Saturday, 11 August 2012
A Bit of a Change is Good
I felt that my original blog title, "Kate's Breast Cancer Awareness Blog," was a bit of a mouthful. When I set up my Twitter account, I came up with the tag "Kate Has Cancer" and thought that might make for a better blog title. Hope you agree.
Am I a Cancer Survivor?
I don't know, am I?
I'm not completely comfortable with the word. So many people seem to restrict the term to mean those who have completed cancer treatment and are in remission. I would love to live to the day where I can say "I have survived cancer." Pray that day comes.
As for today, I am surviving cancer.
Yes, I am a survivor.
I'm not completely comfortable with the word. So many people seem to restrict the term to mean those who have completed cancer treatment and are in remission. I would love to live to the day where I can say "I have survived cancer." Pray that day comes.
As for today, I am surviving cancer.
Yes, I am a survivor.
Monday, 23 July 2012
Openning Our Eyes about Metastatic Breast Cancer
I know I give you a monthly reminder to "check your boobs" and I frequently remind you to get regular mammograms. The truth is that self-examination and mammograms won't prevent breast cancer and they won't prevent cancer from returning or spreading. I keep up my reminders because they just might catch this damnable disease early. Truth is, I keep up my reminders because I'm still struggling with my guilt, my feeling that surely if I had been taking good care of myself I would have caught my cancer before it spread. I need to work on that. And you need the truth.
No one says it better than Ginny at the Metastatic Breast Cancer Network in this post from last month. You should read it.
And I guess I should let myself off the hook.
No one says it better than Ginny at the Metastatic Breast Cancer Network in this post from last month. You should read it.
And I guess I should let myself off the hook.
Friday, 20 July 2012
Check Your Boobs! July Reminder
OK folks, this is your July reminder to check your boobs for breast cancer. For more information on what you're looking for when you check, have a look at my June reminder or any of the following excellent sites:
Like it or not, October won't be the only month we think about breast cancer... if I have anything to say about it!
- from Susan G. Komen for the Cure
- from the National Breast Cancer Foundation Inc.
- from the American Cancer Society
- from BreastCancer.org
Like it or not, October won't be the only month we think about breast cancer... if I have anything to say about it!
Wednesday, 20 June 2012
Check Your Boobs! June Reminder
I know I've been on your case for six months to do monthly breast self-examinations, but I want to be honest with you, some breast cancer can't be found through self-examination. A friend of mine told me hers was found during a scan for something else. The lump was located in a spot where it couldn't be felt from the outside of the breast. This is why regular mammograms are important. Discuss with your doctor when you should begin these mammograms. It could be at fifty. It could be earlier, if you have a family history of breast cancer.
Another friend asked me what to look for when examining her breasts. You'll find more information at the links below, but here are some of the signs that bear further investigation with your doctor:
You might want to do the exam in the shower, and finish up in front of the mirror. Lying down may also help you examine yourself effectively. For more information on what your looking for, read the information from the American Cancer Society and National Breast Cancer Foundation below. The links take you directly to the information on self-examination.
Another friend asked me what to look for when examining her breasts. You'll find more information at the links below, but here are some of the signs that bear further investigation with your doctor:
- of course, any lump or area of "fullness" in the breast or in the underarm area.-- my tumour was a large one that, when first found, felt just like a benign fullness I had on the other breast five years before.
- any change in the size, shape or colour of the breast.
- a change in the skin on the breast or nipple, including puckering, or rashes.
- a change in the direction of the nipple.
- new nipple discharge.
- new pain that doesn't go away.
You might want to do the exam in the shower, and finish up in front of the mirror. Lying down may also help you examine yourself effectively. For more information on what your looking for, read the information from the American Cancer Society and National Breast Cancer Foundation below. The links take you directly to the information on self-examination.
Please consult the following excellent sites:
- from Susan G. Komen for the Cure
- from the National Breast Cancer Foundation Inc.
- from the American Cancer Society
- from BreastCancer.org
Thursday, 14 June 2012
"Don't Count Spots!" and Other Friendly Advice from my Oncologist
I saw my oncologist yesterday and he took the hammer out to get it through my head to stop worrying. And I have been worried. I have a lot of tumours in my liver and bones. Unlike some Stage IV women with a single spot here or there, mine are "numerous." The radiologists can't even count them all. And what if they move into my lungs or heart or brain? Dr. G said, "Don't count spots!" Stage IV is Stage IV as soon as there is one tumour outside the breasts or lymph nodes. There is no Stage IV and a half. No Stage V. It's Stage IV and the treatment is the same whether it's one spot or "numerous" ones. I need to relax...
He also clued me in to some more of the side-effects I've been suffering. My runny nose and constantly tearing eyes? Chemo. I thought it was my allergies but no... which means it's not going to stop anytime soon. I can try artificial tears, or if necessary, the doctor can give me steroid eye drops. And the swelling I feel on my back, near the latest fracture, is just swelling. That's common after radiation. By the way, my back is still "tanned" and itchy from the radiation I got in November. I had no idea it would last so long.
I asked my doctor if it was OK to try to lose some weight. He was ambiguous, to be honest. It sounds like it's not necessary for me to keep on extra weight as an insurance policy -- because if I stopped eating suddenly, he would treat it right away. On the other hand, women gain weight with breast cancer, and in truth I had lost weight since December, back when I was at the worst of the ankle and leg swelling. I think the bottom line is that I can do what I want. Next question is for me: do I want to work at losing weight? Hmm.
Next, the big question: could I have a drink? Because of my abnormal liver results and "numerous" tumours, I haven't had a drink since the early Fall. And some days I really would like one. Dr. G said "absolutely!" My liver results are now normal, despite the tumours. I can have one to two drinks a day if I want. That would be more than I need, but now that the sun is shining, I am thinking of sitting in the yard with a cold glass of hard apple cider. Mmm.
About that new chemotherapy treatment that has been in the news, TDM1, he says it's available in Ottawa. Clinical trials are continuing; approval should come relatively soon. He'll look into whether and when I might get it. That said, he did agree that it makes sense to continue the Taxol, Herceptin, and Pamidronate combo as it is still working. He says all good doctors have Plan B and Plan C at the ready. And he's taking good care of me.
He also clued me in to some more of the side-effects I've been suffering. My runny nose and constantly tearing eyes? Chemo. I thought it was my allergies but no... which means it's not going to stop anytime soon. I can try artificial tears, or if necessary, the doctor can give me steroid eye drops. And the swelling I feel on my back, near the latest fracture, is just swelling. That's common after radiation. By the way, my back is still "tanned" and itchy from the radiation I got in November. I had no idea it would last so long.
I asked my doctor if it was OK to try to lose some weight. He was ambiguous, to be honest. It sounds like it's not necessary for me to keep on extra weight as an insurance policy -- because if I stopped eating suddenly, he would treat it right away. On the other hand, women gain weight with breast cancer, and in truth I had lost weight since December, back when I was at the worst of the ankle and leg swelling. I think the bottom line is that I can do what I want. Next question is for me: do I want to work at losing weight? Hmm.
Next, the big question: could I have a drink? Because of my abnormal liver results and "numerous" tumours, I haven't had a drink since the early Fall. And some days I really would like one. Dr. G said "absolutely!" My liver results are now normal, despite the tumours. I can have one to two drinks a day if I want. That would be more than I need, but now that the sun is shining, I am thinking of sitting in the yard with a cold glass of hard apple cider. Mmm.
About that new chemotherapy treatment that has been in the news, TDM1, he says it's available in Ottawa. Clinical trials are continuing; approval should come relatively soon. He'll look into whether and when I might get it. That said, he did agree that it makes sense to continue the Taxol, Herceptin, and Pamidronate combo as it is still working. He says all good doctors have Plan B and Plan C at the ready. And he's taking good care of me.
Tuesday, 12 June 2012
Tuesday, Pill Day
This is my routine every Tuesday morning, I take an hour to organize my pills. OK, it doesn't take that long, it just feels that way. And when I started on this cancer journey, it probably did take a full hour to get a handle on all these pills. Now, I actually know what they are for (pretty much).
I have two pill organizers on the go. One is a seven-day organizer for the pills I take before getting out of bed. These include Dilaudid, both the long-acting and the fast-acting, to ease the pain of having been still, asleep for eight hours. You wouldn't believe how long it can take me to get my hands and knees working. I also take a Lyrica pill, the first of three I take during the day. The last "first thing" pill is Prevacid, an anti-acid pill to be taken a half hour before eating. There's not much more I could fit in this little container.
The second pill organizer has a pull-out section for each day and four compartments, for morning, noon, evening and bedtime. In the morning, I take a water pill for my still swollen feet. By the way, I can usually get into three or four pairs of my shoes now. I take some Vitamin D for my bones, which need all the help they can get. Then there is the first of four Naprosyn (Aleve) pills for the day. They help quite a bit with the pain from my spinal fractures. I also take one Maxerand, also for my stomach. I should take it a little before I eat, but that never quite works out. What else? Oh, for my chemo day and the following day, I take a Zofran in the morning. It helps to prevent chemo-related stomach trouble, but is terribly constipating. I recently stopped taking Metoprolol in the mornings. I was given it in the fall when my blood pressure was high, back when I was in the hospital. My blood pressure seems to have returned to it's normal low, so I was able to stop that pill.
My afternoon pills used to be lighter. The second Lyrica comes at two o'clock. But now I'm taking a Naprosyn with lunch. And, because of the constipating effects of the Dilaudid and Zofran, I take two stool softener and one senna laxative. Everyday. I don't like taking these pills everyday, but I have to admit that my body just doesn't function properly on its own anymore. This is one of the things you don't realize about cancer, and it probably happens with other chronic, life-threatening diseases: half the pills you take are to deal with the side effects of the other pills you take. Argh.
At suppertime, there is another Naprosyn, plus the long-acting Dilaudid.
Finally at bedtime, another Naprosyn (with a snack to protect my tummy), another Lyrica, and an Ativan to help me sleep. When I first started treatment, the steroids they were giving me were causing me to wake up every hour or so through the night. While I'm off them, I now have trouble falling asleep without the Ativan. That was never a problem before I got sick.
In addition to these, I take a Tums morning and evening as a calcium supplement. And I take the fast-acting Dilaudid as necessary during the day for pain. The dose I now take doesn't seem to affect me, beyond handling the pain. Nevertheless, I don't take the full dose if I'll be driving, just in case I might get a little loopy.
So that's my pill regimen these days. At first, I needed a complex spreadsheet to sort it out. Now, sadly, it's easy for me.
You know, they tell you to drink a lot of water when you're in chemo. You pretty much have to, with all the pills to take!
P.S. Sweetie, if I suddenly get sick, you can use this blog post to make up my pills for me. Oh, I forgot that I've started talking like the nurses and referring to all these damn things by brand name though they usually come from the pharmacy with the generic name. I better do up another spreadsheet...
P.P.S. I find it odd that the blog software's spellcheck doesn't recognize the word "blog."
I have two pill organizers on the go. One is a seven-day organizer for the pills I take before getting out of bed. These include Dilaudid, both the long-acting and the fast-acting, to ease the pain of having been still, asleep for eight hours. You wouldn't believe how long it can take me to get my hands and knees working. I also take a Lyrica pill, the first of three I take during the day. The last "first thing" pill is Prevacid, an anti-acid pill to be taken a half hour before eating. There's not much more I could fit in this little container.
The second pill organizer has a pull-out section for each day and four compartments, for morning, noon, evening and bedtime. In the morning, I take a water pill for my still swollen feet. By the way, I can usually get into three or four pairs of my shoes now. I take some Vitamin D for my bones, which need all the help they can get. Then there is the first of four Naprosyn (Aleve) pills for the day. They help quite a bit with the pain from my spinal fractures. I also take one Maxerand, also for my stomach. I should take it a little before I eat, but that never quite works out. What else? Oh, for my chemo day and the following day, I take a Zofran in the morning. It helps to prevent chemo-related stomach trouble, but is terribly constipating. I recently stopped taking Metoprolol in the mornings. I was given it in the fall when my blood pressure was high, back when I was in the hospital. My blood pressure seems to have returned to it's normal low, so I was able to stop that pill.
My afternoon pills used to be lighter. The second Lyrica comes at two o'clock. But now I'm taking a Naprosyn with lunch. And, because of the constipating effects of the Dilaudid and Zofran, I take two stool softener and one senna laxative. Everyday. I don't like taking these pills everyday, but I have to admit that my body just doesn't function properly on its own anymore. This is one of the things you don't realize about cancer, and it probably happens with other chronic, life-threatening diseases: half the pills you take are to deal with the side effects of the other pills you take. Argh.
At suppertime, there is another Naprosyn, plus the long-acting Dilaudid.
Finally at bedtime, another Naprosyn (with a snack to protect my tummy), another Lyrica, and an Ativan to help me sleep. When I first started treatment, the steroids they were giving me were causing me to wake up every hour or so through the night. While I'm off them, I now have trouble falling asleep without the Ativan. That was never a problem before I got sick.
In addition to these, I take a Tums morning and evening as a calcium supplement. And I take the fast-acting Dilaudid as necessary during the day for pain. The dose I now take doesn't seem to affect me, beyond handling the pain. Nevertheless, I don't take the full dose if I'll be driving, just in case I might get a little loopy.
So that's my pill regimen these days. At first, I needed a complex spreadsheet to sort it out. Now, sadly, it's easy for me.
You know, they tell you to drink a lot of water when you're in chemo. You pretty much have to, with all the pills to take!
P.S. Sweetie, if I suddenly get sick, you can use this blog post to make up my pills for me. Oh, I forgot that I've started talking like the nurses and referring to all these damn things by brand name though they usually come from the pharmacy with the generic name. I better do up another spreadsheet...
P.P.S. I find it odd that the blog software's spellcheck doesn't recognize the word "blog."
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