A little more than a week ago I heard the sobering news that a friend who is about a year ahead of me on this whole cancer-ing trip is experiencing a reoccurrence- with metastasis to lungs and liver. This time around it is about more than her breasts. She is so beloved by her wonderful family and intimate…
Category: breast cancer
Bali Ha’i
Bali Ha’i may call you, Any night, any day, In your heart, you’ll hear it call you: “Come away…Come away.” Bali Ha’i will whisper On the wind of the sea: “Here am I, your special island! Come to me, come to me!” Sometime in January I started to have hot flashes. Micro bursts of temperature…
On the other hand . . .
When I look down at my right hand, I see the progression of my treatments visually etched into my nails. Stripes mark the 3-week intervals. The discolored areas that separated from the nail bed, due to the toxins in the yew-based chemo, are now nearly grown out, while the pale stripes marking the Herceptin continue. I…
You say Placebo, and I say Nocebo.
pla·ce·bo (pləˈsēbō) a. A substance containing no medication and prescribed or given to reinforce a patient’s expectation to get well. b. An inactive substance or preparation used as a control in an experiment or test to determine the effectiveness of a medicinal drug. no·ce·bo (nəˈsēbō) A detrimental effect on health produced by psychological or psychosomatic…
Radiation
“There’s radiation on my windshield Paranoia in my mind and my heart is weighted down with the mistakes of my own kind.” Joanne Rand Back a few weeks ago when I was declared to be at stage 0, I decided to forgo radiation treatments. On Friday morning I received an upsetting call from the Radiation…
The Cure for Cowbirds
Yesterday on my walk with Joe, we saw one of the little yellow warblers flitting amongst the branches of a blooming scotch broom. They are so beautiful, with a quick cheerfulness and a loopy small-bird flight pattern – as if they are always skipping or dancing. We also happened upon a courtship routine of a few brown-headed…
On being a modified radical.
By many accounts I was a radical before any of this cancer-ing journey began – starting a worker cooperative is enough for that title. Plus I believe in lots of “radical” notions, like universal health care, environmental stewardship, self education and homebirth. I believe in a loving creative god, the consciousness of the entire universe, which doesn’t smite…
Amazing Grace.
Today we traveled into Portland to have my post surgery follow up appointment with Dr. de LaMelena, and to have my drains removed. I got some news that makes my heart sing. The pathology report shows a Pathologically Complete Response. – which means they could find NO cancer-ing cells – in neither my removed breast tissue nor the…
Released from the hospital.
I am recovering nicely from the surgery, we had excellent care while there. The benefits of the paravertabral block include less pain post surgery- which means I have been comfortable. I was released today to go home with my family. Dr. De la Melena suggested we stay in Portland tonight so we are at my…
All is well!
Kathleen and I just talked with Dr. DelaMelena: surgery is complete, and Iris flew through smoothly. We’ll go meet her in an hour or so, after they’ve eased her back out of anesthesia. There’s a man sharing the waiting room with us who looks remarkably like Iris’s father, fedora, mustache, and all. A reassuring proxy…
Surgery day
Surgery day is in progress. We’re off to a positive start, with smiling, friendly helpers at every turn. I’ll post an update as soon as I know more. – Joe
Hell Yeah or No
Here is a bit of a modern proverb on how to negotiate our too busy lives by Derek Sivers, founder of CD Baby!. It is only 1 minute long and definitely worth watching if you ever find yourself saying Yes to more than you can fit on your plate. http://vimeo.com/25496723 Since my diagnosis many people have offered…
Riding the Pooka 