Rochester, Kent,UK.

We have had a weekend of doting.

Here are some wedding photos. We will get some professional ones in due course

London,UK.

In many ways it was difficult to leave the comforts and  beautiful weather of San Diego but it was time to get going again. Our flight to London was quite good as the plane was half empty and we were able to get three seats each and I managed to get a few hours of snoozing.
The London gloom was a bit of a shock but to be expected at this time of year. Jennifer and Josette arrived on the following day and then it was full on preparation for the wedding of my niece Lisa.
I'm not usually mad keen on huge gatherings but it was great to get all dressed up and have three of the kids in one place at the same time. Ann, Jessica, Jennifer and Josette all looked beautiful and the wedding itself was meticulously planned and most enjoyable.
I don't know how much jet lag was involved but I managed to stay awake until the wee hours of the morning.
On the following morning, we got to see baby Sydney in the flesh for the first time in six months. Even though we see and talk to her on Skype almost on a daily basis, face to face interaction was much better. I think she knew who we were but she seemed a bit confused as to why we weren't talking to her via an electronic device.
We went to Amersham on Tuesday to visit with the Admiral's mum and dad and also had  a very pleasant visit with Helen Southwood, one of our good cruising friends at her new home in Chorleywood .
Photos to follow

San Diego, CA

I am very happy to have finished my 4 1/2 weeks of radiation and I feel so lucky to have avoided chemotherapy, my only side effects being somewhat tired and localized itchy skin! I have now started anastrozole, a daily oral medication for the next 10 years ,as long as there are no serious side effects....fingers crossed. Lifestyle wise I have decided to change my vegetarian diet slightly and I have cut out ALL dairy products! And a max of 3 drinks per WEEK ( this is stated as the safe amount) as studies show that drinking 2-3 glasses of alcohol per day can increase the risk of breast cancer by 20%! We have continued to visit new sites around San Diego, and have been twice to my favorite ,this being the Salk Institute in La Jolla,this is a private research institute, began by Jonas Salk ,who along with Louis Kahn envisioned in the 1960's an exceptional environment for laboratory discovery.Using 5 components ,concrete, steel, travertine ,teak and glass this wondrous piece of architecture is maintenance free and ever evolving. It is located on the cliff side overlooking the Pacific Ocean .Walking through these serene surroundings where many Nobel prize winners have pondered is very calming and inspiring. Last weekend was also very inspiring for me ,it was the American Cancer association Breast Cancer walk, there were 30,000 walkers! Mostly dressed in pink.827 teams.Our team was called " Keep Calm and think pink " ranked 33 rd in fund raising with a total of $3990 ! Thank you everybody who sponsored me, and walked by my side,I felt truly loved. We had a lovely weekend with James and Katie from San Francisco, Josie from Portland and (10 days )with my sister Sue from England.Other activities have included The captain having his obligatory infrequent haircut,in preparation for his nieces wedding, Saturday walks at the local farmers market and trying some local restaurants. In 10 days we will travel to London and slowly kick start our journey again...with family visits and then back to the boat in Langawi ( Malaysia) in December.

Salk Institute

Salk Institute

Breast Cancer Walk Our Team

The admiral with all of her regalia

Ringing the bell at the end of treatment at UCSD

Bubbles at the Prado

San Diego, CA

All done with treatment!
Yesterday was the last radiation therapy treatment and today the Admiral visited with her oncologist and was given her next appointment for six months. All went well with the radiation therapy thus far but she may suffer from some ill effects over the next two to four weeks. We will have to wait and see. Also, she will start an estrogen blocking drug tomorrow and we hope that there will be no problems with it, as it is recommended she take this medication for 5- 10 years.
She is most relieved to have finished treatment and is now involved with much retail therapy with her sister, Susan who is visiting from England.
We have not been idle since my last post. We had a very pleasant celebratory lunch at the Prado restaurant in Balboa Park yesterday and last weekend was the walk for Breast Cancer.
A four mile stroll with about five thousand of our new best friends. Lots of noise and rah-rah but a very uplifting and emotional experience. We had Josette and James and Katie down for the weekend and we spent some quality family time together
The Admiral did well to raise more than $2500 for the ACS and again we would like to thank all those who contributed.
Photos to follow.

San Diego, CA

Nearly Half Way There

I am now  2 weeks into my radiation, so far so good.

When I am lying in the machine( called a linear accelerator) each day it seems so

 surreal, as if this is happening to someone else and I'm a spectator .The only bad

 thing last week was a couple of episodes of vertigo which is unlikely to be related.

We have been busy exploring San Diego each day after my treatments, trying to 

incorporate some nice long walks and new sites. Every Tuesday rotating museums

 are free for residents, luckily for the Captain it was the automotive and air and space museums this week, hopefully it will be art and the Zen gardens next.

Last week was also the opening of the new downtown SD 8 floor library complex ,lots of space to lounge and good fast wifi.

Julie and I have also been busy with online fundraising for the ACS breast cancer fund and organizing our team to walk on October 20 th. See the link below

http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR?px=34858349&pg=personal&fr_id=55649&fl=en_US&et=PvKxvZQ6Yf2y1eglg3CpWw&s_tafId=1204955

For those of you who may be wondering how the Captain has adjusted to so much 

land time,you will be pleased to hear that he has

been keeping his feet wet 'beer can racing,' every Wednesday afternoon, at CCYC.

reading room new library

Automotive museum at Balboa Park

.

San Diego, CA

Another week has slid by and we went back to UCSD today to begin Ann's radiotherapy only to be told that she would have some pre treatment scans done today and they would begin tomorrow. We have the full schedule and it will end on October 23rd.
In the meantime, we are keeping busy. A ballgame at Petco Park tonight and the museums at Balboa Park tomorrow. The weather has been outstanding and flights to London are arranged for November 5th.
Ann has been busy with the American Cancer Society walk for breast cancer on Sunday, October 20th.
and we all plan to attend on that date.

San Diego, CA

Our Next Journey

It now seems so long ago ( only a month) that we were spending balmy evenings on 
the Sun Valley green picnicking at sunset whilst listening to the sun valley summer 
symphony; planning our upcoming trip to England and the next leg of our sailing 
journey.  Little did we know then ,that this would come to a grinding halt and 
all our plans would have to be put on hold.
Our lives have become transient these last 4 years,after leaving our home (25 
years ) in Rancho Mirage we have been  traveling to new horizons always moving 
west as we sail around the world.We left behind friends and family which 
included all our support systems that we would normally have harnessed at times 
like these. All our new friends along this journey are also scattered ,so we 
rely on our blogs, Facebook,emails and Skype for all our  communication  . I 
would never  have considered this pathway before ,but now it doesn't seem 
surprising for me to be writing about this latest journey in our lives.
During  these last 3 weeks I have been extremely anxious not knowing what comes 
next.It is so hard to loose control and have patience to wait for results.It is 
truly surreal ,one moment being logical having discussions about statistics and 
outcomes and the next being an emotional wreck ,not sleeping and having 
discussions with myself all night,truly an eye opener into our vulnerability and 
how much we take life for granted.
Being diagnosed with 'cancer ' sends a tremendous jolt to your brain! Before you 
have even begun the battle this word hits you like a ton of bricks ,so that it 
is hard to logically see the wood for the trees.
We have both been avidly  reading what seems like every study ,paper,trial ever 
written on breast cancer ,yea for iPads and Internet ( in every circumstance). 
We have gained a tremendous amount of knowledge on the subject ,including all 
the advances in treatment  :)
 I have had many and multiple doctor consults,at Eisenhower medical center and 
at UCSD medical center ,with mammograms,ultra sounds ,biopsies,various kinds of 
scans ,tests and surgery and now finally all the cards are on the table ,so we 
can make the most fully informed decision as to my best option for treatment 
.The oncotype dx test came back today with a score of 13  :)
this suggests that I do NOT need chemo therapy :) :)
I will be starting  22 days of radiation therapy on Monday and then starting a 
daily oral medication for the next 5 years.
We can now plan our next  phase in the journey. It feels so good to be back in 
control again.