Thank you, Yahoo ladies

Jeez people .. here I am, laying it all out there, spilling my guts -- and the post that gets all the comments is the Soprano's?

Well .. alrightee then.

I guess I am down with that. If it's pop culture y'all want, it's pop culture you shall get. I can certainly do that. Lord knows, no one watches more television than the Solomon's. But -- let's hold on to that for another day because I've been woefully negligent in thanking a very special group of individuals who have helped me immeasurably this past year.

It's funny, working in technology PR, I've written/talked/read about "online communities" for years, but I'm fairly certain that up until recently, I really didn't understand what an online community was all about. I sure do now.

Full credit goes to my friend Todd A's wife, who also was/is struggling with thyroid cancer. More on her later - I plan to invite her to guest blog some time soon, if she is so inclined. Anyway, she and I were exchanging emails upon my original diagnosis, and she strongly encouraged me to subscribe to a thyroid cancer newsgroup on Yahoo. Because I had so many questions and was having a difficult time finding adequate answers, I went with her recommendation.

The thing with thyroid cancer, as I think I've mentioned previously, is that the treatment path is fairly straightforward. This is mostly good, as it takes guesswork out of the equation. That said, there are a million questions/variables that arise along the way. Here's a mere sampling:

- what do I eat/not eat during the Diet from Hell (technically known as LID -- Low Iodine Diet). It's important to note that there is NO margin for error while on the diet
-- what can I expect while hypo?
-- what's the latest science regarding thyrogen?
-- what steps do I need to protect my family from radiation?

Again, this is just a sampling of the many questions I had: I could gone on endlessly with others. And for a while I was, posting on the newsgroup on a a near daily basis.

In a nutshell and at the risk of sounding overdramatic: I cannot express what an incredibly supportive and informative environment this group provides. Regardless of the question, or the hour in which I posted the question, I knew I was guaranteed to get a near instantaneous answer.

And though they were always adding the caveat that they aren't doctors/can't speak on an authoritative medical basis, the fact of the matter is they VERY much know what they are talking about and are about as informed as any group of thyroid experts that I have encountered along the way.

But the single greatest thing about this group is the warmth and solace they provide to complete strangers, most of whom are going through one, if not THE most difficult period of their respective lives.

As many of you know, I've long been a Lance fan -- well before my own diagnosis. I recall reading his autobiography years ago, "It's Not About the Bike" where he talks about "the obligation of the cured." At the time in which I originally read this, it sounded cool, but had no real personal meaning. It made sense but wasn't something that really resonated

Well, it sure does now. These ladies -- and most (though not all) are women between 30-50 (oh yeah, something I've neglected to mention -- I have a primarily female cancer. Figures. More on this later too) embody Lance's words.

And the most incredible aspect to all this: many of these ladies have been cured upwards of a decade. And yet they are posting each and every day, lending a helping hand to those in need.

The buzz is building here in the Bay Area about Barry Bond's chase for the home run title. They deify that guy in this town, something I'll never be able to fully understand. Forget about whether he has or hasn't done steroids: I could personally care less. What I do care about is what a jerk he is to his fans. That being said, does anyone care to have a chat with me about who our real heroes are? Barry Bonds, who hits baseballs into McCovey Cove, or Ms. X from Albany, who posts words of encouragement to strangers across the globe?

Me, I'll take my online friends any day of the week.

I'm planning to invite the ladies to be part of this blog. If any of you happen to be reading these words, please accept my deepest and most sincere thanks for your words of wisdom and ongoing support. You all are my hero.

And for all of you reading, how about a hand clap for the ladies?