Latest Stuff.

Well, since I last updated I got engaged, bought a wedding dress, and booked a wedding and honeymoon at Sandals Whitehouse in Jamaica ! :) Can't post a pic of the dress here b/c Clint might wander on to here and see it. I'll def. post pics after we get married though (April 27).

Also, we got good news about my Moma this week. Her cancer responded really well to the treatment and the tumor has shrank to 1.5 x 0.3 inches. Tiny! The doc said that it may just be scar tissue now. She will be on maintenance treatments of Avastin via IV every three weeks, probably for the rest of her life, but hey, She is ALIVE! Thank God! I spent lots of time with my parents the past few days and had a great time. I am so thankful that I have great parents that I get along with so well!

I start my new job at Lockheed Martin on Monday. I am so excited about it that I can't stand it! My daddy, and his brothers JR and James work there too. My cousin Dwight is in the background check stage of getting hired, and my cousin Brian is working on getting an interview! We're taking over! The funny part is me, daddy, jr and james all work in different departments doing different things, and the place is so HUGE, I am sure I won't see them too often (unless I try to, which I probably will). I'm really excited about working near all of them.

Anyway, that's it for now. :) Adios!

Stand Up to Cancer

I know I don't have too many people that frequent this blog, but I just want to post about something I feel strongly about.

As most of you know, my moma, Donna Smith, was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer this summer. She is only 46 and has not smoked for 14 years (I think). She is responding VERY well to cancer (THANK GOD) and is down to only having cancer in one lung, and it has shrank by 50% after just 2 chemo treatments. I feel sure and confident my mother will come through this with flying colors, but many people do not have that opportunity.

My moma's mother, Joyce Bryant, passed away when I was 5 from breast cancer. She was only in her 40's. The only real memories I have of her was from when she was sick. She fought hard, but eventually she lost her fight with cancer.

My daddy's mother, Maebell Smith, passed away this spring from throat cancer. She was 86, and this was her second go-around with cancer. She had it 14 years ago, and became a survivor.

My boyfriend's godmother Carey Resnik passed away in June from stage 4 colon cancer that had spread to her liver. She was only 46. She was diagnosed just a few weeks before her death. It caught everyone off guard and happened before her family really even knew what was going on.

And here's a story of survival: My mother's step mother, Wendy Bryant, also had cancer. She beat it many years ago and is a survivor now.

So this is (most) of my personal experience with cancer, and I am only 24. This is a great illustration of just how much influence cancer has on all of our lives. However, I STRONGLY believe that it does not have to be this way. We've put man on the moon, mapped the human genome, set countless sattellites into orbit around the Earth, and done many other amazing things that I don't have the space to list... but cancer is still destroying so many lives. Lung cancer technology is virtually the same it was 20 years ago. 1500 people in the US are still dying from cancer EVERY DAY!

Here are some facts, courtesy of ACS' 2008 Cancer Facts and Figures.

• 10.8 Million Americans have some sort of history of cancer (from 2004). This includes people in treatment and remission.
• 1,437,180 new cases of cancer are expected to be diagnosed in 2008. My moma and Carey are 2 of these. This figure does not include carcinoma in situ (noninvasive cancers), except of the bladder, and basal and squamous cell skin cancers (more than 1 million cases are expected in 2008).
  
• Over 560,000 people are expected to die from cancer in the US this year. That's 1500 people a DAY! Cancer is the 2nd most common cause of death in the US. One in four deaths in the US are cause by cancer!
• 5 year survival rates have increased by 16 % since the 70's, but it is still only 66%!

I (along with many other people) just don't believe it has to be this way. So here's why I posted all of this for you to read.
I urge you to go on to www.standuptocancer.org today. SU2C is working towards ending cancer altogether. They are working with top experts in cancer research to end cancer. Wouldn't that be amazing?

SU2C's nationally televised show comes on tonight at 8PM on ABC, NBC, andCBS to raise funds for cancer research. I ask all of you to at least watch this show, or visit the website, to increase your awareness of cancer, and how it affects all of us. If you can afford to make a donation, please do! Even $25 will help.

Thank you for reading this, and I am sorry if it is a little scattered. I wasn't planning to write this much (or anything) until just now. I kinda felt like I had to.

Love, Deanna

This week...

So, We went to see Disturbed on Tuesday. We caught Dragonforce first. They were pretty cool. Definitely entertaining. They all had crazy long hair and were kinda dorky. LOL.
Disturbed was AWESOME however. I really enjoyed them. So did Clint and Derek.

We got some great news on Wednesday. Mom had CT scans of her entire abdominal and chest areas to check for any progress and stuff for the chemo. The scans showed no cancer anywhere but her lung, and that her tumor had shrank 50%!!! Woo Hoo Thank God!

Other than that, nothing has really went on. Just working, spending time with Clint, spending time with my family, and some friends. That's about it. :) That's ok though. Could be much worse.

New stuff

Hey everyone. Lot's has happened since I updated last... I'm sure you all know about it so I won't go too indepth with it all...
Clint's wonderful Godmother Carey passed away last week from complications of colon cancer. She was a great woman who will be so sorely missed. The family is doing pretty good and I know in time they will be just fine.

My mother was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. She began chemo on Wednesday. Her PET scan came back with awesome results (it only showed cancer in her lung, not all over like I think the doctor thought). She's puny and stuff from the chemo. I know she'll be just fine though. This is just one mountain we have to climb, and we will and we'll all be just fine.
Moma cut and donated her hair last monday before she loses it... and then I cut and donated mine on Tuesday to support her. Here's a picture.....

Here's Moma's CaringBridge website if you guys want to check it out and maybe leave her a message that you dropped in...

That's all for now. I'll update soon! I promised Clint's moma Paula I would!

Apartment Pics (Today)

Hey. Took these today. Bare with me since I totally don't know how to work formatting here....
The first is the entry, second is the living room. Third is the library/dining room. Fourth and fifth are kitchen/pantry. Sixth, seventh, and eighth are the patio. Ninth and tenth are the computer/sun room. Eleventh and twelvth are the living room chairs and entertainment. 13, 14, 15 are my bedroom. 16 and 17 are my bathroom.

My New Apartment (Empty) Pt. 1

These are all pics from the week we move. The first is the outside. Second is the living room. The third is dining room/library. The fourth is the sunroom/computer room. Fifth and sixth are the kitchen/pantry. The seventh is the patio. The eighth is my bedroom. The ninth is my closet. and the tenth is my bathroom (only toilet and shower... forgot a sink and mirror picture)

For Real This Time

Hi there!
I'm actually going to update this thing now. I meant to last time, but got busy. Or forgot. Or some other really good excuse.

Anyway. I started my job in January. Been there just over 4 months. It's pretty cool. I save the world one poop plant at a time. It can't be bad if I am saving the world, ya know? Even if it is poop.

I moved out at the end of April. To an apartment with my pal Jaime in Smyrna-Vinings. It's kinda in between the two areas.

I am starting to like it more now. I was REALLY homesick the first 2 weeks or so. I am still pretty homesick, but it's getting better. I'll post some pictures sometime soon. It's weird being on my own and being by myself so often when I lived around 3 people in a not so quiet house all my life.

Anyway. I have to see if I can find my roomie (she's awol... maybe shopping?) and then see about some food. I am STARVING. Probably too hungry to cook. I think Taco Bell may be calling my name tonight.

Adios!