Peace and Quiet

Five days have gone by without a doctor or hospital test visit. Nice to have life a little more normal for the time being!

Jay is whisking us off to Galena for a couple of days, Thursday, Friday, coming home Saturday. We're hoping the weather is nice enough so we can golf, yes, golf. I'm going to try golfing, I think I'm just about ready. We are really looking forward to getting away and enjoying our last weekend before CHEMO starts.

Yes, I'm feeling quite well and I've started an exercise program here at home to be combined with occupational therapy starting next week. Who knows, maybe I won't be in occupational therapy too long if I'm already golfing and exercising. It feels great just to be in control of my own workout program.

Then there's the garden. Apparently, during the winter I decided to buy more plants to put in the garden. They arrived today, now I'll to decide where to put them tomorrow so they don't die while we're gone. Then I can baby them all summer while I sit and sip tea on the deck.

Thank you all for your prayers and thoughts. I'm healing well, so I know they are working on me.

Tests

I survived both the CT and MRI without any screaming, panicking or kicking. I survived them without music, too, as the Bolingbrook facility couldn't make their CD player work. Oh, well, now those tests are both done and we'll see if I ever hear anything more about them. I'm setting my mind to: No news is good news.

Rainy, warm spring afternoon and evening here. You can almost hear the grass, plants and trees growing and stretching. I have a very active imagination!

I hope everyone has a beautiful, fun filled weekend! Be well.

Testing

Okay, so I scared myself into calling for an open MRI instead of the one scheduled for today. So, I'll go for the CT and MRI tomorrow at a different location. Thankfully, they're all around us which makes it really convenient to get to. Tomorrow I'll be ready for them!

We had chemo class at the Cancer Center yesterday. We received another three ring binder full of information on chemo and had a power point presentation, too. We toured the whole floor and saw where I'd receive chemo, get my blood tested (has to be done early before each treatment so they know my white cell count -- too low, can't have chemo). Anyhow, so many things to process! More info than you want, but you are all with me.

Then we saw my surgeon who thought I was healing very well. He said I could start swinging a golf club -- not driving a ball, but I could putt and maybe chip -- if my arm will let me. Three weeks after surgery, he said I could try golfing again. Silly doctor, I always TRY golfing, so hopefully, I'll be back with my golf league either May 6 (maybe not that day, I have my first chemo on May 5, we'll have to see if I turn into a spit ball or something) or with any luck on May 13! Yeah!

Spring smells great! Be well.

Chemo Oncologist

Today, Jay and I met with Dr. Joseph Kash. He will be my chemo doctor. He's younger than we expected, but so is much of the population.

GOOD NEWS! After reviewing every inch of my profile, Dr. Kash decided that I will be on chemo - four times, three weeks apart. Dr. Kash will use two different chemo drugs (neither of which will be hard on my heart -- enough things going on there), both will be through my veins and one takes an hour and the other takes thirty minutes. So, because I will only have four injections, I don't have to have a port implanted into my body to accept the chemo and take blood count levels. YEAH! We have our first chemo class tomorrow, to learn all the ins and outs and I start chemo on May 5. I should be done with chemo on July 7. Radiation starts immediately after and continues 5 days a week for seven weeks.

MORE GOOD NEWS. The holiday are looking pretty cancer free and fancy free to me right now. I'll set my goals, emotional, physical and mental to a beautiful holiday season with my lovely family.

Okay, some not so good news. I have to have a CT chest scan and a MRI (UGH) on my right hip that has been bothering me since last Sept. Too much golf on the hip, so they are scheduled for Wednesday. I just need to fast forward through those two little blips and get on to the healing.

On the happy front, Jay and I had our first grilled meal out on our beautiful deck tonight. Life is grand.

Be well.

Radiation Oncologist

We met with our new radiation oncologist this morning and we are both totally impressed with the facillities and the doctor. Her name is Dr. Vasudha Lingareddy and she was both very friendly and very informative. We spent about an hour and a half between her nurse and then Dr. Lingareddy. She took her time with us and answered our questions as well as questions we hadn't thought of to ask.

I won't start with her until after the chemo. We see the chemo doctor, Dr. Kash, on Monday. Dr. Lingareddy thinks I'll have about four months of chemo, so through the summer. Two weeks before I'm done with chemo, I start going back to Dr. Lingareddy, where they prepare a 3-D version of me with the CT so the radiologists get the exact places to radiate my breast.

How fortunate I am to have cancer in this day and age where everything seems to be so precise and formulated for me as an individual, even though the doctors use general equations, the treatments will be specifically for me.

We also found out today that my bone scan was good. At the hospital, Dr. Piazza (our surgeon) found that I had bursitis in my right hip. He mentioned he was going to check into it, but Dr. Lingareddy said she'd already looked at it and that was what it was, bursitis only, not more cancer.

On top of all that this morning, we learned while waiting for our appointment at the Cancer Center, that we had had an earthquake at 4:27 this morning. We didn't feel it or hear it! Even the earthquake can't shake us, I'm going to be fine and I'll take my treatments and come out healthy.

Be well.

Another Small Victory!

We're celebrating another small victory tonight, my drain was taken out around 5:00 p.m. Hooray, and oh, yeah, OUCH! But what a freeing feeling this is not to be attached to something attached to me.

We also saw my internist this afternoon. Jay got to meet her for the first time and the three of us had a very positive meeting. Some of the small things I'm worrying about, became things I really shouldn't waste my time pondering and she pointed us to the healing of positive thinking. So, tomorrow is the radiologist meeting and Monday, we meet the oncologist. I understand that they'll all give me some time for my incisions to heal before I start the rest of my story.

For now, I'm just happy being cancer free, resting and healing at home and sleeping in my own bed.

Take care and be well everyone.

Good News

Jay and I just returned from the surgeon's office where we found out that there were no more lymph nodes involved! Great! The tumor was a little larger than we had first suspected, 1.4 centimeters, but it is gone and I'm just barely a Stage 2(a) with a Grade 1, which means yes, I'll have chemo and radiation, but the cancer was slow growing and this isn't going to kill me!

Jay and I are thrilled with this news and thoroughly relieved that no more surgeries are required. Healing and getting rid of anymore likely suspects lurking about in my system is our next step.

Prayers and good thoughts do work, we are very grateful to all of you who have been with us in this journey. More later.

It's Saturday - I'm HOME

Well, that was quite the day and night!

Thanks to my loving husband, daughter, and son and all our friends, I made it through another loop of this breast cancer ordeal. It was indeed a long day and night. I seem to not tolerate pain medication or any adhesives. The doctors and staff did a great job coming up with creative ideas on how to not bandage me, yet keep my surgery protected. Oh, the trials of being a delicate Scandinavian flower. The wonderful night nurse cut back on the meds dosage and paced it al little more evely, so I got just enough to keep the pain at bay and not have to be sick.

We arrived home around 11:30 a.m. today, Saturday. Our two cats couldn't wait to be all over us and I couldn't wait to lay down in our bed and sleep, which I did after I ate.

Now, it's wait until Tuesday afternoon to find out if any more lymph nodes were positive and the next step to a healthy recovery from breast cancer.

It's time for another nap. Talk to you all later.

SURGERY DAY (reported by Jessica, Jason, Jay and a groggy Dee)

Mom and Dad got to the hospital at 6 a.m. for all the prep work necessary for her lumpectomy. All of that took them up to 9:30 or so when Jason and I were finally able to see her. We were hopeful and in pretty good spirits as we waited another hour before her surgeon, Dr. Piazza, and the anesthesiologist came. Then they wheeled her off, away from all three of us, for surgery at 10:45. The hope was that the surgery would be about an hour and that she'd be in recovery for another hour and then be able to go home later tonight.

Unfortunately, the surgery took longer than expected and wasn't what we had hoped for. Cancer cells were found in one of her sentinal lymph nodes (the first ones off of the breast - the surgeon removes these and sends them to pathology before beginning the lumpectomy to check to see if the cancer has spread). That meant that the rest of her lymph nodes on that side had to also be removed, which extended the surgery. She will now be in the hospital at least overnight and perhaps for two nights.

All the lymph nodes and the tumor are now in pathology for testing. (Note: The surgeon was surprised that the sentinal node had cancer cells because her tumor was so small.) We'll know more Tuesday when mom and dad meet with Dr. Piazza. Worst case is that mom will be back for a mastectomy next week. Either way, I think she is prepared to do whatever it takes to fight this cancer and we are prepared to do whatever she needs to support her in her fight.

The good news is that she is comfortable, except for her hot flashes. But we are getting Dad a large palm leaf so that he can fan her and feed her grapes and chocolates.

We thank you all so much for your support.

Sprin Rains - Introspection

As you can see from my blogs, I've put the term 'breast cancer' out of my mind for awhile. However, it's the Wednesday before my Friday surgery and gloomy spring rains are making me face the reality that Friday is two days away. But, in the same sense that the gloomy day and soggy gardens make me face reality, they also lift my spirits. Life begins again no matter how hard a winter or how hard the spring rains pour, the brave daffodils, crocus, hyacinths, iris and tree buds just keep on shining through! The birds are back, making nests, calling to one another and life goes on.

I'm positive that I'll be looking back at Friday as the spring that gets me back to a cancer free life. My winter will be the therapies for breast cancer and that will happen at the best time of the year, our summer and fall. I'll spring back just in time for our winter holidays and a whole new life and year, cancer free.

Thank you all for taking this journey with me, I am humbled knowing I'm loved by so many. Your prayers and thoughts are truly working on me and giving me peace.

new haircut, sam is a fireman, milwaukee brewers

Opps! I guess I'm not so blog savvy after all! Got the title, lost the blog. Oh, well. Here goes.

We spent a wonderful weekend up in Wisconsin. We left Friday after visiting and lunching with Jessica and David. We went to Janesville where our newphew, Sam, graduated from his program and became a fireman with the Janesville Fire Department. Very nice ceremony, nice weather, and a very nice town. Mom, Dad, Aunt and Uncle were all very proud of Sam!

Oh, yeah, the new haircut. Not much to tell, it just looks shorter, most of my friends say it's how I used to wear it.

Gail, Ted, Jay and I all went to the Brewers game on Saturday. Gail scored great seats from work, fourth row behind home plate. Brewers won, we had a great time, a great food at Gail's (and drink(s)), then home on Sunday to work in the garden.

We now have a home made wigwam in our garden for our grandchildren to play in. Of course, it's big enough for Grandpapa and Grandma to get in to have picinics with the kids, if they want.

The daffodils are starting to bloom and the hyacinths are right behind them.

Take care.

Race for the Cure

I keep forgetting to tell everyone that my lovely daughter, Jessica and her son, David, invited Jay and me to walk in the Race to Empower for the cure of breast cancer on Mother's Day in downtown Chicago. Seems like a logical thing for us to do since my surgery will be a month past and I will be ready to go. Jessica created our team: ChickaDEE. If anyone is interested in walking with us or checking it out, you can visit the Y-Me National Breast Cancer Organization on the internet at: http://main.y-me.org/

When you get to the page, enter Team Chickadee, the team list will appear; scroll down to Team ChickaDee, captain Jessica Eterno, click on that and you will see her blog.

Thank you to all of you who have already been invited by Jessica and have responded, I know you'll be thinking of us (especially if it's raining!), but I also hope that everyone has a GREAT Mother's Day!

We have a beautiful day today and part of it will be spent in the gardens gearing up for the warm weather to come. I know we all can't wait until spring comes and stays.

Our downstairs is 98% completed, so yeah!

Think crocus!

April Fool's Day

Yesterday was the day for setting up appointments with the oncologist and radiologist for after the surgery. All of that went well, it appears that my life will be consumed with doctors for awhile.

In the meantime, we will be enjoying life just as it is. Tonight is Wednesday, so we will be going over to Jessica's in LaGrange to have dinner with her and David. We're bringing Sheperd's Pie and our smiles. It's always fun to see David run around his own home.

Jay and I are also hoping to get out to the garden to do some more cleanup. I'm always optimistic that spring is coming and we (Jay) even put the deck furniture out yesterday. I took the winter bird bath (Jay calls it the 'boiler') down and the two bird baths are set up in the garden. I'll also be putting out hummingbird feeders soon, maybe today.

Oh, yeah, I also have a new attitude short hairstyle! My stylist was great yesterday. He took an hour plus and showed me how to style it in different ways and then didn't charge me. That almost made me cry! So, I left him a great big tip. What a sweetie!

We're going to Milwaukee this weekend to see Gail and Ted and I hear a Brewers game is in the plans. We always look forward to these trips.

Thanks for joining me in my journey.