First, I want to THANK EVERYONE that came to the “Support for our Sister” benefit (held Friday, Sept 25th). It was a complete success! It turned out far better than I imagined. I had no expectations and yet was blessed with faces old and new, familiar and unfamiliar. It was a burst of love, support, community outreach and love. Did I mention love? I stress this is about YOU. It speaks for the heart and unconditional kindness of people and the closeness of our musical community. Every little bit helps. And thank you for April Sciacca for being the cornerstone for orgaizing it!

Me and April:

Room full of people having a great time, dancing:

An auction:

A raffle:

Performances by…
Naor Nave:

Tempa & the Tantrums:

Melanie Susuras Band:

Performing “Mesmerized”:

Something Underground:

Performing “We Shall Overcome”:

Demon Funkies:

More peeps and friends:

Lots of lovin’ in the oven.

So I’ve now had round 2 and 3. With 6 total, I’m half way through! So far, the primary “side effect” has been hair loss (yep, smooth noggin) and a serious lack of energy which I fight to keep going. I’ve had only one fever and haven’t had any issues with nausea. I miss my yoga and I look forward to get back to it soon.

Round # 2, which Emily joined me for. “Jesus, I’m drunk”…on chemo.

Afterwards she helped me shave my head. Monk Elana. Om.

Some various new looks…

And courtesy of Glyn …

Round 3 with Dad. He drove up from Marfa, TX to be with me for a few days.

Here he’s reading my Lance Armstrong “It’s Not about the Bike”:

Until next time… PEACE, love and thank you!

All, please mark your calendars for Friday, September 25th! Some wonderful people have come together to help me and are going to put on a BIG show! This will be held at the D Note in Arvada (5719 Grandview). The proceeds will go towards my health fund as my bills are now in the thousands (yes – sadly even with insurance). These bands are awesome! What can I say? These people are extremely talented, will entertain your SOCKS off, and are very near and dear to my heart. =) There will be a raffle to boot. Details below in order of appearance…

- Naor Nave acoustic
- Tempa & The Tantrums
- Melanie Susuras Band
- Something Underground (recently played Red Rocks!)
- Demon Funkies

Here’s a press release created by press writer – Suzanne Lainson:

“A popular member of the local music community, singer/songwriter Elana Rogers was diagnosed in June with an aggressive form of breast cancer. Two weeks later she had a double mastectomy with reconstructive surgery and is undergoing chemo.

It was that earlier bout with cancer that gave her the incentive to take up music. “It completely opened my eyes and made me really want to play. I didn’t care what people thought anymore.” She started on drums, then acoustic-electric guitar, then songwriting. She played in Dallas coffee houses and pubs, then relocated to Denver in 2002. She’s put out two CDs and played a number of venues and events in the Denver metro area. Said Michael Roberts of Westword, “Considering the mob of generic singer-songwriters currently operating in these parts, a performer can stand out only if she or he has something to offer beyond an excess of sensitivity. Fortunately, Rogers does.”

Okay, so holy moses. I feel a little outdated here. I need to update this more often. But then if I did maybe these entries wouldn’t be as interesting. Heh. So by now I’ve had that infamous first round. I’ll catch up to that in a minute.

So a few things have happened since my last entry. With a 5-minute advance warning at the Aug 7th ACS Westminster Relay for Life, I was asked to since the National Anthem to a field of at least 100 people Yikes! Um, can anyone slip me the words on a post-it note?

That’s me in my pink “LIVESTRONG” shirt:

Below, that’s me in the pink shirt standing out like a sore thumb amongst the crew of other Survivors. This year I made a personal decision to continue wearing the pink Livestrong shirt, yet honoring the 2009 Survivor purple shirt over my shoulder:

Also new… I’ve cut my hair shorter! This was a drastic change for me. The fateful day was August 15th. The last time my hair was short was 17 years ago – coincidentally shortened because of the pseudo hair loss from the radiation treatment I received at the time. So since then I’ve had long hair and haven’t gone back until now. WOW.

Here’s an example. 1992-something:

THE HOLY COW DAY…

Lexi and I: pre holy cow. My stylist for the past 4 years.

Gotta have a PBR for times like these…

Last strand standing!

Boom! Check out Rebel Salon off of 33rd & Blake:

So now (surprising to me) this new drastic measure of mine has been quite rewarding! Had it not been for the impending hair loss I wouldn’t NOT have considered doing this. But given the number of compliments it warrants, I’m re-thinking my decisions. So when it grows back folks I might let it hang out at this length for a while. TBD…

Here’s Amanda and I at Red Rocks on Aug 17th:

Our buds of “Something Underground” with Tempa, Pauly, TD and Hazel Miller played on the main stage – opening for Woodstock the film.

The IVF freezing process was a success! Two weeks of night and day injections paid off. The surgery was a flawless and now I can rest easy at night knowing that I have this safeguard behind me. I learned through this process that many women in my situation do the same thing. I am not alone. Except for taking goofball self photos like this one…

As planned, my first treatment (first of 6) was on Thurs, Aug 20th. My friend Stephanie was with me for the 1st half, and then Melissa joined me for the 2nd half. How did it go? Well, weird.

Friendly Stephanie:

Me freaking out (just kidding)

And so it begins. My expression, “you’re kidding… right?”:

When I got home I had little to no energy. It was like a heavy feeling like molasses. But then by Friday I was bouncing off the walls. Then the weekend came and went and I was drained of energy, napping at random, yet able to run errrands just fine – like paint my kitchen Terrarium (when it was previously boring white). I was feeling creative. I did the whole kitchen and yes – all by myself! Hi Phoebe buttercup. =)

Things are in-between and in-the-middle of things. We’re looking at post surgery, in the middle of daily injections and office visits, and 2 weeks out from chemo (slated to start Aug 20th), and I perform tomorrow night at the American Cancer Society (ACS) annual Relay for Life in Westminster. Wild! But hey, I’m a trooper, have my wits about me, am strong and gotta do what I gotta do. I can’t imagine what it must look like to those looking in. Stressful, yes, but not to fret. You take your already-existing skills with you when you enter new challenges. You also try to sieze every opportunity.

Speaking of siezing opportunities: Outside of enjoying this summer’s Mile High Music Festival (with Thievery Corporation, Jett and Widespread Panic to name a few!), one of the coolest things happened while being “in between” things. I took advantage and skipped off to the Indian Peaks Wilderness for a weekend of camping! July 24th & 25th. Thanks to my lovely girlfriends Tiffany and April. Yayness!

Which leads me to a sneaky dropping of a hink. WINK. Come spring / summer 2010 I want to do a “celebration trip” with any takers for a possible week-long backpacking trip in the Yellowstone National Park! Sound cool? Only a few seats left.

Here’s some pics from our adventure. More pics in alumn bottom right.

Three cool chicks in a super cool forrest…

Check out our posh cribs. Our canopy rocked! Jealous? Hehe.

THE coolest place to have lunch…

4 miles in on our 8 mile hike. In other words, our turning around point. Our “Eureka!” view:

After living in Colorado for 7 years, I still can’t get over the Alpine wildflowers…

You can jingle my bells.

I love the smokey mountains in the background with glaciers resting upon them….

Ain’t nothing like some good Indian food after some good camping in the Indian Peaks Wilderness!

The great crowd during Theivery Corporation:

Jet

Tempa and I having some “hair” fun… Cute!

My boss Ellen recently participated in Aspen’s “Race for the Cure” and wore my name and her Aunt Libby’s name on her back! Thank you Ellen! That’s her baby Wiley with her. Everybody say “aaaaaawwww”.

Exactly one month ago today on June 17, 2009 I had the fateful double mastectomy (with immediate reconstruction) on the advisement of multiple Dr’s. This unanimous decision was primarily due to the fact that this cancer was caused by the high gamma-ray direct radiation treatment I received to my neck and chest at 19 years of age.

That aside, the healing has been tremendous! I give credit to my youth, taking it easy, avoiding jumping jacks, and my already-existing great health (all things considering). I also give credit to my exceptional core team of providers and caretakers whom have been so diligent in helping me make the right decisions.

Playing the well-known sport of “Air Tennis”:

So where are we today? Well here’s the skinny. I have made a personal decision to preserve something very precious to me that I learned has a 60% chance of being permanently destroyed as a result of chemo. I have been given an opportunity to preserve this and have received the guidance and approval of my Oncologist. That was #1. In addition, I have found an organization that can help me financially with this decision. That was #2.

With both obstacles now out of way (thanks to fax machines, cell phones and email!), I am thankfully being given the opportunity to pursue this route and will henceforth begin my chemo treatments in mid-August. This mysterious organization? www.FertileHope.org.

So here I was alll worried that I wouldn’t be able to enjoy the summer of 2009. Well @#$! that! It’s all about enjoying life right now and “living in the NOW” and appreciating what each day has to offer. Not to sound like corn, but it’s true! I am more positive and optimistic in my life right now than in recent memory. Needless to say I’m looking forward to flying past this, put this behind me soon and be done with it. The treatements will last 4.5 months and should be done by Thanksgiving or the week after (depending on an Aug 13th or 20th start).

You learn things about yourself when you are faced with challenges. The way I look at it is that you can CHOOSE your reaction. In my case, there’s no way in hell I’m going to let this be a “downer” and jade my inner core strength and power of the mind. I believe that the body, mind and spirit work as one. We each have the power to be our own healing vortex.

Sending “thankful” energy into the Universe, living in the NOW and never giving up on yourself are just some examples of the best tools to use in this situation. When you have self love and want to live fully, you may surprise yourself by discovering that your thoughts may default into the best mindset that they could possibly have. Imagine the possibilities.

So! Onto other things… With the help of friends I have been able to enjoy a camping trip, one of my many favorite things! This time I took it easy and didn’t lift many things or make use of my upper arm strength. Here are some pics taken from this past weekend at the “Hecla Junction” campsite near Salida, Colorado:

Playing by the campfire:

The coolest thing to do when camping. Sit by said campfire:

Friends Krystal and April came down the following day. That’s the “Arkansas River” next to our campsite:

We enjoyed a hike along the Colorado Trail near Mt. Princeton – one of Colorado’s esteemed “fourteeners”:

“YMCA!”:

A great crew of peeps:

And finally… for grins here’s what I could look like in 6 weeks. Yes, I’ve been goofing on the possibilities. And yes, that’s my hand on the left.

Until next time, stay tuned for “Elana tries to hold onto her long hair for as long as possible!”

Love,
ER

Click HERE for Colorado’s Westword Magazine on-line mention about my situtation, authored by Dave Herrera on July 7, 2009.

I had no idea until Suzanne Lainson left me a comment on my July 4th post. Thank you Dave!! Hugs to you! I hope to cross paths with you soon. Perhaps in a rose garden? *grin*

Smiles,
Elana