Monday, September 11, 2000

I'm just back from visiting the surgeon. He did get an earful from me about the medical oncologist. He listened very patiently, tried to put a few things in perspective, but in the end, he agreed with me that I need a different oncologist. He recommended the same group as the radiation oncologist had recommended, so I guess I'll give them a try. He agreed with me that a cardiology consult is in order, if only to determine what the test actually means. I've put in a call to my GP asking for the referral. I've also set up an appointment for the radiation simulation on Thursday afternoon. I may actually have the first treatment that day as well. Or we would wait until Monday. The scheduling gal wasn't sure. Either way, we are moving forward and fighting and the beasties.

I did some easy work around the house, trying to do it at a normal clip to see if I'd get dizzy. I got lightheaded, but not dizzy. Rick came home to drive me to the appointment with the surgeon, and he let me try driving. I did fine, turning my head to check mirrors, etc., didn't set off any vertigo. So that's a good sign that I can start trying to get myself around again.
posted by Karen Weber Monday, September 11, 2000

Tuesday, September 12, 2000

When your best friend has breast cancer

My last hair fall started over the weekend and I'm pretty sparse now. With no more chemo in sight, I can now start regrowing my hair. I think we are going to take weekly pictures so you all can watch the progress.

I have to tell you something very funny about my visit to the surgeon yesterday. As we were wrapping up the visit, he told me how important it was going to be to find a bra that is supportive but doesn't rub the skin at the fold of skin where breast meets chest because that is where I'm going to have the most skin breakdown. His nurse and I both gave him The Look at the same time. He looks back, very confused and says, "What? What?!" and we start laughing. So he has to say that he just really doesn't know much about buying bras while we laugh. After he and the nurse leave, Rick comes up with an idea for dealing with the problem - nipple piercing! He and I totally crack up. Rick is picturing hooking them up to a chain around my neck, like a halter top. I was picturing hooking them into the pierced ears. My mother, who got a good chuckle out of this as well, thought perhaps they could be tied into a nose ring. If you haven't figured it out yet, there is something about dealing with cancer that brings out the really wacky, bizarre side of your sense of humor. And I'm glad it does, because the sillier the idea, the bigger the laughs. Laughter is healing, and we can never get enough of it.

ibreast.com - an excellent resource about breast cancer.
posted by Karen Weber Tuesday, September 12, 2000

Wednesday, September 13, 2000

Cancer Blood Test Aces Exam - possibly the future in breast cancer detection. Thanks, Roland, for sending this to me!

Digital Mammography Technology
posted by Karen Weber Wednesday, September 13, 2000

Thursday, September 14, 2000

I'm feeling better every day, so it must be time to start putting my body through it again. Today I had the simulation for radiation. I thought I'd be getting my tattoos today, but instead I just have some modern-arty purple magic marker line drawings. I've heard how long the simulation takes and how uncomfortable it is, but I didn't have a hard time at all. The tech was really nice, and I was really relaxed. You do have to lie in one position for about an hour without moving, but I've been such a slug lately that wasn't even a challenge. I made an appointment for tomorrow with a woman who does custom bra fittings. I'm hoping she can give me something that will be supportive but not restrictive. The gals in my support group say to stick with pure cotton -- so do the handouts from the radiation oncologist.

My little nurse kitty, Hobbles -- otherwise known as the bossiest cat on three legs, was very upset with me this afternoon. My schedule was thrown off by the simulation and I missed my nap time. Within 10 minutes, she was in my face and would not leave me alone. So, thanks to her intervention, I got my nap after all. I swear, when this is over, she is not only going to be the most spoiled cat on the face of this planet, but she will also be the most spoiled cat in the history of the universe. My nap, you see, involves going down to her room (yes, she has her own bedroom -- it's really our guest room but don't tell her that) and lying down in bed with her. There is belly rubbing and chin scratching involved, so her motives for making sure I get my nap are not completely pure. Nevertheless, her efforts on my behalf are appreciated. I've been sleeping away the weekends lately, so I decided that I am not getting enough sleep during the week. Going to bed earlier doesn't work. I'm not tired then. When I'm tired is in the morning. So I had been setting a kitchen timer after Rick kisses me goodbye in the morning and sleeping in an hour or so longer. My mother made the brilliant suggestion that this was interrupting my sleep. So now I've set my alarm for a couple hours later than I usually get up. Rick is obliging me by not waking me when he leaves.

Speaking of Rick, I'm a little worried. When I got online this morning, he ICQ'd me that he'd seen a kangaroo in our driveway this morning when he went out to get the newspaper. Please bear in mind that we are in Arizona, not Australia! Then he did some web research and decided that what he had actually seen was a wallaby -- still the wrong continent. He is now trying to convince me that people here in the states sometimes keep wallabies as pets. He says he couldn't get close enough to it to see if it had a collar or not. I'm thinking those chemo drugs were just a little too strong if they did this to his brain from across the room!

KANGAROOS & WALLABIES - well, as it turns out, people do have wallabies as pets in the state. So I'm going to have to stop laughing at my husband and his early morning visions.

Oh my! Now I really have to eat crow! I walked out to get the mail and there was a notice posted about a lost wallaby! I tried to remember the phone number from the mailbox to the house (less than a minute) but got it wrong. Got hold of a really nice lady, who at first thought I was pulling her leg. Then, when I told her the whole story, she and I laughed and laughed. It's wonderful to share laughter with friends and family, but it felt really good to brighten the day of someone I didn't know, too.
posted by Karen Weber Thursday, September 14, 2000

Friday, September 15, 2000

More about the wallaby: it was just a baby. It had to cross two major roads to get here and traveled about a mile. It belongs to an assisted living home where the wallabies are used as pet therapy for the residents. When we called the number on the poster, the lady apologized to my husband. Some school kids had caught the wallaby earlier and returned it to them. They thought that they had taken down all the posters. Rick was grateful that they missed the one on our block, because he was never going to hear the end of teasing from me about it. We took the poster down and brought it in the house with us. I'm going to call tomorrow and see if the baby wallaby survived. If he did, I'd like to go over and meet it as it brought so much laughter into our lives yesterday. Laughter is something to be prized, it's worth beyond measure. I've always enjoyed laughing, but I never realized just how valuable it was. Now I do. It is a gift.

I had my bra fitting today. The new bras are comfortable, but I think that they may be too tight around the rib cage to use during radiation. I'm not sure. They aren't tight on the breast at all, and seem to support well without rubbing in the areas the surgeon was concerned about. The problem I'm concerned about is lymph flow. Most of it is currently going down my side to the groin nodes. This bra is tight enough around the rib cage that it might cut that off. Without radiation, it would be perfect. I'm just afraid once swelling starts, it will be a problem. We'll have to see.
posted by Karen Weber Friday, September 15, 2000

Saturday, September 16, 2000

Be sure to click on the new button along the left side - the one that reads Hairy Karen. We are going to do a weekly photodocumentary on how my hair is regrowing. Still pretty fuzzy right now.

We are finally underway on the pool. The first step was, sadly, removing the beautiful trees we had in the back yard. I wanted to get pictures of them before they were taken down. But it started yesterday while I was at my bra fitting and I didn't know until I got back. I'm trying not to be sad. I do want the pool, but I loved my trees.
posted by Karen Weber Saturday, September 16, 2000

Next - September 17