“My name is Terry, and I’m dying of cancer. Welcome to the adventure.”
That is the welcome to the Houston Chronicle’s newest blog — CancerDiva. Terry Hayes, the author of the blog, describes herself as follows:

I’m a single, 40-year-old woman living in Houston with my sister and her two dogs. I have a kitty cat named Sasha. I love to shop, read, watch movies and listen to music. I enjoy a challenging jigsaw puzzle, “This American Life” and “Prairie Home Companion”. I like plays, traveling, and art cars. I love my job and my co-workers. I can’t get enough of “CSI,” “Law & Order,” or “The Closer,” and I’ll watch anything on BRAVO. My favorite color is pink.
Oh, and I’m dying of cancer.
No use sugarcoating it. When my oncologist told me in April 2006 that I have metastatic colon cancer, I nodded my head and said, “Okay.” When she told me I had about 24 months to live, “give or take a few,” I nodded my head and said, “Okay.”
My cancer had spread from my colon to distant sites in my body, namely my ovaries, liver and abdominal wall. Last week, I thought I might have a brain tumor. Luckily, my MRI was normal (normal for now anyway).
Only 5-8% of patients with Stage IV/Duke’s D colon cancer make it five years after diagnosis. The usual course, from diagnosis to death, takes about 24 months, “give or take a few”.
I’m not sure why I took the news quite so casually. My oncologist, a wonderful woman named Dr. Glover, said I was “eerily calm.”
I have a few theories. One of the many, many issues I’ll be discussing in this blog.

You can bet I’ll be reading this one.