One of the first recommendations I received after my cancer diagnosis was this -- write everything down. I was told to write down dates and times of appointments, results of tests, names and doses of medications, all procedures and protocols, every question that popped into my mind, and the general gist of what doctors and assistants and nurses and technicians told me.

Because the stuff that comes with a cancer diagnosis is overwhelming and confusing and disorienting -- and writing it all down can help manage the chaos of it all.

So I did write it all down -- which is like me anyway because I make lists for everything and feel more organized when I can see on paper everything that lies in my path.

I bought a small cloth-covered journal -- it's pink with multi-colored dots on the front and back. I liked the appearance of it and it had a sweet little ribbon bookmark attached to the binding and it fit nicely in my backpack purse. It was perfect. And I started writing as soon as I got it home and found a pen. My first notes show names and phone numbers of people who became critical contacts on my breast cancer journey -- the doctor friend who connected me with all of the best medical professionals, the woman who runs the Breast Center at the hospital where I spent many days and countless hours, the chemotherapy pharmacist who came to me by way of a neighbor and who has looked out for me and checked on me and soothed me in moments of panic. These notes are followed by a listing of resources  -- a local support group, the American Cancer Society, and various websites that I now check over and over again. And then I began to journal. My first entry reads:

Tuesday, November 16, 2004: I detected a hard spot in my left breast while taking a shower. It felt like a hard, frozen pea that moved around and was difficult to locate at times. It worried me so I made an appointment with my OB/GYN for Thursday. Mom said she's had many, many cysts and that's probably what this is.

The entries that follow this one detail the visit with my OB/GYN, an appointment for a mammogram and ultrasound, a referral to a surgeon, and a phone call that revealed that the hard spot in my breast was not a cyst -- it was cancer.

My journaling in this book did not last for long because I transitioned to writing in a blog -- an online journal that my husband introduced to me when the word was nothing but foreign to me. I have been writing my own personal blog since December 2004 and it now contains every bit and piece and morsel of information related to my experience with breast cancer. It's full of personal encounters and medical jargon and words of wisdom and moments of pure strength and moments of sheer terror. It's my story, my journey, my life as a result of cancer.

My first recommendation to someone newly diagnosed with cancer is this -- write everything down. It helps organize the madness of cancer information and it helps keep the mind occupied and it helps soothe the soul. Writing has become therapy for me. All because of one piece of advice from one person when my life was unraveling in front of my eyes.