Ahhh, here it is on the verge of being Autumn. I love this time of year. When the sky is muted, there is a chill in the air and the leaves dance through the air on their way down from the trees. The crunch the leaves make when you go for a walk. Not to mention the smells in the air. Fireplaces start to get a bit more use, and jackets and sweaters come out of storage. This year, with the cancer patient haircut (baldy) being my new fashion statement I am going to be trying to figure out how to make it a trendy look. Maybe perfectly healthy people will go out and shave their heads so that they can look like me. Laugh!! When I figure out the whole new bald as a style look, I will snap pics and share it with you.
The urge to wear warmer clothes is in full force. Aside from my life as a woman with mets breast cancer, I have other interests as well. One of them is thrift stores. You can find so much useful junk there. My advice is to make sure you clean everything in a big way. If you buy shoes make sure that you lysol the insoles, and use cleaning wipes to clean the exterior. If you like to buy things that look vintage you shouldn't have any trouble finding stuff like that at a thrift store. You do need to pick through things pretty thoroughly though. Wash any clothing you purchase right away and do it on a delicate cycle. When you go to these stores you can haggle. They want to sell the stuff right? Don't be afraid to make an offer for less than they are asking. The worst thing that can happen is they say no. It is totally worth the try. If you live in or near Dallas the Buffalo exchange is a great thrift store to check out. I'd love for you to put in the comments what stores you recommend in your area.
On the cancer front, I am doing pretty good for 4 days out from my last treatment. Tiredness and a bit of achy pain. I can't complain about it. Over all I am doing pretty good. Two more days till I get to have my third treatment for this set of treatments. Big fun! See, you can have fun a live fun while dealing with cancer.
Thank you for reading what I love to do for autumn entertainment. Feel free to share what you love as well.
Showing posts with label mets breast cancer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mets breast cancer. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Friday, August 12, 2011
Chemo update, and on to the next big adventure
Yes! I am home from chemo. It went fast because of only having the Taxol today. I had a new nurse and she was awesome. Quick, efficient, and very friendly. I did get nauseated, but felt better after my daughter and I ate our wich wich sandwiches. Yummy veggie with extra avacado. It was so good. Who knew that eating could make you not feel like throwing up?
So, now I am home and feeling better. We ran to lowes to buy caulking. It was a very important home improvement purchase for redoing the bathroom counter. We live Tx and have enjoyed it for the past 15 years. But now I am heavy with metastatic bc, and my hubby's dad has bladder cancer. He has fought a great battle, with two courses of very strong treatment. Despite treatment his cancer has grown and spread. So he is stopping treatment to better enjoy his life. Family is hugely important to us, and that means we are moving back to Colorado. We are doing it for our immediate family (us) to not have regrets and to also be surrounded by friends and family who love us, and support us. And so that we can support and love on our friends and family. We feel more like we are moving towards something than moving away from something. Hence the bathroom caulking repair. If we are going to sell our house, we can't have gross caulk now can we?
Moving here was a big adventure. It brought us closer as a married couple, and made us best friends. Now it is time to move on to the next big adventure. It is exciting and a little scary. What adventure in life doesn't have a scare factor?
I will keep you posted on all the adventerous details of our move.
Thanks for stopping by.
So, now I am home and feeling better. We ran to lowes to buy caulking. It was a very important home improvement purchase for redoing the bathroom counter. We live Tx and have enjoyed it for the past 15 years. But now I am heavy with metastatic bc, and my hubby's dad has bladder cancer. He has fought a great battle, with two courses of very strong treatment. Despite treatment his cancer has grown and spread. So he is stopping treatment to better enjoy his life. Family is hugely important to us, and that means we are moving back to Colorado. We are doing it for our immediate family (us) to not have regrets and to also be surrounded by friends and family who love us, and support us. And so that we can support and love on our friends and family. We feel more like we are moving towards something than moving away from something. Hence the bathroom caulking repair. If we are going to sell our house, we can't have gross caulk now can we?
Moving here was a big adventure. It brought us closer as a married couple, and made us best friends. Now it is time to move on to the next big adventure. It is exciting and a little scary. What adventure in life doesn't have a scare factor?
I will keep you posted on all the adventerous details of our move.
Thanks for stopping by.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Deeper shade of pale
Tomorrow is chemo. How can it be that I have a chemo routine. That just sounds wrong. Chemo and routine are two words that should never go together. So anyhow, tomorrow is week two of m routine. I just get the Taxol on the second week. The first week and third week I get Taxol and Avastin. Who knows how long I will get he avastin since it has lost FDA approval. My doc assures me that I will receive it for as long as I had already been pre-approved treatments.
When you are on chemo life can be so pale. It looses its brightness and vibrancy. This can be depressing. It occurred to me that these moments where life is more pale are the times that we are going through "valleys" The valley can be more pale, but we have to focus on the fact that it is something that we go Through. Meaning that there is a beginning middle and end. When you reach the end, you have made it through from one side to the other. So, while things are pale, I will be looking for the underlying colors, tones and textures. There must be a deeper shade of pale that I should be noticing, learning from and embracing during all of this cancer. What is it that I should be noticing? For today I think that it is family. My family are those hues that add dimension to the whole canvas of this valley. My husband and best friend are all cool greens of comfort, soft red of consistent passion and the wash of soft yellow that warms me with steady supplies of love. My daughter and son are the brush strokes of mellow orange that shows fierce protectiveness, the sparkling purple of respect and loyalty, and all of my family, friends, and extended love ones are the sky blue that holds a banner over faithful love and deep community. The bright colors of life are wonderful, but are more noticeable when they are surrounded by shades that are more pale and make them "pop". I will let you know what the "picture" looks like when I get through this valley to the other side
When you are on chemo life can be so pale. It looses its brightness and vibrancy. This can be depressing. It occurred to me that these moments where life is more pale are the times that we are going through "valleys" The valley can be more pale, but we have to focus on the fact that it is something that we go Through. Meaning that there is a beginning middle and end. When you reach the end, you have made it through from one side to the other. So, while things are pale, I will be looking for the underlying colors, tones and textures. There must be a deeper shade of pale that I should be noticing, learning from and embracing during all of this cancer. What is it that I should be noticing? For today I think that it is family. My family are those hues that add dimension to the whole canvas of this valley. My husband and best friend are all cool greens of comfort, soft red of consistent passion and the wash of soft yellow that warms me with steady supplies of love. My daughter and son are the brush strokes of mellow orange that shows fierce protectiveness, the sparkling purple of respect and loyalty, and all of my family, friends, and extended love ones are the sky blue that holds a banner over faithful love and deep community. The bright colors of life are wonderful, but are more noticeable when they are surrounded by shades that are more pale and make them "pop". I will let you know what the "picture" looks like when I get through this valley to the other side
Friday, July 29, 2011
Good news makes me happy
Well people,
It is so great to go get your boring ol blood work and doctor visit and get good news. My lung ex ray shows that the chemo is making the fluid go away. A month ago it was about half as much as it was 3 months ago without having to have it drained. This week it was about half of that. I fluid in the right side (that was always the side that would have more than a liter) is only in the bottom lobe. The left side only has a tiny amount. Considering that about 4 months ago I was drowning in my own juice, this is great news on its own. Then there is the news that my tumor markers have gone down. The said it was an insignificant amount. It is at 54 and >38 is what they want. Of course I say a big fat 0 sounds good.
Three months ago, My right arm was swollen to twice its size. My hand had such horrible numbness. It's still numb, but it is a side effect of the chemo and not a big deal compared to what it was. So, I can deal with this. I can breath, my hand has feeling, my tumor markers are down. I have energy. Of course I am bald and have no eyelashes. LOL. I will take alive anyway I can get it YO!
It is so great to go get your boring ol blood work and doctor visit and get good news. My lung ex ray shows that the chemo is making the fluid go away. A month ago it was about half as much as it was 3 months ago without having to have it drained. This week it was about half of that. I fluid in the right side (that was always the side that would have more than a liter) is only in the bottom lobe. The left side only has a tiny amount. Considering that about 4 months ago I was drowning in my own juice, this is great news on its own. Then there is the news that my tumor markers have gone down. The said it was an insignificant amount. It is at 54 and >38 is what they want. Of course I say a big fat 0 sounds good.
Three months ago, My right arm was swollen to twice its size. My hand had such horrible numbness. It's still numb, but it is a side effect of the chemo and not a big deal compared to what it was. So, I can deal with this. I can breath, my hand has feeling, my tumor markers are down. I have energy. Of course I am bald and have no eyelashes. LOL. I will take alive anyway I can get it YO!
Friday, July 15, 2011
Looking at life through a pink ribbon haze
The following is not opinion these are fact that I state sources for. So, in advance of reading this article I ask that if you get angry, don't direct it at me. While I state that I am saddened by this information, I didn't come up with it out of the top of my head. You can google it yourself and come up with the same information that I have found or just visit the source that I site.
Thank you,
Leslie
Just the facts on breast cancer's pink initiative. Don't get me wrong, I think breast cancer awareness is a wonderful thing. It has been a terrific boon for the drug companies. Does that comment seem strange to you? Let me clue you in to some irrefutable facts.
Fact one: there isn't any place on this planet that a person wouldn't recognize a pink ribbon as the symbol for breast cancer. ( info from Susan G. Koman wikipedia page that states: Today, Susan G. Komen for the Cure is active in over 50 countries with its largest affiliates in Italy and Germany.)
Fact two: Out of all the money raised in the walk for the cure, race for the cure and other such events, as quoted in a New York times article January 7, 2011, "only 1% of the $5 billion annual cancer fund was devoted to any stage IV (metastatic) cancer, despite the fact that stage IV causes 90% of cancer deaths."
Before adding more facts I just want to go on record as saying that I think this is really sad. Let me educate you. There is a big difference between having localized breast cancer, having it removed and then receiving either chemo alone or with radiation, and a woman or man having metastatic breast cancer. The woman or man with localized cancer will be pronounce cured at the end of their treatment. The patient with metastatic breast cancer is told as I was that you will be on one form or another of chemo for the rest of you life, and most likely this will be what you die from.
Fact three: Just in the USA 155,000 patients a yr are diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. 90% of the people who die from breast cancer are metastatic patients. Again only 1% is used to research this killer disease. ( info from American cancer society)
Fact four: All the money raised for research does not go to research. All those little goodies you get for "free" when you participate in an event that is to raise money for research are actually paid for out of what the event raises. Not to mention the overhead that comes right off the top before any of the money is actually given to researchers. By overhead I mean media (print ads, commercials and awareness information, and literature, magazine ads) Not all of the people who work a fund raising event are volunteers. Some of them are paid staff and are paid out of the funds raised. Where else do you think the money comes from? My source for this information is the Mets matters blog, The cancer chronicles, I hate cancer, and breast cancer news.
Fact five: 45,000 women with mets breast die from it yearly. The majority of patients with localized cancer (just in the breast) have treatment and considered cured at the 5 year mark with no reappearance. S.H.E.circle.org states that survival rate at the 5 year mark of women with localized breast cancer is 97%. 178,480 are diagnosed each year with localized breast cancer.Try as I might I could find no figures on the rate of death in patients with just localized breast cancer. By my math that means that 5354.4 women with localized breast cancer die yearly in America. I did find an obscure article from 1999 that states women who die of localized breast cancer usually die as a result of secondary infection post surgery or die from surgical complications. ( info comes from the American breast cancer society, wikipedia, answers.com)
You may be reading this and think "Gosh she sounds angry" I am not angry at all. I have what I have and I deal with it daily. It is just a part of life now. Most people don't know what will probably take their life. Unless I get hit by a bus, this is probably it. If I am angry about anything it is that we are lumped in the pink ribbon contingent. I don't see myself that way knowing how little is spent to find a cure for me. I am definitely not a part of the pink army. But while I did have localized breast cancer and didn't know all the facts, I was blissfully unaware and drowning in a haze of pink.
Let me leave you with this. I am blessed beyond measure with supportive family and friends. I am blessed to have a situation like this show me who my real friends are and the ones who are just there during the good times. I am blessed to live in a free country. I am blessed to have a relationship with Jesus Christ my savior. I thank God for my life, and I thank God for YOU!
Thank you,
Leslie
Just the facts on breast cancer's pink initiative. Don't get me wrong, I think breast cancer awareness is a wonderful thing. It has been a terrific boon for the drug companies. Does that comment seem strange to you? Let me clue you in to some irrefutable facts.
Fact one: there isn't any place on this planet that a person wouldn't recognize a pink ribbon as the symbol for breast cancer. ( info from Susan G. Koman wikipedia page that states: Today, Susan G. Komen for the Cure is active in over 50 countries with its largest affiliates in Italy and Germany.)
Fact two: Out of all the money raised in the walk for the cure, race for the cure and other such events, as quoted in a New York times article January 7, 2011, "only 1% of the $5 billion annual cancer fund was devoted to any stage IV (metastatic) cancer, despite the fact that stage IV causes 90% of cancer deaths."
Before adding more facts I just want to go on record as saying that I think this is really sad. Let me educate you. There is a big difference between having localized breast cancer, having it removed and then receiving either chemo alone or with radiation, and a woman or man having metastatic breast cancer. The woman or man with localized cancer will be pronounce cured at the end of their treatment. The patient with metastatic breast cancer is told as I was that you will be on one form or another of chemo for the rest of you life, and most likely this will be what you die from.
Fact three: Just in the USA 155,000 patients a yr are diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. 90% of the people who die from breast cancer are metastatic patients. Again only 1% is used to research this killer disease. ( info from American cancer society)
Fact four: All the money raised for research does not go to research. All those little goodies you get for "free" when you participate in an event that is to raise money for research are actually paid for out of what the event raises. Not to mention the overhead that comes right off the top before any of the money is actually given to researchers. By overhead I mean media (print ads, commercials and awareness information, and literature, magazine ads) Not all of the people who work a fund raising event are volunteers. Some of them are paid staff and are paid out of the funds raised. Where else do you think the money comes from? My source for this information is the Mets matters blog, The cancer chronicles, I hate cancer, and breast cancer news.
Fact five: 45,000 women with mets breast die from it yearly. The majority of patients with localized cancer (just in the breast) have treatment and considered cured at the 5 year mark with no reappearance. S.H.E.circle.org states that survival rate at the 5 year mark of women with localized breast cancer is 97%. 178,480 are diagnosed each year with localized breast cancer.Try as I might I could find no figures on the rate of death in patients with just localized breast cancer. By my math that means that 5354.4 women with localized breast cancer die yearly in America. I did find an obscure article from 1999 that states women who die of localized breast cancer usually die as a result of secondary infection post surgery or die from surgical complications. ( info comes from the American breast cancer society, wikipedia, answers.com)
You may be reading this and think "Gosh she sounds angry" I am not angry at all. I have what I have and I deal with it daily. It is just a part of life now. Most people don't know what will probably take their life. Unless I get hit by a bus, this is probably it. If I am angry about anything it is that we are lumped in the pink ribbon contingent. I don't see myself that way knowing how little is spent to find a cure for me. I am definitely not a part of the pink army. But while I did have localized breast cancer and didn't know all the facts, I was blissfully unaware and drowning in a haze of pink.
Let me leave you with this. I am blessed beyond measure with supportive family and friends. I am blessed to have a situation like this show me who my real friends are and the ones who are just there during the good times. I am blessed to live in a free country. I am blessed to have a relationship with Jesus Christ my savior. I thank God for my life, and I thank God for YOU!
Thursday, July 14, 2011
The count down begins.
It seems that I am always counting down to something these days. Counting down to the time to take day before steroids for chemo. Counting down to chemo, or the week I get to see the doctor. My husband travels sometimes, so I find myself counting down to his return on occasion. Today I am counting down till it is time to take my steroids. Then I will start thinking about chemo tomorrow morning. In between the counting of time I do live a life.
My life today has been all about spending time with my daughter. Spending time with each of my children and my husband has become very important to me since my diagnosis. Every moment feels so important. Even the most simple. Today we enjoyed a sandwich for lunch at McCalisters. We got to talk and laugh. We both really enjoyed getting away from the house, but still being in air conditioning. It is over 100 degrees today in Texas. Truly the dog days of Summer.
As I mentioned, tomorrow is chemo. We two of my three weeks on and one week off. I take Taxol/Avastin on weeks one and three and just Taxol on week two. This is my third month What have I noticed so far? Well I lost my hair, I still have to watch my weight, and I am tired all the time. Yesterday I noticed that I am losing my eyelashes. Fun times! These things are all inconvenient. They can be fixed. I wear a wig or a hat to cover my hair loss. I can continue my vegetarian lifestyle to control my weight. As for eyelashes, they make some that are specifically for cancer patients. The glue holds them on for several days and is gently on the sensitive skin of the cancer patient. Problems solved. All except for the fatigue. I don't know how to deal with that one yet other than to drink lots of water and try to rest during the day.
Well People, I am off to do just that. Rest.
My life today has been all about spending time with my daughter. Spending time with each of my children and my husband has become very important to me since my diagnosis. Every moment feels so important. Even the most simple. Today we enjoyed a sandwich for lunch at McCalisters. We got to talk and laugh. We both really enjoyed getting away from the house, but still being in air conditioning. It is over 100 degrees today in Texas. Truly the dog days of Summer.
As I mentioned, tomorrow is chemo. We two of my three weeks on and one week off. I take Taxol/Avastin on weeks one and three and just Taxol on week two. This is my third month What have I noticed so far? Well I lost my hair, I still have to watch my weight, and I am tired all the time. Yesterday I noticed that I am losing my eyelashes. Fun times! These things are all inconvenient. They can be fixed. I wear a wig or a hat to cover my hair loss. I can continue my vegetarian lifestyle to control my weight. As for eyelashes, they make some that are specifically for cancer patients. The glue holds them on for several days and is gently on the sensitive skin of the cancer patient. Problems solved. All except for the fatigue. I don't know how to deal with that one yet other than to drink lots of water and try to rest during the day.
Well People, I am off to do just that. Rest.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Please, feel free to invade my space
Okay, The title is sarcastic to say the least. As you get to know me you will find that I have an edge to the way I think. So okay, You've heard the story of how a person will rub the tummy of someone who is chubby and ask when their due date is? Only to find out that that aren't pregnant? Well this is sort of like that.
On the 10 year mark of being cancer free from Breast cancer, I found out that I have metastatic breast cancer. It is in the lungs, chest wall, arm bone on the right side, and my pelvic bones. Since that time I have discovered that my body is not my own. It is open to being pinched, poked, prodded and probed. I get stuck by needles every week. This is all so much fun and it is something I am growing used to. What happened yesterday came as a surprise.
Here is how it all went down:
My daughter and I were out for a quick lunch and a movie. While standing in line to pay, a complete stranger rushed up behind me and says in a loud voice, "Do you have cancer?" I think she had observed the clue that I had no hair on my head and a cap that barely covered my baldness. So I said "yes" Then she said "They are coming up with so many cures for that now" To which I said "there is no cure for metastatic breast cancer" But she didn't want to hear what I had to say. She just wanted to purge her belief in a cure all over me and then bounce on her merry way. I was sort of shocked. Her whole objective had been to find out if I had cancer and then encourage me into believing I would be cured. More for her sake than mine, I said "thanks for the encouragement" as I passed her table.
I believe that as the signs of my cancer become more apparent physically, more folks will take it upon themselves to tell me publicly that I will be cured, or what treatments I should be on. I already had someone tell me that there is a miracle worker in Mexico. Wow! that is awesome that someone has cured cancer. Bummer that they've received zero recognition for it though.
So, Tell me if anything like this has happened to you.
Leslie
On the 10 year mark of being cancer free from Breast cancer, I found out that I have metastatic breast cancer. It is in the lungs, chest wall, arm bone on the right side, and my pelvic bones. Since that time I have discovered that my body is not my own. It is open to being pinched, poked, prodded and probed. I get stuck by needles every week. This is all so much fun and it is something I am growing used to. What happened yesterday came as a surprise.
Here is how it all went down:
My daughter and I were out for a quick lunch and a movie. While standing in line to pay, a complete stranger rushed up behind me and says in a loud voice, "Do you have cancer?" I think she had observed the clue that I had no hair on my head and a cap that barely covered my baldness. So I said "yes" Then she said "They are coming up with so many cures for that now" To which I said "there is no cure for metastatic breast cancer" But she didn't want to hear what I had to say. She just wanted to purge her belief in a cure all over me and then bounce on her merry way. I was sort of shocked. Her whole objective had been to find out if I had cancer and then encourage me into believing I would be cured. More for her sake than mine, I said "thanks for the encouragement" as I passed her table.
I believe that as the signs of my cancer become more apparent physically, more folks will take it upon themselves to tell me publicly that I will be cured, or what treatments I should be on. I already had someone tell me that there is a miracle worker in Mexico. Wow! that is awesome that someone has cured cancer. Bummer that they've received zero recognition for it though.
So, Tell me if anything like this has happened to you.
Leslie
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