Today was the kids’ first day back to school and my 3rd round of chemo. Far be it from me to give the kids all the glory. I am a giant thunder-stealer. Sorry kiddos! You’re going to school. That is normal. I am going to get poisoned back into health. That is extraordinary. I win….
Tag: #breastcancer
Inner Monologue Of A Cancer Patient
When people see me out in public I would imagine they think something like this: ‘Look at that bald woman with three kids. I bet she has cancer. How sad for her, but she looks pretty high functioning and she’s handling three kids alright at the deli counter so she’s probably okay.’ For the most part…
Call Me Maybe
I have a lot of appointments these days. Between follow-ups with my four active physicians (surgeon, primary doc, oncologist and plastic surgeon) and my physical therapy appointments for the damage to my right arm, I see someone at least three times a week. The hospital I am working with is very good. They have many…
Grape God Almighty
This post is about medicinal marijuana. A few disclaimers: I have a license from the State of Illinois to purchase and consume cannabis for medicinal purposes. I went to The University of Colorado at Boulder and was literally the only student out of 25,000 to not smoke weed. It just wasn’t my thing. I never…
Grace’s Ana-faux-my
Get it? Grey’s Anatomy? Graces’s Ana-faux-my? I am a wordsmith. A long time ago I alluded to telling you all, at some point, about the structural details of my mastectomy and reconstruction. That day has come, my friends. My right breast was so riddled with cancer and pre-cancer that I was not a candidate for…
Oddities
A lot of bizarre things come about when you are dealing with cancer. Here’s a lil list I’m compiling of said oddities: I had to switch sides of the bed. As a long time right-sider, switching to the left has been strange but needed to happen as my right arm remains compromised by cording and…
Treat Yo Self
A very wise friend of mine, who has also been through cancer, once told me that if possible I should try to do one special thing between each round of chemo. Four rounds, four special things. I enjoy special things. I will, in fact, heed this advice. Round 1’s special thing was staying downtown with…
Goldilocks & The Three Naps
Do you have a bed in your home? Do you ever leave your front door unlocked or perhaps a window ajar? If you have answered ‘yes’ to any of these questions, then you are at risk for finding me taking a nap in your house. You can call me No-ldilocks. This round of chemo was…
Loser Soup
This last round of chemo was tougher than the first. Not sure why. Could be the additive nature of more chemo. Could be we putzed with the intended schedule by pushing it back a week due to infection. Could be my body was less able to handle the onslaught due to the 2 infections I…
Doula-ing the Doula
I have been a birth doula for over 7 years. For those of you who are unfamiliar with what a doula does, allow me to give you the Cliff’s Notes version. A doula is a person who works side by side with a woman and her family as she navigates pregnancy, labor, delivery and the…
Genie in a Bottle
The fact that I blogged about cheese yesterday is hysterical. Since around 8pm last night, I have been MISERABLE. Cheese…? Those were the days. Worst aspects: leg pain. Constant and debilitating. At times I can barely walk from the bed to the bathroom without feeling like my trunks are going to buckle. The sensation is…
On Cheese And Other Things
Here we are, folks. Today begins the ‘this sucks so bad’ phase of chemo. Yesterday, the day after infusion, was doable, though exhausting. We took our daughter to the American Girl Place for her 6th birthday and she had a blast while I felt increasingly shittier by the minute. Here is a helpful tip: don’t…
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