It is Sept 5, 2011. My last chemo was August 11. It was very difficult to recover after that last chemo. It took me about 1 1/2 to 2 weeks to get back to feeling normal. It was not a good thing, at all. Even now, if it is very hot and I don't watch myself I find myself getting nauseated or having stomach problems.
NowI feel great! I have not wasted a day....OK I take that back. I did spend 1 day doing nothing and I enjoyed every minute of doing noting all day and feeling physically good doing it. I have made a vow to not waste a day of my life going forward. What I mean by that is, I will notice something about my surroundings, say something nice to a stranger, exercise, eat good and healthy food, learn something new and on the weekends, just do something other then sitting at home worrying about the house being messy or things that need to get done. I will keep a positive attitude-even though I have 4 teenagers-very difficult to stay positive with all that goes on with 4 teens.
So, what have I been doing? I moved my daughter into her college dorm room, I've shopped with her to get supplies to decorate her room. We have daydreamed about the places she will go with her team and for her year abroad (in a year). I've been busy in my garden. It's been on auto pilot this year but I'm picking beans, blackberrys, raspberrys, egg plants, kale, chard, parsley, tomatillos, and the tomatoes are coming. I've been cooking home made chili verde, sauteed green beans, juicing our veggies, berry cobbler (for the kids-not me). Frank and I are truly enjoying our time together with me healthy. He has taken the same thought. We are not wasting a day. Sometimes it will include our kids but more so, it is just the 2 of us or with friends. Our kids right now really only care about themselves. They want to hang with their friends. That's their most important thing and that's OK with us. We spend our time with them but now that they are older, Frank and I can spend the day together and not feel guilty about leaving the kids. We have been to Inverness and stayed at our favorite place, Manka's. We have been to Tomales Bay Oyster Co. and purchased oysters and had a feast! We have been to Marin and hiked and hiked. We are trying restaurants we have said "we should" and now we are. There is no reason not to. Why all this stuff we are doing? My time is limited....
My next phase of this journey is September 20. I will have my exchange surgery. My expanders come out and the saline implants are put in. One week after surgery I go for my radiation mapping and then 1-2 weeks after I start radiation, every day M-F for 28 days. You know cancer takes a break on the weekends and holidays....OK not humorous. I should finish radiation Nov 24, the day before Thanksgiving. Boy will I have a lot to be thankful for!
So until next week, goodbye. I need to help Frank in the kitchen with our fish tacos....enjoy yourself because you never know what tomorrow will bring you.
Keep me company as I travel thru my journey facing breast cancer again.
Why would anyone want to read about someone else's problem when you have plenty of your own? Maybe one day a loved one, a friend, or you will be diagnosed with breast cancer. My blog might offer insite into cancer resources, thoughts, questions to ask, or guidance in helping you deal with this disease. These are my experiences and suggestions. Every breast cancer is different. If you are touched by breast cancer, be sure to consult your Dr. for direction in treatment.
I equate my blog to the emergency evacuation instruction the flight attendants do before you take off on an airplane. Nobody pays attention to them but when your plane is about to crash you think, "sh*t, why didn't I pay more attention to them? Which color cord do I pull first again?" We have so many things going on in our lives that one more thing to dwell on that doesn't apply to us right now may not be important but when it does, we wish we would have paid attention.
My blog is something you might read a couple times or maybe follow. Hopefully you gain some knowledge about breast cancer, in particular, Invasive Lobular Carcinoma (ILC). It is the 2nd most common type of invasive breast cancer however it only accounts for approx. 10% of all invasive breast cancers. It is the silent breast cancer. It is generally not detected with a mammo but rather an ultrasound. Invasive Lobular Carcinoma (ILC) is what I have been diagnosed with. My suggestion to every woman who is of mammo age insist on an ultrasound with your mammos.
UPDATE 3/2011
I have had my bilaterial mastectomy and I am recovering. ILC is a sneaky cancer as I said above. My various Dr.'s here and at UCSF confirmed the size of my tumor should be between 2.5cm-3.5cm with possibilty but not most likely, 7cm. After my surgery, my tumor was confirmed to be 11cm. My Dr.'s are very knowledgeable and are on top of things. This is simply the truth about ILC. I had mammos every 6 months, ultra sounds, and MRI's. With all of these, it was not picked up until 1/2011. The good news, if you can call it that, only 1 sentinel node out of 2 has micromastic findings and 5 aux. nodes were negative.
Be sure to start my adventure from the blog history on the right. I have tried to bold points to make it easier to extract the important information. If there is anything you get out of this blog, refer to my Dr.'s listed below if you know someone who has been diagnosed with breast cancer in the East Bay. These Dr.'s; Dr. Gottlieb, Dr. Wotowic, and Dr. Sherman are my 3 musketeers....all for 1 and 1 for all!
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