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.