Radiation recovery
Comments
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Joan sounds like your assistant chair has an agenda that he isn't sharing with you. Maybe someone you would be bumping is a particular pet of his. I know how these things work in an academic setting. The question to ask is politically would it harm you to push the issue? There are so many politics in academics. I used to work in a department where the Chairman insisted on filled out leave slips from some of us and others never filled out leave slips at all, and took endless time off. No one was ever fired, and many of them never did much work. It seemed those that were accountable did all of the work and the others just slid by. It is a very strange world at times in academia.
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Oh Joan, how terrible about poison oak! DH uses a special soap and wears long sleeves so he won't spread it. Be good now, no scratching!!! Sorry to hear about the work stuff. I left teaching (in part) because of politics just like that. My mistake. Anyway, Sew, I have not been kayaking before ever. DH is pushing for the bay this weekend because it is near, but I am concerned. I think I will research the slough and find out what kind of kayaks they use. Cindy, we would use a sit on top. I don't want to have to learn to roll! And thank you for reminding me about the sleeve!
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Cindy, I love your posts, too. They are written with mischief and love. You could be a writer too. Line dancing sounds like a hoot. You go girl!
Joan, I am thinking a night off won't hurt you. I think taking it a little bit easier would be good for you, even though you don't think so.
My doctor friend got a steroid injection and thank God she probably won't require surgery. THe doctor said her pain should go away in 24 or 48 hours. Not sure if we will go to Malibu Friday. It all depends on how she feels. If we don't go Friday then we will go on my next week off of chemo which will be the week of June 24. My high school friend wants to go out then too. I have to book dates with people only on the weeks I am off. I can't be sure I won't be queazy on the weeks I am on chemo. Tomorrow I pick up my perscription for Emend, and I have two other perscriptions for nausea, plus they give me something for nausea when I get my infusion. Naturally I was a little more nauseous the week of my 5 hour chemo than I was the weeks of my 30 minute chemo. I am feeling positive, and resilient, plus I will wear my magic princess coat, so I will be ok.
Love,
Kate
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Kate, now you know what to expect and the level of what you will feel. You've got this thing. Glad your friend doesn't have to have surgery. You are a popular gal. You have all of these fun people wanting to spend time with you.
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Hi, new kayakers. Just a word of caution about starting slow on gentle waters--someone told me she never had lymphedema until she overdid it on a kayaking trip. As you know, once you've got it, you've got it.
I think I should take notes about who said what, so I can remember to reply to everyone, so I apologize to everyone I miss. You are all loved, and all inspire and comfort me, each in your own way.
Two basement floods in such a short time is horrendous. I had three feet of water with Hurricane Irene, but what holds up my big old colonial house is just a stone wall. and the floor is dirt, so it self-drains. until my father put in a drainage outlet, the cellar flooded every spring. This is rather typical in my area, by the way. Post drainage system, I put a furnace and hot water heater down there. Strangely enough, both survived the flood, and now we're ready for the next big one (usually about every 30-40 years!). A finished basement, on the other hand, can only be a heartbreak, especially twice in so short a time, and after what you've already been through!
About that flylady.net stuff--the shiny sink thing is dangerous. Flylady recommends starting with one simple task: empty, clean, and shine your kitchen sink every single night, that's it. The problem is that shiny sink so motivates you that you mindlessly start clearing, cleaning, and polishing everything in reach. I mentioned it to my assistant, she tried it, and wound up cleaning and decluttering all weekend. Not at all the way she'd planned to spend a holiday weekend! I did the same and on Tuesday found myself sitting at my desk in a semi-coma. I guess you need to build up to this housekeepng stuff!
Kate, I love that you've met with your high school friend. I'd so love to see what some of mine are up to! I imagine you've met with your lymphedema therapist by now?
About those gruesome neck injections--perhaps a pleasant, calming meditation about energetically belting the doc? Now that you've tracked you pain for a couple of days, I hope you're finding it helped?
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Cindy, a second house is a great idea! Wish I'd thought of it! A few years ago, I remember reading that where her home is in Idaho, Demi Moore also had a second house next door to store her doll collection. That sounded a little nuts, but if it's my own boxes and books and stuff, it wouldn't be nuts, no!
GiGi, I never responded about your family recipes--the Native American recipes are pure gold! As a historian and as a cook I would love to see those! I'm sure there are lots of people who know about Native American cooking, but I would expect there's more that was not written down. You have both the recipes and a strong family cooking heritage which is just wonderful. Also, I loved your HS reunion picture. I have only a few HS friends--I was pretty weird and nerdy then, and my better friends are from college and grad school--but thanks to Facebook I'm in much better touch with folks from HS these days. Now a reunion would be more fun than it used to be.
Kate, I'm so tickled reading about your lovely day yesterday. I hope you can have all good days until Monday, and then I hope your second long chemo day, and the following days, go much better than last time.
Joan, that's a tough call. If the assistant chair's reasons don't add up, and you really want/need the work and have the seniority, and you have a way to go over the assistant chair's head, and it wouldn't make a mess with the colleague who gets bumped, I totally get why you'd push for that work. I'll be interested to hear what you decide and what happens.
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Many thanks to all of you who commented on their experience with MRIs, it was really helpful, and helped me clarify my thinking. I hate to be still dealing with breast cancer issues.
Kate, glad your doctor friend is ok. I know you are gearing up for chemo next week, will be in the big magic coat pocket with the others.
Not enough time to address everyone today-off to work, then a wake for a friend's father. Last night went to one for my dear friend, who died of ovarian cancer last Saturday. A hard week.0 -
I had an MRI after diagnosis. It found two benign lesions that I'd know were there for years, and which never raised the slightest concern with my gyn. Because they showed up on the MRI, the lesions were biopsied. One was a papilloma, the other a goulash of ALH, ADH, and several other cellular changes. As you all know, the ALH and ADH indicate an increased risk for BC anywhere in either breast. Had I had the MRI earlier, perhaps my IDC would have been found earlier. My six-month mammo comes up in a couple of weeks, and, as my BS indicated this is primarily to establish a new postsurgical baseline, I am fine with that. As time goes by, however, I will be lobbying for an MRI at least every couple of years--false positives be darned--Like everyone else I know, I am more concerned about false negatives. P.S. I'm changing my gyn.
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Gigil and Runfree thanks so much for your support.
Brookside thank you for your support. I did not get a lymph therapist, because my insurance won 't cover it.
Suzannah thanks for your support. I am so sorry about your friend's father passing away, and your friend from ovariam cancer. Gosh it is time for you to have fun and not more aggravation.
Love,
Kate
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Hi ladies!
Ok, so it has been a month since I finished rads and I know since I had a strange protocol of 2 x a day for a week, there is not much to make a comparison to. Should I not be feeling less tired by now???? I hit a wall each afternoon at around 2 pm and if I am home, I take a nap, but I am at work during the week. I literally closed my office door yesterday and put my head down on the desk for a few minutes. Then I finally gave in and told my boss I had to go home.
Sheesh, I need to start feeling better soon! I don't do "sick" well at all. I am relatively healthy except for big things like...ummm, cancer. I don't even get colds and haven't had one for like 5 years!
Help me to understand again why rads is kicking my butt!
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SAB I see you are taking on yet another challenge with the kayaking. My son and DIL like in Colorado and they are avid kayakers. For their honeymoon they floated the Yellowstone River and camped along shore each night. They own several kayaks and love it. They are floating the river again in August. Since they are deep into the back country I told them last time to be very careful of bears. Adam informed me bears aren't as big a problem out there as the wolves are. Now that sure made me feel better! I am sure you will traverse less dangerous areas!
Joan poison oak? How miserable that must be. I sure hope that clears up quickly.
Brookside it was really hard to separate my normal neck pain from the pain caused by the injections. DH says the back of my neck has bruises where the 6 injections were. No wonder it was so sore. I do think the pain is better although not completely gone. I will continue to rate it perthe doctor's instruction, then I see hom in a few weeks for a follow up.
I meant to let everyone know I got a cortisone injection in the knee. It really has taken most of the pain away and I can walk fine so far. Yeah!
Kate I am really happy to hear you had such a nice time yesterday. You have a new friend and that is so nice for you. I am glad she wants to get together again. That is great news. Also nice to hear your friend is okay and the shot helped her pain right away.
Susannah I am so sorry about your recent losses. Big healing hugs to you.
RunFree your knowledge of the cookbooks is so interesting. My DH is half American Indian. All he has ever made is fry bread LOL. Good stuff though.
There are so many posts here I have trouble keeping up. I don't ever mean to exclude anyone. I think of all of you and appreciate all the posts. This is a great thread.
Hugs all around!!
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Runfree - It is a long thread but it really helped me last fall. When my mom died three years ago I moved completely into this house. I had so much stuff I had trails to walk through. Mom had a ton of Liberace stuff that I never liked dusting when I was a kid. It is pretty but not my style. So I called all her friends and asked what they wanted. After that I called Salvation Army etc for furniture pieces etc. It took about 3 mos. Then I started using all my stuff thinking that would help me feel more at home here. It didn't really so last fall during rads I started to downsize more. I am about 2/3 done. They call my style of hoarding "stockpiling". I am getting better. Last frontier was all the food stuff, canned goods, boxed stuff. OMG I had so much. Does 1 person really need 12 cans of chicken noodle soup?
So good luck with that all and start slow. It is too overwhelming to go fast. Start with 1 room and do a corner. Then another corner and work your way in.
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Brookside - I hear ya about a finished basement. My area in Mi always gets hit and people spend a ton to get the basement dry and livable. When I was a teen I actually lived down there with all my music, tv and parties. It is just that old 70s look with the panel walls and vinyl floors etc. I get about 2 inches of puddles all over. Some deeper that others. The walls are concrete behind the cheap paneling and so it the floor under the old tiles. We never had a problem with the furnace room . It has a drain but the water heater is in there and it is not lifted up like the furnace. The walls are breaking down in there and that caused the leaks. We treated it with this stinky rain guard glue that has me all messed up but it is holding. We walked around the house in the rain and found that my driveway is crumbling close to the wall also. The best fix would be to have them dig all around that side of the house and seal it plus redo the driveway. The cost is very high. Then they would need to come in and dry-lock over that glued wall. If I was going to live here long it would be worth it. My intention was to fix it up enough to sell and then go. I got side stepped when I got BC and had to deal mentally with it as well as my moms death. So now I am back on track. I hope to get it on the market next spring.
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Man, we are a busy group. It's certainly hard to keep track, but here goes:
Joan: Oops, guess we didn't tell you that if you take a "roll in the hay" anywhere near SF or outlying areas you'll end up with poison Oak. so sorry, SAB and I should have cautioned you.....calamine or a baking soda paste and no scratching.
April: I'd guess the fatigue you're feeling isn't really because of your protocol, but just plain old rads. It gets some of us that way. Mine was that way. It will get better over time, and you'll be less and less fatigued. I also guess that your job is emotionally stressful, and I think that also takes a toll on all of us. Not to mention your Dad, sick kitty and hubby looking for work......it all plays a part. I'm so sorry this happened, but you'll get thru it though, just keep on truckin' on.
Brookside, too funny about that fly-lady stuff. I've never read it but did find myself dusting deep dust off some books in a funny little shelf that I thought protected them when we were supposed to be leaving for the coast. It's just that I walked by and the sun was on that spot for just a minute, and I noticed it. DH said he didn't mind waiting for me if I was getting ready, but NOT if I was cleaning. Oh, BTW? cleaning isn't my strong point. Fly-lady isn't for me I think.
Susannah, you've had a tough week, I'm so sorry.
Janis, glad to hear the knee is coorperating with you now, instead of fighting you. Amazing what those cortizone shots can do. Hope the neck bruising gets better soon and you can tell if the procedure actually worked.
Have a great day ladies, I'm going to work on painting the outside of the house, then off to PT. Goodness....that sounds counterproductive doesn't it? At least I've got them in the right order......
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Janis, hoping your cortisone shot helps your knee longer than it helps mine. It works for maybe a month and then it wears off
Bunkie, my mom passed away in Feb of 2012 and I still haven't cleaned out her closets. My dad is still alive and I think it would upset him too much even with his dementia.
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Bunkie, I'm sure glad to hear that at least the rain guard glue miserable smelling compound did its job. That's one thing at least. The rest does sound as though that house is crumbling around your knees. If you don' t sell till next spring, I sure hope you weather the winter OK. Or, do you guys get your rain in the spring and summer and then snow in the winter so you won't have the water problems in the winter? I'm not great on either geography or weather patterns.
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April, I would guess I needed a nap for a couple of months after rads. I would get bouts of heavy fatigue in the afternoon. When that happened, I would sometimes have a cup of tea and take a couple of vitamins and it seemed to buoy me for the rest of the day. Even before rads, when I was younger the hour or two after lunch, I would sometimes close my office door and curl up on the couch for a power nap. When your mind is so busy and the blood is all in your stomach digesting, it is hard to stay awake!! I think they is why some countries instituted a time for a siesta. Massages knock me out like that too. I don't know why they can't just finish the massage and then roll you into a nap room for about an hour. Wouldn't that be heavenly? Instead they expect you to sit up and be alert. Who can do that? I avoid massages for that reason. I feel horrible trying to get back on my feet!!
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Janis. Thanks so much for your support. I am so glad that your knee is feeling better after cortisone shots.
xoxo,
Kate
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Sew - We get awful cold, snow and ice winters but the house is usually ok then. Our springs, summers and fall all have wet times. The good thing about winter is that I can usually heat up the room that has been messed with for a project and bake out the toxins. That is a safe way to get rid of vocs etc. Winter is just hard on me. It depresses me and I get all gloomy. I also have more aches and pains then. Summer I feel better but my house starts to act up. Can not win. Yes it is falling apart. However I am a perfectionist and have problems with toxins so for me it is harder. If I was normal I could just get something fixed and keep going. I usually have to leave for a month. There are a few things I have to do to it or it will not sell.
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Kate - Did you post a picture with the Salmon skirt? Can't see it. let me go back.
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Bunkie...yep the sooner you can manage to get back out west the better as you say. I don't envy you the work still facing you on the house, but slow and steady wins the race and setting a goal of the spring sounds good to me. Maybe we should all have a meet up at your house wearing our work clothes? Except it sounds like all the work that's needed is for professionals only. Janis is a professional baker, or the next best thing to it, wonder if that would help?
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Hi Bunkie,
You and I are opposites about what seasons we like. I like fall and winter, and even spring. Summer depresses me. I did not post a photo of my salmon skirt. I will see if I can get someone to take a photo of me.
xoxo,
kate
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I saw my internist today, and he said I am dragging around 10-15 pounds of water in this leg. There really is no let up. I just think positive, and pray it will go away asap. I feel like my old self, 100% healthy, until I walk on it. I didn't realize it is as much as 10-15 pounds in additional weight that I am dragging around. I pray the 3 June chemo treatmnets will give me relief.
xoxo,
kate
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Wow Kate, just think about the weight-bearing exercise you are getting just hauling that leg around! And certainly you can't take anything seriously that you see on the scale right now. I'm so glad you are feeling good. I hope this next chemo will teach that edema a lesson and it will shrink properly!
Bunkie, I applaud you for taking on the decluttering mountain. It sounds like a really giant challenge to begin with, and you have been chipping away at it and made such a difference. Slow and steady wins the race, once again. I am trying to do at least a little bit every day and then a bigger session on weekends. It's hard because some days I just can't face it, and sometimes I unpack a pile and it gets messier in the short term, and that's when I run out of steam, leaving it worse than before in that spot. I know the answer is to do as you've done and just keep getting back to it.
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RunFree, that's exactly how I clean--tear something apart, get overwhelmed, and wish I'd never started. I remember a time my father in law came over when I was "cleaning" the linen closet and everything was spread out all over the floor. He was appalled. Last time I cleaned that closet!
Kate, are you certain your insurance really does not cover physical therapy? I thought all insurance had to give you at least a few sessions. Perhaps the physical therapist your MO wants you to see for lymphedema treatment can help you apply? Even if that does not work, just one session will teach you how to relieve some of the swelling yourself.
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Runfree, Thanks so much for your support, Because of this gigantic leg I am not going anywhere near a scale.
My insurance does not cover it, and I am frugal. Since it won't cure it, believe it or not, I would rather buy something fun with the money, and not give it to a therapist. So, I am toughing it out until the chemo works, but it sure isn't fun.
xoxo,
Kate
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April, please do not worry about the fatigue. I finished my rads (16 plus 4 boosts) on March 22. I had my RO put me on disability when I started and for a month afterwards. I tried going back to work week 5 post rads, but wound up just sitting there. Last week and this week (weeks 8 and 9, I think) I've been pretty much back to normal, but still tire easily. I spent kind of a lot of time doing housework this weekend, and was too exhausted to do more than sit in my office on Tuesday. Except for this little bit of BC, I'm in really good health and do not understand how the stupid zaps can have such a severe effect. For some of us, it just happens. My feeling is that this BC experience is such a mind, body, spirit assault that our whole persona just needs to step out of the hamster wheel for a little while and heal.
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Bunkie I am so sorry for the mess you seem to be in. I know the house is a huge struggle with so much to be done. I would sure love to pitch in and give you a hand with some of the problems. You sure can't seem to win. You have had so much on your plate this past year. So many difficult challenges. It was so nice of you to offer some of your mom's things to her friends. I am sure they appreciated being able to pick somethng personal.
April the radiation fatigue is different for everyone. I would not worry about it as it is very normal. I know that isn't terribly reassuring, but in time the fatigue will pass. I think you just have to take it one day at a time and try not to focus on it too much. If you are able to take a nap, by all means do it. Your body is talking to you, so give it the respect it deserves. Rads is difficult, and different for everyone so try not to compare your experience with anyone else's. You are unique as is your response to treatment. This will be behind you soon, promise!
I am having a terrible time getting motivated. We wanted to have a garage sale this weekend but we haven't gotten anything started yet. We have to do this. When we moved here three years ago we sold and donated so many things. We went from a much larger home in Cheyenne with a lot more storage. The spare bedrooms here are so tiny and I have no storage at all. I am at the point where I just want to sell everything. I absolutely cannot tolerate clutter and overcrowding. I have very few things I would consider family heirlooms. My family didn't collect anything nor save a lot of stuff. We moved several times growing up and my father hated packing and hauling much. I used to do crafts years ago and I had a ton of crafting stuff. I got rid of it all at our garage sale before we moved here. Still somehow we seem to have way too much stuff to fit this house. I feel the need to purge. DH has so many tools. He has a hard time parting with them. We needed them in Cheyenne, we had a few acres, a barn and a greenhouse and we did a lot of home repair and maintenance. Here they just take up a lot of room in our garage. I think the days of big home projects is behind us. Now if I could only start. We can't keep putting it off and I have no idea why I keep dragging my heels. I think because it is a huge project to get started. The only way to start is to begin! Maybe tomorrow? Okay Scarlett!
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Janis, I can so relate. You know that second house someone mentioned to put everything extra in. I have that. And it is piled high with 33 years of stuff. Oh my gosh, I know I have to get out there and purge. I want to get a dumpster. It is in a lake town, so really anything we put at the end of the driveway and mark free, it is usually gone by morning. It has worked every time. We had a flooded basement a few years ago, and that stuff had to be hauled out, sorted, and the wet things thrown away. The garbage collector just said pile it on the berm and they would come and get it. We made sure it got hauled away as we didn't want anyone else picking that stuff up. We repacked everything untouched by the flood water in rubbermaids and now we have about 40 of those things piled downstairs as well as tax records from as far back as 1993. It is so hard to go through that stuff. It brings forth so many memories both good and bad.
We had a clinic in a small town that was flooded out. We have gotten rid of most records, but I still run into reminders of my office there. It was such a fun place and we had a wonderful group of people. We suffered such a financial loss when that happened. It was hard to come back from it. I often wonder if the seeds of the cancer were planted during that time. Too much stress. Time to purge all of that and just put it behind us. We have come back better than ever, so that is a blessing.
So, we have that house totally full to the brim and a townhouse where we live most of the time - also with packed closets and a piled high garage and storage room. Bunkie, you are motivating me to get my cluttered life under control. Like everyone else, when I start a project it is chaos all around until it is done.
I need to start under the sinks in my bathroom. I must have 30 bottles of shampoo, shower soap (that my skin won't tolerate any longer), and so many other things. My linen closet in my bathroom is a hazard. If I try to find anything in there by way of first aid items, forget it. I just end up buying new. I have outdated meds in there. When I had my surgery they sent me home with pain meds that I never used. I stashed them somewhere. Where, I am not sure. I long for an organized uncluttered existence. I have declared a moratorium on buying anything new and I have stuck to it (except for shoes of course). Ha! Ha!
By all outward appearances, both homes look neat and tidy. Just don't open any closets!!
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OK GiGiL and Janis, I am clearly in good company! But unlike you Janis, I am not a good purger. I have a very hard time throwing out something that could one day be of use, like half-used bottles of shampoo. Must be because I lived through the Depression, EXCEPT I DIDN'T. But it's that kind of mentality. I've gotten better at throwing things out but I have a long way to go. Tomorrow through Sunday, back at it big-time. Monday through next Thursday, weekday goals. Breathe in, breathe out.
Janis, best of luck with your yard sale. Maybe just a small one? On the topic of yard sales: I remember my mom went through a ruthless downsizing phase about ten years ago. She had a huge yard sale and, among other things, sold four weed whackers. She wasn't thinking it through though, because (as she knew) that was the year that all four of her kids bought houses--and so we all suddenly needed weed whackers! But in general she did it right, had a yard sale every year for a few years until her pile of stuff was manageable. I am going to participate in our town-wide yard sale this year and maybe next year and after that. I have a spot in the garage where I'm gathering stuff as I clean. It helps me to think of it as not a one-shot deal, but a first yard sale, so I don't have to think it has to be the perfect purge. By the way, in my mom's biggest yard sale she had a table where everything was 2 for a nickel. She did sell some bigger stuff, but a lot of it was small. She made $1200!
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