2 down; 3 to go

I've got 2 weeks of radiation treatment completed, just 3 more to go. This is a Monday through Friday daily routine where I have to take an hour off from work (unpaid of course) along with my hour lunch to drive out to the medical center and get zapped by this huge machine. Nothing much has been happening so far, other than being sore on the targeted side. Some of that I believe is left-over from the surgery I had in January. Good news (according to my surgeon) is that it ought to feel much better in 6 months. Gee, thanks for the "good news" Doc.

This whole ordeal has been a whirlwind and a big surprise...still find it hard to believe. Several days after surgery (which I was told was routine and preventative since no cancer was found in the biopsy) the doctor told me that further pathology results on the tissue identified what they label DCIS (ductal carcinoma in situ) which is a non-invasive cancer. Uh huh. This was the best kind of cancer to have; also it was identified extremely early in my case and was completely removed with negative margins around the surgery area. Uh huh. Nothing further needs to be done surgically since it was removed, definitely do not need chemotherapy, and most likely won't need radiation treatment, either, since it was caught so early and was so small--3mm. But, you do need to see these 2 other doctors.... Oh, and you will probably have to take a pill most of the rest of your life as a future preventative. Uh huh.

Well one of those other "2" doctors got me started on a pill called tamoxifen--bit smaller than an aspirin...no problem, other than the lovely hot flashes which accompanies it as part of the side effects. The 2nd doctor got me started on the radiation treatments. I have the distinction of being his "earliest caught and smallest amount of cancer patient", however he still wanted me to go through the full radiation treatments--5 1/2 weeks. Considering the family history of breast cancer and the fact that I have a long way to go before retirement, I bit my tongue and said ok, (although I did feel obligated to argue about it to him).

I feel like a jerk for not being more grateful and for being so lucky to have this all taken care of before it got out of control. On the other hand, I'm still in disbelief--I mean, how many people are told they have (or had) cancer several days AFTER they've had surgery? Since I've had no problems or pain UNTIL the doctors started messing with me, it sometimes make one suspicious, ya know? Cancer is something that normally makes one stop and think about life, the universe and everything, but I haven't had time to yet. Sigh.

I'm trying to be more laid back with the inconveniences I'm going through. The other patients I see during treatments are in far worse condition than I am so I really need to relax. Is that possible? I'm starting to get darker skin on the zapped side and am told it will get red, will peel, itchy, etc. Oh, and don't forget there will also be some swelling and general fatigue. Uh huh. Granny went through radiation treatment and I remember in the last weeks she had a lot of itchiness. We will have to wait and see. In the meantime, I'm told NOT to wash the area by touching, NOT to disturb the markings they've put on with ink, NOT to use deodorant on that side, NOT to sweat, NOT to let water remain on long, NOT to use lotions, etc.

I am grateful that spring has not yet arrived in Arkansas....I know I will have strong desires to get out and work in the yard but that will also produce sweat which I'm not allowed to wash off too zealously. But, all is good for now. Just 3 more weeks.....3 more.... grrrrrrrr

Got Snow?

Ok--so what's the big deal? A little snow--get a grip. The deal is--central Arkansas ain't cut out for this stuff! We have, what, ONE snow plow? We actually have a "snow route" for our mass transit busses, but when 17 of them had some sort of accident, they shut down service. It was SUPPOSED to be a mix of rain/snow/sleet, but ended up being a SNOW event of somewhere between 7 1/2 to 12 inches depending on where you lived. (This is CENTRAL Arkansas, mind you--not the Ozark mountain areas.) It also seemed to melt at first, so probably had a couple inches melt as it accumulated. Early in the morning, I just didn't want to deal with it and was able to get the day off as vacation, so I watched the events unfold. Here's some nice simple pictures of the first 2 inches about 7am...

Then, just a couple of hours later.... major mess just to navigate roads. Got Hills? Forget it!

These are cute--Nico was definitely not used to the depth of the snow. It was WET and COLD! So, she carefully tried to walk along the side of the snow on the deck, although not able to keep entirely out of it. So, when she gets to a clearing, she has to hold up one of her paws so at least one will be warmer....

I went to work Tuesday morning--the highways are better, but all the side roads still have snow and ice patches as they are not cleared except through melting or driving over. It's quite treacherous in places. I've seen a lot of "snowmen" as schools have been closed and people who haven't seen snow before had been out having some fun. I'm just grateful we don't have the 2 feet of snow like the east coast! Can only imagine what our side streets would be like with that!

Ice & Snow

"What IS this stuff????"







It iced/snowed in Arkansas on January 29th & 30th. It's not much compared to other places, I know, but it is a big deal for Arkansas. I had to work on the 29th and although we got to leave work early, still had to scrape this junk off the jeep. Door was stuck shut for awhile....but this picture is after I made it home at 20-30 mph and had time to warm it up on the inside.

Just stayed indoors all day on the 30th...but outside was CRUNCHY with the 1st layer of white stuff being all sleet. Was basically gone from central Arkansas by Sunday afternoon--no worries for work the following week.

Hot Springs in January

We also went to Hot Springs on the 16th as Alison had never been and it was a nice break after being cooped up inside the house all week. It started raining after we got there and was cloudy/overcast. Always seems a little erie when the water in the ground steams up around you.

Hanging out

Here's a picture of the new cookware....more roomy since removing all the others, huh? Not the easiest to clean sometimes, since is non-stick, but......what ya gonna do?

And, a pot of vegetable soup Alison made--Mmmmm.....

Most of the time was spent just hanging out.

There was always TV .....

And Alison worked on knitting projects ....

But there was also DOMINOES!

Alrighty then!

Alison is visiting this week and next.....Granny and I are very happy she's here. She made us a big pot of vegetable soup--very tasty--which we've been eating the past couple of days. She cooked it in a new Cuisinart Contour Stainless pot which came from a 13-piece set. I've been wanting new cooking pots because I will be doing the cooking since Granny has retired from that function (boo hoo!). I was so tired of all the mismatched, scratched and messed up pots and pans, but I wanted the non-stick kind which were also dishwasher safe--of course it was the expensive stuff--Cephalon Unison. But, when I went to the store, these stupid things were so heavy, I had trouble just lifting them and I knew Granny would never be able to use them if she wanted to. So, Alison noticed these stainless steel ones and they are everything the other was except non-stick. They even have a Lifetime warranty. SO--got new shiny cooking pots & pans to help inspire me to cook! And Alison got me a Misto--a hand pump which you put olive oil into to spray your pans for cooking. Now, I need a good set of cutlery.....still planning for Cutco products, thanks Marc. But will probably be a while unless Alison finds something I will like. Might find something in a restaurant store around here, never know...

And on a side note, I made it through surgery ok yesterday--Alison had to wait around for me all morning, but we made it home by 12:30pm. What surgery you ask? Well, had a discrepancy on a mamogram and following a biopsy, THEY said had to have it removed although it was pre-cancerous. Arm and side are pretty sore, but an ice pack helps a lot--although is pretty wierd to have a bulging pack of ice under the arm which rather sticks out. And doesn't feel so good when I bump into things, so I need to avoid that if at all possible.

I am hoping maybe today (I took off this week for my surgery) or later this week, Alison will go with me to see the movie Avatar--have heard it is good. Oh, and Nico has been behaving fairly well with all the strangers who have been invading her space, although she does believe Alison is a walking treat factory. That should bring everyone back up to date with what has been going on around here so far--alrighty then!

New Years Updates

Finally, some dust has been settling at home (all over the furniture, the shelves, etc.). No, don't feel like cleaning, I think I'll just let it lie.

Granny has been doing very well. We've even been out to eat at Red Lobster a couple of times and also at the Outback! She is still very tired -- probably always will be, I guess. But as she says for an excuse, just wait until you're my age! (I should be so lucky.) She has a physical therapist coming to see her 3 times a week at home now and she has to do exercises for them. They have also advised her to GET OUT OF BED in the morning because that will keep you tired--when you don't move, they body tends to stay in that mode. She's not happy with that requirement, but she's been getting up. She also has a RN that comes to the home several times a week to check on her, and she also has an AIDE that will assist her for things like bathing, getting dressed, making her bed--however, she only has been here once and I suspect Granny will prefer to do things herself so will probably discontinue the aide service. Granny also has a machine in her room that lets her weigh, take blood pressure and oxygen levels, and then sends the data over the telephone every morning to a home health care nurse station where they can monitor vital signs to make sure she is doing ok. If she doesn't send it by 11am, they call. If the readings look bad, they call. So, she has been doing very well.

Barbara was out the week between Christmas & New Years (before the home health care started). During that time, we had three doctor appointments for Granny--2 of them taking an entire DAY to accomplish! We also saw the cardiologist who did an echo-cardiogram on the heart. They said her heart was working at 50% which was good. (GOOD? Then they said the norm was 55%, so her heart didn't entirely recover after they got the stent in, and she will have to continue taking medicine to assist her heart, but that she was doing very well.) Uh, 55% is normal? I still don't get it, but I'm just a non-medical person, I guess. Those of you who know Granny well, know she HATES pills, so she got the cardiologist to agree to hold off on the Lasix pill which also requires great big potassium pills along with it. The Lasix helps to keep fluids from building up around the heart, but also makes you go to the bathroom a lot. SO, Granny has to be very careful to weigh herself every morning and if it goes up 3 lbs, she has to take the Lasix--the added weight is a signal that fluid can be building around the heart again (which is what happens with congestive heart failure which is what Granny is/was dealing with).