Saturday, November 28, 2009
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Rationed Mammograms
I'm sharing a link to my political blog because, frankly, this mammogram stuff has ticked me off. So feel free to read and comment if you like.
We all know mammograms need to be done on women part of a comprehensive health maintenance program. Don't let anyone tell you, your loved ones or neighbors any different.
http://politicalhairballs.blogspot.com/2009/11/womens-health-rationed-mammograms.html
We all know mammograms need to be done on women part of a comprehensive health maintenance program. Don't let anyone tell you, your loved ones or neighbors any different.
http://politicalhairballs.blogspot.com/2009/11/womens-health-rationed-mammograms.html
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Plastic Surgeon Visit and Vitamin D
Good visit with Dr. S. He didn't much care for my flat left implant and decided he's going to give me "new boobies in time for Christmas." Pretty cool deal. The additional good deal is that he plans to remove some of the scar tissue that has built up around the left side as a result of surgery, radiation and the improper alignment of the planets. This is good because there is a constant pressure on the right side of my chest. Adding a boob to that has me a little worried in the comfort department.
I did some research into Vitamin D. Turns out this neat little vitamin plays a rather large role in the prevention of all kinds of nasties. Vitamin D also, and this is extremely important for women taking Tamoxifen, it increases the effectiveness of the drug. I'm a little annoyed that I didn't know this before I started taking it 6 months ago, but I do have my superman dose right now. Also, there's been studies that have found low levels of vitamin D in women who have breast cancer. So is there a link? It's possible. To have ANYTHING added to the arsenal of preventatives to fight this fight against the beast - everything is important.
I'm including a link that begins with a disturbing statement. Please look at the article as a whole rather than freaking out at the first statement. It simply explains it well, as opposed to trying to interpret medical speak from a journal article.
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080515/vitaminD_cancer_080515/20080515?hub=TopStories
Now I'm no doctor. I never professed to be. I do, however, have some serious power to my google searching ability and I didn't turn up anything suggesting Vitamin D wasn't an important part of overall wellness for cancer survivors. Look at it this way, if we are deficient in any one area, our bodies can't function as they should. It's the same with Vitamin D.
I still don't have my answer whether Tamoxifen actually encourages the depletion of Vitamin D. I'll save that one for Dr. K at my December 2 checkup and marker blood work visit.
Roger that!
I did some research into Vitamin D. Turns out this neat little vitamin plays a rather large role in the prevention of all kinds of nasties. Vitamin D also, and this is extremely important for women taking Tamoxifen, it increases the effectiveness of the drug. I'm a little annoyed that I didn't know this before I started taking it 6 months ago, but I do have my superman dose right now. Also, there's been studies that have found low levels of vitamin D in women who have breast cancer. So is there a link? It's possible. To have ANYTHING added to the arsenal of preventatives to fight this fight against the beast - everything is important.
I'm including a link that begins with a disturbing statement. Please look at the article as a whole rather than freaking out at the first statement. It simply explains it well, as opposed to trying to interpret medical speak from a journal article.
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080515/vitaminD_cancer_080515/20080515?hub=TopStories
Now I'm no doctor. I never professed to be. I do, however, have some serious power to my google searching ability and I didn't turn up anything suggesting Vitamin D wasn't an important part of overall wellness for cancer survivors. Look at it this way, if we are deficient in any one area, our bodies can't function as they should. It's the same with Vitamin D.
I still don't have my answer whether Tamoxifen actually encourages the depletion of Vitamin D. I'll save that one for Dr. K at my December 2 checkup and marker blood work visit.
Roger that!
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Just call me Superman
Yes, I feel better. I had blood work that miraculously didn't show I was riddled with new cancer. I have a vitamin D deficiency and I'm anemic. Chemo - the gift that keeps on giving!
I need to do some research about this topic and pick the brain of my friend, Vicky the newly anointed nutritionist. There has to be some correlation between chemo and these vitamin messups. How do I find a balance without taking a pill? Or is this something that I can't control and will need help with for the near future? This is definitely a serious question for my oncologist, who I see on December 2nd.
I feel SO MUCH BETTER!!!!!!!
So Bill is literally afraid of my prescription Vitamin D pill. This puppy is 50,000 iu and I take it once a week. The look on his face was priceless when I showed him my whopping 4 pills. He thinks I'm going to be Superman, leaping over tall buildings in a single bound. More like Mighty Mouse.
Been writing like a fiend at the content mill. It's so nice to have my marbles in line and be able to concentrate. I don't remember even chemo fatigue being so intrusive. I am so glad this got corrected and if I can maintain it, I'm officially heading back into the land of the living.
Got a visit with the plastic surgeon today to schedule permanent tata installation for early December. My gift to myself. I don't even care if the whole mess interferes with Christmas as long as this nightmare is DONE by the end of 2009. I wonder how long will I be sore? I'm not interested in getting quasi nipples installed. Just give me some chichis (Mexican for boobs) and call it a day. We don't need to be complicated here :)
So I have tons of Dr appointments over the next 2 weeks. Each one is a checkup: 6 month checkup with radiation specialist, 3 month marker with oncologist, 6 month checkup with surgeon, 6 month checkup with plastic surgeon. Also have to schedule my preop physical and get more bloodwork to check the Vitamin D levels. Argh! My "social" calendar is getting full pretty fast!
I want you all to know my mom admonished me gently because I haven't posted an update about the health and checkup. My apologies. It was a gentle rebuke though, reminding me that you all check in occasionally to see what is going on. Again, I'm sorry for being the absent blogger!
Hope you all are well. Will keep you posted on tata schedule and of course, if I leap over any buildings!
Hugs!
I need to do some research about this topic and pick the brain of my friend, Vicky the newly anointed nutritionist. There has to be some correlation between chemo and these vitamin messups. How do I find a balance without taking a pill? Or is this something that I can't control and will need help with for the near future? This is definitely a serious question for my oncologist, who I see on December 2nd.
I feel SO MUCH BETTER!!!!!!!
So Bill is literally afraid of my prescription Vitamin D pill. This puppy is 50,000 iu and I take it once a week. The look on his face was priceless when I showed him my whopping 4 pills. He thinks I'm going to be Superman, leaping over tall buildings in a single bound. More like Mighty Mouse.
Been writing like a fiend at the content mill. It's so nice to have my marbles in line and be able to concentrate. I don't remember even chemo fatigue being so intrusive. I am so glad this got corrected and if I can maintain it, I'm officially heading back into the land of the living.
Got a visit with the plastic surgeon today to schedule permanent tata installation for early December. My gift to myself. I don't even care if the whole mess interferes with Christmas as long as this nightmare is DONE by the end of 2009. I wonder how long will I be sore? I'm not interested in getting quasi nipples installed. Just give me some chichis (Mexican for boobs) and call it a day. We don't need to be complicated here :)
So I have tons of Dr appointments over the next 2 weeks. Each one is a checkup: 6 month checkup with radiation specialist, 3 month marker with oncologist, 6 month checkup with surgeon, 6 month checkup with plastic surgeon. Also have to schedule my preop physical and get more bloodwork to check the Vitamin D levels. Argh! My "social" calendar is getting full pretty fast!
I want you all to know my mom admonished me gently because I haven't posted an update about the health and checkup. My apologies. It was a gentle rebuke though, reminding me that you all check in occasionally to see what is going on. Again, I'm sorry for being the absent blogger!
Hope you all are well. Will keep you posted on tata schedule and of course, if I leap over any buildings!
Hugs!
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Halloween Happenings and November is here!
We had an extremely eventful Halloween. My niece (and her mom and dad) came up for a visit and since Halloween was on a weekend, Sammi could trick or treat with Jackie. They live 1 1/2 hours away so this was a real treat!
We carved pumpkins for hours - 7 of them! And made chili and dogs for everyone. The funny part was my mom's new dog, Bruiser. He came dressed at a Washington Nationals bat boy. Bruiser trick or treated with us because it was the perfect opportunity to teach this 65 pound oaf how to walk on a leash without pulling. And it worked! He almost tore the arm out of 3 people's sockets but he now walks beside us.
Jackie was a vampire with the coolest spiked pink, black, orange and purple hair. Sammi was an absolutely beautiful witch. She's got gorgeous dark hair that her Mommy turned orange. Steffie was a raspberry. Pretty as always. Sammi was the real deal though. She had the evil witch faces going perfectly in all the pictures :)
November is my favorite month. I like spring and summer but there's something about November that simply makes it the perfect time of year. Maybe because Bill and I got married in November. Our anniversary is on Thanksgiving this year.
Halloween wiped me completely out so I slept for most of today. I was pretty happy about the time change - who wasn't, right? An extra hour. Now it's 5:45 and I've done nothing but I'll get it together soon. It's completely dark outside which is really freaky. It's pretty funny when I pick Jackie up from school the week after daylight savings ends. She's convinced I'm picking her later because it's dark outside :)
Still in the jammies watching the hockey game. I'm a bum but I don't care. Yesterday was alot of action.
I did have a Dr's appointment on Friday. Dr. P is so thorough. He took multiple viales of blood to test me for everything from pregnancy (yes, he's clueless) to Vitamin D deficiency and everything in between. Thyroid (he's doing that too Sue!) and anemia and the works. I hope there's an easy explanation for it all. He did give me some Ambien if I needed it. He says that sometimes simply resetting the sleep pattern for 2 to 3 nights can recharge the batteries. I'm not a fan of pills :( He also wants me to stop my Claritin allergy pills. Not a good time of the year for this since I'm really allergic to leaf mold and leaf dust.
So there it is. I had my workup. I need to get a chest Xray tomorrow and then I should have the blood test results tomorrow night. My next marker test is scheduled for right before Thanksgiving.
Hope all of you had a happy Halloween too!
We carved pumpkins for hours - 7 of them! And made chili and dogs for everyone. The funny part was my mom's new dog, Bruiser. He came dressed at a Washington Nationals bat boy. Bruiser trick or treated with us because it was the perfect opportunity to teach this 65 pound oaf how to walk on a leash without pulling. And it worked! He almost tore the arm out of 3 people's sockets but he now walks beside us.
Jackie was a vampire with the coolest spiked pink, black, orange and purple hair. Sammi was an absolutely beautiful witch. She's got gorgeous dark hair that her Mommy turned orange. Steffie was a raspberry. Pretty as always. Sammi was the real deal though. She had the evil witch faces going perfectly in all the pictures :)
November is my favorite month. I like spring and summer but there's something about November that simply makes it the perfect time of year. Maybe because Bill and I got married in November. Our anniversary is on Thanksgiving this year.
Halloween wiped me completely out so I slept for most of today. I was pretty happy about the time change - who wasn't, right? An extra hour. Now it's 5:45 and I've done nothing but I'll get it together soon. It's completely dark outside which is really freaky. It's pretty funny when I pick Jackie up from school the week after daylight savings ends. She's convinced I'm picking her later because it's dark outside :)
Still in the jammies watching the hockey game. I'm a bum but I don't care. Yesterday was alot of action.
I did have a Dr's appointment on Friday. Dr. P is so thorough. He took multiple viales of blood to test me for everything from pregnancy (yes, he's clueless) to Vitamin D deficiency and everything in between. Thyroid (he's doing that too Sue!) and anemia and the works. I hope there's an easy explanation for it all. He did give me some Ambien if I needed it. He says that sometimes simply resetting the sleep pattern for 2 to 3 nights can recharge the batteries. I'm not a fan of pills :( He also wants me to stop my Claritin allergy pills. Not a good time of the year for this since I'm really allergic to leaf mold and leaf dust.
So there it is. I had my workup. I need to get a chest Xray tomorrow and then I should have the blood test results tomorrow night. My next marker test is scheduled for right before Thanksgiving.
Hope all of you had a happy Halloween too!
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