6 months post-surgery

 

Today marks SIX months since I had my breast cancer surgery.

I'm doing mostly good, but the bra situation is still a challenge.

My incisions are still tight and painful, so next week I'm going to start some PT, which I hope will help. 

Everyone (on the breast cancer boards says you have to give it a year, so I guess I will)

Otherwise all is fairly well- yesterday was our 42nd Anniversary, sometimes it seems like yesterday and sometimes like a lifetime ago. 

Frank has been having some dental misery, so it's been my turn to take care of him. I hope things settle down soon, but this getting older business really stinks.

That's all for now - call me if you want to chat!

Hoping for Nothing Blue Skies Ahead!

 

Last week on one of my walks the skies were so blue and the trees were so green! Everything seemed ultra-saturated and there is no filter on that photo!

I am slowly starting to pull out of the storm of treatment. My wrist is feeling a little better, and all the scabs from my fall have fallen off. My jaw is no longer sore, and my mouth in general feels 100x better after the root canal, which obviously was the right thing to do in retrospect.

My scars still feel tight and itchy, but they don't bother me much in the daytime. Sometimes it can be hard to settle at night, but, better living through chemistry helps...

Next week Frank and I are going to Seattle for a work meeting / early BD celebration (for Frank) 

I got really brave this morning and tried on my swimsuits which didn't look nearly as bad as I feared. One doesn't work anymore with my smaller chest, but the other 3 looked OK, and covered high enough around my arms that the scars don't show. 

I started taking the hormone blocker (anastrozole) last week, and so far I feel OK, with no obvious side effects. I'm also back to taking my vitamins and supplements, which helps with my energy (I think).

SO just steady state and continued healing for now. I am 4 months out of surgery (and 1 month out of radiation) and just now starting to get to a point where it's not on my mind every waking minute. I so hope all this treatment has eradicated every cancer cell, and I NEVER have to deal with this again. 

Be well all, thanks for reading and commenting- I appreciate everyone's support. 

A Rocky week

 Here's a photo of my "Grandcat" who was my little furry co-worker last week 

SO it's been a rough week for me. 

Apparently, your radiation burns can get worse AFTER you have finished treatment, and mine did. It's like having the worst sunburn ever. Last week was really uncomfortable, and this week It's finally feeling - while I hesitate to call it "better" at least not as painful. 

OK- so then Frank and I go for a walk, and I tripped and fell on a ridiculously uneven sidewalk. Scrapes on both knees, both hands, and one elbow (really bad on the elbow). Bruises and bleeding on/in my nose. Thankfully no broken teeth. Pretty sure I sprained both thumbs, which are also now bruised, and I think I bruised/cracked a rib. 

Not to mention how mad I am at myself for having this happen. (Although I should only be mad at the sidewalk that was 2 1/2 inches away from level.)

Adding to the fun, today I need to have the root canal I was worrying about just prior to my surgery. In a way, I'm ready for that because I want my mouth to stop hurting, and I'm just really thankful I didn't have to do it the week before or the week after my surgery. 

So that's my rant for now- 

I REALLY really need a week or two where I can feel better....

Rang the Bell!

Woo hoo! On Friday June 7, I had the last of my 18 radiation treatments, and I rang the bell!

I am so delighted to put this phase of treatment behind me, and to move on to my (hopefully) cancer-free life!

I know I will need 5 years (!) of hormone-blocking drugs, but I get a few weeks to recover before I have to start those. When I see the oncologist (july 2) I will get that Rx and also will find out what my surveillance plan is. IDK when my next scan, mammo, MRI will be, and right now I am so sore I can't even imagine doing a mammogram. It might be MRI for me LOL 

For today, I am celebrating, and we're going out to a Wisc supper club, followed by Kopps for the best ice cream/frozen custard around!

It's been a rough 4 1/2 months, but G-D willing it only gets better from here on out! 💓😉
 

The going gets rougher

 

Every day at 3:45 this is where you will find me. I'm going to try and get a pic of me and the machine sometime. I have 7 more treatments to go. (60% done)

My breast is a bit swollen and feels really sun burned, although it doesn't look red. The underarm and back that gets hit really hurts, partly because I need someone else to do the lotioning back there- I can't reach to do it even with a long-stick applicator.

My eyes have started to get really red, dry, itchy, and hurt esp in bright light. My radiation oncologist says this is not from radiation, but they got really acutely bad last Friday. I'm going to an eye doctor later today. Hopefully they can prescribe something more effective than the OTC eyedrops which I'm using 5-6 x a day right now. 

I'm also a bit of a couch potato in the late afternoon/evenings, but I guess I'm entitled, my body is working so hard to cope with all of this. 

I'm thinking about cancelling my Monday appt next week so I can have another 3 day weekend to recover before my final week. Depending on whether or not I cancel, my last day will either be Thurs June 6 or Friday June 7. 

I'm starting to think about what (if anything) I should do to celebrate. I definitely want to bring some nice treats to the radiation techs who have been taking care of me. 

I don't know if I'll "ring the bell" or not. I don't feel like I'm done because I have to go on more drugs for 5 years. I also read an very interesting study about stress in those who ring the bell vs don't. It said that ringing the bell creates a "mental snapshot" and that folks who did this perceived their treatment as more stressful than folks who skipped it. 

Here's a link to the article: Ringing the bell

In other news, we did have a nice visit with Ross' daughter Eloise this last weekend. We had tea at the Drake one day, and she joined us for a Memorial Day parade and cookout. Here's a pic from tea. So trying to focus on the good stuff and not on the hard stuff. 

Thanks for reading, commenting, emailing and calling!

Hump day- 38% completed

 Baltimore oriole in my backyard!

Looking back I guess Wednesday is my day to post things - after the crush of Monday work and before weekend stuff...who knows?

Anyhow I have had 7 radiation treatments of the 18 total I will have. 

I'd have to say I'm not terrible, but I'm also not great. I still think I feel my molecules vibrating during the treatments, and I definitely have a burning sensation afterwards. I always bring the Miaderm cream with me and put lots on just after the radiation as I'm getting dressed. Yesterday when I got home, I had to have Frank help me re-do the areas I can't reach, and it really helped because the back of my arm and upper back were so uncomfortable. 

The treatments also take a lot of "emotional energy" for me. It's really hard to lie on this hard table, in an uncomfortable position, and stay completely still while this giant linear accelerator rotates around me, and gives me the equivalent of too many high-energy x-rays to count. 

I just feel really "emotionally tamped down" in a way that's very foreign to me. 

I'm also having some weird aches and pains in other areas and digestive issues that don't seem like they should be related, because they are nowhere near the radiated area, but who knows? I mean I don't think we are intended to naturally get this kind of abuse. 

In one of my previous jobs we worked with very low-level radioactive isotopes and we had to wear badges that would detect our exposure, and use all kinds of shielding. If your badge was too high then you had to stop doing those tasks for a while. (Mine was always fine). but still...

Today our granddaughter Eloise who is getting close to 5 is coming to town for a week-long visit. Laura and Ross are so excited and have decorated a beautiful room in their new apartment in a unicorn theme. We were also so thankful to have Ross' folk in town last week to help them get set up as I am not quite up to major unpacking snuff. 

That's all for now- I love hearing from folks so feel free to call me, email or text -

Thanks for everyone's support and love.

ZAP me baby!

 My radiation treatments started on Monday. As I write this I am 2 down-16 to go. 

I have a little countdown calendar on my office wall to help me keep track. 

They say you are not supposed to feel anything during the treatment, but I swear I do. It's not painful but it feels to me kind of tickly-like my electrons/molecules are being jiggled about. At night it feels like the radiated breast is warmer to the touch than the other one. No glowing in the dark yet (LOL). It does, however make me a bit nervous as to how I'll feel down the road. 

They say most people don't have any noticeable effects until you are like 1 week in. Most also get some degree of fatigue. However I'm a really energetic person, so I'm hoping that will continue to hold true. 

I'm really trying to focus on one day and one treatment at a time. It's too daunting to think big picture right now. The treatments don't take very long, it takes longer for them to get my body exactly in place than for this giant machine to circle around me. I think it's called a linear accelerator and it looks like this:

My scars are starting to look less raised and crazy bad, although I don't know if my nipples will ever look normal or have feeling again. Kind of sad about that, but I guess I should be happy they could save them. It is possible that long term they will improve, or not. No way to know except "tincture of time". 

I am loving the days we have that are warmer, and looking forward to wearing shorts and t-shirts instead of sweaters and pants. I'm also trying really hard to lose a few pounds, and hoping maybe the radiation will kill my appetite (not a known side effect 😉)

That's all for now- treatment #3 coming this afternoon.