Woah!

Oh my goodness! I didn't realize it had been quite so long since my last posting! Summer has been going well, if fast! I can't believe we're almost halfway through August already. I am about 5 1/2 weeks through radiation. So just another week and a couple days to go! Radiation is a little boring - certainly a letdown (in a good way!) from chemo. The biggest hassle is just getting to the hospital. Once I'm there, I scan myself in & go change to the robe. Rarely, I have time to sit down and read more than a page or two in the myriad (old) magazines they have there. It would be nice if they were more up-to-date, but hey, I didn't read Martha Stewart's Thanksgiving issue. Or Real Simple's Valentines issue. So it's all new to me! At any rate, they come & get you, then take you into the room, where you take the robe off and lie down, and, for me, with my head to right & left arm up over my head. Then the techs do a bunch of tugging & pushing at you & the sheet to get your tattoos lined up with the lasers. After a couple of minutes, they step out of the room, and you get zapped. Then they come back in, and move the head of the machine around, leave, & zap you from a different angle. Repeat, two more times. After about 10 minutes, you're done. Then you go home and crater. I get so tired in the afternoon! I suspect part of it is the natural desire for a siesta. Oh, the spanish have it right.

So all that description above applied up until Monday. Now, once I'm in the room, all I'm doing is the boost, where they have a metal plate with a cut-out that is shaped like the scar area. They zap you straight on with this for about 10 seconds or so. And that's it! And I'm up & out! Apparently for this part of it, they have to keep outlining me with this paint-pen every day so they can line the plate up. I guess the tattoos are no good for that. So if you see me & you see a big blue line above my neckline, just smile & nod! It'll be gone after next week, when I'm through!

I'm guessing my last day of radiation will be next Friday. It was originally scheduled for Thursday, but I had training for work up in Philadelphia last week. I was supposed to double-up one day, but they had trouble with the machine. I don't think I'll bother doubling-up now, if they don't want me to. I have enough trouble getting out of bed when I get do as it is! You have to have your radiations at least 6 hours apart, so I'd have to be in there before 9am (I know, not that bad), but subject to their schedule. So I'm not going to worry about it! I think. I'll talk to them tomorrow & see what they think.

So here's to 7 more doses! Just a few more! And I'm glad that's about it - I'm starting to get a little bit of irritation - especially on my collarbone. I think that spot really would have gotten to the bad point if I had any more shots to it. I do have a tan-line under my arm, which is funny! It looks like I fell asleep in the sun with a book or something on my arm. And I'm a little disappointed in the hair growth under there! I guess it's stopped, but it took a long time for it to stop! Just in time for radiation to be over! Ah well. Soon . . . the peeling! Just in time for the beach!

Post-Chemo, -Surgery, -Fundraiser, Pre-Radiation

Hola amigos, it's been awhile since I rapped at ya. So since I last touched base, we were done with the fundraiser. Hooray! I had my appointment with the radiation oncologist a couple of weeks ago now - you lie there forever while they mark you up with a sharpie. You can't move, and I had my arm overhead. Sounds easy, right? Well, no. Try lying perfectly still for about an hour. Don't move your arm! Don't move your head! Don't move anything! It's uncomfortable. But the absolute worst was the tattooing! I don't think my pain tolerance is that low, and I've gotten over a lot of my fear of needles, but oh my god, OW!!! I know that it's a different needle they use, b/c they just give you a dot & it's not electric, or however the tattoo artists do it, but oh my god. If that's how it feels, I don't understand how people can get those itty-bitty roses or tweety bird or whatever, let alone whole sleeves. I need to find someone who's had both. I suspect the radiation tats hurt a lot more than regular ones. So maybe that full-back tat of the hula girl is out for me . . . .

So before I am trapped here in DC for the better part of the summer, I took a little jaunt down to Bermuda, courtesy of Sylvia! Thank you so much!! It was so nice to get down there again & see everyone. I got to meet a couple of not-so-new-anymore kids & a couple of new ones! It was great. But too short! I guess it always is! Sigh! I had my favourite ebi tempura nori maki at Yashi sushi. God, it was good - like I always remembered!

I had one more pre-radiation appt yesterday, and got marked up even more with Sharpie - this time all the way up almost to my neck. Now I have another purple bra. Greeeeaaaat. Hopefully it'll mostly come out. And hopefully they won't mark me every time I go for radiation, which starts Monday. 3:15! So a relatively late appointment time, which is good! So I guess starting today I'm off antiperspirant. I have to switch to just deoderant, b/c antiperspirant has aluminum something in it. I think the aluminum whatever can scatter the rays. So don't worry, folks - I'll be sweaty, but stink-free this summer! Another reason I'm driving to work for the summer.

Fundraiser OVER!

First off, buy my t-shirts! See www.cafepress.com/LizTurtle. But more on that later . . . .

And not a moment too soon! It was fun & it went well, but man, was it ever stressful! That is not a line of work I think I could do. Wow! Mad props to the people who do it. Especially Nichole, who helped me out - which is really understating it. She taught me everything I know! Thanks, Nikki! And next time you need any personal actuarial work done, you know where to go!

So thanks to everyone who could come to the fundraiser - and thanks to those who couldn't come, but bought raffle tickets! The evening was a success! I don't have final numbers in yet, but the total tally should be over $3,000 once everything is finalized. Hooray! So we are getting the other 2 members of Team Turtle up to par.

My big announcement is the t-shirts I have for sale now through Cafe Press. All of the net profits will be going to Team Turtle. There are various colors & sleeve-lengths (ok, only 2 of those - short & long), and they also come in men's and women's styling. I also have a tote bag & a mousepad. I admit it, I made those just for me. I'm sure I'll be the only one who buys them. But please buy one & if your friends ask where you got such a funny shirt, and where can they get one, please direct them to my cafepress shop! That address again is: www.cafepress.com/LizTurtle. This link is also on the toolbar on the left!

Tomorrow morning I go in for my tattoos for radiation. My first tattoos! Aw! They'll be doing all the physics stuff - getting the angles, etc. set up so when I go in for actual radiation they just line up the machine with the tats & start shooting. But before radiation starts, I'll be enjoying a long weekend in Bermuda! Oooooh, I can't wait!! I hope I can catch up with everyone. I will be staying with the hostess with the mostess - Sylvia! Can't wait to see you, girl! And your little girl! And boy! I head out Friday. Ah! It'll be so nice!

Oh, and check out the pictures my good friend & amazing photog Seth Kaplan took at my shutterfly page: lizturtle.shutterfly.com/. Ignore the bad ones of me.

Gimme a Head with Hair . . . .

Hooray!! My hair has been coming back - it's still pretty soft, like baby's hair, but it seems to be getting a little bit of texture. But even more importantly (and excitingly!) I have eyebrows again! And eyelashes! The eyebrow hairs are pretty soft & thing (again, like baby's hair), but I have discernible marks over my eyes. I'd post a picture, but meh. I still need makeup, of which I have none on at the moment.

Tomorrow I have my port out. If I remember, I'm going to ask them if I can keep it. I have no idea if they'll let me or not . . . . If they give it to me, it'll probably wind up in the trash shortly thereafter. I just want to see what it looks like when it's not under my skin. So one more time under the knife! Sigh. And then Tuesday is my fist appointment with the radiation oncologist. All sorts of fun! After that doctor's appointment, it's back to work for me. It's been so long! Sigh. I guess we all have to go back & earn a living at some point, though, eh?

Clear Margins!

I saw my surgeon on Tuesday who told me that hooray! The margins were clear! Such a relief. So I won't see her again until December. Today I went & saw my oncologist & everything went well there, too. Although before meeting with her I had a mammogram, which I do NOT recommend one week out of surgery. God. I didn't really think about it, my surgeon just said to her assistant "Get her a mammo before starting radiation." And I was just trying to get it scheduled at the same time as something else. But yeah . . . I should have scheduled it in about 2 weeks. Especially b/c the tech flattened, then raised the screen, repositioned me, flattened, raised, repositioned . . . so my boob got squished about 8 times more than it needed to. Ouch. So the radiologist who reviewed the films said that you could see the air pocket in there. Heh. I took a peek at the images on the computer & you could see a big old hole in the middle. Interesting stuff! My one (relatively minor) irritation is that they didn't take out the port. So I'm going in on Monday to get rid of it. I've just tolerated it these past few months, but I really don't like it & now that I don't need it, I really want it gone. I just can't stand it. Argh! It will be nice to be done with that, too.

My oncologist said that my achiness is something called 'post-chemo rheumatism'. So I feel better that it's not just from my trying to get in shape. It should go away . . . eventually. Hopefully sooner than later. In the meantime, I'll just grunt & groan when I'm getting up from a chair, & walk around like an 80-year-old. Siiiiiigh. Also, I am in a study for bisphosphonates to see if that lowers metastasis in bones. There's a 2/3 chance I'll be getting a pill, and 1/3 chance I'll be getting an IV. I'm hoping for the IV. The pills you have to take in the morning, and you can't eat or drink for 1/2 or 1 hour after you take them. And you have to sit up in bed after you take them, or you risk really bad heartburn. Argh! The IV you only get once a month for 6 months, then every 3 months for 2.5 years. I'd rather deal with it once every 1 or 3 months.

And in fundraising news - I've already hit my goal! And even before the fundraiser!! Which means the fundraiser money can go to bringing the rest of my team up to their minimum. Yay!! Thank you EVERYONE!!! I really appreciate it!

Stupid Human Tricks

So, the surgery was last Wednesday. Things went well, I think! I find out tomorrow if the margins were clear. Fingers crossed!

The surgery was, by far, the most interest I've had so far. I've been having hot flashes from my premature menopause, which sucks, b/c you're down in the OR wing & everything's cold & they've given you these hot blankets (warmed in some kind of blanket oven), and then you get hot & start tearing everything off. I had a student (of some sort) putting my IV in . . . or trying to put my IV in, I should say. She started at the wrist & hit a nerve, I guess, b/c I could feel it up in my fingers. OOOOOWWWWWWW!!! They stopped that one & started another one on the back of my hand. So I've got bruises all over my hand and wrist. When they started wheeling me into the room, they started what they called a light sedation, and they would start the serious stuff when I was in the room. Well, I don't really remember being wheeled away. I've become such a lightweight! But, I wasn't under deep sedation, so I have vague recollections of the surgery. No feeling of it, thank god, but I woke up a few times. Once I woke up with that vague feeling of needing to change positions, so I tried to roll over, but hey, my arms were strapped down. Oh, right. Surgery. Another point (I have no idea what sequence these are in), I woke up & looked at the really bright surgical lamps overhead. Another time, I woke up & there was a sheet over my face! Which was more disturbing in retrospect than at the time. And I woke up, but didn't have my eyes open, when they did a half-roll with me to get me onto the recovery bed. I heard something about the recovery bed being wheeled in & I thought "Do I need to do something to help them get me into that bed?" but they did it all. Which was good, b/c I was pretty out of it, and probably of more help by just being still. After some time in the recovery bed, they wheeled me over to the recovery easy chair. When I was transferring myself, I realized I had just about sweat through all the sheets on the bed! They were completely sopping. I couldn't even wear my underwear home, they were so damp. Ugh! The sweats are not good, and most especially not when you can't throw the covers off yourself!

So tomorrow I'll find out all the (hopefully) good stuff, like that the margins were clear (hope hope!). And in the meantime, I have a new stupid human trick. Apparently I have fluid build-up, which makes sense. But there's also some air trapped in there, too! So when I jiggle around, you can hear the fluid sloshing about. It's kind of disturbing. Ask me next time you see me. If you buy me a beer or three, maybe I'll even let you hear it.

Surgery Tomorrow!

I'm having my surgery tomorrow. It's nice to finally have this thing out! I'll be having a lumpectomy & also am getting my port out. I'll be really happy to get rid of the port. Me no likey. Hooray!

And in other news, the silent auction/raffle fundraiser will be Tuesday, June 16th! Save the date! And bring your money!