Count down to next scan

My three month scan is this coming Thursday, to make sure that nothing bad is happening inside my body in the absence of chemotherapy.

PLEASE join me in whatever spiritual endeavors you undertake to pray for the best possible result.  I REALLY don't want to have to start chemo again.

I'm enjoying just living my life so very much.  I'd like to continue that!

I will go in the morning, get my port flushed and my labs drawn.  Then across to the imaging center, where I will be for about 90 minutes (the contrast material is 32 oz of liquid that I have to drink and then wait an hour).

Then, we'll go out for lunch, come home for a bit, then back to the clinic to get my monthly check up and scan results, and my monthly anti-bone cancer injection.

There's really no reason at all to think that the results will be bad, but I am anxious none the less.

There was, after all, no reason at all to think that I had breast cancer to begin with- or that it would be at stage 4- when I went for my mammorgrams and follow ups religiously, year after year.

Thus the anxiety.

The dentist visit went well.  Nothing is wrong with my teeth or jaw (the anti bone cancer medication I have been getting can cause your jaw bone to die), and the dentist said that the odd sensation in my left upper teeth is probably sinus related, just like I thought.

I've been using off the shelf sinus spray, and it helps.  The strange sensation is completely gone in the mornings, then it increases as the day goes along, and as, I assume, the gunk settles into the bottom of my left maxillary sinus.

The oncologist gave me a short term antibiotic to take before and after my dentist visit, and that went fine. No upset stomach.

I've been off of the clonidine and Neurontin now for almost a month, and the orthostatic hypotension is completely gone, and the neuropathy in my feet seems to be improving slightly!

I've really been enjoying mowing the lawn with our old fashioned reel lawn mower.  I look forward to it.

I feel like it's another aspect of living my life.  I sweat, and I take pride in how it looks when I'm finished.

I do the back yard, and Dave does the front and sides.  It's about 50/50.

Got it done this morning before it got too hot out.  I use one of Dave's bandanas to keep the sweat out of my eyes, since my eyebrows still aren't up to the task.

Hair growth everywhere except my eyebrows is going along at a good clip now.... heh... clip... see what I did there?

I am hoping that the eyebrows will start to work harder at returning eventually, but at least they are not completely invisible anymore.

I'm back to having to shave twice a week, and this pleases me.  I've developed a technique for shaving my numb underarms, and have stopped cutting myself.

My head hair is just getting... bigger.  It sticks STRAIGHT up.  I hate it, but will resist and resist and resist the urge to take Dave's beard trimmer to it.  It has to get past this stage in order to lay down flat, or curl, or do whatever it's going to do.

I use a hair oil, and then a gel, to try to either spike it or smooth it down a bit, while making sure that is it moisturized and conditioned.

The spiked look is fun, but it's getting too "tall."

Oh, and I have not managed to lose any more weight.  I still want to lose about 6 more pounds, and hope to accomplish that somehow.  I'm down 5 from where I started, so that's good.

Yesterday was my sister's 60th birthday.  I asked people on Facebook to volunteer to send her cards from all over the country, and some outside of the country.  I had hoped that people would jump on that band wagon like they did for my fund raiser, but I only got 22 people to participate.

Still, 22 birthday cards is a LOT, when no one sends cards anymore.

For perspective, I got exactly 3 this year.  It's a sad thing that our culture doesn't seem to do that anymore.

The overseas ones didn't come, but they could still be on the way.  I am hoping for South Africa, England, Wales, and Germany.

Anyway, since we couldn't be there to celebrate this milestone with her, I thought this would be a fun thing that I COULD do.  She was surprised and pleased!

I REALLY hope I make it to my 60th birthday.  That will be a MAJOR celebration, to be sure.

Dave's dad is doing real well.  NOT having someone "watching" him all weekend seems to have actually improved his overall well being.

Dave is out doing his share of the mowing.  I cleaned the house yesterday, and had a massage client in the afternoon.

Today, from here on out, will be about cooking, and staying cool.  Maybe coloring and music, since neither of those things happened last weekend.

Father's Day

It's going to be a very hot Father's Day in Oklahoma this year.  We've been having nasty hot weather lately.  Hotter than usual for this time of year.  I hope that doesn't mean we're in for another record breaking summer like a few years ago.

We'll go down this afternoon and visit with Pop, and take him a card and some home made food.

Dave's next eldest brother, Larry, will be coming down from Kansas with his wife.  It will be good to see them, and we are glad they are coming to visit Pop, too.

I miss my dad a lot of the time.  I think sometimes about how he might have done better with cancer treatment techniques that exist now, as opposed to what was available to him in the late 90s.

We had a lovely day yesterday, getting up early, and making the most of our off time.  My friend Julie came over for a while, and then Dave and I went and got pedicures.

Dave loves pedicures, who would have thought?  So we try to go get one at least once a year, during sandal season.

It's a luxury, but we are allowed a luxury once in a while.  We work hard for those times, and enjoy them!

Got the laundry done, and some cleaning.  Enjoyed some cocktails and the hot tub, and stayed up late.

Other than visiting Pop today, I hope to do some coloring and music playing.

Still doing well with the new medication.

I see the dentist on Tuesday, and hopefully, all the news there will be good.   (i've been experiencing a sort of strange sensation in the upper left when I floss... like the teeth are numb.)

Just living

A week without neurontin and nothing much has changed. My feet might feel a bit more numb, but it's not very noticible.

A week on the hormone blocker (and without the clonidine) and the hot flashes are not any more frequent than they were, but are a bit more intense. I'm not thinking this is problematic.  Of course, that may change as more of the medication gets into my system over time.

I should invest in stock of companies that manufacture deodorant,  body powder, and body spray!

I have been having issues with my lap top since we bought it. Yesterday, we went shopping for a possible replacement. I really don't need a new computer, though. I also did NOT want to spend the money. This one just has a really annoying track pad.  It causes things to open and close without warning, it zooms or reduces without warning, and it is just generally a pain in the ass. It's always been that way.  We tried to get it fixed, but there was nothing that could be done.

So, since I am a fan of the Barnes and Noble nook reader, and knew that they are now selling a net tablet with nook capability,  we looked at one of those, too.

I still have my computer with everything that's stored in it, but I can use this tablet for the usual stuff I do, which is mostly social media.

The lap top is off to the side now, and we will use it mostly as our music player. When I need to work on my lease renewal, or maybe post my blog, I can use it for that, as well as storing pictures and more music. The majority of the time,  though, this handy gizmo will be what I use.

It's a win. The new gizmo was on sale, and I got an additional  $25 off . I could justify that, but could not justify a new comouter!

Not much else to report. Just working and eating and sleeping. Everyone, including Pop, is doing fine. Just living life!

Adventures in Medicine

Okay, so..... I am OFF of the Neurontin!!!  After 3 days of not taking any of it at all, I can confidently say that my neuropathy symptoms are completely unchanged.

I've lost another pound in those three days, too.

I am also doing an experiment, with Doc's permission, of not taking the Clonidine at night.  This is something I have been taking for about a year to combat night sweats and hot flashes.

It's actually an old timey blood pressure medication, and my blood pressure is on the low side of normal.  Lately, I have been having what's called orthostatic hypotension....this  is the fancy name for what happens when you stand up and everything goes wobbly and black for a few seconds.

It's a blood pressure drop that happens because when you straighten your legs, the circulation goes down into them, and consequently, down out of your head!

So far, after 3 days of not taking that medication, these episodes have almost disappeared.

On the other hand, I just started the hormone blocking medication (the modern day replacement for Tamoxifen).  If the hot flashes and sweats become severe, I will have to start taking the Clonidine again.

So....we'll see what happens!

The hormone blocker will keep any estrogen reactive cancer cells from developing or spreading.  I had estrogen reactive cancer.

I will take this medication for 7-10 years, most likely.

I'm just happy that I will BE HERE for 7-10 years to take it!  *grin*

My next scan is scheduled for June 30.  Between now and then, I will focus on just living life.

My eyelashes are long enough for mascara now.  My eye brows are starting to become more visible.  I have to shave my legs.  My scalp is less visible.  I have a rash from my pubic hair growing back.  Ha!  Oddly, there is still no underarm hair.

In other news, Dave and his brothers have abandoned the idea of moving Pop into assisted living for now.

He'll just have his Monday through Friday day care companion, and the rest of the time, he will be alone.  Dave and I will do his grocery shopping, and I will continue to cook some home made stuff for him.

All we can do is hope for the best.

They discussed getting him a life alert bracelet or pendent, but we are pretty sure he'd play with it and call for help over and over.

Well, it is a beautiful sunny afternoon, after lots of rainy gloom, so we are going to go out and ride our bikes for for the first time since 2014!

As someone who used to be a pretty serious cyclist, I have really missed my bike!