Holly and I were just talking about where the word 'cancer' comes from. Of course, rather than pondering it, I hit the Wiktionary.

From Latin cancer ‘crab’. Applied to cancerous tumors because the enlarged veins resembled the legs of a crab.

So don't get crabs.

Holly had her 4th Oxiliplatin treatment today. Like always, it sucks. She went in feeling great and came home feeling crappy. I don't know how she wills herself to go or take the pills everyday. To knowingly take a poison. I don't know. She came home and crashed. She woke up and we watched a couple of episodes of Cash Cab and she crashed again. It's late and I've got a bunch of work to do so I'm gonna keep it short. The next big event is a CT Scan on my birthday (10/8). Maybe we'll get a cake with that enema. You'd think that they would give us some sort of frequent guest card or something. Like Starwood points. Instead of free breakfast or room upgrades, we'd get warm hands, fancy lube and maybe less insurance hassles.

One of the things that we've noticed since Holly has shaved her head is that baldness + Livestrong bracelet = Cancer Expert. Like all of the sudden, with the quick buzz of a razor, she is an oncologist. She has literally had people stop her in line at Safeway to ask about symptoms and then, of course, explain whatever malady that they might be having that day. "Well, my coffee burnt my tongue and the cat got out and I had such a pain chasing her around the back yard only to get this awful head ache halfway though the day and a ringing in my ears. Does that sound like cancer to you Deary?" Of course, I find it hysterical and only encourage it. Thankfully, no one has asked us to examine any lumps or spots. Yet.

Wow, that's just about all we can say. Wow. Thank you very much for all of the kind words, positive thoughts, awesome vibes and everything else that everyone has sent our way over the past week. I've been really busy with work, so I apologize for not writing sooner, but we are simply amazed at all of the amazing support that everyone has given us. The video has received over 4,000 views on YouTube and MetaCafe. The comments on the site and personal emails have been wonderful. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Thank you very much for all the kind responses to the video. Scott and I have been overwhelmed by the positive feedback. Scott deserves all of the praise. He thought out every detail, from the questions to the music. I'm simply the baldy in front of the camera. Our goal has always been education, however the blog has become more than that. We've been welcomed into another community of support. For that, we can't thank you enough. It's been a great week. It's been such fun getting the kids settled into kindergarten and preschool. For some wacky reason, I've also had more energy. I actually stayed up past 8:00 three nights in a row.

We went to the salon on Saturday morning.

Head Shaving Party - Www.HopeForHolly.com

Holly is halfway through her 3rd infusion right now. Carrie, her sister, really wanted to take her today, so I'm at work. While I've had a busy morning, it is hard to focus knowing that she is at the oncology center. It sucks. I did find MINDPOWER, a pretty cool distraction to play with to get my mind off of things for a few minutes. MINDPOWER was created by fellow Yahoo Jim Bumgardner. Jim does really fascinating things with math and randomness. Since I've posted in the past about the seeming randomness of cancer, this is right up my alley. I'm kind of a creative desert right now, so I won't make a vague Motorhead reference, though that was the intention.

Holly beat my ass up the Dam today, all the while teasing me that I'm getting beat by a girl with cancer. Not my finest moment in physical fitness history. If you know the trail, you know that it isn't a simple walk in the park. It's nickname, the Dammit, is due to the fact that it runs up and around the Lexington Reservoir Dam. It is also what hikers repeat as they make their way up the steep inclines. There is a 5 mile race each year which proclaims:

"This course is rough, rocky, dusty, with very steep uphill terrain and narrow trails," the race flier warns. "Don't underestimate its difficulty--this is not a race for the faint of heart or the timid."

Holly did great. It was good to see her out and

Sometimes, cancer is so obvious. I'm reminded of it all the time. I see the giant scar on Holly's stomach and I'm reminded. Cancer is in the media all the time, from Katie Couric to Tony Snow to Elizabeth Edwards to Crazy Sexy Cancer. It's easy to be reminded. Outlook comes up with various doctors appointments. Friends ping me on IM to ask about Holly. My heart skips a beat whenever I see 'HOME' on my cell and I'm forced to think of what might be wrong. It is easy to be reminded of cancer. When I get home and Holly is completely exhausted. When I see Xeloda on the counter or Metamusil in the cabinets or prune juice in the fridge. When we get medical bills in the mail. When we have to leave the party early. It is easy to be reminded of cancer. When she wears a low cut top and I see the incision where her port is. Next week, when she shaves her head, it will be more obvious. When I see the yellow 'LIVE STRONG' bracelet or the Chinese healing beads given to her by a friend. When I see books and magazines and pamphlets on 'Your New Life With Cancer'. It is easy to be reminded of cancer. But sometimes... Last Sunday, we spent the morning at the beach. The kids played in the sand. The dog ran around with a million other dogs. Holly and I walked and held hands. We went to Kelly's, our favorite place in Santa Cruz, for brunch. It was perfect. And I forgot about cancer.

Today is the 3rd annual BlogDay. It also marks (more or less) the 8th month anniversary of Holly's diagnosis of Stage 3 Colon Cancer. Not a great day in our lives, but we are well passed the half way point, which gives us some comfort. Throughout This Silliness, we have found amazing inspiration through a collection of bloggers who are documenting their bouts with cancer. The rules of BlogDay are fairly simple, identify 5 blogs that I find interesting, link to them and add a link to BlogDay somewhere in the post. Easy, peasy. I have about 20+ cancer related blogs that I subscribe to. In fact, this gives me motivation to do something with the side bar in terms of a feed. Let's see if I actually accomplish that. While all of the blogs that I read are exceptional in their own way, here are 5 that I come back to more than regularly. In no particular order. 1.) Derek K. Miller - Penmachine - Derek's photostream on Flickr was what originally inspired me to start this blog. He is a fantastic writer, focusing on his fight with colon cancer, technology and has awesome taste in music. I not only read his stuff to stay current on his struggle with cancer, but also to stay current on things that I deal with at work. 2.) Help Isabel - When a 5 year old has leukemia and her mother has the strength to write about it every single day, it is amazing stuff. Isabel is an inspiration to us all. 3.) Cancer is the Easy Part / Life With Heathens - Cancer is hard enough when you can pronounce what you have. Jo at CitEP / LWH blogs about her experience with Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia Type 2a, Medullary Thyroid Cancer and other little bits that life throws at her and continues to have an amazing attitude through it all. She has also been a wonderful part of the H4H community. 4.) My Cancer, Leroy Sievers - No list of cancer blogs would be complete without him. He is the writer I aspire to be. 5.) YouTumor - Shortly after Holly was diagnosed, I received an email that stated "We have some stuff in common. My name is Scott, I work in technology, and, unfortunately my wife also has cancer." From that day on, I was hooked. Scott also likes the Simpsons and making awesome pop culture references. Fortunately, his wife is doing well and they are moving to London. Scott and Beth both have infectious positive attitudes that make their posts really fun to read. I could go on all night. There are so many good blogs out there and it is great to see everyone being open about their experiences. Next year... Hopefully next year, all will be well and I can focus on other sites.