Starting Chemo May 2008

Roxi, it's 94 cents to Kerry and 72 cents to Noelle.  Pretty inexpensive, considering the distance!

Kristy, hey, I have 'em too ('rhoids I mean).  I was kind of glad they found something while they were in there--otherwise I'd have been worried they weren't paying attention.

OMG, Eddie's having an ooph tomorrow!  This could be the sucky thread, considering all the stuff that's going on.

That is, except for the phone call I got this evening--from rock!  What a wonderful surprise!  We talked for a long time, but after I hung up, it felt like we had hardly begun and there was so much more to talk about.  I do hope we can all figure out a way to get together some time.  I'm envisioning a nice, wide porch somewhere, sitting in big chairs and sipping our favorite drinks.

Hugs to all of you...

otter 

ok, so my hospeetal day was uneventful. Met a (15 years ago!)  BC woman in the waiting room. I looked like a toddler compared to all the sad faced women there. She was the only one who spoke to me( Canadians rarely speak to each other in lines or waiting rooms) the squishing was fine. Do they ever look at the mast side with anything??She did say she was not unhappy I had no port, as a  mammo with a port means they cannot get images of all the breast tissue. My Herceptin was mostly uneventful except for the 90 min wait to get in. I just worked on my phone making orders and such In a room full of more non talking Canadians. 

It is snowing like crazy crazy here. I like it, but the shopping will be wonky tomorrow. 

 I bought my first house today... it has a leaky basement and is already a mess! LOL! As I told you, I live in the house mom bought before she died. Her will said I could live here for 2 years and sell it or buy it. MOVE? now?? HA! so, I bought it. It was soooo uneventful it was funny. I met the lawyer for 2 minutes, filled in some paperwork. He called later and said something about a transfer being approved on my voicemail and dat was it! I'm a homeowner.

ok gotta run. Love to all. Mummy I am her2neu, so I know nothing about Tamox. Sorry! 

 I'm gettin' some lovely cards! Thanks! 

Otter - I had the same thought last night as I was trying to fall asleep, that I have a deep need to meet each and every one of you.

Noelle - Before I forget again (damn chemo!), I watched the videos on curly hair you posted about 3 pages back and for the last 4 days, I have curly hair again!!  Yay!!  I had been towel drying it too much and getting frizz.  I also hadn't used my diffuser correctly and now - voila!  Curls!  (Can you tell I'm excited?!)  I wonder what would happen if I actually used the products, too...

Kristy - Glad everything was okay.  Hope the ooph goes as easily.  Can they do it laproscopically?

Rock - I forgot to say yesterday that I agreed with everyone else on "giving it a rest".  I am so with you on that.  It's time for the year of "one more things" to be over! 

Okay, I'm back to wrapping presents while little peoples are sleeping...it's what I do now that I've stopped reading applications.

Good Luck Eddie, we're all here for you!

Thanks for the postage amounts Otter. My friends in foreign lands, please excuse my tardiness since I'll be re-sending out cards to you all.

I too can't wait to meet you all. I look forward to the day when we can just relax and move on with our lives, together.

Mummy, me too, her2, no tamox. 

Hey women,

Thanks for the good wishes. I am headed to the showers now to "sanitize" for the surgery. They told me not to wear deoderant, lotions and not to put product in my hair. I told them it would not be likely. I am more nervous about that tube they put down your throat in surgery than the actual surgery itself.  Will check in with you on Thursday. I will be offering the ovaries to the cancer gods with all of our names attached. I am telling them I am sacrificing a part of my body that was very important at the time, but hoping they will accept the ovaries (sunny side up?) and leave us all alone! Talk to you soon. 

Mommy, no word on tamox here yet as I got my onc to give me a full medicine reprieve once I finished chemo. Will go on tamox at next herceptin treatment in January. Have been flashing some but not bad...hope tamox doesn't kick in in more. Ciao all.

Eddie -- THINKING OF YOU. Hope you are healing and that recovery is swift and uneventful!

xoxoxo to all of youse! 

Ah, ladies, today was the last day of our school year with kids, (tomorrow is our staff breakfast) and it hit me like a freight-train: where did that year go? Where was I? What happened? WTF??? After work I was talking to a young friend (who spent 2 weeks in the French Foreign Legion, I kid you not) and was describing this whole bc thang as like being abducted by aliens. You know..you kind of remember, but not really. You are deeply affected, but are you?? Did I dream it? No..I have the scars! How weird is this??         This evening was hilarious. It was our staff break-up. Chemo-brain made me send the TWO taxis to TWO wrong locations because I couldn't remember where the dinner was! The cabs were so slow that by the time we found out where the dinner actually was we decided to just not go, and to have a lovely dinner for two at this nice restaurant (No.2 incorrect destination). The irony is/was that tonight was the FIRST night out 'topless'. I even coloured the hair (such as it is) , shaved the legs (waxed the mouche yesterday) and dressed up rather than 'don't give a feck' down, for my colleagues and THEN didn't know where the do was!!!!@#$@!! I am so over this cancer shite! AND THEN we got home to discover that the dog AHA! CAUGHT! has been sleeping in the cat's bed! The fecking liberty! My life is off the rails. Thank goodness I have no procedures this week....oh, that's right..I HAVE CHRISTMAS!! 

Kerry, I'm thinking (again) how much I love the way you write - the profanity, the images!  Abduction by aliens . . . yep, that's a perfect way to describe 2008.

Did you get my telepathic Christmas card?

Linda

Kerry, you nailed it girlfriend. I seriously thought I was dreaming the other day but aliens, oh yeah. They just want to see how much we can endure in our lives and boy were they shocked to find our how strong and unbeatable we are. Sorry you never made it to the party but your alternative party sounds just as fun. Yeah for hair!

Eddie, hope the cancer gods appreciate the early gift. Hope your recovery goes quickly, you too Kristy.  

Noelle, so sorry about your staff quitting and your other problem at work. I wish I could send my daughter your way. She's an extremely hard worker. 

Grace, glad to hear your scans were all clear. 

Got the calls yesterday. First from the genetic testing. I don't have the brca gene. My daughters and sisters were very happy. I guess my cancer just happened, no explanation. Just gods way of seeing how strong I am I guess.

Bone scan, yep, periosteriposis (is that the word). Pre- osteroposis. New med to take once a week to battle weak bones. Thank you adriamycin.

Blood work, oh yeah, need to lower my cholesterol, get back in shape and lose weight. My goal for 09.

Got my cookies done last night for our cookie exchange tomorrow. They're calling for 14 inches of snow tonight. Gotta run to work, love you all.

Merry Christmas RanD, thinking of you.

Kerry~you crack me up! And I have to agree with the alien abduction. <envisions 3rd rock from the sun episodes LOL>

Noelle~If I lived closer I'd be more than happy to come up and help out. Of course I'd have to stand around and sniff everything first mmmmmmmm.

Roxi~ YAYAYAYAYAYAY! One less thing to worry about.

Gracie~ YES! congrats on the clean checkup.

Eddie~ I'm resisting the urge to look you up in the phone book and call and check up on you. I hope you are doing ok sweetie!

RanD~we miss you !

To the rest of my ladies, have a fabulous day!!!

en route docs.

Hands clasped and pounded to heart for you, Noelle.  And then I'm giving you a hug so hard that you say, "Ow! Careful! Careful!"

To all of you, actually.  Jacki -- YES! YES! YES! to good scan results.  (Fist pumping and a little dance.)

Roxi -- I'm very happy you don't have the mutation. At the same time, I can imagine that there might be a feeling of "Well, heck, then why DID I get it?"  I just want to throw it out there to you and to everyone that I do not care if you have spent your whole life eating red meat and chainsmoking, you did not deserve this. For all we know, you were just standing in the wrong place when a school bus belched some exhaust ...  Maybe bc goes after the most thoughtful, funnies, most supportive and insightful women.  Maybe. We'll never know.

I'm off to two more doc's appointments.  Am intending to be on the Gracie-plan and get good results.  There are holiday cards in my purse. And I am taking you guys with me into the breast MRI tube.  It may be a little "squished" (xoxo jen!) but I wouldn't do it without you wonderful people.

*sniff* love you, jeanne

(Karin -- your card came yesterday and i'm carrying it around it like i'm a 2nd grader, you know?)

Wild day yesterday. You'd laugh if you read my blog (just google Eddie Westerman) as the details are there but bottom line is I did finally have surgery and my ovaries are gone and I am enjoying the gorgeous snow storm.......SO glad the scans are clear. So glad you are in my life. So glad all is well. So glad snow is so pretty. I am feeling very grateful!!!

Eddie - glad to see you were able to have your surgery after all!  What a day for you.  Sit back, relax, watch the beauty outside your window and heal.

Thanks for the link and a good cry.

Well, after watching that youtube video and learning more about Kelly Corrigan, I'm badly in need of a group hug.  Can we do a virtual one, at least?  Please?

Eddie, good grief.  A slice of apple, and they chased you away?  I hope somebody at that hospital had to take a remedial course in common sense because of that.  Don't tell anyone I said so, but I've read in lots of places that the old "nothing by mouth after midnight" is a bunch of bunk, too, unless the surgery is scheduled for 4 a.m. or something.

Kerry, it was aliens.  I'm sure it was ... I think.  Here, I'll show you.  I have this scar, y'see... 

Hi, rock.  How's it going?

DH and I went to his (former) department's Christmas Party today.  I knew there would be lots of people there, and I was so sure I could come away with a list of comments I'd be able to post on the "Stupid things people said..." thread.   But, nope.  Pretty much everyone said something to me, and everybody gave me a hug, but there wasn't one single comment that was out-of-place, unwanted, awkward, etc.

Oh, and I went "topless".  I took some pics after we got home:

Check out those curls!

otter