Surgery Tomorrow

   I got real nervous about my blood counts. and my doctor and I decided it was better to know ahead of time if I was OK for surgery.  Neither of us wanted to find out the day of the surgery that I wasn't ready. So, I went yesterday and had a quick test done and was thrilled to find out that my counts are way back up again.  That means I'm off to surgery tomorrow morning (June 15th).  This surgery is to remove the "expanders" and place in the "real" silicone boobs.  I've also asked him to do a little tweeking here and there so I will have more incision than originally planned.  I figure that if this is my final chance to make it like I want it, I should take advantage of the situation.

   It will be a "day" surgery.  Much less invasive that the first one that removed everything. That means I will be out of the hospital in the afternoon.  I will go to my sister-in-law's for at least the first 24 hours, then home to my house hopefully Saturday evening or at the latest on Sunday.  I figure that since I'm going to be sitting around doing nothing I may as well be doing it at my own place.  This time I plan to take the pain meds for as long as I need, so if you talk to me please don't hold me to anything that I say :).  

   Thanks to everyone for all the cards, flowers, emails, prayers, calls and visits.  Each and everyone is greatly loved and appreciated.

   I will try to post again as soon as possible next week.

Hugs

A Little Set Back

Went for my chemo appointment yesterday morning and my blood test showed that my white blood cells are too low for the treatment.   So, because of that and my surgery on the 15^th my next round of chemo has been put off until the 25^th of June.  This will give me plenty of time for the whites to get strong before the surgery.  They need to be in good shape to help the healing happen.  They know what they are doing so I have to just go along even if it messes up my summer even more.  Also, because of my reaction to the drugs they may decide to lessen my dosage.  That’s ok too.

I had already taken my first day of oral drugs at home so I felt ugly all day anyway,  I guess I now know that it’s the orals that make me “uncomfortable”.

So now I am looking forward to several more days of feeling better before the  surgery.  I’ve actually got a good start on a couple of fun art projects and made the final addition to my piece from the class I took in New Mexico in September.  Hope to get pictures tomorrow.  Also have a couple of quilts I’d like to quilted done before my surgery.  So that’s a little update.

Hugs and all to you all

Karen

Here we go again

   Another few weeks have passed and these have been good and bad.  I finished my second week of chemo feeling pretty lousy.  I was pretty tired but gave myself a chance to sleep alot.  I was also feeling a little bit nauseous every day but tried hard to get past that by eating little bits every hour or so. Oddly, I did lose some weight while doing that.  I saw my RN at the end of the two weeks  for a blood test and check up to make sure I was doing OK.  She encouraged me to take the nausea pills each day before I take the oral chemo pills.  I hadn't done that because I wasn't fond of the possible side effects, one being tiredness.  I was already pretty tired and didn't think I needed any more of that. Well, this round starting on Monday will find me taking the nausea pills.  I'm sure they will help and what the heck, I'm sleeping alot anyway.  Oddly enough, I was unable to eat anything green for most of the last month.  I'm just now getting back to being able to eat some vegetables.    
   I've spent lots of time during my "two weeks off"  getting projects ready so I have stuff to do while my useful time is limited, and also figuring out how to break them down into small periods of time. Hopefully I will function better during my next two weeks of treatment.  I do have some things that NEED to get done as well as some things I really want to do.
   I'm very happy to report that Jean and I actually got the vegetable garden planted as well as 6 tomato plants in the ground.  Now all I need to do is water, if it stops raining.  My friend Meghan came and worked in the back yard cleaning out flower beds and moving pots around so I have lots of "new" planting space.  Just need to decide what will work where.  

This is the view out my bedroom window when all the lilacs were blooming.

The bed below the fence is now cleaned out and I'm thinking of putting blue berries there.

Oh yeah - And I got my hair cut off

   So, I have one more day before my next round of chemo starts.  I'm not exactly looking forward to it, but I am looking forward to getting through the next few months and coming out on the other end with a clean slate.  

   My "exchange" surgery for the breast reconstruction is on June 15.  Hopefully I will be "up and running" by the following Monday. It is day surgery and should keep me down for just a day or so.  We'll see how that goes.

   Meanwhile, thank you for all your prayers, cards, calls, and e-mails.  It's what keeps me going!

Another beautiful sunny day in downtown Poulsbo.  I’ve been rising early and enjoying the early morning cool of the sun.  My yard is getting weeded and beautified by my wonderful Sister-in –law, Jean Ford, and I’ve actually done some myself.  I wish I could do more, but that’s another story and another day.

Sorry, once again, to be so long with my update, but I wanted to see how the first week of chemo went before I reported.  I had my first intravenous chemo on Monday, May 7^th.  The clinic visit takes a little less than 2 hours.  I see the doctor or nurse practitioner first, and they are very thorough.  Each visit they will check my blood cells before I am treated and also discuss any possible side effects I may be having.  By the way, the clinic is less than a mile from my house, and I am able to drive myself.  Yes – I can drive.  After the doctor visit I go to the treatment room. It is a large room with many nice lounge chairs.  I choose my chair and am immediately approached by the next available nurse.  After verifying my name and birthdate, an IV is put into my right arm.  First I am given a drip of steroids and an anti-nausea drug.  That takes about 20 minutes.  Then the nurse comes with two hypodermic syringes that fasten into the IV near the insertion point.  She administers these manually and that takes about 5 minutes.  These are the actual chemo drugs.  This is called a “push”.  Next I am given s drip or “push” of saline to be sure the drugs are sent into my blood stream.  So, the entire treatment takes about 45 minutes, but the actual chemo takes only 5 minutes.  Since I am there such a short time (compared to many others) I have just used my time there for napping.  Nothing much else I can do.

I have now had two IV treatments and will not go back until June 4^th.  My cycle is 28 days and the IVs are on the first and eighth days.  When I start the IV treatment I also start 14 days of oral drugs that I take at home with my breakfast.  This is the third drug in my CFM treatment.  After those 14 days I have 14 days of no drugs.

My side effects have been fairly minimal.  At first I had some constant nausea but I have fixed that by having a big breakfast with my pills and eating many small meals all day long.  I guess that is what we call grazing and it works great for me.  I’ve stocked my freezer with small Trader Joe’s frozen meals, so when I get hungry I just put something in the microwave.  I’ve also been pretty tired.  This also comes in waves.  I’ve just decided to give in to that and take naps as needed.  So if I’m talking to you and say I’m going to take a nap, it’s not because I don’t want to talk,  I just plain need a nap.  Good news is that during my 14 days off, the side effects should go away.  I will plan for that and those will be my days to get back to work at my quilting and bookmaking and sock dying fun.  Also, as I figure out how to deal with the chemo side effects I will be able to get more done.  I really miss my studio time.

The Plastic Surgery (Boob-Job) is coming along nicely.  I had my last fill last week and it is now starting to feel much better.  Those first few days are pretty uncomfortable.  This time I swear you could have bounced a quarter off my chest.  It feels like I’m wearing a way too tight bra but there’s no taking it off.  The other day my brother came to take me out to dinner.  When we were finished he said he had to get me home to get the truck parked back on my chest.  Funny, but true.  I am now scheduled for surgery on June 15^th.  This is a day surgery where my doctor will make a smaller incision to remove the temporary expanders and replace them with the “real” thing – the permanent silicone ones.  Permanent actually means temporary also as they will last for 10 – 15 years.  Then I will make a decision to have them replace or just removed.  Will I really care when I’m 75 years old??  A few weeks after the exchange surgery I will have a couple of office visits where the doctor will do a little cosmetic surgery and his nurse will do some tattooing.  (no detail needed here)  This will finish off the plastic surgery phase of my adventure.  Anyway, I’m looking forward to this “final” phase of the reconstruction.  By mid July I should be feeling pretty good and able to start my summer commitments beginning with Royal Family Kid’s Camp.  I’m praying that my white-blood cells hold up for that.  So far, so good.

So, there is your update.  Just know that I am doing great and am reminded regularly how blessed I am that this isn’t worse and that we caught it in time to make it right.  The other great thing is that it is happening during the most beautiful time of year in the Northwest. If I have to feel lousy sometimes, at least I’m feeling lousy when the sun is shining and everything is in bloom. 

Life is good and this event has certainly changed my outlook on life.  My priorities have changed and I have less thought about the little things that just don’t matter. 

Once again, thank you all so much for your kind words and prayers, phone calls and cards and e-mails.  Each one means so much to me and it is what will get me through this with joy and grace.  I wish I could answer each and every one.

May Update


Since my last update, I have had two "fills" on my reconstruction, both of which were/are uncomfortable, a couple of spots being more tender.  This pain has caused me to be somewhat cranky and tired also.  The constant discomfort is very energy sapping.  However, I have reached my desired size and will have one more fill "for good measure" before my exchange surgery on June 8th.  At that time the plastic surgeon will remove the temporary "expanders" and place the final silicone fillers.  This will be a day surgery at Harrison Hospital.  I will come home the that afternoon.  After that, there a couple of little "cosmetic" procedures in his office which will complete the process.  It has made me very happy to be able to see the end of this part of my treatment.


Yesterday I saw my oncologist for the results on the "recurrence" testing that was done on my tissue.  They have studied hundreds of women and come up with a matrix comparing tissue, type of cancer, age, and several other pieces of information and are able to draw together a score that predicts the likelihood of recurrence.  We were very certain my score would be very low and fall into the "very unlikely" range.  However, fates being what they are and God's plan usually being different than my own, my score came in in the middle zone, a 22 out of fifty.  This is not terribly bad, but because of the type of cancer I have (hard to detect) and the possibility of it lodging in places that would be untreatable (lung or stomach lining), I have opted to 6 months of chemotherapy.  The chemo will be fairly light and will take place right here in Poulsbo.  The side effects will be minimal (comparatively speaking) and will NOT include hair loss.  I will have IV's two Mondays then have the next two weeks off.  During the weeks of the IV's I will also take pills.  The IV's include two drugs and the oral being one drug.  My first week will be next week starting on May 7th.


I was delighted to come home after the scheduling to discover that the treatments will not fall on the Mondays I am scheduled to be away at Fiddle Camps.  This is a real up side to this adventure.  Also, my treatments will be over in September.  This means I will have loads of sunshine and fresh air to enjoy, even if I am not feeling so great.


I can't tell you how much your calls, e-mails and cards mean to me.  The love I am feeling from all around is what sustains me daily.  I covet your prayers and good thoughts.  
     
Special thanks to my sister-in-law, Jean, who has been my driver, interpreter, dog keeper and constant companion during this past month.  I refer to her as my "Handler".  I could not do this alone.

Breast Cancer

So then, I guess it's time to get back to posting my life and times. I have cut and pasted from my e-mails to get this caught up.

I had a weird feeling in my left breast between Christmas and New Years. I went to my doctor and she sent me for a mammogram and an ultrasound. Nothing was found. However, unsatisfied with that she sent me to a breast specialist, Dr Sheila Lally. Dr Lally was not happy with how things were looking and acting and sent me for a MRI. Still nothing was found. She still wasn't satisfied and had me have a needle biopsy. By this time I was certain there was nothing going on but my imagination. However, thanks to Dr Lally's persistence, the biopsy found cancer in the form of a Lobular Carcinoma. This is not a common diagnosis and is pretty much a definite precursor to full blown breast cancer. The decision was made to do a bilateral (both sides) mastectomy with reconstruction. Both sides because, although the right side was tested clean, this cancer tends to mirror itself. Following are the e-mail updates........................

Monday April 2nd

I have just returned from 6 wonderful days with my friends from New Mexico, Colorado and Texas. We were in Port Townsend for Artfest where we took classes and played and visited. It was a great vacation away from all the stress of gearing up for my surgery.

So, the surgery is scheduled for Friday the 6^th of April. Just a few days away. I will be at Harrison Hospital in Bremerton at 7:30 in the morning. I will have dye injected so that the doctor can see my lymph nodes. Then my surgery will start at noon and should take about 6 hours. Afterwards I will spend the night and hopefully be released on Saturday. My release will depend on how the surgery went and on pain control. When I am released I will go to my sister-in-law Jean’s house until I am able to have the drainage tubes removed. This will take about 6-10 days. My follow-up will be on Thursday, April 12^th and I am hoping the tubes will come out then. Meanwhile, Jean is fully vested in taking care of me at her house.

Please, feel free to call us anytime after Saturday 360-779-5257. One of us will try to answer. If we don’t, I will try to get back to you when I am able. If you’d like to visit, please call and we will let you know when is a good time.

I won’t be able to send out another e-mail until I am back at my house.

Sunday April 15

I’m happy to report that I a finally home at my house. The surgery was on the 6^th and my doctor released me on the morning of the 7^th. This is a good thing as we quickly discovered there is no rest in the hospital. Jean (sister-in-law) stayed with me and neither of us got a wink of sleep. Even if you fall asleep you are woken in a few minutes so they can get your name and date of birth and take your blood pressure. Guess they think you may forget who you are. Anyway, Jean took me to her house and nursed me back to being able to take care of myself. Yesterday I came home to my house and it feels great. All my stuff is here and I can play all day.

On Thursday, my doctor removed the drainage tube on the right side, but the left is still there and I have to take care of that. Not a big deal. I still have lots of pain and I really have to pay attention to what I am doing. Especially, no lifting. I quit the pain meds several days ago and am only taking Aleeve. It works well. I’m wearing compression “gear” and that is a challenge. I’m just figuring out how to keep it from slipping. Also, it is difficult to pick stuff up off the floor. I have figured out how to put on my socks and am wearing only slip on shoes. Overall, I am doing quite well since it’s only been a week. My spirits are up and I feel like I’m on the mend.

The lab results did find a VERY small spot in one of my lymph nodes and I will meet with more doctors this coming week regarding this. So far I’m pretty sure that they will do nothing until I’m healed from this major surgery. Then, it will likely be just a short round of radiation. I’m only speculating.

I can’t tell you how overwhelmed I’ve been by the love and care I’ve received from so many of you. So many cards, e-mails, calls, visits, flowers it’s overwhelming.. I wish I could get back to each of you, and I will try.

So here I am, and please don’t hesitate to call. I will be sleeping a lot, so do leave a message and I will return your call when I can. Just know that I am doing fine and also that I have a long healing road ahead.

So, this is where I stand now. I am grateful for a persistent doctor whom I have grown to love as a friend and trusted advisor. And I am grateful for friends and family, especially my sister-in-law Jean, for the daily love and care taking. Without this my journey could not be done.

My plans are simple. Because I have two months with no real responsibility but healing, I plan to use this time to read, relax and do art. I also have a quilting project that is simple sewing and will finish that in time to make my first quilting machine project when I can do that work again. Also at the top of my list is continuing to paint with my Flora Bowley internet class and work on getting my Etsy sight up and running with Hand Dyed Socks and Hand Made Journals. I feel this time is a gift and that I am responsible to use it wisely. My plan also includes keeping this Blog up-to-date.

Here is to Hope and Healing.

Almost Christmas

It's one week early and my family is celebrating Christmas today. I will have 18 for prime rib. The good news is that it is a BEAUTIFUL day. My walk this morning was wonderful, the views spectacular. I rarely take my camera, but today I couldn't resist.