Our holiday started when Charlie arrived from Washington D.C. on December 22.  He was tired because he'd had a two day run-around with the airlines.  I'm certain U S Airways will not be on his favorites list from now on.  Instead he was able to fly Southwest a day later than planned but without Arden, our grand dog.  We were all disappointed she couldn't be here but glad Charlie made it after four tries.

Charlie was still on Eastern time so he was up early Tuesday morning and he and I went to the fitness center.  He was doing weight training and machines and I did a Total Body class.  I left class a few minutes early because Don had a follow up appointment with his surgeon.  He received the okay to drive the car, 2 more weeks till he can play golf and keep the lifting of objects to a minimum.  It's funny how the pain subsided a few days before the doctor's appointment.  They must know the timeline on that.

Dennis arrived on Christmas Eve morning or as that day is known in my family-- Mariamas Day--my birthday.  I was already cooking for our family meal that afternoon when Gary, Diane, Sophie and Ben would be arriving to celebrate reaching one of my goals--to turn 65 and be on Medicare.  So far it's been great although I haven't tested the Medicare yet.  One of my best friends is turning 70 and that's my new goal.

The grand kids were confused about the presents and were surprised that Grandma was opening all the presents this time and they had to wait for Santa to make his rounds.  They did enjoy the cake and Sophie led the Happy Birthday song.  There were no candles on the cake because we didn't want to start a house fire.

Today is Christmas Day and we're going to Gary and Diane's house for Christmas brunch.  They'll follow that with a well deserved long nap as soon as Don, Dennis, Charlie, Beau and I go back home and to have our Christmas Dinner.

This will be an extended visit with both our out of state sons.  Dennis will be here for a week and Charlie for 2 weeks.  I'm sure we'll make every minute count.

I hope your holidays are filled with the warmth and love of family.

My Birthday Party Hosted by Wendy

Our group was missing two of our buddies. Catherine was back in Ireland and Mary was unable to attend because of a prior commitment. Both sent their best wishes and gifts with one of the other buddies.

We broke bread together and shared a lot of information and since we all have a different specialty that's very helpful. Also there were a lot of presents going back and forth. It's amazing how well my Fitness Buddies know what I need. I received a 'crop A dile' from Pat and that was just what I needed for my card making. I'll be using my gift certificates at Trader Joe's to keep those healthy foods in our house. The buddies know how much I enjoy cooking and there was a gift certificate for Williams Sonoma. There's lots more but I think you get the idea.

Wendy made all my favorites: lentil soup, bread, veggies and had a luscious apple dessert that I couldn't eat (cancer loves sugar). I turned 65 and I'm so proud of that accomplishment. There are a lot of people who helped me get here including the friends and family who read my blog.

D-Day for Don

Today Don had his hernia surgery. We arrived at the hospital at 9:30 a.m. and his surgery started at 11:30 a.m. He must have been in the recovery room for a long time, probably trying to finish that dream where 10 Viking maidens cater to his every whim, because his doctor came out to talk to me 45 minutes after the surgery started and Don didn't leave the recovery room till nearly 2 p.m. Once he was settled in post recovery the nurse brought me to sit with him. They were monitoring his vital signs and giving him liquids.

By the time we left the hospital we had been there 5 hours--easy for me, but more taxing for him. I sat in a chair for 5 hours and realized how much I missed my exercise classes all this week. I was chilled all day long and time dragged. Don was great getting in and out of the car and has been icing the area since we arrived home.

His first request was for a McDonald's Big Mac since he hadn't eaten anything since supper last night. The nurse shook his head at his request, but he talked about it all the way home. Instead he had toast, soup and ice cream.

He'll see the doctor in 3 weeks and has already been told he can't lift anything more than 15 lbs nor play golf for 4 weeks. How will he survive that? I hope there are a lot of great old movies on television. I don't know if he'll feel as well tomorrow, but we did get his pain pill prescription filled just in case.

You've Been Very Patient

It's been quite a while since I posted on the blog mostly because there was nothing going on. My next appointments with the Oncologist and Radiation doctors is in January.   I'm basically doing my exercise classes every day, Mah Jongg once a week, golf once or twice a week, and the rest of the time getting ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas.   

Charlie, his dog Arden, and Dennis arrived in Phoenix on Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Charlie and Beau came over to have dinner with us and Don left after dinner to pick up Dennis at the airport.  It was fun to have all the guys and my grand dog staying with us.

Thanksgiving morning I made Dennis' favorite stuffing, stuffed the bird and put it in the oven by 7 a.m.  The houseguests didn't wake up early this being a vacation day for them, but by the time they did I had made crepes, Belgian waffles, bacon and sausage.

Terry Ann and John, now from Tucson, arrived a few hours later and we were able to catch up with them.  Terry Ann and I lived across the street from each from the time I was 10.  I spent as much time at her house as she spent at mine.  Gary, Diane, Sophie and Ben arrived a little while later and soon we were eating.  The cooking lasted 3 days, the eating lasted 25 minutes. Somehow that seems out of synch.  Of course there are leftovers in the freezer and we'll be eating them soon.  It was one of the best Thanksgivings ever because we had so much to be thankful for.

Terry Ann and John had a long ride back to Tucson so they were the first to leave.  Next to go were Charlie, Beau, and our grand dog, Arden, for Phoenix.   

Dennis slept in Friday morning for a change and he and I went to lunch with half of the Fitness Buddies.  We had great laughs and good food at the restaurant in Corte Bella.  I had purchased a perfect picture wall this summer and Dennis helped me hang all the frames.  With his height he was the perfect person to hold up the perfect picture wall template.  It is the perfect thing for our office wall.

Dennis always volunteers to go to exercise classes with me and on Saturday we had two hours of classes.  He knows everyone there and they're always glad to see him.  Later we played golf with Don.  The following morning Dennis left on a 6 a.m. flight.  The weekend whizzed by like a rocket.

Don, Gary, Sophie, Ben and I picked up Charlie in Phoenix for lunch on Sunday and had a last visit with him before he left on Monday.

Now we're in Christmas mode:  trimming the tree, hanging the wreaths and putting the Christmas candles throughout the house.

 

 

Ben Celebrates 4th Birthday

We recently celebrated Ben's 4th birthday and since I had made Sophie a special card for her 6th birthday I thought I should do the same for Ben. I didn't feel I could wait till his 9th birthday which would be his golden birthday and that's 5 years away. I couldn't count on still being addicted to card making in 5 years. I'm sure by then some new creative juices will be flowing and I'll be involved in other things.









Gary encouraged me to take a photo of my "Countess of Monte Crisco" headgear which was used for the Radiation surgery thinking some of you might be interested in seeing it. My Radiation surgery was done a few days before Halloween and when Dr Smiley told me I could take the headgear home, my first reaction was that I could use it for "trick or treat" if I only had a chainsaw. It does remind me of photos of the Chainsaw movies.

This Didn't Make it on the Blog

I found out I was blocked from my former blog when I tried to post my Disneyland trip with Gary, Diane, Sophie and Ben the week of October 5th. Since then I needed to post the results of my PET and Brain MRI tests from October 1 and 2 and the Radiation surgery at the end of October. I had a follow up appointment with Dr Smiley this week. He asked me if I had any headaches, nausea or any symptoms following the Radiation surgery and I didn't so this became the shortest appointment ever.

Now I can post the Disneyland trip which was such a great time. When we arrived at registration, we were honored by being the Disneyland Magic Family of the Day. I received a bouquet of balloons, an upgrade on our rooms, autographed photo of the Mickey Mouse family, and a certificate. Our rooms were large and overlooked the Disneyland park. We were able to see the fireworks from our windows on the night of Miley Cyrus's Birthday Celebration.

The first two days went we to the park about 10 a.m. and stayed till late afternoon enjoying the rides and shows. The temperatures were in the high 90s so we didn't get any relief from the temperatures in Phoenix. The third day we waited till 1 p.m. and stayed till 8 p.m. and that worked out much better. It was cooler and the lines were shorter on all our favorite rides.

It was a wonderful trip and we all agreed it was the most fun and we have the photos to prove it. I was the photographer on these photos so I'm not in these pictures, I'm in Diane's photos.

The Countess of Monte Cristo

Yesterday I wore my head mask, was bolted onto the "slab" and rolled into the Tomotherapy machine. They were giving me such a large dose of radiation that the plan was to do it in 5 to 6 minute stages and they could confer with the Radiation Doctor, do a CT Scan after each treatment and align the machine with the tumor.

I couldn't move even when I was waiting for the next dose. The treatment lasted an hour. I had opportunities to have the head mask removed and take a break but felt it would be easier on me to just get it done.

As usual Nancy and Brad were very caring and considerate of my comfort during the test and told me everything before we started.

I met with Dr Smiley after the treatment and he said the tumor was inside the brain not on the outside and the size was 5 mm. With this tumor it would not have been possible to do surgery as it was too close to the motor strip, which controls my motor skills. If I should have another one in 6 months they will do the same treatment. If I have tumors in more than one area they will have to treat the entire brain.

As to side effects from the treatment, the only ones are headache and nausea and Dr Smiley wrote me a prescription for steroids to remedy that. The brain swelling could come any time within 18 months. And I thought waiting 9 months to have a baby was a long time.

This was another adventure in the Cancer Saga and even though I was apprehensive about the procedure, once I heard the entire plan it didn't seem as difficult as I feared. I had been dreading being in the machine for 45 minutes, but I misunderstood. They thought the procedure would take 45 minutes in all. I was glad they checked each CT Scan for the location of the tumor and making sure the Tomotherapy machine was aiming in the right place.

You've be in this for the long haul and I appreciate that I'm never alone to deal with these "frightful" procedures. Thanks for wearing your bracelets. Each time I see them they give me strength.

To Bring You Up To Date

The recent PET scan shows that my lung cancer continues to improve and they believe the only spots showing up are scar tissue from the radiation treatments.

The brain MRI scan shows a 4mm nodule (very small) of cancerous activity in the left pyramidal lobe (left side of the head toward the top).

As you probably know, chemo is not effective on brain cancer, so they recommend Stereotactic Radiosurgery. Bascially, this is surgery by radiation, where a single, intense dose of radiation is administered directly to the tumor site in the hopes of killing it with one shot. It's a painless procedure but it requires me to wear a mesh mask and be in the tomotherapy machine for a 45 minute treatment. Side effects are headaches and nausea, both treatable with medication.

The good news is that this is a very small tumor, it was caught early, and that my lung cancer treatment is going so well, they can confidently go after the tumor in the brain.

These results were not completely unexpected. The development of brain cancer is very common to lung cancer patients because it's one of the few places in the body cancer cells can hide from chemo. So the docs will get to work treating this one and monitor me regularly to see if any others pop up.

The appointment is Tuesday morning, October 28th. I haven't been told if there is any down time with this, but I assume there may be. Watch the blog and I'll post as soon as I'm up and around.

This is just the next step but we're getting closer all the time - so stay positive! :-)

Welcome to the New Blog

Sorry for the inconvenience but due to technical issues beyond our control I had to get a new blog address. Please update your bookmark as I will be posting here from now on. We really tried our best to keep the old one going, but when they removed the photos we knew they meant business. It's Google's world we just live in it. :-)