So sorry not to have posted for over a month. After school started not only my time, but especially my energy got away from me. Keeping up with lesson plans and grades is almost overwhelming me. My colleagues and students are amazing! Their patience and willingness to help are what keep me going.
I'm working on tracking my responses and side effects to the chemotherapy. Doing this will help me not think the bad week will never end, and that there are good weeks to follow. I know it sounds strange, but when I'm in the throes of chemo nausea and fatigue, it seems endless. I'm keeping a calendar so I can easily see where I've been.
Once again, I want to thank my family and friends for their continued support.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Back to School and Thanks
It's back to school (with students) tomorrow. Open House was last Monday, and it was so good to see my students, old and new. I will be teaching 10th grade literature this year. It is something of a two-sided coin. One side is that I'll be teaching, with a few exceptions, all my students from last year! The flip-side is that I've not taught World Literature before. I am very fortunate in that my colleagues are helping me with lesson plans and resources.
I am working on keeping my thoughts positive and trying not to be overwhelmed. This year will be one of the most difficult, but with the amazing support I have from so many sources, I will make it!
For those of you who are on Facebook, I apologize for the repetition, but I would like to recognize and thank those who have helped me: friends and family who have donated and continue to give to my fund at http://www.gofundme.com/yrfm0, my sister Kathy for sending me money every month for a year, and the Robles, (Pedro and Millie) who have offered to buy my gas for the weekly trips to Mayo. Not to mention the random gifts from my mom and Jarret's parents.
With the help from friends and family, I will not only have a successful school year, I will beat this cancer, and conquer the chemo effects!
I am working on keeping my thoughts positive and trying not to be overwhelmed. This year will be one of the most difficult, but with the amazing support I have from so many sources, I will make it!
For those of you who are on Facebook, I apologize for the repetition, but I would like to recognize and thank those who have helped me: friends and family who have donated and continue to give to my fund at http://www.gofundme.com/yrfm0, my sister Kathy for sending me money every month for a year, and the Robles, (Pedro and Millie) who have offered to buy my gas for the weekly trips to Mayo. Not to mention the random gifts from my mom and Jarret's parents.
With the help from friends and family, I will not only have a successful school year, I will beat this cancer, and conquer the chemo effects!
Friday, July 27, 2012
Phase Two! Chemo Therapy
I'm at Mayo in a "well-patient" room getting my first treatment of chemo therapy. This room, on the eighth floor, overlooks a pond with huge fountain which I can't see from the bed. What I can see looks like a forest, trees to the horizon, and the blue sky with slow-moving fluffy clouds. Very peaceful.
I was here yesterday getting blood work and more boobies. Let me state for the record that I am eternally grateful to be living in this day of modern science! After the fiasco with the last blood draw, I was a little apprehensive, but the nurse used the port and viola' all went well. The secret is to put lidocaine on the port site an hour before the needle stick. Didn't feel a thing! The nurse offered to leave the needle in so I wouldn't have to have another stick today. She covered the site with a bandage, and I was ready to go. I barely noticed it last night.
Jarret came in the room with me to learn about how chemo therapy will affect me, which ultimately will affect him. Yadda yadda nausea, yadda yadda hair loss, yadda yadda fatigue etc. His mom Cathy came with us. He didn't need to sit with me the entire time. That way they can have some mother/son time. :)
Before I got the cancer drugs, they gave me Tylenol, and through the IV I got nausea meds, Benedryl, and some steroids. The first drug is Docetaxel, next is Carboplatin, and last is Trastuzumab (Herceptin.) Each drug is given separately and comes with its own set of side affects I won't go into. My understanding is that I won't have many side affects today; they get worse as treatments progress. Yippee.
I also found out that I will probably have to come back to Mayo every Friday to get the Herceptin. The other drugs will be on the twenty-one day cycle. Oh, and I just found out I have to (get to :)) receive a shot of Neulasta possibly every two weeks on Saturday. This shot reduces my chances of contracting infections due to the collateral damage caused by the chemo therapy.
We definitely need wisdom in finding finances for medical bills and trips to Mayo. Since I have only ten sick days left, I am going to check into the FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act.) It can guarantee job security, but the leave is unpaid. The quest begins!
I was here yesterday getting blood work and more boobies. Let me state for the record that I am eternally grateful to be living in this day of modern science! After the fiasco with the last blood draw, I was a little apprehensive, but the nurse used the port and viola' all went well. The secret is to put lidocaine on the port site an hour before the needle stick. Didn't feel a thing! The nurse offered to leave the needle in so I wouldn't have to have another stick today. She covered the site with a bandage, and I was ready to go. I barely noticed it last night.
Jarret came in the room with me to learn about how chemo therapy will affect me, which ultimately will affect him. Yadda yadda nausea, yadda yadda hair loss, yadda yadda fatigue etc. His mom Cathy came with us. He didn't need to sit with me the entire time. That way they can have some mother/son time. :)
Before I got the cancer drugs, they gave me Tylenol, and through the IV I got nausea meds, Benedryl, and some steroids. The first drug is Docetaxel, next is Carboplatin, and last is Trastuzumab (Herceptin.) Each drug is given separately and comes with its own set of side affects I won't go into. My understanding is that I won't have many side affects today; they get worse as treatments progress. Yippee.
I also found out that I will probably have to come back to Mayo every Friday to get the Herceptin. The other drugs will be on the twenty-one day cycle. Oh, and I just found out I have to (get to :)) receive a shot of Neulasta possibly every two weeks on Saturday. This shot reduces my chances of contracting infections due to the collateral damage caused by the chemo therapy.
We definitely need wisdom in finding finances for medical bills and trips to Mayo. Since I have only ten sick days left, I am going to check into the FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act.) It can guarantee job security, but the leave is unpaid. The quest begins!
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
I'm Back (kind of)
I'm back to a somewhat normal life (as much as one can be) which is why I haven't posted. After my last post, I haven't been back to Mayo except for an (ahem) "expansion." I'm up to about a "B" again. Yay! People who don't know about my surgery have no clue that I've had a double mastectomy. Let's hear it for modern science!
I still don't know when I'll be starting chemotherapy. I was hoping for this Friday, but unless I hear from them tomorrow, I doubt it. The only thing I know is that I will be on a 21 day cycle. The waiting is driving me crazy! Not that I'm really looking forward to the first treatment, but I definitely want to get started.
Wanting to get back in shape, I started back at the gym. Slowly at first, just riding the stationary bike, but yesterday I worked out for about an hour: 10 minutes on the elliptical, lunges and squats with a 3lb. weight, abductors, leg lifts, triceps and biceps. I'm feeling the triceps today! It's good to work out again.
I still don't know when I'll be starting chemotherapy. I was hoping for this Friday, but unless I hear from them tomorrow, I doubt it. The only thing I know is that I will be on a 21 day cycle. The waiting is driving me crazy! Not that I'm really looking forward to the first treatment, but I definitely want to get started.
Wanting to get back in shape, I started back at the gym. Slowly at first, just riding the stationary bike, but yesterday I worked out for about an hour: 10 minutes on the elliptical, lunges and squats with a 3lb. weight, abductors, leg lifts, triceps and biceps. I'm feeling the triceps today! It's good to work out again.
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| Working on the triceps! |
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| Biceps! |
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| Water is essential! |
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Susan and the Terrible. Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Day!
Whiner alert!
Getting up at 4:30 in the morning after not having slept very well is just the way to begin a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad day. To make matters worse, I couldn't eat or have anything to drink, especially COFFEE!
After driving for the now familiar hour and a half, we arrived at Mayo, and as usual, didn't have to wait long for my first appointment at 7:00 - an EKG followed by an echo cardiogram. Piece of cake. The last piece of cake I'd be having that terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad day!
My next appointment was supposed to be the blood draw at 10:30, but because of a mix up, it didn't happen until around 11:00 which was when I was scheduled to register for my port insertion which was supposed to take place around 1:00. Needless to say, by the time they called me back to take my blood after not having anything to drink or eat since 9:00 the previous night my blood sugar was at an all time low and my anxiety level was off the chart.
Unfortunately I inherited Dad's vascular system. When my veins hear the words "blood draw" you'd think they were playing dodge ball - DUCK, DODGE, DIVE, STOP -DROP - ROLL! Getting blood from me is like trying to stick wriggling snakes with a spear! Here's one! Nope! Over here! Got it! Uh, no, let's try again. I'll spare you the details; let's just say almost passing out will get you the best phlebotomist in the place.
After that little incident, the nurses wouldn't let me walk, so Jarret had the pleasure of toodling me around in a wheel chair. Next stop - out-patient surgery for the putting in of the port. You'll have to pardon the prolific use of alliteration. It can't be avoided!
For the insertion of the port, I'm in my jeans, a hospital gown, and a pair of those way cool hospital socks with the rubber things on the bottom. Still nothing to eat or drink, and after the previous fiasco I'm wishing for a Xanax! The thought of another needle stick was seriously freaking me out. I told the nurse about it, and he put the IV line in my hand instead of my arm. He was good!
By this time Jarret was with me and we were introduced to everyone who was going to be involved in the procedure - Cheryl - the lady who explained the features of the "purple power port," Dr. ? - doing the actual surgery, and my favorite, Kim - my bartender, the awesome nurse in charge of making sure I felt NO PAIN!
Long story short: Surgery went well. Port is just under my left collar bone. It's subcutaneous, nothing sticking out of my skin. Now I can receive meds and they can take blood without sticking my arm! Let's hear it for modern science! I will, however, set off metal detectors, so I have a card for my wallet, an ID for my key chain, and a cool rubber bracelet for my arm that explains everything.
And that is the end of Susan's terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad day!
Getting up at 4:30 in the morning after not having slept very well is just the way to begin a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad day. To make matters worse, I couldn't eat or have anything to drink, especially COFFEE!
After driving for the now familiar hour and a half, we arrived at Mayo, and as usual, didn't have to wait long for my first appointment at 7:00 - an EKG followed by an echo cardiogram. Piece of cake. The last piece of cake I'd be having that terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad day!
My next appointment was supposed to be the blood draw at 10:30, but because of a mix up, it didn't happen until around 11:00 which was when I was scheduled to register for my port insertion which was supposed to take place around 1:00. Needless to say, by the time they called me back to take my blood after not having anything to drink or eat since 9:00 the previous night my blood sugar was at an all time low and my anxiety level was off the chart.
Unfortunately I inherited Dad's vascular system. When my veins hear the words "blood draw" you'd think they were playing dodge ball - DUCK, DODGE, DIVE, STOP -DROP - ROLL! Getting blood from me is like trying to stick wriggling snakes with a spear! Here's one! Nope! Over here! Got it! Uh, no, let's try again. I'll spare you the details; let's just say almost passing out will get you the best phlebotomist in the place.
After that little incident, the nurses wouldn't let me walk, so Jarret had the pleasure of toodling me around in a wheel chair. Next stop - out-patient surgery for the putting in of the port. You'll have to pardon the prolific use of alliteration. It can't be avoided!
For the insertion of the port, I'm in my jeans, a hospital gown, and a pair of those way cool hospital socks with the rubber things on the bottom. Still nothing to eat or drink, and after the previous fiasco I'm wishing for a Xanax! The thought of another needle stick was seriously freaking me out. I told the nurse about it, and he put the IV line in my hand instead of my arm. He was good!
By this time Jarret was with me and we were introduced to everyone who was going to be involved in the procedure - Cheryl - the lady who explained the features of the "purple power port," Dr. ? - doing the actual surgery, and my favorite, Kim - my bartender, the awesome nurse in charge of making sure I felt NO PAIN!
Long story short: Surgery went well. Port is just under my left collar bone. It's subcutaneous, nothing sticking out of my skin. Now I can receive meds and they can take blood without sticking my arm! Let's hear it for modern science! I will, however, set off metal detectors, so I have a card for my wallet, an ID for my key chain, and a cool rubber bracelet for my arm that explains everything.
And that is the end of Susan's terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad day!
Sunday, June 17, 2012
And Now for a Little Humor
Being and English teacher and a lover of words makes my brain go in strange directions when it's not engaged in academic pursuits. The following is an example of what happens when Jarret and I have to wait for an extended period of time without reading materials.
On one of our trips to Mayo to get my drains out, we had to wait much longer than usual. We were in the treatment room of the plastic surgeon, so there wasn't any reading material available except for the pamphlets about botox, face lifts, tummy tucks, and believe it or not "thigh lifts!" Having looked at more than my share of surgical procedures related to my condition, I abstained.
After playing with the implants on display, we were running out of activities, so I suggested we come up with booby "hink pinks." For those of you who haven't been around me long enough to know, hink pinks are one of my favorite past times. A hink pink is a riddle whose answer is two rhyming words. The clue cannot include a word that is part of the answer. Ex. What do you call an overweight feline? A fat cat. Answering these hink pinks will test your knowledge of synonyms and breast terminology to the max.
All right! Let's begin. I will list the clues, and the answers will be at the bottom of the page. Since they all begin with "what do you call," I won't be redundant and type that phrase every time.
What do you call...
1. the top award at the boob contest?
2. a boob joke?
3. a prayed over boob?
4. an embrace from a well-endowed woman?
5. feeling sorry for someone with breast cancer?
6. a chastity bra?
7. it when gravity takes its toll on breasts?
8. rear boobies?
9. it when women store items in their bras?
10. Stevie Nick's boobs?
11. a Buttery Nipple substitute?
12. the boobs of the singer of "I was Born this Way?"
13. a large-breasted teacher?
14. breast lotion?
15. one who makes fun of breasts?
1. best breast
2. breast jest
3. blessed breast
4. jug hug
5. titty pity
6. knocker locker
7. slack rack
8. back rack
9. pack rack
10. rocker knockers
11. hooter shooter
12. Gaga's ta tas
13. hooter tutor
14. boob lube
15. knocker mocker
Scoring:
If you answered 12-15 correctly consider yourself a breast master!
9-12 - writer for a college frat paper
5-8 - reader of Harlequin romances
1-4 - you don't get out much, do you?
If you have any "best breast jests," please send them my way!
On one of our trips to Mayo to get my drains out, we had to wait much longer than usual. We were in the treatment room of the plastic surgeon, so there wasn't any reading material available except for the pamphlets about botox, face lifts, tummy tucks, and believe it or not "thigh lifts!" Having looked at more than my share of surgical procedures related to my condition, I abstained.
After playing with the implants on display, we were running out of activities, so I suggested we come up with booby "hink pinks." For those of you who haven't been around me long enough to know, hink pinks are one of my favorite past times. A hink pink is a riddle whose answer is two rhyming words. The clue cannot include a word that is part of the answer. Ex. What do you call an overweight feline? A fat cat. Answering these hink pinks will test your knowledge of synonyms and breast terminology to the max.
All right! Let's begin. I will list the clues, and the answers will be at the bottom of the page. Since they all begin with "what do you call," I won't be redundant and type that phrase every time.
What do you call...
1. the top award at the boob contest?
2. a boob joke?
3. a prayed over boob?
4. an embrace from a well-endowed woman?
5. feeling sorry for someone with breast cancer?
6. a chastity bra?
7. it when gravity takes its toll on breasts?
8. rear boobies?
9. it when women store items in their bras?
10. Stevie Nick's boobs?
11. a Buttery Nipple substitute?
12. the boobs of the singer of "I was Born this Way?"
13. a large-breasted teacher?
14. breast lotion?
15. one who makes fun of breasts?
1. best breast
2. breast jest
3. blessed breast
4. jug hug
5. titty pity
6. knocker locker
7. slack rack
8. back rack
9. pack rack
10. rocker knockers
11. hooter shooter
12. Gaga's ta tas
13. hooter tutor
14. boob lube
15. knocker mocker
Scoring:
If you answered 12-15 correctly consider yourself a breast master!
9-12 - writer for a college frat paper
5-8 - reader of Harlequin romances
1-4 - you don't get out much, do you?
If you have any "best breast jests," please send them my way!
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
New Information
Three things:
* Released by my general surgeon, Dr. Bagaria (love him!)
* Met with my oncologist, Dr. Colon-Otero (love him too!)
* Received my first "expansion." 75 ml of saline in each side.
Like all of my doctors, P.A.'s, and nurses at Mayo, Dr. Colon is very personable and professional. His quiet demeanor put me at ease immediately. He alternately asked me questions and consulted his computer screen to obtain the needed information. The cancer was HER2 positive which means I will need chemotherapy. I have agreed to participate in a double-blind study which, even if I don't benefit from it, others will. I will receive chemotherapy plus Trastuzumab (Herceptin) which is used to treat early-stage breast cancer that, in my case, has these risk factors: over 35 years old and stage 2 cancer. The other drug I may or may not get is Pertuzumab. (The P word and the T word sound like a spell from a Harry Potter book! "PERTUZUMAB!" Be gone cancer cells!)
The treatments will be every three weeks for eighteen weeks! That's a year, folks! To get ready for all this, we head back to Mayo on Tuesday, June 19th for an electrocardiogram, echocardiogram, a fasting blood draw, the insertion of the port, and another expansion. Whew! I think the surgery was the easiest part!
The saline injections don't hurt terribly, just a little stick and then a lot of pressure. The image below is what the expander looks like. The gray area contains a magnet which is how the port is found because it's subcutaneous. The procedure is similar to how a woman's abdominal skin stretches to accommodate a baby. It takes time, but the difference is, I get to say "when!"
I promise- these images are as graphic as it gets!
Bottom line: Please keep me on your prayer lists, in your meditations, and in your thoughts. It's not over, yet! Much love!
* Released by my general surgeon, Dr. Bagaria (love him!)
* Met with my oncologist, Dr. Colon-Otero (love him too!)
* Received my first "expansion." 75 ml of saline in each side.
Like all of my doctors, P.A.'s, and nurses at Mayo, Dr. Colon is very personable and professional. His quiet demeanor put me at ease immediately. He alternately asked me questions and consulted his computer screen to obtain the needed information. The cancer was HER2 positive which means I will need chemotherapy. I have agreed to participate in a double-blind study which, even if I don't benefit from it, others will. I will receive chemotherapy plus Trastuzumab (Herceptin) which is used to treat early-stage breast cancer that, in my case, has these risk factors: over 35 years old and stage 2 cancer. The other drug I may or may not get is Pertuzumab. (The P word and the T word sound like a spell from a Harry Potter book! "PERTUZUMAB!" Be gone cancer cells!)
The treatments will be every three weeks for eighteen weeks! That's a year, folks! To get ready for all this, we head back to Mayo on Tuesday, June 19th for an electrocardiogram, echocardiogram, a fasting blood draw, the insertion of the port, and another expansion. Whew! I think the surgery was the easiest part!
The saline injections don't hurt terribly, just a little stick and then a lot of pressure. The image below is what the expander looks like. The gray area contains a magnet which is how the port is found because it's subcutaneous. The procedure is similar to how a woman's abdominal skin stretches to accommodate a baby. It takes time, but the difference is, I get to say "when!"
| These illustrations show how the expander works. |
Bottom line: Please keep me on your prayer lists, in your meditations, and in your thoughts. It's not over, yet! Much love!
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