My Journey to Wellness

December 1, 2006

My heartfelt thanks for the cards, gifts, flowers, plants, food, prayers and love from everyone. The strength and joy I receive from your support is like a luxurious, cashmere blanket that envelopes me with kindness. Thank you for everything!!

Because of all of the inquiries, I’ve decided to write a blog so that folks can easily get a status report at their leisure. I promise not to get too medically graphic and will only refer to people by their first name to respect everyone’s privacy.

So here we go. The blog is divided by sections as people have received updates at different points of my journey.

Lumpectomy
My surgery on Oct. 26 went very well. I left the hospital at about 5:30pm that day. I didn’t want to stay overnight because hospitals are full of sick people. Who wants to recover in that kind of place?

The pathology report indicated that my lymph nodes and the area around the tumor were clear. So that was great news. The tumor itself was categorized as “aggressive” which meant that there could be nasty, microscopic cancer cells lurking about. With the standard protocol of a lumpectomy and 6-week radiation, there would be a 70% chance of the cancer not reoccurring. However, with the addition of chemotherapy, the percentages go up another 5-15%. So I figured 85% is very good odds, so I opted to start the 6-month regimen of chemo.

Chemo begins
I had my first chemo treatment on Nov. 20th. To be honest, it was kind of anti-climactic. I just sat there in a big, cushy leather chair and read my Book Club book. Laura, the chemo nurse, gave very clear explanations about what was happening and made me feel completely at ease. My blood pressure before the chemo was 124/84. Laura said that was pretty good for someone’s first chemo session. So I was off to a good start.

Before the chemo drugs were injected, Laura gave me anti-nausea pill and intravenous med. She said the intravenous med would give me a sense of euphoria later that day and she wasn’t kidding. But it wasn’t so much euphoria as just plain old loopiness. I flashed back to my college days at Berkeley and the high you get from pot. Far-out, dude!! (Okay, so my age is showing.)

Naps, naps, naps
Naps are good. Naps are your friend. Embrace your naps. After the chemo, I was really tired so I slept a lot. I would take 2-3 naps a day. My couch became my best friend. During my few waking hours, I got hungry … and I mean hungry.

Protein cravings
For the next few days after chemo, I ate all the time. I craved protein which is weird because I haven’t eaten red meat for about 15 years. I’m basically a lettuce-tomato-chicken-fish kinda gal. That’s what I normally eat for lunch and dinner. I’ve even been known to eat plain tofu for breakfast. Don’t gag, I love tofu.

So I ate chicken, turkey, cheese, peanut butter and tofu. Luckily, my chemo was 2 days before Thanksgiving, so I had turkey, turkey, turkey for 4 days. I love Thanksgiving leftovers. Turkey hash is the best meal – diced turkey, stuffing and gravy smushed together and sautéed. Yum!

Several friends have been bringing food over and it’s a great comfort. The gals in my Book Club are talented cooks, among other great personality traits, so my cupboards, fridge and freezer are full.

Yesterday was a milestone day. I have Compazine, an anti-nausea, motion sickness pill. I took it for 7 days and yesterday was my first no med day. Whooppee!!! I also stopped eating all-day long -- which is probably a good thing.

Big Game
Tomorrow is the Big Game – CAL vs. Stanford. It’s always a fun day as CAL has won the past 5 years in a row. I’ll be going with my CAL alumni buddies and this might be the last event I can attend with big crowds for a while. While having chemo, I need to avoid catching any infection and you know those Stanford people have bad cooties. ;-) Go Bears!!

That’s it for now. My next treatment is on Dec. 12th and I don’t know if I’ll have any blog updates until then. I feel 100% now and don’t anticipate any changes until the 12th.

Thanks again for your constant support and enthusiasm. I love you all!!