Entries 103
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Right to Know
(Also posted on my Cancer Survivors Network blog.) As I’ve written here before, I request CDs of my mammogram and other medical images and have done so since 2014, the year I was diagnosed with b...
We're Fine! (Hurricane Irma)
Power came back on today; we’d spent 3-1/2 days without. We were well-prepared, so no problem. In fact, the timing was perfect: we had just about used up our perishable food (with plenty of non...
Theory Versus Practice
As the saying goes, “No news is good news,” which is why I haven’t written here for a while. I still have good news, but it took some twists and turns and more than a bit of nervousness to get t...
Tooth or Consequences
A recent thread on the WhatNext.com forums asked if any of us had experienced problems with our teeth during or after cancer treatment. The answers give a tour of dental “collateral damage.” Aft...
Back in the Blog Saddle
I last blogged here about four months ago. Enough was going on – including the death of a dear friend whom I’d known for 40+ years and the various issues that preceded his passing – that I opted...
Shh! Be Wewy, wewy qwiet…
My partner has a saying: “When in doubt, overdo it.” Over the past few years, she has slowly been backing away from that habit. As someone with MS, it’s hard on her. As her caregiver, it’s har...
On Circumstances
April 13 will mark three months that I’ve been on Xarelto. My GP tells me that I can stop taking the blood thinner at that time. Then, some months after that, we can do another follow-up ultras...
Unblocking
I had my follow-up ultrasound on March 18 for my port-related blood clot. The upshot: My subclavian vein is still partially blocked, but it is well on its way to being fully open again. From my...
Meditations and Explorations
Insurance rep: Why did you pay [the hospital]? Me: Well, when you’re flat on your back in an ER triage bed with a blood clot that could kill you, and someone from the hospital is standing o...
If a Port Falls in the Forest, Is That a Data Point?
I will soon switch from taking 15 mg. of Xarelto twice/day to taking 20 mg. once/day. As I’ve written before, I am on blood thinner to treat the clot (deep vein thrombosis or DVT) caused by my c...
Variables
One of the advantages of posing the same question to different doctors on my medical team is that I get to peek through their respective lenses. (My lens is that of a layperson, so I present my ...
Six of One, and On the Third Hand...
Due to my port-associated blood clot, my medical oncology appointment was moved up from February 9 to January 22. I brought with me the documents I had downloaded from my hospital’s patient port...
New Normal Redux
In the days following my hospital discharge for a port-associated blood clot, I’ve added to my To Do list and have been checking off the tasks. Update my ICE (In Case of Emergency) documents. ...
That Was Quick (Go-Bag's Maiden Voyage)
Four days after I posted my entry on my ER Go-Bag, I had to use it. Or, as one of my nurses put it, “That’s spooky.” On Friday, two days after I posted the entry, I spotted a bruise-like skin di...
Go Bag/Thoughts on a Commercial
Happy New Year, everyone! 1. Go Bag Thanks to the need to reach a minimum purchase on a good sale to get free shipping last month, I ordered a decent-sized fanny pack. I have tasked that fanny ...
Lights
On Thursday night I grabbed my camera and tripod and took a jaunt around the neighborhood. We have a Christmas Full Moon coming up, but Christmas night is forecast to be cloudier than tonight. ...
Unite and Conquer
On Dec. 5 I celebrated my first full year after completing active treatment (lumpectomy/chemo/radiation) and the end of my first year on anastrazole (at least four more years to go). I still dea...
Resources
First, a quick update. My quarterly appointment with my oncologist went well. We agreed that as long as I can manage my carpal tunnel exacerbations, no changes need to be made. But if conditio...
Divergence
On Thursday, November 5, 2015, I was the same age to the day that my mother had been when she died. Heart disease and diabetes had killed her. My vitals there have been fine, thank goodness, bu...
Tidbits
I volunteered at two events on Oct. 10. “We Can” Weekend, a cancer education fair, was sponsored by my radiation center with major support from my cancer center. The event occurred in the morni...
Hand-Oy Coordination
I’ve already written that anastrazole has exacerbated my carpal tunnel syndrome by inflaming the surrounding joints and soft tissues (according to my oncologist). Last Friday, that exacerbation ...
Brief Creative Update
The entries for this year’s Sassy Cups are now in and posted online. As I wrote at the end of this post, I had been asked to design a bra for Citrus Aid. This marks Citrus Aid’s first time ente...
Diversions
My prior post included blank coloring sheets that I had drawn for my Creativity Heals group. I’ve now filled mine in: Large size Blank sheet (can be downloaded and printed) Large size...
Numbers Game
Back in March, my partner and I had walked into our hospital’s old satellite blood draw facility about a mile from home. She needed routine tests done. We were told then and there about the cha...
Changeling
At the beginning of last week I delivered a hefty pile of papers to my GP’s office. Whenever I have a test or procedure done I put her name down to receive the results, but that often doesn’t ha...
Book Description
Anything not covered in Caregiver Notes, Creative Life, and Health and Fitness Notes
