It's been a year!

WOW! It has been since April that I have blogged and  updated you on my health and well being.   I guess that means I have been busy and unconcerned.   This is a good thing.   From April to the end of June I was busy getting ready for a great camp week at Oregon Camp Cedarbrook.    That turned out to be a very intense and successful week.  God was very present and touch many lives.  I was able to keep up with the pace as Director.   I praise God for that! With out Him I can do nothing.   

I was also busy doing major cleaning in our historic barn, going to a barn conference, and preparing for weddings which we hosted.  All in all I was and am busy.

As for my health and well being.  I have continued to gain strength and stamina.  The only difficulties I have are additional aches and pains.   The estrogen suppressing drug I am taking (Arimidex) has many side effects: hot flashes, sleeplessness, depression  and bone pain to name a few.  The bone pain is/was definitely the most problematic for me this summer.  It hurt  to move after being in one place for any length of time.  Once I got moving it wasn't too bad.  My feet, knees, hands, shoulders, elbows, back... you get the idea.  I have to admit I wanted to just quit taking it.  Preston was not in support of that idea.  So I have kept at it.  

At my last follow up appt. with the Oncologist, Dr. Quackenbush all of my lab work came back really good.  There is no residual chemo and everything looks right.  I have had a mammogram, and haven't received any calls to come do more.  No news is very good news! 

Dr. Q  told me that if I hung in there till the first of the year it might get less painful.  If I exercised for 45 min. 6 days a week at 80% heart rate the pain would decrease.  So I have determined that I will give it till January 1st and I will do my best to exercise as advised.  Then I will decide if I can go for another 4 years of this.    I can say this, I am feeling better, which I attribute  to the increased exercise.

 

It has been over a year since my first Chemotherapy treatment.  It has been a year since I have used my hair dryer.  I decided  used it today to see what the results would be. It isn't the hair I had last summer, but I am enjoying it.  The curls are a fun new thing I am playing with and learning how to manage.  Coleen, my hairdresser, warned me that the curl will probably end quickly and abruptly.  Much to our surprise it has stayed around through 3 haircuts.  I am due for another trim, but it still looks pretty darn good, don't you think.

This time last year you were helping me decide on which wig to buy.  I loved the one we decided on, but I think I like this better :)

So.... I am focusing forward -enjoying substitute teaching, yard work and being the mom of a senior in High School.

Thank you for all your prayers, love and support during the past 15 months!

Getting Stronger by inches

Our Spring vacation was a busy one this year.    Mine started with a trip to Walla Walla to visit my hairdresser for a hair cut.   I jokingly refer to it as a "few hairs cut".   Coleen shaped up the edges and trimmed the extra long white hair on top.  It is nice to have hair to cut, and to have it look more purposeful.   with a little gel to give it definition I have a new look.  My hair is a little different than it was before chemo.  It is a bit darker... so the gray shows more, and it has some curl to it.  Something I have never had in my life.    I have been told both will fade so I will enjoy it while it lasts.   The fun of this forced style change is that I will get to try all kinds of hair style as it is growing out and just might find a new look to keep along the way. 

 

Mom and Daughter Kendra

After my visit to see Coleen, I drove to Medford via Portland  to spend some time with my parents.  I hadn't seen them since my diagnosis.  It  was wonderful to visit with them and help them out for a few days.   I was able to go to church with them and personally thank all the wonderful people there who had  been praying for me. (I bet they still are :)

On Monday, I drove to Corvallis to pick up Preston and Daniel.  We headed to Seattle to catch our flight to Washington DC.  My main reason for going was to see Kendra and Tim (daughter & son-in-law) and see their "world" and meet their friends, coworkers and neighbors.    See their home, experience their life.  We  had a wonderful time.    On Wednesday - Saturday we saw lots of sights(Washington Monument, WWII Memorial, Smithsonians: Air & Space, Natural History(Gems and Minerals), Art & Portrait, Botanical Garden, Sculpture Garden, walked miles, visited "the kids" favorite haunts: restaurants, Eastern Market (like a very big Saturday Market.....    oh the list goes on and on.  Lots of fun, very tiring for me.  I usually had to sleep in during the mornings while the guys did something else. I just couldn't keep up with the pace.  I suppose that is to be expected.    We didn't do a good job at all of taking pictures until Kendra was with us on Saturday.  Here are some of my favorites.

 

Tim, Daniel, Kendra, Me, Preston 

on the balcony of the Newseum, with the Capitol Building in the background. 

   A major part of their life is Metro.  Here is Weston we don't have anything remotely like it.  I enjoyed learning the system, although Daniel would tell you I never did really get it.  We had some pretty good chuckles at our "country goes to city" bumbles.  I am really thankful for this system that allowed us to move throughout the city.   I am thankful for the escalators.  Some of them are astoundingly long.   We walked everywhere the Metro wouldn't take us.  

 

This is a hat I saw at Eastern Market, a few months ago I probably would have bought it.   But.... I have hair!

some cool wooden vases and buckets, I wanted to use one as a carry on 

There were lots of jewelry vendors ( my favorite).... and sooo much more!

   This is the owner of the place we ate breakfast, that became lunch at Eastern Market.  He was a hoot!  

All together it was a very fun and memorable trip.  

However, I came home absolutely exhausted, it took me a week to get back on my feet.  
I still need to be patient with  myself.

This weekend I  began weeding flowerbeds, my garden therapy: turning soil, conversing with God, listening to the birds, feeling the gentle breeze.  I don't think I will be up to the 8 hour days of that kind of work quite yet, but I am thankful for the strength to use a shovel and spade, to be able to dig in the dirt and pull weeds!  God is good.

Mamogram

I had a right side only mammogram today.  I have to admit I was NOT looking forward to it because it seemed to me that it might be more painful than it is normally.  It wasn't!  Praise be to God and thank you to the technician at Walla Walla Clinic!  She indicated that this was an after treatment baseline picture, and I would most likely have one in another two months and one another 2 months after that.

I got to see the pictures and compare them to the ones taken in May.  She said I was in amazing shape.  It wasn't as dense and hard as most patients.  Thank you to Andrea and Brenda at the St Mary's Hospital Physical Therapy for teaching me ways to help speed healing!  

Physical Therapy released me last week, a good mammogram... Now if I could just sleep through the night and have energy to get more done during the day.

I was able to do a little yard work on Saturday and Monday.  The weather was beautiful and the flowerbeds were needing some cleaning.  

If you want to pray for me... sleep is top... and then I need to get some things accomplished so pray that I am able to be organized and efficient with my time.

First "Haircut"

 

Today I had my first hair trim in 5 months. By that I mean  a quick, less than 2 minute shave, of the back of my neck  which was looking fuzzy.(Thank you Jackie Gentry!)   I am thankful that my hair has come in nicely even and pretty thick and have decided to wear my natural hair as long as it isn't too cold.  I am a bit disappointed because there doesn't seem to be any curl, but then, I won't have to learn any new hair skills. 

I continue to be challenged by  the recovery process.  I have expectations of being able to do everything I used to do: housework, exercise, office work, bible study,etc., but find that I run out of steam easily. I would appreciate your prayer for clarity of mind, understanding of my limitations and how much to push myself to regain strength. 

I have also learned that I need to be careful with the radiated part of my body.  Andrea, my physical therapist, told me that the radiation continues it's therapeutic "benefits" for about 3 months after the last treatment, and that I will be recovering from the damage for about a year.  I need to take it easy on that tissue - not over exercising it (causes lymphedema).  I  need to stretch out the right arm, which in turn stretches all the tissue on that side of my body, and keeps my range of motion a wide as possible.  The negative side effect of radiation causes the tissue to tighten down.  This causes range of motion to shrink  which increased the risk of lymphedema (swelling of the radiated area and my right arm).  I have a compression garment for my right arm that I am supposed to wear when I exercise and have learned a gentle massage to encourage the lymph system to drain more efficiently  which will take away the ordinary swelling that comes from exercise and life. I just need to be  attentive to my body and diligent in helping it along.

I was reminded today of Proverbs 3: 5 & 6.  "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path." 

I want to lean on God where my mind and strength are frustrating me.  I trust Him to bring to mind the things He wants me to accomplish and give me the strength and wisdom to accomplish it.  I trust Him with my daily life as well as my eternal life.  

 

Wow! It has been two weeks since my last radiation treatment. My, how time flies. I continue to feel better and stronger each day.  The skin in the radiated area has lost its redness and is not sensitive to the touch.  I am back to wearing my regular bras.    There is still tightness of deep tissue that needs to be gently massaged out.  This will be something  I will work for for weeks to come.

Last Monday I was able to clean my whole house, something I haven't done since October.  It felt wonderful to do be "back in the saddle"  I am back to exercising 3 times a week at Curves and walking on the in-between days.  I purchased a Walk at Home video (Leslie Sansone) and find it helpful on those days when going outside is just to cold or dangerous.  I am hopeful that exercising daily will keep the joint aches away.

So far the Arimidex has not caused me a great deal of negative side effects.  Dr. Quackenbush's nurse called last week to see how I was doing. In the course of that conversation I was able to ask about the effects on bone density and subsequently have a Dexascan scheduled for early next month.  This will give us a baseline to monitor my bones.  They also told me that I should be taking 1000 - 1500 mg of Calcium a day.  I am not sure what to think about that yet.  When I have taken Calcium before it causes my plumbing to slloooww way down.  the Arimidex has a side effect of constipation too. My question is; How and I going to deal with this for 5 years?     Surely there is some way to make this all work.

Good News:  more hair!    Preston says my hair  ranges between  1/8 & 1/2 in. long.   It looks like it might be a darker shade than my previous hair color, (that is... the hair that isn't white)   It is pretty much salt and pepper.

My eyebrows are filling back in and I have had to clean up the edges with tweezers.  Eyelashes are beginning to grow back as well.   Very exciting.

This week I am getting ready to be gone for a week to Hawaii. There are many loose ends to tie up and projects to finish, as well as pack for a week of SUMMER!   Preston and I are looking forward (with a little fear and trepidation) to a relaxing and FUN vacation (how is that done??)

Done...

I had my last radiation treatment today!  I will now need to adjust my thinking about my life and schedule.  No more daily trips to Walla Walla.  What SHALL I do with my time? 

We are headed to Haines, OR to hang out with our friends and family there.  Ben, Kendra & Tim  and Daniel will all be there, as well as Tim's family.  This will be a great way to celebrate schedule freedom!

I have put my name back in the hat for substitute teaching so that might fill my days a little in the new year.

I will continue to do physical therapy, to keep the radiated muscles from hardening and shrinking, on a once a week basis.  I can exercise moderately.. being careful to not damage compromised muscle tissue.

My skin is a bit red where they have been radiating but not bad at all.  There is no blistering or weeping.   In a couple of weeks that should all be pretty well healed up!

I begin taking Arimidex tomorrow and will continue for 5 years. This is an estrogen blocking drug that will prevent further estrogen fed cancers from developing.  There are many possible side effects of this drug.  Please pray that this drug works well for me... or that we are able to find another alternative if necessary.

Thank you for yours prayers!

Boost

Today radiation changed to "boost". That means they narrow the field radiation to just the area where the tumor was.  It will only be one 20 second treatment instead of the 5 from two angles.  This treatment is also from a new angle, more directly over the top of me rather than from the side. This will let all of the general area (under my arm..etc) heal up from "radiation response" and make the area they are hitting increasingly sore. The good news is I only have 9 boost treatments. I have three more this week, 4 next week and then 1 the following Monday and then I am DONE with radiation!! I am getting excited ! Dr. Nigrin said I could start back up with full Curves workouts now. Very good news as well!  Unfortunately I have gained a few pounds in the last few months. I am anxious to reverse that trend! Tomorrow I will go and start with weighing, measuring and retesting on all the machines.. get a fresh new start. I intend to get stronger and healthier every day! :)

This is what my head looked like last Friday,(12/11/09) when Lesta (my sister) was here visiting.  We had great time just hanging out, doing Christmas shopping, baking, tree decorating and of course going to treatments.  What a special time!

This is what I look like today (12/15/09)   There is hair there :)  I promise !

My hair is starting to grow again. I can feel more stubble on my head every day. At this point it is rather soft, fuzzy...kind of like new hair on a babies head. However, I sense that stronger hair is beginning to grow :) This morning I stepped outside to check the weather and could feel the wind blowing thru the short hair :) Perhaps I am dreaming..wishful thinking.   

I am thankful for the warm hats I have, (and my wig).   I have had a several of people make me great hats. I love these generous, comfortable and attractive head coverings! Here are just a couple examples of them!

I am constantly reminded how blessed I am with friends and family who love me, pray for me, and care for me in so many wonderful ways!  I have also been blessed by minimal negative symptoms, a direct result I believe for your many prayers.