What did you do when you hit your 1 year mark?

I was very crabby (and still am) the whole month around my 'anniversary'. Some people like to have celebrations etc. but I am better if I just keep busy during that time and not think about it. You could go to the party and volunteer in the kitchen or blow up all the balloons or something to keep you occupied (or you could go sky diving!). I think it is pretty normal to feel creepy about the whole thing!

My husband and I went away for a week. We did celebrating that we are still together and that is worth celebrating. I was only NED for a year and half. Now I have been dx with mets just as you 

CoolBreeze. Thank you for sharing your story, Give one a lot to think about. You hit it right on the nail. So many of us getting use to the new normal. How cancer consumes us. How the positive attitude does not cure us. Laughter is great for the immune system.

Congrats on your one year and I think it is worth celebrating that you  are at this point. Sadness, depression is normal. So many things took place in this time. So many thoughts as CoolBreeze said. Enjoy life to the fullest each and everyday even if it is for just a minute.

I don't celebrate the one year from dx date as it was a horrible day for me.

I do celebrate the last day of treatment!  In 2009 I went to my last radiation appointment and 2 hours later I was on a plane to meet up with the TaTa Sisterhood in Vegas.  I am going for the 3rd time this year and it is has always been around the 1st weekend of October.  That is how I celebrate each year.

Last year when I hit my one year mark I was a basket case. i was totally in the dumps as I was still going through reconstruction, had ugly rat colored mullett for hair and I was just overall still a nervous wreck. This year will be totally different..I will be completely done with recon including tattoo, my hair is back and will soon be dyed to blonde again and I just feel more like myself. I turn 45 in September and i plan on CELEBRATING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am with Natsfan this year...CHAMPAGNE ALL AROUND!!

Diane

I bought a cake and had a family get-together, but I was *miserable*...crabby, grouchy, sad. So I won't do that again. I think as time passes, that day (for me, it was Mother's day) is pretty impossible to forget....so I have to come up with a better Plan for next year.

I like the day Spa idea. And I also think for me, the whole anniversary brings back bad memories, so I would rather pick a Survivor day maybe 6 months after diagnosis and celebrate then. Or pick no special date, just celebrate when I feel best!

d

I got a mani and pedi, with pink ribbons on my toes (I HATE pink) and got a tattoo!

For my one year "caniversary", my DH surprised me and took me to New Mexico for a hot air balloon ride, which was on my life list. My life list is a little black book that I have had for years (long before the "C" word)  Hot air balloon ride was on top of my list. It was January...cold but SPECTACULAR!!  For the next two caniversarys, my DH and kids went to fun restaurants, like a Japanese steakhouse.  I believe in doing something positive on such a negative day. It doesnt have to be elaborate but just doing something special!! Its a great accomplishment! Congrats to you, my warrior!!

I've been wearing my own hair since 13 weeks PFC (4.28.2011). So next year I will celebrate that day April 28th.

I will have a belated 'Hair' celebration for you, lago, and have a pre-hair celebration for anyone still waiting for theirs to come in. Every day one feels just plain 'normal' is a day to celebrate!

My wonderful SIL just hit her one year mark - she had a huge "Pink Ribbon" party for 100 family and friends to thank them for all their help and to celebrate that she was still here. Everyone was requested to wear pink.  We're on the other coast so we couldn't be there, but it sounded like a blast!

I didn't remember my one year mark - satill not sure of the date of diagnosis. To me, the finding of the lump was much more significant. Cancer is so arbitrary that I don't believe in cancerversaries anyway - they mean nothing to me. You could get mets the next day or it could be the first year of the next 40 years of your life - until you get run over by a truck.

The date I really did hold in my mind as an achievement was the anniversary of my smoking quit. It has now been almost two years and four months. I am still prouder of that achievement than anything else. As for cancer, I sort of shrug my shoulders. I hold in my mind the month on which I found my lump and count my survivorships from there. Even though it is supposed to be from the date of dx, I know now that the lump was cancer! When you get an illness of which the cause and exact cure are unknown, stoicism is my biggest defense. Being informed of that mystery was as bewieldering as anything else. 

Letlet - I just hope that you don't attach too much significance to what is really an arbitrary date. I do hope you enjoy your family. I know these things are easier said than done.

lago - a good hair day is ALWAYS worth celebratring! Good for you. 

I laid in bed all day because of the horrible cramps that came with the return of my period exactly one year after my diagnosis.