Life is so Beautiful - Talking Health, Cancer, Dreams and Diem Brown

No matter what it is, you're going to have the bad days, but if you have hope throughout, you won, no matter what the results...Life is so beautiful. - Diem Brown

Diem Brown

Back in the day when people still watched MTV, shows like The Real World, Road Rules and the various RW/RR Challenges were popular and made seemingly spoiled kids household names.

Back in the day I used to watch these shows and do remember Diem Brown most of all because of her battle with cancer. Even when I stopped watching the shows, I kept up with Diem. She started MedGift - a website that provides support pages to those dealing with a medical crisis or illness. She beat cancer, then the cancer came back, she beat it again, it came back.

Diem lost her final battle against cancer today. She was only 32 years old.

There are two things I take away from this news story. The first is timely, as only this morning I went to get a pap smear done. No woman likes doing a pap smear. Pap smears suck. It is generally recommended that you get a pap smear every 3 years. I actually did one last year, but as part of my annual company medical I needed to do one again today. During our discussion about my personal health care management, the doctor commended me for my regular smear tests over the years. He said he speaks to his patients ad nauseum to do their pap smears and most never do. Pap smears can help doctors identify any cervical cell changes (dysplasia), treat them, thus reducing your risk for cervical cancer and the risk for abnormal cell changes (WebMD).

How many of us also do regular breast exams - whether it is self examinations or at the doctor's? While we cannot predict what happens to us most times, listening to the doctor this morning made me aware that even in the areas where we can be proactive, many women are not. This was scary to me.

Life is beautiful! Get tested! Be aware!

Secondly, the quote at the top of this post - a quote from an interview Diem did with People magazine.

Life is so beautiful.

A 32 year old woman is no longer walking this earth. She had so many dreams. She wanted to be a mother. She wanted the house, with the picket fence - all those things we dream about. She will nvere do or have those things now.

What are your dreams and are you living them, or working towards them? Are you scared of taking the next step towards that dream? It is okay to admit it because many of us are in that space or have been in that space. The tragedy is staying in that space.

Life is so beautiful.

Enjoy today and every day. The moments - simple and not so simple. The people in your life, those who love you and cherish you and vice versa. Diem Brown -

She dreamed of experiencing everyday pleasures, like apple picking in the fall, but more than anything, she said, she just wanted to live.

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The Good, the Bad and the Reality: Jersey Shore

So I am sitting here, roasting in this unbelievable heat and watching this unbelievably stupid show Jersey Shore. The thing is as stupid as it is, I don't miss an episode. It's hilarious and I am a sucker for American reality tv. Yep. I admit it.

Anyway, this girl Sammi has to be the dumbest woman on the planet or at least part of the dumb elite. I watch this chick week after week get dumped on by her meathead, no ambition, shark head boyfriend Ronnie who clearly also has some psychological issues and a serious drinking problem. And I wonder what does this dude have that entails you being made a fool of every week? Is it that good? She is a pretty good looking girl in a stupid kinda way but wow...she has no sense when it comes to this meathead. Even Snooki, who with a nickname like Snooki one would imagine she would be a total puffhead, has more sense than this Samantha chick.

And though I should logically find the guys on this show highly offensive, their own ignorance and laissez-faire attitude to political correctness makes for amusing tv. I really really should be gravely offended by The Situation referring to a girl he does not find highly attractive as an hippopotamus, but he is so clueless about his own doggish appearance, and so self absorbed that it does not matter much. The episode where the girl's fake breast floated out of her bra and into the packed hot tub was another classic, with these silly dudes playing a game of catch with this piece of rubber that was once part of a girl's attempt at a breast. The show is like a large portion of french fries - you know it's bad for you and full of crap, but you have it anyway.

p.s. The Situation is going to be one of the "celebrities" on the upcoming season of Dancing With the Stars. That should be a laugh.

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