Kinda tired again!

I've been tired the last few days....not sure if it's because I haven't been sleeping as well or if it's from the radiation, which is to be expected. At least I'm not to the point where I have to nap.

I see my surgeon Monday about getting my port out. She wants to see me first. She does it right in the office, so I'm relieved it won't be an outpatient surgical procedure at the hospital. Once I see her Monday, we'll select a date to remove it. I'm looking forward to it!

Chugging along

I'm a little tired today, mostly because I started a new book and stayed up until a quarter to two last night!

I saw my radiation oncologist today and mentioned that my skin is getting pink, but not bothering me. He told me to continue to use the aloe vera gel and if it becomes really dry or starts to blister, he'll prescribe a cream.

After getting zapped, I went to vote, then came home and installed my new (free) printer that arrived this morning. Then the dogs and I hung out in my backyard...me reading and the girls sniffing around for lizards. Levi didn't feel like moving from his comfy spot or he would've been out there as well.

I found out that my surgeon will remove my port in her office with just a local anesthetic. I was a little surprised at that, but it must be okay to remove it that way. I now need to hear back from her office as to when I can get it out. I'll keep you all posted!

Monday, Monday

Not much new to report. I had a good weekend and I'm making some progress on my New Year's resolutions. :)

The weather's a little chilly and today's the kind of day that I wish I had a fireplace! I'd rather use that than the furnace. The furnace gets my allergies all worked up. It's supposed to be warmer the next couple of days.

As I've reported before, I bought a new PC from Dell last fall. A week or so ago, I received a $100 gift card from Dell. I thought there was probably some kind of catch, like you have to spend $500 to use it, but surprisingly, no! I've been wanting to get an all-in-one printer, one of the "all-in-ones" being a fax. I always prefer Hewlett-Packard printers, but I found one on the Dell website on sale for $99. I was able to use the gift card and only ended up paying the tax minus the dollar left over from the card. And the shipping was free. Woo hoo! I should receive the printer this week. I'm a happy camper. :-)

2 Weeks Down...

...4 1/2 to go. Today was my 11th radiation treatment. It's seems to be going by quickly. Yesterday I noticed my skin is a little pink. I mentioned it to the tech today and she said to mention it to my doctor when I see him on Tuesday. She said they can prescribe a cream. Otherwise, I feel pretty good.

I brought Levi to the vet on Wednesday and his teeth aren't too bad. I've had in my possession feline toothpaste and a toothbrush I've never used but should, but that may be difficult with Levi. Should be interesting!

I know there was something else I was going to post today, but now I don't remember it. Sigh.

Hope you all have a good weekend!

Timing is everything

I seem to pick the worst times to go to the library. Like, when it's closed, and in the middle of the afternoon when the middle school down the road from it just lets out. The place is crawling with kids and the parking lot is full of parents in SUVs waiting to pick up their kids. Makes it kind of hard to maneuver around everything. I must try to plan my trips to the library a little better!

I saw my radiation oncologist yesterday and he sees no problem with getting my port out during rad treatment (as long as I don't miss one, obviously). So now I have to see what my out-of-pocket expense will be and contact my surgeon's office. I think the most important thing is to get this done before my insurance changes March 1st.

I just read an article on the link between consuming soy products and the risk for breast cancer and breast cancer recurrence. It's a well-researched article and it helped clear up a few questions for me. Some areas of this topic are still considered inconclusive, but it did provide some answers. You can check it out for yourself:

(okay, i can't figure out why i can't get this link to display.....check back later)

And I'll take this time to remind the women out there to schedule a mammogram this year if you haven't already! Cheers.

I know it's a holiday, yet.....

....I went to the library after radiation. It was closed, big surprise, and this after my family reminded me yesterday it would be closed. This morning I reminded myself there was no mail today, yet I went to the mailbox this afternoon. If you find my brain, please return it to me!

PC Wars

Me vs. my PC....one in the win column for me (I think).

Yesterday I finally decided to settle the battle between Internet Explorer and Firefox. Java was also involved in the fray. All I wanted to do was play a little Texas Hold 'em and when I would try, both IE and Firefox would freeze. I spent 2 hours playing around with things, including uninstalling and reinstalling Java, and I can happily report that my Pogo games are back on track and Firefox is my default browser. Just the way I wanted it. :) Of course, I went OFF track by playing games for too long yesterday. :(

Mid-afternoon I went to visit bro and family. We had Chinese for a late lunch/early dinner....I had Mongolian Beef, one of my faves, and it was very good. Watched some football, did some cross stitch, read the paper...typical Sunday stuff. It's pretty chilly now. It was only around 47 degrees yesterday afternoon and now it's 63 and windy. I feel bad for those of you suffering through the frigid weather...stay warm, or better yet, come visit! ;-)

Catching up

Time is flying by right now. I already have a week of radiation treatments behind me! Everything is going well. I met with my radiation oncologist Tuesday for my weekly visit and everything is right on target. He said the cancer cells in the one lymph node were encapsulated, which means a low risk of recurrence, so he doesn't see a need to radiate the axillary nodes.

I also met with my medical oncologist the same day. He said I could get the port out anytime and will meet with me near the end of radiation to talk about Tamoxifen. I'll take that for about 2 years. Once I'm through menopause, I'll switch to an aromatase inhibitor like Femara or Arimidex. They are proving to be more effective than Tamoxifen, but can only be taken after menopause. As far as the port goes, I'll have to see if having the procedure during daily rads is an issue. I also have to consider that my health insurance is going to change March 1st to who-knows-what (more $$$ I'm sure), so it may be better to have the port out while I'm still under my current plan.

In other news, I finally took the pups to the vet for their annual exam and shots. Cha-ching. Bella needs to have at least 3 teeth pulled and they both need them cleaned. Cha-ching! Levi's annual exam is next week. He had his teeth cleaned a couple of years ago, but I wouldn't be surprised if he needs it done again. Cha-ching!!! I need to greatly increase the amount of freelance writing I'm doing and I'm not kidding!

Not much else to report...it's been rainy for a few days and a little cooler. We need the rain and I enjoy the cooler weather.

Just a brief note...

It seems I've been kind of busy lately (at least busy for me!), but I'm doing fine and will write more later today. xoxoxo

Forgot to mention....

...that I'm incredibly behind in responding to emails. I can't even think of a good reason why (chemo brain?). I'll try to catch up this weekend. Thanks for your patience. :-)

New Routine

So, now I've settled into a new routine. Arrive at radiation center 1:20, put on the chic gown and wait for them to come get me for my treatment. I don't have to wait very long; they are incredibly efficient. I lie down on the bed of the machine which is similar to the bed of a CT scan. I get zapped from 2 angles and it only takes a few minutes. Then I get dressed and I'm outta there. 15-20 minutes max. They have a small section in the parking lot for rad patients and I have a placard I place on my dashboard and it's very easy to get in and out of the facility.

I found pure aloe vera gel at Wal-Mart, where I've looked before, but couldn't find. I asked the radiation nurse today and she said they carried it and to check with the pharmacy, who told me it was with the makeup stuff. It is in the same area as Aquaphor, Eucerin and similar things. I looked right at those shelves the other day and missed it! Chemo brain. Yes, I'm still using that excuse and will probably do so forever. Anyway, glad I found it there, because even The Body Shop version had a lot of other ingredients. I'll use it after each treatment to keep the skin hydrated.

I finished my little cross stitch project and I've moved on to a little harder one. I forgot how addictive cross stitch can be, but at least I feel like I'm doing something useful while watching TV in the evening.

Happy weekend all!

1st Rad Down, 33 to Go!

I had my first treatment today and it went well. I'll have a total of 34 zaps, which puts me at February 26th for my last one. I'll see the radiation oncologist once a week and x-rays once a week to ensure everything is getting zapped in the right place. I'll be positively glowing!

This is my post-Christmas template, which will keep me entertained till I get bored with it.

Rads begin tomorrow

Today I went to the radiation center for a series of x-rays to ensure the markings and everything else are lined up correctly. I was there about 20 minutes. Tomorrow the fun begins!

I've been looking for aloe vera gel. I was told to use that after each treatment. No creams or lotions containing alcohol.

Thankfully, I'm not having all those bizarre food cravings I had during chemo. I'm eating much healthier now. If only I could be more consistent with exercising! Sigh.

Next up: Radiation

Friday I went to my radiation oncologist's office for a radiation simulation. I had a CT scan to identify the areas to be zapped. I was there for about 30 minutes, not bad. I have these lovely giant blues x's now. Very cute. I didn't see the doctor because he was on vacation. I was told it takes a few days to develop the treatment plan (reviewing images, using super high-tech software, etc. I was told to expect a call by midweek and then we will select a start time. I thought I was actually going to start treatment on the 7th, so now I don't know if I'll start this week or next. The treatments will last about 6 1/2 weeks, Monday-Friday. I'm anxious to get started! I hope I can still make a trip to Pennsylvania for Easter, but we'll have to see what the timeline is going to look like.

The weather is very nice today. Temps in the low seventies and sunny. I took my Christmas tree down and I'm working on getting the other stuff put away. Needless to say, I am tired. I don't think I'll put up my tree so early next time. I got really sick of the thing.

The Steelers' season ended last night and I can't say I'm surprised. Nice effort, but not good enough. Hope they can work out the kinks for next season.

Have a good week all!

Warming Trend

It looks like the hibiscus took a hit last night, even though they were covered. They may be okay, I'll just have to wait and see. Everything else seemed to fair well. And there were snow flurries in Daytona Beach, as predicted. It's a little warmer today and it'll be in the seventies this weekend.

I've always wondered why farmers spray water on fruit plants and trees during cold snaps. Now I know! It's because when the water freezes on the plants and trees, the ice will remain at 32 degrees, even if the air temperature is much colder. Makes sense!

Cool pic:


A rose is protected by a cocoon of ice at Dewar Nursery in Apopka on Thursday. (RED HUBER, ORLANDO SENTINEL / January 3, 2008)

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

Right now it is 40 degrees, with wind chill, only 30. The average temp for today is 72 degrees. A slight difference. For tonight we have a hard freeze warning. Hard freeze! I haven't seen that in the 5 years I've lived here. One forecaster is calling for a chance of snow flurries in Daytona Beach! Daytona is 30 miles east of here. I think the cold air and wind over the ocean could cause the white stuff to fall, like some sort of lake effect. Last night I brought all the potted plants in and covered tender plants that are in the ground with sheets. A couple of them blew off during the night, so today I have to find a way to secure them. I have 2 hibiscus topiaries that I have to protect. They replaced the ones that bit the dust during a late winter (soft) freeze last year. Not real anxious to replace them again. My first attempt at a rose arbor is a little harder to deal with. I've neglected them and I think they are especially vulnerable right now. Oh well, I'll figure something out. I know you northerners are chuckling right now. Hey, I moved here to get away from this stuff! Actually, I don't mind it right now....maybe my hot flashes will dissipate if it's cold enough (probably not, though).

Resolutions, Version Two Thousand and Eight

* Pray more
* Lose weight (Stella,too)
* Exercise more (Stella, too)
* Write more (a lot more)
* Find something useful to do with my life
* Get organized (I have been making progress there)
* Play less on pogo.com (a lot less)
* Become more neighborly
* Win the lottery

I think all but one are reasonably achievable. Now that I've posted them here, I'll feel more accountable to keep them. :-)

Yappy New Year

I woke up with a nasty sinus headache this morning, a migraine wanna-be. I took Excedrin Migraine and it's diminishing, but not quite gone. And I didn't have any wine last night after all, so there's no chance it's a hangover! Ick.

It was a quiet night. The dogs took to barking when fireworks were going off during the evening, but it was not nearly as bad as the 4th of July, not by a longshot.

Thought I'd share the Scripture from today's daily devotional with you all....

Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible" (Matthew 19:26 NIV).

Amen to that! Praying you all get to experience something impossible this year (and I mean in a good way)!!