I thought I had two of them!

I wrote this post and shared it with someone close to me.  He said it was tmi.  I'm not trying to be crude or lewd or rude!  This is my reality.  If it offends some readers, I'm sorry, but it's part of my story and I'm leaving it up!  If you are easily offended by fake breasts, please don't read any further!




I got my prosthesis yesterday! Yea!!!  It's nice to have both girls around!. . . . .  For you curious type, I'll put up a picture (prosthesis only!) at the end of this post.  Consider this your WARNING!

The first time I saw a prosthesis was in 1976.  It was my mom's.  Of course so long ago they were a bit different than today's version. I think the older ones were more blobular, (yes, I made that up) kinda like an amoeba that would change shape depending on what surface it was on or how you held it in your hand.  I don't really know how to describe it.  The new one I have is triangular and reminds me of that memory form material although I know it has some kind of liquid inside.

...So now I have to tell you a story! . . . Once upon a time on a Sunday morning at church, after my mom had finished playing the piano, she quickly walked the side aisle to the back of the sanctuary and out the door. This was unusual behavior for her because she usually sat up near the front.  After church I asked her what had happened to make her hurry out so quickly.  She said she had sprung a leak! (She went home to take care of things and came back before the end of service.) . . . I guess the lesson I can learn is to watch out for leaks and also it wouldn't hurt to be on guard for sharp objects! . . Oh, and animals!  (That's what the lady who helped me said.)  . . . That reminds me of a story about a cat I had and a waterbed, . . . but that is a story for another time!...

Health Update --
OK, so Tuesday I went to Dr Gulbrandson and  he once again drained (aspirated) my surgical site.  There's not much to drain anymore (20cc).  I'll see him in a month and that will probably be the last visit to him.  He wants to make sure I am under the care of the oncologists before he cuts me off completely....which brings up my visit today.

Scott and I went to an information meeting at my oncologist's office this morning.  We spent over an hour talking to the nurse, Kristie, about things related to chemo--the meds, the kind of chemo, the side effects, the blood work, etc.  Then she showed us the location of the chemo room and lab. Scott felt bad when it was all over.  I felt good. He thought there should be meds prescribed for the husband too.

Some take aways--
Remember to wash my hands frequently to keep from getting sick.
Stay away from people who have colds or the flu.
Be concerned if I get a fever over 100.4.

Two weeks from today I start my first chemotherapy session.

As stated above, I put up pictures of my prosthesis below.  Scroll down to view.

Chemo Around the Corner

I received a callback from the oncologist's office two days ago, on Wednesday.  A week prior, I had called her office to let her know
that I decided to go ahead with the chemo treatment along with the hormone therapy.  I'm not looking forward to it, but I knew it was coming.

For weeks now, I have tried not to think about the chemo phase of my treatment.  After my surgery, about 9 weeks ago, I basically was relieved, glad it was over and was at peace about the decision I had made to have the mastectomy over breast conservation (a partial removal of my breast).

I think I have healed well.  I have a very good range of movement with my arm.  There is a 4-6 inch patch on the side of my body under my arm, and  around to where my breast isn't (joke!), that is numb. I thought the feeling might come back, but my doctor said it would always be numb there.  I suppose that is a good thing since included in that area is where the doctor still sticks me with a big ol needle and syringe to pull out fluid that collects from my surgery site.  Last week when I had it drained, the doc said to come back in two weeks instead of one, so I think less fluid is accumulating and further shows I am healing.

The area on the backside of my upper arm that felt raw and was sensitive to touch for the first several weeks after surgery is pretty much back to normal now.

Overall, I feel good, except that I do feel tired, but I think I've felt tired for a while.  Since my cancer diagnosis, I wonder if that is the cause or it's just part of getting older.  I probably will never know for sure.

Even though I was expecting the callback, when the oncologist's assistant started going over all the things on the phone, it was a
bit overwhelming especially when she got to the part about the prescriptions she would be calling in. I asked her what the name
of it was and she started rattling off all these names of 4 different medicines. At that point I didn't bother to write them down.

We finished that conversation and she called me back later to verify some dates.

This is my schedule for my 4 rounds of chemo and info meeting:
May 24 - Information meeting about chemo
June 07 - Chemo
June 28 - Chemo
Aug.19 - Chemo
July  09 - Chemo

In addition, there will be blood work done the day before each session, and maybe other things that I don't know about now.

At the beginning of this cancer saga, even the possibility of chemo was something that was going to happen sometime in the future. Now that I have the actual dates of my treatment written down, it's in my face!

I know I can do this.  I know I can with God's help.  I know many people now who have/had cancer and are/were a lot worse off than me.  With chemo just around the corner, I remember my grandma's words of wisdom, "God will pull you through if you can stand the pull!" Thanks grandma!  Good Advice!

Mother's Day

I love being a mom!  Before I had children, I couldn't imagine having 3 boys.  I grew up in a family of 5 girls.  I knew about girls.  I didn't know anything about having baby boys, but God knew what he was doing.  He has blessed me with young men that I can be proud of. He made it easy for me to love them.  I am the queen of my castle!

I wonder if I'll ever miss the question, "Mom, what's for dinner?"  Or Mom, do you know where my (fill in the blank) is? . . Well, that day isn't here yet, but I don't mind the job entrusted to me . . . And when a son is looking for a lost video game or a misplaced paper or their own wallet, it makes me feel like I have super powers when I go right over to it, pick it up and say, "Is this what you're looking for?"  As Scott said recently, "It's not lost until mom can't find it."

Psalm 127:3

Sons are a heritage from the LORD,
children a reward from him.

Happy Mother's Day!

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