I'm bloody-minded about keeping my independence; living alone, doing for myself (ok, some help in bad stretches; laundry and getting groceries, etc.), but I usually manage to do these things myself. As a consultant/trainer, my mental acuity is crucial, so far so good! My mother died of MS, a terrible, virulent case. I watched her die, bit by bit. She died in '89. My own MS was getting worse. I will not go like she did. I had made that decision by '85. I'll stick around as long as QOL is acceptable - else - I'm outta here! I work, enjoy life the best I can, and the devil take the hindmost.

I was unofficially diagnosed with MS in 1982, officially in 1984. Breast cancer popped up in 1999, probably because of a drug (Imuran) I took from 1984 to 1999 to retard the progression of MS.

I had a modified radical mastectomy in August 1999 and no radiation or chemo because either would have worsened my MS. Ditto Tamoxifen.

The cancer re-appeared in March 2007 in the form of a same side chest wall lump. As my CA 27 29 levels were low, and the lump small and movable, my oncologist and I waited until April 2008. I had the lump removed under local anesthesia and did 5 days of pin point radiation. (Minimized the incision to avoid trauma - radiation was to address the borders.)

I started Tysabri in Sept. 2008. It did help me with MS, however, it may have caused the faster return of the breast cancer.

In June 2010, a same side chest wall lump appeared overnight!! Again, removed under local anesthesia and 10 days of pin point radiation.

In April 2010, my CA 27 29 levels started rising. Since diagnosis, they had been low normal - 6 to 12. In April 2010 they were 68. By October 2010, 135, and by Dec. 2010, 167.

I now have metastatic breast cancer which can never be cured. I am treating it palliatively, surgery and minimal radiation when needed.

Pamela McGhee, PMP, is an experienced trainer and consultant, equally at home in public and private classrooms and in the eLearning (online) environment. Project Management is her area of expertise and focus.

Pamela McGhee, PMP, President/Owner of McGhee Enterprises, Project Management and IT Consultants since 1980, has handled project management, project rescues, business systems development, IT management and infrastructure planning as well as Project Management and IT training for numerous corporations, including: Schlumberger, IBM, The Singer Link Simulation Systems Division (The Singer Company), RCA, BF Goodrich Aerospace, Best Foods (CPC International), AT&T, U.S. News and World Report, CompUSA, Nabors Drilling, The Central State Can Company, Leviton Manufacturing Company, Inc., The National Geographic Society, The United States Navy, The United Nations, The United States Marine Corps Education and Development Command, The Pan American Health Organization, The United States Army, the American Management Association and the International Institute for Learning. She is also an adjunct faculty member at Baruch College (CUNY) where she teaches both basic and advanced project management.

For the past 36 years, Ms. McGhee has conducted seminars for leading seminar companies in Basic Project Management, IT Project Management, Scientific and Engineering Project Management, Senior Project Management, Effective Project Leadership, Best Practices for the Multi-Project Manager, How to Establish a PMO, Managing The Project Management Office, How to Create Project Management Status Reports,  Business Systems Analysis and Design, Process Mapping and Process Management,  IT Fundamentals for Non-IT Professionals, and Managing A World-Class IT Department.

Dedicated to improving project management practices in businesses and organizations, Pamela McGhee and co-author Peter Mc Aliney wrote PAINLESS PROJECT MANAGEMENT to simplify and promulgate the practice of good project management. The book consists of two parts; project management for the novice project manager dealing with smaller, less complex projects and project management for the more experienced project manager working on larger, more complex projects. Published by John Wiley & Sons, PAINLESS was released in June, 2007 and is available in business bookstores and on AMAZON.com.

Ms. McGhee's extensive Project Management experience began at the American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. (now, Disney/Capital Cities/ABC) as Project Manager for systems supporting ABC News, Good Morning America, and other corporate areas. She left ABC in 1980 to form McGhee Enterprises and has continued to bring basic and advanced Project Management techniques and training as well as Information Technology Management expertise to its clients.

Ms. McGhee's corporate background in Information Technology infrastructure began with IBM, writing operating systems for mainframe computers at IBM's Poughkeepsie, New York location, and continued with The First National Bank of Boston (now First Boston), The Chase Manhattan Bank, Lever Brothers Company, and The Manufacturer's Hanover Trust Company (later Absorbed by Chase) in Data Center Management.

Her training background began at IBM, and continued at Lever Brothers and the RCA Corporation, where she provided and managed IT training for Information Systems staff.

Ms. McGhee has a B.S. in Physics from the Pennsylvania State University and completed her graduate work in Business Administration at New York University's Graduate School of Business Administration. She was PMP certified in December, 2005.