We're fine

Ooh, I just realized I haven't posted anything for a solid WEEK, sheesh, so I thought I'd better say something, lest you all think I've dropped off the face of the earth ...

Anyway, I'm fine, Hannah's fine (in fact, she just went off to work!) -- we're all fine. My saintly sister and I took our dear mother to the mall today, and I ended up buying several new tops (hey, I don't shop much, but when I do, I sort of go crazy). It seems Macy's was having a huge sale, so at least I feel like I got some good deals. And my mom was awesome in her walker for two-and-a-half hours -- she did great and bought some clothes too!

So now I've got some new stuff to wear to Portland (see photo above)! I'm leaving Thursday and coming back on Monday -- covering a Lutheran women's convention there and SO looking forward to it! My Psycho Sister is going, too, and we've added an extra day (I'm already regretting we didn't add on several days!) so that we can rent a car and explore Cannon Beach and the mountains and Multnomah Falls (photo at left) and all the cool touristy things Portland has to offer.

One of the best things about this trip is that the Thursday I leave was supposed to be a chemo day for me, but Dr. W-G is letting me postpone (what a lovely word) it for a week. So I should be feeling great the entire trip!

Thanks for checking on me.

Until next time ...
P

Road trippin'

So, yes, I made it to Indianapolis (way back in early May) and back with four of my co-workers (see photo at left). We drove to the Associated Church Press convention there, and it was great fun!

One of the highlights was hearing Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking (in the movie version, she was played by Susan Sarandon, who won a "Best Actress" Oscar for her performance), talk about her experience with capital punishment (she's against it) and getting to meet her afterward when she signed my copy of Dead Man Walking. (See photo below.) Good book, by the way.

Another highlight was getting together with my nephew, Justin, and his wife, Julie (whom you might recall as the maker of the "check the boxes" get-well card), who live in Indy. We spent a couple of hours in the hotel bar, talking nonstop, having a drink or two, and eating chicken wings (hot!) that were on "special" that night. It was really nice to re-connect with them, if only for a couple of hours.

During the couple of days that we were there, and driving to and from, we ate LOTS of good food ('cause our boss, David, said we should!), and the two meals provided by the convention were also great and included two awesome desserts -- chocolate cake and cheesecake ...

And, the piece de resistance, I won an award -- just a third-place in the "News story: newspaper" category -- but hey, that's OK by me! It's something to validate what I do (and believe me, I LIVE on that sort of validation!).

But it was a nice trip (way back on May 6-8!) -- and sorry it took me so long to blog about it, but things just seemed to get in the way!

Until next time ...
P

"Extra" chemo #9, check!

So, today I had the first of my four "extra" chemo treatments. (Eight is considered "standard treatment" for my cancer, but patients who are doing well may do 12, if they -- and their doctors -- are so inclined.) So this is number 9 for me, and it was just like all the others, although my oncologist, Dr. W-G, lowered the dosage a bit because my lab numbers are getting sort of low.

While I was waiting for the doc in an examination room, I was wearing headphones and an ipod (like photo at right), relaxing in a chair, feet tapping to the music (I think it was a Grateful Dead or David Bowe tune), eyes closed, just sort of "rocking out" in my "happy place," when Dr. W-G and her assistant strolled in, took one look at me and started laughing! (I'll never live this down!) Even when I saw her later in the chemo pod, she mentioned my ipod, ha! Oh well, I'd rather be known as the "aging hippie woman" than an old crab, so I'm good with it ...

Anyway, she DID say that, since the chemo/radiation in the fall killed all the cancer in my tumor and lymph nodes, it bodes well for me because it looks like the treatment is working. The cancer cells are responding (is that the right word?) to the chemo. But, because there was lymph-node involvement, there is no way to tell for sure at this point if we've got all of those "rogue" cancer cells and whether or not the disease will ever come back. That's what follow-up scans and blood tests are for. So, stay with me, friends, especially in prayer.

But it wasn't a bad day, the treatment went fast because my Psycho Sister came to visit. And we spent some time talking to a volunteer, Sandy Komen, a (by marriage) relative of Susan Komen, the St. Louis breast-cancer walk namesake!

But I'm home now with "Fanny," the portable chemo-bag and pump (which actually stopped working while I was napping! When I awoke, I noticed it was off and wouldn't go back on when I pushed the "on" button, so I replaced the batteries and -- voila! -- it is now working again! Whew!).

I haven't had any nausea for a couple of months, so I'm not expecting any this time, either. Walked my two miles tonight and it's back to work tomorrow.

Re: Hannah, she's doing great! She hasn't had any pain meds for almost a week, and is driving again -- yay! Her hair is growing back quickly and you really can hardly see the scar, only if you're "looking for it." So thank God for her speedy recovery!

Thanks for checking on us.

Until next time ...
P

Farrah's Story

OK, I know the special about Farrah Fawcett's battle with anal cancer was on TV a looooong time ago, but I just tonight got up the nerve to watch it (I taped it 'cause I was busy the night it was originally on, but since then I've been too scared to watch it!).

Anyway, man -- she has been through a LOT in the three years since she was diagnosed! Back and forth many times to Germany and a hospital in Los Angeles, with painful treatments that left her exhausted in bed. My treatment has been a breeze compared to hers, so I feel like our experiences are miles apart.

For one thing, she didn't have surgery like the doctors suggested in the beginning. Instead, she opted for just radiation and chemo. She only had the surgery much later, when the tumor came back.

Plus, she apparently didn't have a "port" put in like I did. So she got all of her treatment through the veins in her arms, which eventually got so bad it took the nurses TWO HOURS to find a vein during one of her later treatments! And, she had lots of bruises on her arms, from the repeated and painful needle sticks, I'm supposing.

And, even though the cancer had spread to her liver, they didn't even mention having lymph nodes removed, so I'm wondering if perhaps she didn't have that surgery (which really can have some bad side effects and complications -- such as necrotic tissue and lymphedema, or swelling -- my lymph-node surgeon really SCARED me about it before mine was done).

But, all in all, I'm glad I watched the program. I applaud Farrah for baring her soul and cancer experience (she even showed viewers her bald head, her vomiting and her writhing in agony -- I'm not sure I could do that). Hearing her talk about cancer made my heart wrench, but I thought her words were pretty much "right on" in many ways.

Even though my treatment hasn't been all that bad, I still wouldn't wish it on anyone. It's lost time -- from treatments and doctor visits (I hate using my "vacation" days for chemo treatments). It's lost energy, which means a lot of things get "postponed" (like regular house cleaning -- hey, on second thought, maybe that's a PLUS!). It's all the little side effects that are so annoying. It's sort of a loss of innocence, too, because every time you have a scan, you're afraid the doctors might find something ominous. And it's a loss of money, ha, because even though you have insurance, you still have to pay a portion of the bills yourself -- that's money you would have rather used elsewhere.

But enough of my whining (I almost spelled it "wining" -- a Freudian slip because of my affinity for wine?). On the plus side, I still feel pretty good. I don't sweat "the small stuff" anymore. I enjoy the simple things in life even more. And, amazingly, I'm still happy most of the time!

As for Farrah, I'm amazed at her courage to show her struggle to millions of people nationwide, and I've gained a new respect for the actress. So I'm adding her to my prayer list and pulling for her to beat this!

Until next time ...
P

Reining in the party girl

It's NOT GONNA HAPPEN! Our "party girl," 20-year-old Hannah, is going out EVERY NIGHT now, just a little over three weeks since her BRAIN SURGERY! (Too many capital letters? OK, I'll stop now.)

Sheesh, she keeps saying she feels "fine," and there's "no pain," and she has pretty much stopped taking her vicodin and valium -- definitely a good thing!

But I worry that she's doing too much, too soon. (It's darn hard being the mother of a headstrong girl.) But guess I should be happy that she's rebounding so quickly ...

And me? I'm doing fine, too -- still a little tired, but still working full time. Walked about two-and-a-half miles today. But I'm thinking maybe I should cancel out on the Komen walk (for breast cancer) on the 13th, since it will be the Saturday after my next treatment, and I was pretty much knocked out last time. I sure don't want to be dragging everyone else down ... We'll see ...

Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time ...
P