire time. My husband still does not have a job. We are now separated! So I move to the next chapter of my life! The boys are good - Nick is the same, Mike got a job at PetSmart and loves it! he was always good with animals and is in heaven at PetSmart - plus they love him and have identified him as "manager" material! Woohoo - see my peacock feathers!! The dogs are good as well - Red spends a lot of time with me - he is my nurse maid ... he is such a funny dog! Work is very stressful but I seem to make it through the day! Hoping all who read this is well and happy! June 20, 2012 Okay ... thought it was time for an update! I had surgery in November 2011 and spent one month in the hospital ... it was horrible! Finally got home just before Xmas ... which didn't happen in my house ... no tree ... no celebrating ... my hospital bed was in the livingroom till end of January and have been sleeping on the couch since then ... can't lay flat! The many tube in my stomach didn't come out until February 2012. I went back to work part time end of February as my husband didn't have a job and we had no monies coming in! Started another round of chemo in February and will be done with this round at the end of July 2012. It has been very hard to work and do chemo but you do what you have to do to make it better! My boys are good ... Mike is still with Lauren - now two years! She is a lovely young lady! Nick, well, I'm not sure if he has a "special" someone or not ... he works and hanging with the guys ... he says girls cost too much! LOL!!! We lost my husbands mother last month - she was 85 years old and had been battling a lung fungus for about a year! It has been hard! My hubby isn't around much ... kinda lonely for me! He spends most of his time on his bike and going to meetings. I fight to survive one day at a time! Praying for a cure for cancer so others don't have to endure what I am! This is my second battle with cancer and this time I'm getting my butt kicked ... it is very tough! Oh ... the dogs are good! They give me much love and great licks!!! Well that's my journey right now! Hope ya'll are having a better one! Hugs! Life Just an update ... it is mid October 2011 and I was diagnosed with rectal cancer in July 2011! I have been through 6 weeks of chemo and radiation. Am recovering now and headed to surgery on November 8th. Then an 8 week recovery and then 6 more months of chemo! I am fighting the same kind of fight that my baby sister fought ... and it's a hard road! I miss her so much every day! I am back at work right now till November 7. Needed to be "normal" for a little while! My boys had their birthdays - Mike is 18 now and Nick turned 23! No more babies!! My hubby was let go from his job last month so to say the least it has been a very difficult time for our family! Dogs are good - our puppy, Red, the beagle/tree walker coonhound has become a fantastic nurse maid - he follows me everywhere and even sits in the bathroom with me - he is too funny! He curls up as close to me as he can get - even sitting on top of me sometimes! He is actually very comforting! Well that's it for now! Hopefully, will update when this journey is better! Life April 11, 2011 update - Unfortunately, my baby sister, Paula passed away on March 19, 2011! She fought for over 3 years against cancer ... it was a long hard fight ... she had so much strength and courag...Expand for more