April 2015 Chemo Crew... Starting in April? Please join us!

I'm going to a Saturday 8 AM cardio dance class. What sort of monster have I become?!

A full night's sleep? Those still exist? They are the yeti of my post-chemo life. No real twerking. A certain amount of laughable white booty-shaking. I have the meat, I just don't have the motion.

Positive, you are such a good influence in so many ways. Your nom de (computer.) Says it all.

Ok so DH called my dear brother an alcoholic gnome. He was totally serious. I can't stop laughing! Anyone have a garden gnome they could spare? For research purposes, you understand.

Hahaha ksusan!!

Sorry to hear about the rough time you have been having, Jen. What do you do for work? Ten hour shifts are long!!! I'm a nurse and work 12 hour shifts but am on LTD and am not going back to work till Feb./March. In my humble opinion, you shouldn't be working, you are still recovering from treatment. I do realize though that not everyone can afford to be off work. Best of luck to you...hope DH steps up to the plate and starts helping. Sitting around playing video games is about the worst thing he can be doing, it just furthers depression. I know whereof I speak. But you can't tell someone else that. A therapist would be of great value to him In the meantime, hang in there and know that we all think you are amazing.

Only four days till my hysterectomy/oophrectomy. Eep! My insurance company phoned the other day and need a letter from my doctor to say that I am having surgery again...I phoned the office on Friday and I have to make an appointment to request that. Bloody hell, I just saw her. But she is booked up so I am to phone tomorrow morning to see if I can be squeezed in. It's always something.

I have a follow-up appointment with my RO on Wednesday. My skin has healed nicely and I imagine she will say, "Great, I never need to see you again".

Andrea

ksusan, your skin/scars/hair looks fabulous! Did you color your hair?

Nope, that's my current natural color--coming back in darker (my pubic hair is darker as well). My hairdresser offered to buzz the points, but I declined.

Ksusan, your skin and scars look great! My radiated area was on the left side but looks pretty much like yours now. Your hair is coming back curly...was it curly before! Mine is still too short to tell but it seems to have at least some wave.

It's pouring with rain here on the west coast. After our drought this year, Mother Nature seems to be making up for it with a vengeance.

Andre

My hair wasn't curly before, so I'm enjoying the temporary change.

I am in the rain.

Jen, think of all the free time you'll have now!

I had a weird thing happen to me at work yesterday. The woman to whom I had transitioned my project to back in June IM'd me because she saw I was online, and she wanted to see how I am doing/ask if I was back. She then told me that she heard from someone else (didn't name names) that I wasn't doing well, and that I probably wasn't coming back to work.

What do think of that? I'm not sure whether I should totally ignore it as ignorant rumour mill, or check with my manager to see what the feelings were about me? I mean, anytime I had provided a status - it wasn't bad, I'd usually say that I was doing "OK", and then people would respond, "Oh, so glad you are doing so well." IOW, people seem to take even neutral responses as positive, not negative.

Just interesting . . .

Lynne

Hi Everyone....LIVESTRONG ends this week (SOB) and I graduate from the program (HA!) on Dec 6. I feel rejuvenated by their warm supportive nature.

Ksusan - LOVE the baby moon! OMG. And your hair is stunning..

Littleblue - alcoholic gnome? I swear my alcoholic friend has been the most incredible, supportive friend and hilarious as well. Mostly, he has allowed me to think of myself as beautiful...not easy for my tomboy self. Hmmph. Your brother made amazing shirts and really my spirits on his ability to be present with you.

Lynne - Ugh. Coworkers. Taking a page from Littleblue and Ksusan - it's time to moon them.

Andrea - wishing you a smooth surgery and good recovery.

Gingerchi - exercise will help! At a minimum, our LIVESTRONG trainers ask us to simply show up. Some of the folks that are still on chemo literally drag themselves in, exhausted. But then they sit there, and begin to ride the bikes slowly or use the threadmill. Some days, all I can do is show up with my migraine and intense menstrual periods; totally miserable but I show up. I think that's half the battle, right? Wish I could be there to drag you to the gym with me; I can be entertaining at times. So can Jen, Susan, lol. Yup, we are a humorous group.

LittleBlue- Hester the proton canon - HAHAHAHAHAA

Hi Everybody. Getting caught up after taking a few days off from technology.

Remember how the fit hit the shan with my parents (who had moved in while they waited for me to get better so they could continue their move across the country)....well, apparently, I am better! I know this because with less than 24 hours notice, they packed up their car (leaving quite a bit of their 'junk' behind) and hit the road. Back in September, they promised my DS that they would be here for Thanksgiving and leave on December 1st. On Sunday (11/8), they told DS that they wanted to get ahead of the winter weather and had decided to depart on 11/21. On the morning of 11/11, the announced that they decided we are all doing really well and that they wanted to get 'ahead' of some bad weather and that they were going to spend a couple of days at a local hotel to 'decompress' and then hit the road. So, on the morning of 11/12, they packed up and left. I understand that they are really excited about their new adventure and are eager to get moved, but could they at least try not to make me feel like a giant speed bump in their plans. Just as we head into the season of family and togetherness....they are gone. Happy Holidays!

We head to Illinois for BS, PS, MO follow-ups on Monday, fly home Tuesday, and then DH has the rest of the week off work for Thanksgiving. We'll have Thanksgiving dinner with DH's parents and then spend the rest of the week hanging out together and NOT focusing on cancer for a change. Instead of traveling back to Illinois for Diep stage 2 surgery, we've decided to take a vacation someplace more fun and warm. We'll put off Stage 2 until closer to Spring (when it's warmer in Illinois). As much as I want the physical reconstruction to be finished, I want DH and DS to end the year having a great time and not just worrying about me in surgery....again.

P.S. Still having hair envy. Although mine has started to grow, it's growing sllllllloooooowwwwwlllllyyyyy! However, I am rocking less of a 'cancer patient' look and more of a "I just got back from a monastery in Nepal" kinda look. So there's that!

Princess- Oh yeah. We ate it. And I had brought leftovers for lunch too. I wondered why it cooked down so much, but I figured it was just a very finely ground sausage! Barf.

Dizz, maybe your parents would like some of my spagetti?

Littleblue...so funny! In kind of an "oh my God!" way.

Ksusan, hope your wife is okay.

Dizz, that sucks...your parents could have waited till after Thanksgiving. But look at it this way, it's after Canadian Thanksgiving Sorry, not funny...

RO appointment this afternoon...if our highway is open again after a fatal car crash. It should be. Then my surgery tomorrow. I should only be one night in hospital, unless the hysterectomy has to be an open incision...in which case I will be in longer. Not looking forward to recovery but it's kind of nice being catered to by DH, he is a good caregiver

Talk to y'all in a couple of days!

Andrea