photo: prague castle, october 2012 This cancer thing is pretty humbling. I gotten through the diagnosis, the surgery, the chemo, the worst of the side effects and sort of thought I’d be able to bounce back quickly. Not so much. I was warned by the team that it’s not going to be a fast transition back to a full-life as a cancer survivor. I listened … Continue reading closing a few doors…
photo: cong-rats! (by the nurse when she changed my PICC dressing for the final time), PMH, may 2021 I had a happy collision with a major milestone three-weeks ago on May 18 – my final chemotherapy infusion. I was meant to be done on March 31 on my dose-dense treatment plan, but that was before we learned that I had a sensitivity to Paclitaxel (aka … Continue reading brave. not brave. (or CONG-RATS!)
photo: venice, italy (july 2009), piazza san marco For a little fun (yes, that’s sarcasm) last night I had an MRI. Bilateral breasts. It’s been 6-months since my left breast mastectomy and reconstruction, and the MRI was booked after my pathology came back with the big C word attached to it. This scan is to confirm that the mastectomy removed the cancer and that it … Continue reading the mri
photo: siena, italy, july 2007 I try not to come here solely to whine, but I fear I’m a bit whiney today. I sometimes avoid writing here because I don’t want to constantly be a downer, but you know what? This shit is hard. I do feel pretty low at times, but that does not mean that I’m not going to be ok. I don’t … Continue reading side-effects are bitchy-bitches
photo: supermoon, march 11, 2019 I’m not really a conformist. I was born and raised in a conservative province, and in a conservative household. From a fairly early age, I realized that I held some deeply different views and opinions and politics than most everyone around me. I was an unusual product coming out of my environment. How I became such a leftist, I’ll never … Continue reading the argument against the unusual
photo: september 2020, princess margaret hospital, waiting for first consult with the plastic surgeon When the oncologist sits with you to discuss chemotherapy, one of the first questions you ask is, “Am I going to lose my hair”. The answer to that question varies with the type of chemotherapy your doctor thinks best to combat your particular cancer. For me, with my ER/PR+/HER2-, early stage, … Continue reading #cancer style
photo: italy (cinque terre), august 2009 I really sort of fell sideways into being a cancer patient. I went from having a large lump that needed to come out, just because of it’s size, to learning that in that lump invasive cancer had already taken hold. From June to early November 2020, I thought I just had, at worst, a pre-invasive cancer. Suspected DCIS. Once … Continue reading being a cancer patient
photo: lake geneva, switzerland, october 2017 I’m nearly at the mid-point of my second chemo cycle and I’m starting to turn the corner from death-warmed-over to I-feel-very-crappy. It’s nice to actually feel hungry, rather than eating because you know you need to. Last cycle I had the excitement of Christmas and all it entails to give me a little boost and to see me through. … Continue reading it takes a village
photo: princess margaret cancer centre (nurse agnes and the red devil), january 2021 8:00am – Much, much more hair chose to evacuate the premises during the morning shower. 10:30am – The Covid screener at the front door of the hospital saw me and said “You’re here for chemo.” It wasn’t a question. It threw me a bit. I guess once you see enough of us, … Continue reading part 1: what is happening? (aka 2nd AC chemo and the US Capital)
photo: las vegas, april 22, 2018 (hbd!) If you know anything about chemotherapy, it’s probably that people undergoing treatment loose their hair. You probably also know that being tired and feeling nauseated go along with it. But really, it’s the hair that is the most quickly comes to mind. Nancy, the oncology nurse said that on my particular chemo cocktail (oh, to have an actual … Continue reading hair
I Forgot My Mittens 