Well, we're not too happy about it, but since surgery is on Wednesday, I guess I better suck it up.
We had an easy drive home and the weather was very cooperative.
Will post after surgery!
Monday, February 28, 2011
Friday, February 18, 2011
Surgery March 2
I have received my surgery consent form which says 'left breast cohesivegel implant & right breast reduction' - so YAY - smaller boobs yet again..... as we didn't actually get anywhere near a C-cup last time.... more like a D or DD..... But maybe we'll get there this time. Which also means more BRA SHOPPING.... woo hoo.
I have just come inside from an afternoon of sunbathing on the back deck - it was one of those perfect days where it was just warm enough that you can sit in the sun for a long time without overheating - just a slight hint of breeze every now and then to cool you off, and also the sun isn't too intense at this time of year so I wasn't burning. But now the clouds have moved in - it was predicted earlier this week so we're not surprised by it - which is why I was soaking up the sun while I could. I never used to be a sunbather - stayed lily white everywhere I went by keeping myself totally covered up. But now I love to be in the sun. I still wear sunscreen but I am definitely getting my vitamin D now.
Earlier this week, Cam and I went with our waterball friends to the Morongo casino down the road for their buffet lunch. While we were waiting for our group, we were told that if we signed up for their Winner's Club card we would get a discount. The sign showed $2 off with the card - but since it was free, why not save $4??? So we signed up for the card, and they gave Cam and I each a $10 credit for dining.... what! Our buffet lunch for the two of us came to a grand total of $2.07!!!! So they only give that $10 to first timers to the casino.... but we enjoyed the buffet immensely (I went AFTER weigh-in at TOPS). MMMMMM bread pudding.....
Until Wednesday, I thought the best deal to be had around here was the dinner and movie that we went to a couple of weeks ago. So we went to see the movie Secretariat and paid a whopping $1.50 per person..... It was cheaper for the 4 of us to go to the movies than it would have been to rent one off the TV. Then afterward, we went to the Round Table for pizza. On Tuesday nights, they have a special of a large pizza plus a pitcher of beer or 5 sodas for $16.99. I added an all-you-can-eat salad bar for $3.50..... I love this place!!
We also have discovered a delicious authentic Mexican restaurant nearby to the resort where Cam orders the taco salad ($7) which has rice and beans plus lettuce, tomatoes, jalapenos, guacolmole & sour cream. I had the Carne de Res last time which is a beef and vegetable soup which they served with tortillas and it was only $4.50 and it was huge. And YUMMY.
Even with all this talk of food, I have still been eating very sensibly and losing weight. I think I lost a half pound last week but I missed the cutoff for weigh in time at TOPS so didn't get officially weighed. But Sandie has a scale now so I was able to compare from last week to this week. I mostly ate vegetables at the Morongo buffet (except for the bread pudding...ahem... and 3 pork ribs).
Cam had lost track of his keys over the last several days so we had been driving around using mine assuming we would come across his eventually. As more days passed and no sign of the keys, we started a more concentrated search but to no avail. Then I remembered that the tennis instructor had asked if anyone had lost any keys - but at the time I didn't realize we had so didn't say anything. So we went to see the tennis guy but he wasn't home. After more searching, Cam finally went to the main office to ask if his keys were there, figuring he had dropped them or something. His keys WERE there, thankfully, and what had happened was that he had them in his pocket while doing tennis drills and thought it uncomfortable and so put them in the pocket of his hoody on the sideline. BUT, it turns out he didn't put them in his OWN hoody - but in someone else's black hoody. So that person would have put his hands in the pocket and pulled out Cam's keys thinking, What the!?!
There is a hummingbird nest in a palm tree outside the office and it is only about 5 feet from the ground. It has been a treat to watch the baby birds growing and when the mom isn't on the nest you can see their heads & beaks, and in the night the momma sits on the nest. Cam has photos of them, and we can watch mom feeding them. You can't believe how far down into the baby birds that the mom gets her beak. It's like she's skewering them with her beak!
I guess that's all I can remember to report now. Every time I post, I remember something I forgot immediately after.
I still say that a sunny destination is THE best recuperation for cancer treatment!!!
I have just come inside from an afternoon of sunbathing on the back deck - it was one of those perfect days where it was just warm enough that you can sit in the sun for a long time without overheating - just a slight hint of breeze every now and then to cool you off, and also the sun isn't too intense at this time of year so I wasn't burning. But now the clouds have moved in - it was predicted earlier this week so we're not surprised by it - which is why I was soaking up the sun while I could. I never used to be a sunbather - stayed lily white everywhere I went by keeping myself totally covered up. But now I love to be in the sun. I still wear sunscreen but I am definitely getting my vitamin D now.
Earlier this week, Cam and I went with our waterball friends to the Morongo casino down the road for their buffet lunch. While we were waiting for our group, we were told that if we signed up for their Winner's Club card we would get a discount. The sign showed $2 off with the card - but since it was free, why not save $4??? So we signed up for the card, and they gave Cam and I each a $10 credit for dining.... what! Our buffet lunch for the two of us came to a grand total of $2.07!!!! So they only give that $10 to first timers to the casino.... but we enjoyed the buffet immensely (I went AFTER weigh-in at TOPS). MMMMMM bread pudding.....
Until Wednesday, I thought the best deal to be had around here was the dinner and movie that we went to a couple of weeks ago. So we went to see the movie Secretariat and paid a whopping $1.50 per person..... It was cheaper for the 4 of us to go to the movies than it would have been to rent one off the TV. Then afterward, we went to the Round Table for pizza. On Tuesday nights, they have a special of a large pizza plus a pitcher of beer or 5 sodas for $16.99. I added an all-you-can-eat salad bar for $3.50..... I love this place!!
We also have discovered a delicious authentic Mexican restaurant nearby to the resort where Cam orders the taco salad ($7) which has rice and beans plus lettuce, tomatoes, jalapenos, guacolmole & sour cream. I had the Carne de Res last time which is a beef and vegetable soup which they served with tortillas and it was only $4.50 and it was huge. And YUMMY.
Even with all this talk of food, I have still been eating very sensibly and losing weight. I think I lost a half pound last week but I missed the cutoff for weigh in time at TOPS so didn't get officially weighed. But Sandie has a scale now so I was able to compare from last week to this week. I mostly ate vegetables at the Morongo buffet (except for the bread pudding...ahem... and 3 pork ribs).
Cam had lost track of his keys over the last several days so we had been driving around using mine assuming we would come across his eventually. As more days passed and no sign of the keys, we started a more concentrated search but to no avail. Then I remembered that the tennis instructor had asked if anyone had lost any keys - but at the time I didn't realize we had so didn't say anything. So we went to see the tennis guy but he wasn't home. After more searching, Cam finally went to the main office to ask if his keys were there, figuring he had dropped them or something. His keys WERE there, thankfully, and what had happened was that he had them in his pocket while doing tennis drills and thought it uncomfortable and so put them in the pocket of his hoody on the sideline. BUT, it turns out he didn't put them in his OWN hoody - but in someone else's black hoody. So that person would have put his hands in the pocket and pulled out Cam's keys thinking, What the!?!
There is a hummingbird nest in a palm tree outside the office and it is only about 5 feet from the ground. It has been a treat to watch the baby birds growing and when the mom isn't on the nest you can see their heads & beaks, and in the night the momma sits on the nest. Cam has photos of them, and we can watch mom feeding them. You can't believe how far down into the baby birds that the mom gets her beak. It's like she's skewering them with her beak!
I guess that's all I can remember to report now. Every time I post, I remember something I forgot immediately after.
I still say that a sunny destination is THE best recuperation for cancer treatment!!!
Sunday, February 13, 2011
No lunch for you!!!!
So we're playing waterball and besides me and Cam there are several other couples who play together.... There is often the talk of 'if momma's not happy, nobody is happy' especially if someone makes a sneaky play against their spouse.
This happened with one couple where the husband did a nasty play that caused the wife to lose her serve. She said to him 'NO LUNCH FOR YOU' - whereupon I cracked up and announced, "you know you're in a 55+ resort when......." Here, when you're 'cut off', it means no food!!!!! LOL. So now whenever Cam does a sneaky play to me, I always tell him NO LUNCH FOR YOU...... it's hysterical!!
Since we arrived here only a few days after my port removal surgery, I still had the stitches and couldn't go in the water. So for the first week, I watched from the sidelines. I would have preferred to be playing, but since my travel medical insurance won't cover anything for my pre-existing condition, I had to make really sure that my incision didn't get infected. So I stayed out of the pool for an entire week, and then when I did finally go in, I put a waterproof bandage over the incision. The only problem with that solution is that I had to have the adhesive area totally clean so it would stick. So I used alcohol prep pads to make sure any oil or sweat was cleaned off to get a good adhesion. Then, I was dumb enough not to put my sunscreen watershirt on. So now I have ended up with a sunburn in the adhesive area (because the adhesive part is CLEAR) - and where the actual bandage part was has no sunburn. And to boot, my skin is not adhesive-friendly - I usually get some kind of reaction. So when I took the 3rd patch off, it was a very painful process, removing a giant bandaid from sunburned and irritated skin.
I am happy to report that the incision has completely healed up and scab is gone so I don't have to wear the bandage anymore. The human body is amazing!
Cam has gotten back into his old photography habit - bought a new camera at Christmas time and new photo books and in general been re-inspired. He has been getting some fantastic shots - and this digital age is wonderful as you can take so many pictures guilt-free and never any wondering if they will turn out. I always used to hate the photo game after returning home from a holiday with film cameras. Cam would have taken 10 or 12 rolls of film, and anxiously rush them in for developing and rip open the envelopes with enthusiasm. And though his photos were ALWAYS good, they were never as good as he thought they were going to be and so he would be disappointed. Thankfully, that era is over with digital SLR....
Anyway, one afternoon he zipped up the highway to Morongo Reserve where he had gotten some decent pictures of scrub jay at Christmas. He came back with a really good pictures of bobcat!!!! He was standing still to try and look for birds when a movement caught his eye and he spotted the bobcat. He slowly raised the camera up to his face and snapped the picture without much time to 'organize' the shot and as soon as the bobcat heard the click of the camera, it looked up at Cam and when it saw him, bolted away. And so Cam has a great pic of the bobcat looking straight at him. As far as technical greatness, it probably could be a little sharper or slightly better composed, but for spotting something in the wild, lifting your camera and snapping a photo, it is a GREAT shot!! When we get home, I can post the pic. Cam shoots in RAW format so we have no way to retrieve his photos from his camera unless we are at home.
I have been diligently using my time here to eat well and exercise in my final last-ditch effort to get as thin as possible before my final surgery in a couple of weeks (no firm date set yet). And, I am happy to say that it has been working. When I weighed in at TOPS last week, I was down 2.8 pounds and was the big weight-loss winner for the week. In their chapter, each person hands you a quarter and congratulates you to give you added motivation. And it's a BIG chapter so I got 5 bucks!!! yee ha.
So I'm still working hard and hoping to break a 'milestone' if not this week then next. (that means going below a 10 pound marker but I won't tell you which one). when I was here in the spring, I THOUGHT I was doing a great job of eating healthy and exercising since I was playing waterball 6 hours a day. But I guess the chemo drugs just didn't want to cooperate in letting me lose any weight and in reality I ended up gaining weight! It was quite devastating - and before the cancer, I had lost 20 pounds and so after the chemo I was ready to get back down to the right place - but instead gained more weight.... So I was probably 12-14 pounds heavier than I am right now back in the spring - although I must admit that extra extra weight didn't last long - I lost the 5 pounds I gained fairly quickly but then just stayed and stayed in the same general weight area forever..... So now I am finally having success. And hope to keep it going.
Cam has been inspiring me to walk/hike more. There is a small mountain range behind the resort that has a path up to 'the flag' where people hike as a destination. There is a sign-in book up there in a plastic bag (at least Cam tells me there is...). Yah - I haven't made it up to the top, but I did go partway up with him once. The first time he went, he was huffing and puffing his way up to the top and then some 60-year old guy casually jogged past him without a sweat breaking on his brow cheerfully waving and telling Cam 'beautiful morning, isn't it?'..... We all cracked up when he came back and told us the story as his head is beet-red and sweat is pouring down and he is bent over huffing and puffing (I'm sure he exaggerated a little since Cam IS in excellent shape).... but he has been losing weight also.
When I attempted the hike with him, I got maybe halfway and then I waited for him on a rock. The dogs were with him, but we often play a game with the dogs where we try to exercise them by going to a park and each going to the opposite end of it and calling the dogs back and forth between us. So when I stopped on the mountain and Cam kept going, Molly kept running back down to where I was - meanwhile, Cam was getting further and further up the mountain so each runback was getting longer and longer. I think Molly ended up climbing the mountain about 6 times..... talk about great conditioning!! Both Molly and Cam have lost some weight down here - we had to bump up her food intake to keep the right padding over her ribs. Cooper is a free-spirit - he LOVES to roam free in the desert. He ranges way ahead exploring and doesn't return back and forth like Molly. When he gets just a little too far, we call him back and he always comes. He is a great dog - always listens to us (except when we tell him to stop barking). Molly mostly listens well, but sometimes on her own schedule....
We found a flyball team down here that has let us practice with them. She is so happy to have other people here who know how to play flyball as her whole team is new people and she is the only one with any actual experience. We skipped this past week due to paw injuries & birthdays, but we will take them again this week. If there is such a thing as reincarnation, I would want to be reincarnated as one of our dogs. Talk about spoiled rotten and loved beyond belief....
Well, I guess that's enough for now - this long blog is the result of no blogging for a couple of weeks!
This happened with one couple where the husband did a nasty play that caused the wife to lose her serve. She said to him 'NO LUNCH FOR YOU' - whereupon I cracked up and announced, "you know you're in a 55+ resort when......." Here, when you're 'cut off', it means no food!!!!! LOL. So now whenever Cam does a sneaky play to me, I always tell him NO LUNCH FOR YOU...... it's hysterical!!
Since we arrived here only a few days after my port removal surgery, I still had the stitches and couldn't go in the water. So for the first week, I watched from the sidelines. I would have preferred to be playing, but since my travel medical insurance won't cover anything for my pre-existing condition, I had to make really sure that my incision didn't get infected. So I stayed out of the pool for an entire week, and then when I did finally go in, I put a waterproof bandage over the incision. The only problem with that solution is that I had to have the adhesive area totally clean so it would stick. So I used alcohol prep pads to make sure any oil or sweat was cleaned off to get a good adhesion. Then, I was dumb enough not to put my sunscreen watershirt on. So now I have ended up with a sunburn in the adhesive area (because the adhesive part is CLEAR) - and where the actual bandage part was has no sunburn. And to boot, my skin is not adhesive-friendly - I usually get some kind of reaction. So when I took the 3rd patch off, it was a very painful process, removing a giant bandaid from sunburned and irritated skin.
I am happy to report that the incision has completely healed up and scab is gone so I don't have to wear the bandage anymore. The human body is amazing!
Cam has gotten back into his old photography habit - bought a new camera at Christmas time and new photo books and in general been re-inspired. He has been getting some fantastic shots - and this digital age is wonderful as you can take so many pictures guilt-free and never any wondering if they will turn out. I always used to hate the photo game after returning home from a holiday with film cameras. Cam would have taken 10 or 12 rolls of film, and anxiously rush them in for developing and rip open the envelopes with enthusiasm. And though his photos were ALWAYS good, they were never as good as he thought they were going to be and so he would be disappointed. Thankfully, that era is over with digital SLR....
Anyway, one afternoon he zipped up the highway to Morongo Reserve where he had gotten some decent pictures of scrub jay at Christmas. He came back with a really good pictures of bobcat!!!! He was standing still to try and look for birds when a movement caught his eye and he spotted the bobcat. He slowly raised the camera up to his face and snapped the picture without much time to 'organize' the shot and as soon as the bobcat heard the click of the camera, it looked up at Cam and when it saw him, bolted away. And so Cam has a great pic of the bobcat looking straight at him. As far as technical greatness, it probably could be a little sharper or slightly better composed, but for spotting something in the wild, lifting your camera and snapping a photo, it is a GREAT shot!! When we get home, I can post the pic. Cam shoots in RAW format so we have no way to retrieve his photos from his camera unless we are at home.
I have been diligently using my time here to eat well and exercise in my final last-ditch effort to get as thin as possible before my final surgery in a couple of weeks (no firm date set yet). And, I am happy to say that it has been working. When I weighed in at TOPS last week, I was down 2.8 pounds and was the big weight-loss winner for the week. In their chapter, each person hands you a quarter and congratulates you to give you added motivation. And it's a BIG chapter so I got 5 bucks!!! yee ha.
So I'm still working hard and hoping to break a 'milestone' if not this week then next. (that means going below a 10 pound marker but I won't tell you which one). when I was here in the spring, I THOUGHT I was doing a great job of eating healthy and exercising since I was playing waterball 6 hours a day. But I guess the chemo drugs just didn't want to cooperate in letting me lose any weight and in reality I ended up gaining weight! It was quite devastating - and before the cancer, I had lost 20 pounds and so after the chemo I was ready to get back down to the right place - but instead gained more weight.... So I was probably 12-14 pounds heavier than I am right now back in the spring - although I must admit that extra extra weight didn't last long - I lost the 5 pounds I gained fairly quickly but then just stayed and stayed in the same general weight area forever..... So now I am finally having success. And hope to keep it going.
Cam has been inspiring me to walk/hike more. There is a small mountain range behind the resort that has a path up to 'the flag' where people hike as a destination. There is a sign-in book up there in a plastic bag (at least Cam tells me there is...). Yah - I haven't made it up to the top, but I did go partway up with him once. The first time he went, he was huffing and puffing his way up to the top and then some 60-year old guy casually jogged past him without a sweat breaking on his brow cheerfully waving and telling Cam 'beautiful morning, isn't it?'..... We all cracked up when he came back and told us the story as his head is beet-red and sweat is pouring down and he is bent over huffing and puffing (I'm sure he exaggerated a little since Cam IS in excellent shape).... but he has been losing weight also.
When I attempted the hike with him, I got maybe halfway and then I waited for him on a rock. The dogs were with him, but we often play a game with the dogs where we try to exercise them by going to a park and each going to the opposite end of it and calling the dogs back and forth between us. So when I stopped on the mountain and Cam kept going, Molly kept running back down to where I was - meanwhile, Cam was getting further and further up the mountain so each runback was getting longer and longer. I think Molly ended up climbing the mountain about 6 times..... talk about great conditioning!! Both Molly and Cam have lost some weight down here - we had to bump up her food intake to keep the right padding over her ribs. Cooper is a free-spirit - he LOVES to roam free in the desert. He ranges way ahead exploring and doesn't return back and forth like Molly. When he gets just a little too far, we call him back and he always comes. He is a great dog - always listens to us (except when we tell him to stop barking). Molly mostly listens well, but sometimes on her own schedule....
We found a flyball team down here that has let us practice with them. She is so happy to have other people here who know how to play flyball as her whole team is new people and she is the only one with any actual experience. We skipped this past week due to paw injuries & birthdays, but we will take them again this week. If there is such a thing as reincarnation, I would want to be reincarnated as one of our dogs. Talk about spoiled rotten and loved beyond belief....
Well, I guess that's enough for now - this long blog is the result of no blogging for a couple of weeks!
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Port is OUT
Before Port Removal: After Port Removal:
This is sort of where it was positioned in me, except the tube went up my chest further and into a vein in my neck (I couldn't get the tube to cooperate for the photo)
This is the actual port that was in me - I photographed it next to a cereal spoon for perspective. I was surprised to see that it's purple - so pretty!!
This is sort of where it was positioned in me, except the tube went up my chest further and into a vein in my neck (I couldn't get the tube to cooperate for the photo)
This is the actual port that was in me - I photographed it next to a cereal spoon for perspective. I was surprised to see that it's purple - so pretty!!I drove over to mom's around 8:45 this morning, then we drove to Royal Columbia Hospital for my check-in time of 10:30. They got me in there and laying on the bed and basically all prepped and ready to go, and then came in and told me that an emergency has bumped me so I have another hour to kill. But in the meantime, they had given me two Adavan which I learned is the equivalent of 10 valiums. So when they suggested I go away for awhile and get a bite to eat, they wouldn't let me go unless I was in a wheelchair. So mom pushed me to the coffee shop and I had some sushi & soup for lunch, then wheeled back to the room so I could snooze while waiting.
Very little if any sleep had been achieved by me last night. So snoozing wasn't a bad thing - unfortunately, this other emergency didn't take as long as I thought it would and the guy came in needles ablazing when I was still snoozing from the happy pills. The only pain was from the freezing needles - and some pushing & tugging on my chest and voila - one port taken out and then my incision stitched up. No waterball for a few days though.... bummer!
It seems stupid now that I've already done it, however, I was THE most nervous about this process than I have been about any of the others I've had as yet. No fear or nerves for the mastectomy, tissue expander replacement or even the insertion of the port (likely because of all the REAL sedation you get). But, I got through it and it was not bad. Probably the Happy Pills helped relax me a lot.
Then I had my heart scan at 3:15 - mom was a good chauffeur today (my mother is an excellent driver). Hopefully this one isn't a dud.
And that's the last of it until March - so Cam and I are going back to California with the dogs to take advantage of the lag time before my final reconstruction.
Monday, January 24, 2011
My final treatment
So, I know I'm a little late on this, but I was hoping to have more specific info to report regarding my final surgeries etc. before I posted regarding my final treatment.
It was Thursday, January 13 at 4pm. I dragged Cam along with me since it was 'the final one'..... As I had mentioned previously, I wasn't feeling particularly emotional or worried or anything really. I had a nurse that I'd had once before but didn't know very well - but she was still very nice. We had an interesting conversation about how she used to be 'needle averse'. How the hell does someone with a serious needle aversion become a chemo nurse? She was unable to give an IV for the first part of her career. You have to admire someone's dedication to stick to a profession like nursing when she is unable to start an IV. But, she worked her way through it and now gives IVs like a pro. (not to me, of course, since we were still using my port)
Which, I did think to take a picture of while hooked up - so this is me at chemo.....
In a 'normal' circumstance, I would not be publishing the first photo for all the world to see as I don't believe it is one of the more flattering ones ever taken of me - however, I felt it was important to commemorate this day. Wish I would have looked a little more closely at it so I could have adjusted my sitting position to look slightly less slovenly and well.... wide. Although I AM working on that portion so I can be as slim as possible before my reconstruction surgery. And I weighed in at TOPS this past Thursday and had lost 5 pounds from before Christmas.... that's pretty good over the holidays!!! But, I digress.....
I also included a photo of Cam at my final treatment.... why does he look so unhappy? He isn't the one hooked up to cancer meds.... LOL (the real answer is that he HATES having his photo taken and likely suspected that one was extremely unnecessary).
So, as I was leaving the chemo room, one of my fave nurses ran up to me and gave me a big hug and told me to stop by and visit. She made sure to say I wasn't to return for any other reason than visiting but it was a surprise to get that hug - I'm not really sure why. Unfortunately, it pushed me into an emotional state that took awhile to recover from. All that time feeling as though this last treatment was not affecting me at all, and then ONE measly hug did me in and I was fighting back the stinging tears for a good 15 minutes or so and trying to talk about other things to divert myself from having a total breakdown as we strode out to the car & made our way to the restaurant.
Since it was my final chemo, we decided to go out for dinner to celebrate. We went to the Keg and shortly after we sat down, 2 people were sat in the booth next to ours and they were really LOUD - which was annoying on its own, but the man was really loud AND saying irritating things - quizzing the waitress in a way that made me feel sorry for her as she had to play along with his ridiculous conversation. Cam and I contemplated asking to be moved but stuck it out a little longer. Then he couldn't decide between the prime rib or a steak, and his daughter told him he should have steak because he had mentioned earlier that he was craving one. His reply was that his colon wouldn't know the difference. So that's what tipped the scale & Cam asked the front desk host if we could be moved - which of course, they did not only with pleasure but with extreme apologies as though they were personally responsible for loud obnoxious people in their restaurant.
A few minutes after we moved, the manager arrived with more apologies. I explained to her that we were there celebrating my final cancer treatment (yup - played my cancer card - very likely one of the last times I'll be able to!!!) - and we got FREE DESSERT! woo hoo. Well, they give free dessert all the time and maybe she was planning to give us one anyway since she was grovelling so bad - but anyway, my cards are running out so I wanted to get one more in there before the 'party' was over (tongue in cheek, of course). I think that this Keg dinner which included dessert makes it even MORE impressive that I had that 5 pound weightloss at my next weigh-in!!
I am having my port removed on Wednesday. I have to report that I believe that is the reason why I am awake at 1:00am typing this post instead of snoozing soundly. I didn't really think much of it before but as the day draws nearer, I realized that no one has actually given me any information about this process.
I got the message that I was to be at Royal Columbian Hospital at 10:30am, but no one advised me if I'm supposed to be fasting before-hand, or if I'm going under conscious sedation like last time or if it's local anaesthetic (I really hope not - not sure if I could handle being awake while a scalpel sliced open my skin). Started Googling at 11:30pm - did find some info online but that info has only sparked questions. So I will be on the phone to the hospital tomorrow to find out what I'm supposed to be doing. Do they expect us to KNOW this stuff???
Reconstruction is slated for the 1st week of March or possibly the second week (but I hope not). Definitely the first half of March as my plastic surgeon will be away for the last half of it. So they had BETTER get me in there!!! I'm done waiting - let's get this show on the road, get my boobs sorted out and move on.
I'm less nervous about reconstruction surgery than I am about the port-removal. Probably because I already KNOW the breast surgery process.... and because I know I will be unconscious. I am most nervous about being awake for the port removal. I don't think I would do well with that.I also emailed my plastic surgeon's office to advise them that I am definitely not doing any nipple grafting surgery. I opted to have my one remaining nipple left alone and live without one on the fake side. I think I may miss my tissue expander. Since the new one was installed in September, my left breast looks like it's 18 years old - and that sucker doesn't move an inch. Of course, it is in no way natural looking as far as feel and movement go - but when I'm wearing a bra and a blouse and not bouncing around, you have no idea without touching it just how unnatural it really is. When I remove my bra, that one just stays exactly in the same place - whereas the real one drops to my belly button (thankfully, I can report that I am exaggerating......slightly). Once they replace this expander with a silicone implant, the new breast will look and feel much more natural - and that will come complete with the boob sag. He SAYS he will do his best to make them both more perky but don't expect miracles.
Hell, mine haven't been perky since my early 20s. Once they get to a ridiculous size, standing up on their own is a pipe dream. Or at least a plastic surgery dream. I will settle for 'slightly less saggy'. And even that isn't a requirement if I'm ending up with a matching size much smaller than before. I'm really hoping my weight loss helps with the breast size reduction part because as you all know, I started out as an H-cup and was hoping for a C-cup. But I went to my professional bra store at my birthday and was re-measured to an E-cup. Naturally, E-cup is preferrable to an H cup - however, it is not as close to a C-cup as I had hoped. Although in that store, I'm not sure they even have anything called a C-cup. I think they might have 'vanity sizing' for bras. I can buy a D or DD in the States that fit ok. Still bigger than I wanted though.
Anyway, I think I'll give this sleeping thing another go.... goodnight all and again, thank you everyone for all your love and support. I'm almost done!!!!
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Snow!?!
Cam and I returned from California on Sunday evening. It was an uneventful drive back, but coming back to the biting cold was hard. Although I've seen the temperatures in Alberta recently so I won't complain TOO bitterly....!
Met with my oncologist on Monday who informed me that my Dec 18 heart scan was a dud and needs a retest. Ugh - why do they even bother if the tests aren't reliable anyway? He also told me that he has sent in a request for me to have my port removed (yay!!) and that should happen within a month.
He doesn't generally like to 'sign off' a patient until the port is removed - and THEN we'll have our final appointment where he explains the next steps (which basically are passing me off to my GP's care & telling me I'll get an annual diagnostic mammogram).
Tomorrow is my final Herceptin. It is amazing how the time is flying by. Wasn't it only last month when I was recovering from my Halloween hangover just before chemo started???
I don't feel much of anything about this. I blogged once before that I might have more emotion or happiness once ALL the chemo was done - but honestly, it just feels like another day - I mean it hasn't come yet - but I'm not excited or relieved or anxious or anything. I just think I'm taking it all in stride - because I feel already like I'm done with cancer and that it isn't part of my life anymore. We'll just finish off these 'just in case' treatments - with the exception of my daily Tamoxifen pill, of course, which I'll be taking for the next 5 years - and then that's it!
I am just now getting the organization on the final surgeries. My reconstruction will be mid- March. I thought it was going to be February, but NOT as it turns out....
And I know I must be drawing to the close of this whole process because while I was in California I went clothes shopping and actually bought WORK clothes!!! What the!?! While I haven't discussed this with any of my doctors yet, I am anticipating a part-time return to work in mid-April or beginning of May.
Surgery, then time to recover & get my range of motion back YET AGAIN..... and then start working my way back into real life.... It is a very bizarre prospect but one we need to get to.
And Cam's job is finally coming to a real end this time at the end of January - no more extensions. So if anyone knows of anything in the purchasing field, please contact us so we can get his resume out there.
I realized the other day that I didn't even make any New Year's Resolutions this year.... although I was tempted to follow in my father-in-law's footsteps and resolve to gain 10 pounds. That would have been one I could keep for sure!!!
So I'll make a late resolution that is the same as mine was last year: I resolve to be cancer-free.
I'm sure everyone will support that one!!!
I guess this blog is sort of nearing the end of its life if it is for the 'medical' end of things.... I'm not sure if I will be able to give up blogging after all this time!!!!!
Until the next report!
Met with my oncologist on Monday who informed me that my Dec 18 heart scan was a dud and needs a retest. Ugh - why do they even bother if the tests aren't reliable anyway? He also told me that he has sent in a request for me to have my port removed (yay!!) and that should happen within a month.
He doesn't generally like to 'sign off' a patient until the port is removed - and THEN we'll have our final appointment where he explains the next steps (which basically are passing me off to my GP's care & telling me I'll get an annual diagnostic mammogram).
Tomorrow is my final Herceptin. It is amazing how the time is flying by. Wasn't it only last month when I was recovering from my Halloween hangover just before chemo started???
I don't feel much of anything about this. I blogged once before that I might have more emotion or happiness once ALL the chemo was done - but honestly, it just feels like another day - I mean it hasn't come yet - but I'm not excited or relieved or anxious or anything. I just think I'm taking it all in stride - because I feel already like I'm done with cancer and that it isn't part of my life anymore. We'll just finish off these 'just in case' treatments - with the exception of my daily Tamoxifen pill, of course, which I'll be taking for the next 5 years - and then that's it!
I am just now getting the organization on the final surgeries. My reconstruction will be mid- March. I thought it was going to be February, but NOT as it turns out....
And I know I must be drawing to the close of this whole process because while I was in California I went clothes shopping and actually bought WORK clothes!!! What the!?! While I haven't discussed this with any of my doctors yet, I am anticipating a part-time return to work in mid-April or beginning of May.
Surgery, then time to recover & get my range of motion back YET AGAIN..... and then start working my way back into real life.... It is a very bizarre prospect but one we need to get to.
And Cam's job is finally coming to a real end this time at the end of January - no more extensions. So if anyone knows of anything in the purchasing field, please contact us so we can get his resume out there.
I realized the other day that I didn't even make any New Year's Resolutions this year.... although I was tempted to follow in my father-in-law's footsteps and resolve to gain 10 pounds. That would have been one I could keep for sure!!!
So I'll make a late resolution that is the same as mine was last year: I resolve to be cancer-free.
I'm sure everyone will support that one!!!
I guess this blog is sort of nearing the end of its life if it is for the 'medical' end of things.... I'm not sure if I will be able to give up blogging after all this time!!!!!
Until the next report!
Sunday, January 2, 2011
DAMN the fire ants!!
I did some research on whether going into a hot tub would help my cold or worsen it. The site I chose to acknowledge said that 20 minutes in a hot tub every few hours would help elevate the body temperature and kill off the cold germs.
Since the answer I wanted was to be able to go in the hot tub, I listened to this advice. And, I have to report, I think it IS true - I feel better after the hot tub. Anyway, it is quite cold here now, and so while the hot tubs & pools are lovely, the air outside afterward is icy cold. So after the hot tub last night, I decided for the first time in all the time I've been here, to go into the sauna to dry off and warm up before leaving the pool area.
As I sat there yacking with mom, I thought I felt something bite me - but I couldn't see anything so thought I imagined it. There there was another and another until I realized there was a serious problem - and I captured and killed an ant on me. ACK more bloody ant bites!!!
So we figured out that when I had my towel on the cement beside the hot tub, the ants were on it and then I wrapped the towel around me to go into the sauna and they went wild!! I have bites on my thighs, stomach and back.
I guess the good news is that the ant bites on my toes have finally eased the itching. The ammonia sting stop stuff is really the only thing that works, I've found. I must be really tasty to ants - no one else I have told this story to has anything similar to report.
Oh yeah - on a completely different note - I forgot to tell everyone that I rode a camel at the Living Desert Zoo. $5 per ride and I waited in line and took my turn. It was cool.
Happy official New Year!
Since the answer I wanted was to be able to go in the hot tub, I listened to this advice. And, I have to report, I think it IS true - I feel better after the hot tub. Anyway, it is quite cold here now, and so while the hot tubs & pools are lovely, the air outside afterward is icy cold. So after the hot tub last night, I decided for the first time in all the time I've been here, to go into the sauna to dry off and warm up before leaving the pool area.
As I sat there yacking with mom, I thought I felt something bite me - but I couldn't see anything so thought I imagined it. There there was another and another until I realized there was a serious problem - and I captured and killed an ant on me. ACK more bloody ant bites!!!
So we figured out that when I had my towel on the cement beside the hot tub, the ants were on it and then I wrapped the towel around me to go into the sauna and they went wild!! I have bites on my thighs, stomach and back.
I guess the good news is that the ant bites on my toes have finally eased the itching. The ammonia sting stop stuff is really the only thing that works, I've found. I must be really tasty to ants - no one else I have told this story to has anything similar to report.
Oh yeah - on a completely different note - I forgot to tell everyone that I rode a camel at the Living Desert Zoo. $5 per ride and I waited in line and took my turn. It was cool.
Happy official New Year!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
