The Audience

I am home after a whirlwind trip to Las Vegas .  I was in Vegas less than 48 hours.  It may have been short but this trip has been wonderful.  The food in Vegas was been amazing, from breakfast at Thomas Keller's Bouchon (twice) to the duck breast at Emeril Lagasse's Table 10.  Not to mention the wine and bellinis!  I was able to see a Cirque show on Wednesday night after an enormous waffle cone full of Ben & Jerrys.  My suite came complete with 3 televisions and a phone in the bathroom,.  The king size bed was soft yet firm and loaded with perfect pillows.  The people working at the Venetian were kind and helpful including the blackjack dealer who helped explain the rules and strategy while very kindly (and happily) taking my money!  (Not to worry, I was only willing to gamble $50...Grace will still get to go to college!).  For all of the great touristy reasons the trip was excellent!

And then there was the real reason I made the trip.  On Wednesday morning I shared my cancer story with around 200 people who work for Genentech.  What an audience!  They listened closely, asked questions, and thanked me.  Thanked me again and again and again.  I have had numerous opportunities to share my story with patients, caregivers, and survivors but this was the first time I have spoken to people who work in the field of cancer but rarely get to meet those of us in the thick of it.  At the risk of sounding like I'm sucking up to the company, it is important to me to say thank you to them.  They reminded me that sharing my cancer story is so much bigger than me.  So, Thank you.