In the past when people would talk about my family being sick, it had to do with the fact that we tend to be loud, a little raucous and often inappropriate. With the e-mail description of my brother's imminent corneal transplant (for a degenerative rarely rare eye-disease wholly unrelated to the one I had) and my cousin's car accident and the need for pins in his legs - we seem to be using the health care system way too much this year. Even my very healthy 20-something year old cousin decided having one baby wasn't enough and she had to up the ante by having twins. It's been quite the year, and I'm probably missing some things but I just want to make a couple of observations.
1) I know you guys are competitive and all, but I kind of think in the contest to generate the most in health care bills - I'm pretty sure I won this year so you may as well just stop trying and stay healthy. Grandma might have me beat, but she's 90 and I'm not sure she should count.
I kind of want to lay claim to next year too, what with the fat transplant surgery and rebuilding process, so again you might as well all just stay healthy. This means no complications in healing, please, and no more entrants into this event for 2010.
2) This might all be a strong argument for genetic diversity and might make the fact that most of you married and procreated with folks from different backgrounds a really good thing. (Not sure what this means for you Abby - I'm hoping the Russian part is enough to make Roman's DNA more varied.) Yes, we are smart and funny. The allergies are one thing, but 2 weird eye diseases - that just seems crazy. We won't even get into the cancer, high blood pressure etc...
3) In the end, I'm glad the year is coming to the end, grateful we all have good medical care, and look forward to seeing you all. I just found out some devestating news about recurrence in a family member of a friend, so even with all the bumps and bruises - I'm actually very grateful it all seems more of an inconvenience than anything too devastating.
For those of you not related to me - I'd also appreciate it if you could also stay healthy.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Friday, October 16, 2009
The year of gratuitous beautification has begun
So I was going to change the title of the blog as the first year (and what will be referred to as the cancer year) is just about over and I need to figure out when the year of beautification shall begin. I'm thinking it might have started last Sunday, as while some were walking to find a cure for breast cancer (3 day DC breast cancer walk) and others were marching for marriage equality, I was holed up in the Red Door Spa at the Willard Hotel having a facial, massage, manicure and pedicure. It was lovely and neccessary given the tightness in my back. (Thank you Tal.)
I had fun seeing the other folks in town, including my friends Andres and Lisa who were visiting. And it seems like the march was successful and those that participated seemed to really enjoy it.
I saw the physical therapist on Wednesday, who confirmed that my back is a tight mess. Is it nutty that we ended the session with her asking me 1) when was my next massage was scheduled and 2) suggesting I should check with my doctor but maybe i needed to see a chiropractor for realignment?
Today I saw my plastic surgeon and breast surgeon. Besides needing to wait to see both of them due to them being stuck down in the OR (something I'm happy to be delayed for - you want surgeons to take their time when operating on others as well as me). I seem to be healing well and to not totally bury the lead - I'll be having the DIEP surgery on January 7. The DIEP surgery involves harvesting fat, skin and tissue and an artery and vein from my belly area and transplanting it and shaping it into a breast. The timing will be a little under 4 months from the end of radiation and my doc feels the timing is fine.
I am allowed to do whatever I want exercise wise in the mean time but need to understand that the size of breast will depend on what transfer tissues he has to work with. I'm guessing I'll try to stretch and swim, maybe lift some weights, do some other aerobic activities and maybe even do some sit-ups to try and get back some muscle tone and then if need be I can always up my intake of chocolate and pate (and other fat inducing foods). It will make for an interesting holiday season in any case. After surgery I will be in the hospital for 4-5 days and then at home for about a month (they say longer but I'm guessing I might be able to be out and recovered by my birthday).
Otherwise - things look good - my expander was expanded and he does seem amenable to my getting an implant if i would rather go that route. I think I'm committed to the flap surgery as it seems that the tissue transfer will help the other tissue heal. The skin/tissue seems to be healing well after radiation and things should be settled down by December. I also got more valium (needed to relax the muscle for the expansion) but I'm also hoping it might make my back feel better.
I saw Dr. E afterward and besides her being very pregnant (due in 3 weeks) that appointment went well and was pretty uneventful. There is (knock wood) no evidence of any tumors or anything hinky in my other breast and I have pretty good range of motion in my left arm and i will see her again in March. Both sets of folks asked about the mediport and if I wanted it out. I said I'd prefer to keep it until after at least the first reconstruction surgery and everyone seemed fine with that. If I'm in the hospital for a few days I'd much rather have the port than to have them playing with getting iv's into veins.
Other news - i get to add a cardiologist to my collection of pre-op visits. Apparently protocol changed over the last few weeks and if you have had adriamyacin in the past you need to be checked out and approved by a cardiologist before they can give you anesthesia. I guess it's better safe than sorry - though it seems a little silly in that they've already ran an ekg and an echocardiogram since I stopped with the chemo and I've had 3 surgeries since then with anesthesia.
So things look good - I'm happy to have the doctors sign off and to have a date set for reconstruction. Next up I think is to buy a recliner - possibly one with a massage feature built in. It isn't neccessary for recovery but i think it will be good to have.
Now the goal is to get stuff done before the new year - of course, this does make setting New Year's Resolutions easier.
I had fun seeing the other folks in town, including my friends Andres and Lisa who were visiting. And it seems like the march was successful and those that participated seemed to really enjoy it.
I saw the physical therapist on Wednesday, who confirmed that my back is a tight mess. Is it nutty that we ended the session with her asking me 1) when was my next massage was scheduled and 2) suggesting I should check with my doctor but maybe i needed to see a chiropractor for realignment?
Today I saw my plastic surgeon and breast surgeon. Besides needing to wait to see both of them due to them being stuck down in the OR (something I'm happy to be delayed for - you want surgeons to take their time when operating on others as well as me). I seem to be healing well and to not totally bury the lead - I'll be having the DIEP surgery on January 7. The DIEP surgery involves harvesting fat, skin and tissue and an artery and vein from my belly area and transplanting it and shaping it into a breast. The timing will be a little under 4 months from the end of radiation and my doc feels the timing is fine.
I am allowed to do whatever I want exercise wise in the mean time but need to understand that the size of breast will depend on what transfer tissues he has to work with. I'm guessing I'll try to stretch and swim, maybe lift some weights, do some other aerobic activities and maybe even do some sit-ups to try and get back some muscle tone and then if need be I can always up my intake of chocolate and pate (and other fat inducing foods). It will make for an interesting holiday season in any case. After surgery I will be in the hospital for 4-5 days and then at home for about a month (they say longer but I'm guessing I might be able to be out and recovered by my birthday).
Otherwise - things look good - my expander was expanded and he does seem amenable to my getting an implant if i would rather go that route. I think I'm committed to the flap surgery as it seems that the tissue transfer will help the other tissue heal. The skin/tissue seems to be healing well after radiation and things should be settled down by December. I also got more valium (needed to relax the muscle for the expansion) but I'm also hoping it might make my back feel better.
I saw Dr. E afterward and besides her being very pregnant (due in 3 weeks) that appointment went well and was pretty uneventful. There is (knock wood) no evidence of any tumors or anything hinky in my other breast and I have pretty good range of motion in my left arm and i will see her again in March. Both sets of folks asked about the mediport and if I wanted it out. I said I'd prefer to keep it until after at least the first reconstruction surgery and everyone seemed fine with that. If I'm in the hospital for a few days I'd much rather have the port than to have them playing with getting iv's into veins.
Other news - i get to add a cardiologist to my collection of pre-op visits. Apparently protocol changed over the last few weeks and if you have had adriamyacin in the past you need to be checked out and approved by a cardiologist before they can give you anesthesia. I guess it's better safe than sorry - though it seems a little silly in that they've already ran an ekg and an echocardiogram since I stopped with the chemo and I've had 3 surgeries since then with anesthesia.
So things look good - I'm happy to have the doctors sign off and to have a date set for reconstruction. Next up I think is to buy a recliner - possibly one with a massage feature built in. It isn't neccessary for recovery but i think it will be good to have.
Now the goal is to get stuff done before the new year - of course, this does make setting New Year's Resolutions easier.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Back in DC
Just back from Myrtle Beach and though I had a great time in both Europe and at the beach, I'm happy to be staying put for a little while. It helps when making vacation plans to figure out both when you go and come back from trips. Last Sunday (10 days ago) after landing from Paris the night before and deciding that I wasn't in fact going to services for Yom Kippur, I realized I was leaving for Myrtle Beach in less than a week.
Visiting with Tal & Paul was fun, if not filled with sun-drenched days. It rained on Monday and was cloudy Tuesday but the hanging out and relaxing time was terrific. We sat around, they cooked and we did go see a local garden that had a lovely collection of sculpture, beautiful flowers, butterflies and some of the most amazing Oak trees you could imagine. They also have a zoo and some animals, that we didn't get to see too much of. Lots of good food, some sun time and shopping - I'm not sure I could ask for much more in terms of R&R.
I also felt less guilty about not being more active. It was harder being kind of a slug in Europe. The trip to Brussels was fun, though I'm not sure I really needed to go via Paris. There was a car holiday going on (no cars allowed downtown) on Sunday and it was interesting to see everyone out. I puttered around, ate waffles, tons of chocolate and ridiculous amount of shellfish at the Belga Queen. The conference on Tuesday was interesting and people seemed to like my presentation. I even got to drink some sparkling wine at lunch.
I was then off to Berlin to see Andres and Jose, Berlin was terrific in an industrial kind of way. We wandered around, saw lots of new art and generally hung out. Andres was subletting an apartment in the old East Berlin, concrete square, not much decoration on the walls and it was somehow appropriate when the electricity went out. Also probably fitting that the hot water went out afterward, but it was more exciting when the shower worked again the following day.
Berlin definitely seems like a city I'd want to go back to and have more time and energy to poke around. I then went to Paris for 24 hours which was great if short. I ate foie gras (twice), had a kir royale and enjoyed wandering around. Though the Musee d'Orsay was less exciting for me now than the last time I was there. I was somewhat pooped, my feet hurt and was actually pretty happy to be heading home.
I also managed to get a cold on the flight back, but it hasn't been terrible. I was sneezy and then coughing - and I'm guessing those around me this past week weren't totally thrilled but it was reassuring to have a cold and be okay. My immune system seems to be working and I'm optimistic that the cough won't last a good two months. I'm taking these all to be good omens. I did also start taking tamoxifen last week and knock wood that has been without side effects thus far.
In other news, its been about a year since I was first diagnosed. I'm sad I'm still dealing with things, and did totally breakdown when having a mammogram on Wednesday. Not really sure why I need to keep getting tests that have shown themselves to be ineffective. I really didn't like being in the space, partly because the last time I was there I was getting fitted with a wire before the first lumpectomy. I kept thinking that if that had worked, I'd be done now and moving on with my life.
Instead, I'm going to need to start reconstruction and not totally happy about it. It will be fine and I'm optimistic that this coming year will be better than the last but I still would rather be done. Otherwise, I need to clean up and organize the random stuff that seems to be all over the place both at work and home. And there is a stack of projects I need to finish.
Sorry, I've been so AWOL - in part this is a good sign - I post less when I have other things going on. But it also is related to my caving and going on facebook. Updating in multiple places, apparently is hard, and typing on my iphone seems more conducive to posts that are supposed to be short. I'd hate to imagine what my reliability would be if I started twittering too.
Thank you all for your support through this past year. I promise to try and write more regularly now that both my laptop and arms seem to work.
Kim
Visiting with Tal & Paul was fun, if not filled with sun-drenched days. It rained on Monday and was cloudy Tuesday but the hanging out and relaxing time was terrific. We sat around, they cooked and we did go see a local garden that had a lovely collection of sculpture, beautiful flowers, butterflies and some of the most amazing Oak trees you could imagine. They also have a zoo and some animals, that we didn't get to see too much of. Lots of good food, some sun time and shopping - I'm not sure I could ask for much more in terms of R&R.
I also felt less guilty about not being more active. It was harder being kind of a slug in Europe. The trip to Brussels was fun, though I'm not sure I really needed to go via Paris. There was a car holiday going on (no cars allowed downtown) on Sunday and it was interesting to see everyone out. I puttered around, ate waffles, tons of chocolate and ridiculous amount of shellfish at the Belga Queen. The conference on Tuesday was interesting and people seemed to like my presentation. I even got to drink some sparkling wine at lunch.
I was then off to Berlin to see Andres and Jose, Berlin was terrific in an industrial kind of way. We wandered around, saw lots of new art and generally hung out. Andres was subletting an apartment in the old East Berlin, concrete square, not much decoration on the walls and it was somehow appropriate when the electricity went out. Also probably fitting that the hot water went out afterward, but it was more exciting when the shower worked again the following day.
Berlin definitely seems like a city I'd want to go back to and have more time and energy to poke around. I then went to Paris for 24 hours which was great if short. I ate foie gras (twice), had a kir royale and enjoyed wandering around. Though the Musee d'Orsay was less exciting for me now than the last time I was there. I was somewhat pooped, my feet hurt and was actually pretty happy to be heading home.
I also managed to get a cold on the flight back, but it hasn't been terrible. I was sneezy and then coughing - and I'm guessing those around me this past week weren't totally thrilled but it was reassuring to have a cold and be okay. My immune system seems to be working and I'm optimistic that the cough won't last a good two months. I'm taking these all to be good omens. I did also start taking tamoxifen last week and knock wood that has been without side effects thus far.
In other news, its been about a year since I was first diagnosed. I'm sad I'm still dealing with things, and did totally breakdown when having a mammogram on Wednesday. Not really sure why I need to keep getting tests that have shown themselves to be ineffective. I really didn't like being in the space, partly because the last time I was there I was getting fitted with a wire before the first lumpectomy. I kept thinking that if that had worked, I'd be done now and moving on with my life.
Instead, I'm going to need to start reconstruction and not totally happy about it. It will be fine and I'm optimistic that this coming year will be better than the last but I still would rather be done. Otherwise, I need to clean up and organize the random stuff that seems to be all over the place both at work and home. And there is a stack of projects I need to finish.
Sorry, I've been so AWOL - in part this is a good sign - I post less when I have other things going on. But it also is related to my caving and going on facebook. Updating in multiple places, apparently is hard, and typing on my iphone seems more conducive to posts that are supposed to be short. I'd hate to imagine what my reliability would be if I started twittering too.
Thank you all for your support through this past year. I promise to try and write more regularly now that both my laptop and arms seem to work.
Kim
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