Here comes the Sun!

I have had a few people ask me if I have stopped blogging and I guess I have for awhile and the reason being I have been enjoying being "normal" again for awhile anyway.  I am feeling much better and am loving the sunshine- although it is still way too cold for me!!!!  Last chemo session went as expected and so relieved that it is over!  Really, words can't express how much better I feel knowing that it is behind me.  I have started going out more and the best was going to watch my daughter play in a tournament this weekend.  I was welcomed so warmly by all the parents and it was felt so good to sit on the benches and watch her tear up that basketball court! I also went prom dress shopping and looking at Jenna with these dresses on made me cry- I realized how much I missed out on and how good it feels to be able to do these things with them again without feeling yucky or so tired.  So for the next few weeks I will enjoy myself and celebrate that I have fought hard to overcome one more part of this journey.
I go to see Dr. Basrur tomorrow.  He is my radiation oncologist and I met him once before.  A wonderful man! I go and talk to him about our plan for the next part of treatment.  In preparation for radiation I will have a cat scan to determine and chart out where  the radiation will focus and then I get tattoed.  Yep, I get permanently tattoed with little dots outlining the area that they will be radiating!  I am nervous but not as nervous as I was with chemo.  I also go back to see Dr. Campbell in a few weeks and that is when I go on Tamoxifen.  It is an estrogen blocker drug.  I will be on it for the next 5 years.   I will have more information on that as well when I go back to see her.
I am doing well right now and I can't wait to get outside and get my hands in the dirt.  I have so many plans for the backyard- poor Rick, he hates yard work but this is the season that we do everything we have put off doing for so long- at least that is my plan!  Would love some more flower gardens in the back! But first we need to get rid of all the snow!
Take care everyone, will keep you updated as soon as I have more info to share. 

LAST ONE GOOD TO GO!

Hello
I know its been awhile but I really had no news to share- spent the past week catching up with some friends that I haven't seen in a long time and it was so nice, even if it was only for a short little bit.  We even went to out friend's house last night and I can't remember the last time Rick and I went out with friends. Thanks for hosting Maryanna and Tim!  My brother's Joe and Frank popped in for a bit on Sunday- Frank and Anne had just returned from Las Vegas and stopped at Joe's house and they came out for a visit.  It was great seeing them again, even if only for a quick visit!
Today is a very important day- Happy Birthday to my mom and to my niece Lola and to Tim!!!! I wish all of them the best and I am really hoping to get to Sudbury soon so I can give my mom a big hug and kiss in person!
So today I went to the hospital for my usual pre chemo blood work and follow up with my oncologist.  She is away enjoying the March Break so I met Dr. Callifaretti, who is another oncologist and just as great!  I am good to go for chemo tomorrow and it is my last round! I am so glad that it's a go and I am anxious to have this week over with so I can begin to heal and start some normalcy in my life again.  She extended my anti nausea drugs for an extra 2 days and I am keeping my fingers crossed that that will do the trick and lessen the effects of the impending weekend.  With each round it seems that Friday, Saturday and Sunday are by far the worst days but it starts and lasts a little bit longer each time.  She also put me back on the medicine for the mouth infection- that just won't go away- so frustrating!!!!!! In 3 weeks I can start taking probiotics again and I know that will help but for now I suck it up and take drugs that just hold it off- but they give me a wicked sore stomach and make the insides of my mouth feel like sandpaper! I had some questions for her about radiation- I guess in 2 weeks I will get a call from the radiation oncologist for my initial appt and then I start 2 weeks after that.  I will be going 5 days a week for 5 weeks.  I also asked some other questions- I still can't have a pedicure- not for another 6 weeks- my poor feet have really taken a beating ! Still can't go to the dentist- but I can go in the hot tub as long as it is clean and santitary- no worries there, it has been waiting for me all winter long- so Rick has 2 weeks to get that tub up and ready and then I am JUMPING IN!!!  I also will be following up with Dr. Campbell in 4 weeks to start me on tamoxifen and will be on that every day for the next 5 years.  I also want to talk to her about getting some tests done and meeting with a geneticist- anything we can do to reduce the chances of recurrence!
When I went to get the dreaded steroids and other necessary drugs from the pharmacy the other day the pharmacist congratulated me and had a huge smile on her face! I am nervous because you just never know how the meds affect you from one session to the next but in the same sense I am relieved because I can keep telling myself "I am done, I am done"- I hope that will help- the other times I just couldn't see myself going through it again but this time it's different, right?  But I did it and I am very proud of myself.  One woman at the gym who just finished her radiation told me to take pictures and then she said she wished she had her first time around (she was first diagnosed 2 years ago and rediagnosed this past summer) but she made sure to do it this time because we should be very proud of ourselves and that we are very brave and courageous! 
Saw my cancer posse friend Sue at the gym and she looks great!!! Congrats on finishing your radiation Sue and you look beautiful- give me a week and we are definitely getting together!
Well, gotta go- our van broke down yesterday and it is ready for pick up so I have to go get it.  $400.00 and it isn't finished yet- wonder if its worth keeping it on the road- its for Jenna but it is starting to cost us a small fortune!
Ciao!

A Visit

I can't believe how quickly this week has flown.  I am very happy about that because even though I am enjoying feeling good and getting out for lots of walks and fresh air and sunshine, I am ready to have my last chemo session on the 16th and the sooner it gets here the sooner the recovery starts and finishes!
Yesterday, my sister in law that lives in North Bay popped in on her way home from a conference in London.  I haven't seen Anne since the summer and it was so nice to have some chat time with her.  Anne is by far the best baker ever!  Her butter tarts are unbelievably delicious- we all fight for them when she brings them to special occasions and they are gone in seconds!  Her pies are scrumptious.  But the piece de resistance- her one thing that she can make like no other?  She makes this Finnish sweet bread called "bulah bread" (I am sure I spelled it wrong but that's how you pronounce it) and we all wait in anticipation to see if Anne brings this incredible, sweet, buttery and creamy bread to our gatherings!  It really is like Christmas.  Well, secretly I hoped that Anne would have some bread with her, but I didn't ask for any because I know how much work it is to make- and that would be rude!  So after giving her a big hug she pulls out of her bag not one loaf but 2!!!!! And 2 huge bags of her cinammon buns too!  Yippee, I was literally dancing in the kitchen!!! Of course, one whole bag of buns are already gone- I am not the only one in my family that loves them!!! So I told everyone to keep their hands off of the bread- I played the cancer card- selfish isn't it??? I don't care, I love it that much.  Well, I might share it a little with them.
I had a great time with Anne, getting caught up on life in North Bay.  Her and my brother became empty nesters this year as their last boy went away to University and they seem to be enjoying it.  They are on their way to Las Vegas as I write this for a week.  She tells me they aren't the gambling kind and will spend most of their time touring the nature attractions- hmmmmm.....
Thanks for popping by Anne, it was great seeing you again!!!
Other than that, not much going on over here.  The weather is starting to get a bit warmer but still too cold for me.  I am getting Spring Fever like crazy.  There is a garden show in Stratford this weekend and it think it might be nice to go spend some time looking at flowers and gardens and outdoor stuff- can't wait to get my hands in the dirt again!
Ciao for now!