My Husband, My Life, My Love, My Family, My Cancer
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mae, I love your beach scene!
Waving "hi" to everyone. I'm about to have my third cup of coffee. Better switch to decaf! I updated my blog this morning. It's how I feel about "Pink-tober."
Carol
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Mae, That looks beautiful. I can imagine myself sitting it a comfy lounge chair under those palm trees. It’s my favorite place to be. Big sigh. You did a great job of installing it.
Mara, I have thick body wash in a non-foaming container and I did save a foaming container that I can reuse. I am going to order more body wash in my favorite fragrance and try it!
Tanya, you have a busy life. Did you make it to Texas to see your friend or did the hurricane prevent your trip? A visit to see yourpregnant granddaughter sounds like fun. Doe she know if she is having a girl or a boy? Oh my goodness, you will be a great-grandmother. You seem way too young.
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Good news ! Our power is back ! It was getting cold but now we are fine. I never felt so good doing a load of laundry. (still not as excited as Mara though).
Love and hugs
Debbie
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Mae - what a cool scene! Great job.
KittyKat - I am also shocked at such a neglectful oversight. That's inexcusable! I'm glad your MO is in your corner on that and I hope you get to feeling better soon. I'm sorry you are dealing with so much right now.
Someone mentioned the Junior British Bake Off on Netflix, that is my new favorite also. I like all of the Bake Off shows but the kids are too cute and so amazingly talented! I made pumpkin muffins with a streusel top yesterday trying to welcome fall and ward off this heat. It's still almost 90 degrees here so it doesn't feel very much like Fall but cools off nice in the evening. The silver lining is I think I can keep my tomatoes going through most of October at this point. I may make some lentil soup this afternoon and freeze it. I'm not as clever as Mara but I'm trying to stretch the food in my pantry and freezer as far as it will go between grocery trips.
Waving hello to the rest of the living room, hope you all are having a good weekend.
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Thanks everyone, I'm just in a holding pattern at the moment waiting to hear when my mri will be, I've got a biopsy of the swollen lymph node on my neck this morning and surgery to clean out the fistula and replace the seton stent tomorrow morning. My lovely neighbour s getting up at 5.30 in the morning to drive me to the hospital and then come back and pick me up, I'm so very lucky to have such great people near me. Living, I'm glad your power is finally back on and I'm here for anyone who needs it this week. Tanya have a lovely visit with your grand daughter. Hi to everyone else, I'm off to get ready for the day, aka have my first coffee, be as well as possible.
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Mae, great beach scene and nothing wrong with your picture at all.
Living, glad your power is back on.
50's, enjoy your foaming soap once you make some.
Pocket duty for Kitty as she awaits a biopsy.
Emac, I am sure you will find ways to stretch your food budget while keeping the meals delicious. Breakfast was just the beans, beefless ground, spinach and some cheese. Supper was just rice and beefless ground with a bit of cheese as well. Added shredded cheese back into the wheelhouse. I don't feel clever but I just try different things.
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LivingIVLife- I had forgotten about the endless sound of chainsaws cutting through downed trees from basically dawn until dusk for weeks! I remember saying to my husband at one point, months later, "Do you hear that?" "Hear what?" "Silence." And, God bless the linemen that came from all over to rebuild our power grid. I hope you're back on soon. -- Oh, I just saw that it's back on, hurray!
50s - You are inspiring me to make some soups and casserole for the freezer. In your pocket for the remaining WBR sessions.
Tanya - I'm going to try to PM you the FEMA graphic for debris pickup (from Hurricane Michael - 2018). In the beginning, it didn't matter much anyway, because we had so much tree debris that there was no room for anything else.
Mae - love the beach scene! I'm sure it makes it feel like a real escape.
Kittykat- hanging out in your pocket while you're waiting on a plan.
Mara - you are like the Energizer Bunny - you just keep going and going. Even so, I still worry about you. It seems like it wasn't all that long ago that you were walking long miles without issue.
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Hi All, as usual I can’t keep up with you all, but have been reading along and noted some we have a real mixture of not good news, new people, a lot of just trying to make it through the days without crashing and burning and our usual creative and proactive folk who raise our spirits!
I have news….after Xeloda failed in April, I was on Vinorelbine for 4 months which did nothing except make me lose 11kg in weight ( needed) and allowed the disease to progress into my peritoneum which came with a load of pain along with the spinal mets referred pain. This to the point where my Onc for the first time in 4.5 years told me I didn’t look at all well, we needed to move on and we had ‘the chat’ about running out of options. I started my first Stage 4 weekly IV treatment of Paclitaxel 7 weeks ago having been told it had a 50% chance of it being effective.
After only 6 weeks I had a CT scan ( my Onc miscalculated…she meant it to be 10 weeks and ‘fessed up right away bless her!). Report says significant response all round, the stuff in the peritoneum hasalmost completely resolved. I was starting to feel better after only 2 weeks and now have little or no pain and no pain meds at all for the last 4 weeks. Bloods aren’t great so am now doing GCSF injections and the hair has gone, but my Onc says this is a remarkable response and she’s looking at not overcooking me on this chemo, so possibly a slight dose reduction and / or moving to fortnightly IV. Who knows how long this will be effective for but we’ll definitely take that and hope it gives a little hope for those who are also well down the line in treatments.
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SeeQ, I do think the falls I took before took away all confidence to walk. I am more out of cardio shape than I was when walking all that distance before as well. It may come back or I may just do the shorter bursts of walking to hit a step goal.
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Planning my breakfast and day. Breakfast will be 1/4 cup rice, 1/4 cup beans, 1/4 cup beefless ground and one egg. Will bake and cool beans first, made the rice and once the pan comes out of the breville, will move to burner and will add the rice, beefless ground and sprinkle of cheese along with an egg. I want a bit of everything so smaller portions are needed. May add some sour cream to bind it and a bit of mustard too. We will see.
Edited to say, this breakfast was filling but really good as well and not too many calories, plenty of protein and a carb to aid in my walk to the mail depot. Will walk along a bus route so if I decide I don't want to go further, I can hop on the bus. Also aiming for lots of steps throughout the day and squats, hamstring exercises along with calf raises along the balance exercises. Will still use a cane temporarily but would prefer to go without one.
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My goodness, my cats eat an oral care dry food. A 15 lb bag was the only choice they gave me on Amazon, not available at nearby pet stores and almost 80 dollars. Going to be squeezing everything this month. Plus side, it is good for them and will last a long time but I do not spend that much on myself for groceries.
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Tanya, I turned on GMA this morning, and there were cancer patients waving and holding signs. It brought back memories of a few years ago when you were on the show representing all of us. It was so exciting for me even though I have never met you. It still brings a smile to my face.
Seeq, I only made corn chowder yesterday, then I ran out of steam. It was delicious, and I have lots of leftovers. Right now I have beef stew and vegetable soup cooking. I think I might freeze the chicken and cook the chicken noodle soup next week. I hadn’t thought about freezing casseroles, too. What are your favorite types to freeze? Casseroles are so versatile and filling. It would be great to have some stored away.
It is cool out here again today. I will have to bundle up to go to my grandson’s soccer game this afternoon.
I hope you can all have a day of low stress and no pain.
Lynne
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Karen - I was sorry to see your update, especially with Vinorelbine crapping out. I hope you get some good time out of this current treatment at least! And hey, you made me finally look up wth peritoneum is and where its located, after months of reading about it on here and elsewhere! So I am now further educated
Kitty - I imagine you are headed to the hospital now or through surgery, I hope you can find some level footing soon given all the insanity around your latest update.
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Karen, I am sorry to hear about your latest treatment not working out. Hoping the next one works better for you.
I know my face is red from the walking, outside of the bus, I walked for 65 mins, most of that on the way home from the post office. It is cool here but I am still red for the effort. I am pleased to say that I feel more comfortable using the cane and was actually walking to the beats of most songs as well and I was not breathing hard at all. I know at some point, I should walk without a cane but will keep using it. I am also feeling wistful, my older neighbour of almost 4 years has moved out, I saw construction people taking stuff out. He was a nice man, hope wherever he winds up, he continues to be happy. If it is too noisy, will just watch TV with bluetooth earbuds so the noise is not bad.
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Maybe I should clarify….my latest treatment ( Paclitaxel) is working REALLY well…My post was perhaps too long!
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this is our Tanya I saved the pics from tv
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Karen, congrats on the peritoneum being almost resolved, that’s such great news! It’s also great that you have no more need for pain meds. Yippee!
KittyKat, I’m sorry to hear of your latest progression. I hope the next steps are decided on soon so the new drug’s work can begin.
Not much news to tell about me. I just started cycle 4 of my current drug which will lead to scans on Oct. 21. I’m definitely going to be nervous but for now I’m happy to say that I have a normal appetite again. For a while I had no interest in food and was losing weight like crazy. I need to lose some weight but not like that. At my last infusion my nurse referred me to the dietician who came by. We talked about breakfast first, and she asked if I liked smoothies. I said I don’t ever have them but I was open to them. Apparently people with appetite loss can sometimes tolerate foods that are cold and wet. She gave me a few pages of recipes and suggested some smoothie maker brands. We stopped and got some ingredients on the way home and we tried out a simple recipe as soon as the maker arrived. It was really good! (Yogurt, banana, orange juice, chocolate protein powder—chocolate was weird but it was a freebie from the dietician so I gave it a try—and ice cubes.). I may have gulped it down.
I’m glad our Florida friends did ok after Ian, and that Living did finally get her power back on. Apologies if I mixed you up with someone else, Living!
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Mel, I didn’t know that you had taken pix of Tanya on GMA. Thank you for posting them.
Rosie, I am glad you are able to begin eating a bit more. I guess you have to take small steps at first. I will be in your pocket when you have scans. What drug are you currently taking?
Karen, I am happy to hear that that Paxitaxol is working for you. I hope it works for a long time even if your MO decides to reduce the dose or change the schedule.
Lynne
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rosie: My DH and I make a two-person smoothie with 2 bottles of Vanilla Glucerna or Ensure since we have no problems with sugars. I add a banana, a handful of frozen fruit - blueberries, cherries, mangoes - whatever is in the freezer; sometimes add in a teaspoon or more of peanut butter. I find that frozen fruit takes away the need for ice and the Ensure has been in the fridge. Ensure has the bonus of added vitamins and such. We have been doing that for years. It was a fast breakie before heading out to work and the habit stuck.
karen: I hope the paxitaxol works some magic.
mara: it is 24 C here today. Early October can be warm but this is summer heat. I have the fan on in the living room.
mae: I love the beach scene. It makes me want to have a drink with an umbrella in it!!!!!
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Messaged MO today with update that I am still having low grade temps-- 10 days now. Got message back that she wants bloodwork and scans--- don't know specifics. They will call me tomorrow with date/time and specifics.
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Candy,Ten days is a long time. I am glad your MO is doing more investigating. I hope they find a reason and a solution. (Hugs).
Lynne
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Glad that you enjoyed your smoothie. They are great for combining different things and being quite nutritionally dense. You could also look into peanut powder to add to a smoothie for a low cal higher protein count as well. It is quite good when I blend up chocolate milk with some of the peanut powder.
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Candy~ I agree MO needs to find out what’s going on. You’re in my thoughts. So is everyone having a hard time.
Mae~ loved the pic. You looked fine silly woman! Nice beach.
Going to try to sleep tonight. Hope everyone is as least doing ok.
50’s I did save Tanya’s pic. I thought it was neat!
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Mel, have a good sleep. When you wake, I am interested in how you and your sister are doing now. Still in both pockets for you.
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Waving to the living room. I'm right there with elderberry bringing a fan, it's almost 90 degrees here (32 C) and has been unseasonably dry. This weather globally has just been too weird this year. Good to hear our Florida friends are getting services back.
Karen - your post made my heart jump but then I read at the bottom that the current treatment is doing well. I am so relieved for that and your good news. Here's hoping that the current treatment brings you not only relief but a much longer functional time than what your MO thought. It made me think of Sadiesservant also and I am in hopes for the same thing for her. Hugs to both of you.
Thoughts also with Kitty and Candy as you work on healing. Candy, please let us know when your scans are and what they find. I'm here for both of you with pocket duty.
I have been watching Food Network trying to work up an appetite. I've only eaten about 650 calories today and just don't feel like eating any more. That's weird for me. I'm a foodie and love a good meal typically. I'm going to roll with it and see if I wake up hungrier in the morning. Halloween Wars have been on and it never fails to impress me what people can do with cake, fondant and pulled sugar. I've been really impressed. I still have a bunch of lentil soup that I made yesterday but it sounds too heavy for this time of night.
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Karen, what great news, happy dance for you, it's what we need to hear to cheer us.
Lovely painting micmel, georgeous beach scene illiemae, keep up the good work.
Thinking of others who are having challenges with diet , fevers and changes in medication.
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Emac, stick to high calorie snacks then, obviously you know 650 isn't enough for a day and your body will get weaker without food. If appetite is the issue, nuts, peanut butter, any fatty food with nutrition. Snacking on nuts can be good and if all else fails, nutritional drinks with protein and vitamins, even if you just drink it throughout the day. Ice cream and other high fat stuff, just in the small portions, every hour if you can manage would help. Low appetite is definitely hard to deal with, I hope these suggestions and this article could be of help to you. It may be temporary anyway. Article below with more simple suggestions for snack size foods that will keep your body fed.
https://survivorstable.com/2019/03/11/calorie-dense-foods-for-a-low-appetite/
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Just waiting on Amazon to deliver the 80 dollar cat food. Going to have to mix up feedings with the dental care and some feedings with purina mix. They get multiple feedings due to Tigger being a fast eater. Little bit at a time.
My breakfast tasted good to me, just regular stuff. 1/2 cup black beans, baked for 5 mins at 450 in a frypan in the little oven, opened the door after the time was up to cool them a bit. Added 1/4 cup beefless ground to the pan, a tiny bit of shredded cheese too and chopped spinach. Heated the pan on the stove then turned off the burner, letting it all warm under a lid. Plated with some italian, onion, garlic and taco seasoning. Added Wheat Bran for the fiber and mixed in a spoonful of queso as well as a spoonful of mayo. Really good. Not sure what else I want to eat today.
Going to stretch the beefless ground into more meals and add more beans for protein. I still have corn as well. Canned due to there not being room in the freezer. I need to lower the cost of food as much as possible whilst eating what I enjoy and is fairly nutritious.
I also plan to look into some sort of ground turkey as Canadian Thanksgiving is coming up. I did tell my older brother already that I want to be at my apartment alone. Not because I don't like seeing them but his house has a lot of stairs without railings and a big dog who may not notice someone going up or down. They seem OK with that. I did hint that if he wanted to doggy bag some of the stuffing and turkey, that would be great. They know my issues with balance so they are OK, I am spending Christmas here as well. Will plan a nice meal and watch TV that I enjoy or read a book. We will go out, my DB, SIL and me before Christmas for something to eat.
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Mara, I’m happy to hear that your family is understanding your holiday preferences with feeling offended.
I’ve had an aunt and uncle and my parents wanting to visit wanting to visit but I’m not at all interested (also, the cabin is unfinished and not set up for guests who can’t rough it a bit). I’ve declined both requests but my mom is pushing me to the point where I might have to be honest and admit that I just do not enjoy their company and feel no obligation to tolerate unhappiness at this point in my life. My honesty tends to be a bit brutal when cornered, hopefully she’ll back off.
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