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“Trouble, trouble, trouble….Sometimes I swear it feels like this worry is my only friend”

ByJudi Zitiello

Apprehension is building to the date of that dreaded scan.The March and June scans revealed spots on my lungs that my oncologist, Dr. Johnson said the chance of a reoccurrence of my pancreatic cancer could be 3 or 4 on a scale of 1-10. With my husband out of town our daughter Lindsay and her…

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Champions for Hope

ByJudi Zitiello

On a warm June day as I stood at the UNF Arena podium before approximately twelve hundred mourners, I felt a strange peace come over me. I had prayed I could get through the eulogy of a man who changed my life and the lives of my family. A man I love dearly. A man…

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And we all lived happily ever after…

ByJudi Zitiello

It is wonderful to feel healthy and happy and ever-so-busy. Trips, weddings, baby AND bridal showers, parties, dinners have all kept me running and focused on “life” rather than Pancreatic Cancer. To date Tom and I have weathered four CT scans.(All cancer free by the way!) With each passing month after chemo and radiation I…

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A battle and a blessing

ByJudi Zitiello

Am I battling for my life? Is the enemy surrounding me and do I have weapons that I raise to fight? This week I read an article written by Kate Granger who has cancer who claimed cancer is not a fight. She said, in her view “the cancer seems to revolve around wartime rhetoric: battle,…

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Will I be here for……

ByJudi Zitiello

The local greeting card store was not busy as I entered. It was time to buy some cards for the late fall birthdays approaching. The owner, recognizing me as a frequent customer, smiled at me and said “hello”. I nodded and kept walking toward the birthday section. Should I buy just one card for my…

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Purple Stride – 2015

ByJudi Zitiello

In June, 2010 I went to cooking school in the foothills of the Appenines just south of Florence, Italy with a good foodie friend, Kelly who is here today. We prepared our meals in a 300 year-old stone barn that had been renovated into a rustic kitchen. I learned to prepare tasty meals with limited…

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Aunt Sherie’s Chocolate Cherry Cake

ByJudi Zitiello

1 Package Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix 1 Can Cherry Pie Filling 3 Eggs 1 Tsp. Almond Extract Preheat oven 350 degrees Prepare two 8″ cake tins. Grease with shortening and dust with cake mix. Combine all ingredients and pour evenly into prepared tins. Bake 35 – 40 minutes, testing to be sure a toothpick comes…