An Update

Wow! It has been quite awhile since my last post. A lot of things have happened since the beginning of March which was my last post.

So here's what's happening in my life of cancer.

March I finished up with physical therapy for lymphedema. I finally figured out how to keep it at bay. Then on March 13 we left for Florida for the celebratory cruise. It was really nice to get away from Oregon. I liked the change of scenery. We took a red eye to Ft. Lauderdale and thanks to my good friend, Anne, she helped me get our flights there for cheap.

We got to spend some time with my grandmother before boarding our ship. We also got to see my cousins and my uncle while we were there. We had a great time... lots of visiting and lots of just relaxing. On Saturday March 16, we boarded our cruise along with my mom, dad, Karen, Vern, Deanne, Vince and Lilly. So we had a party 11. The trip started off awesome. We had a great room in the middle of the ship. A nice bed and the girls had their own. A great balcony and a view of Grammy and Papa's room a floor above us. But then it all went to heck after our first port - St. Maarten. I will post separately on that. It's a long story... but a quick overview... routine check of our stateroom turned up bed bug eggs - ewww! And then we had to change rooms and get our clothes laundered. It was terrible what transpired after that. We were very eager to get off of the ship following that.

April: April was a good month. I had two doctor appointments. The first one was with the new gynocologist oncologist, Dr. Munro at OHSU. She was great. I really like her. We talked about the surgery and statistics of what will happen after I get my ovaries out. She said that my chances of getting ovarian cancer drop to standard population. That's awesome odds. We also outlined what will happen during surgery. I told her she is not to take out any lymph nodes in that region. She said that if she sees anything she normally takes out the pockets of nodes. I said, no. I absolutely refuse because I already have lymphedema in my arm and I don't want it in my leg as well. I like the fact that she respects my wishes. But I had a really good vibe about her.

A few days later, I had a follow up with Dr. Naik, my surgeon. I was in and out. Everything is looking good with there. No new lumps or areas to be worried about. We also talked about the gynoc. She said that no one has real issues with Dr. Munro but some are not so certain about Dr. Moffitt. I am sure Dr. Moffitt is a good doctor, but I just didn't like her bedside manner. Very abrupt and not empathetic.

Now that I've picked out my gynoc, we can now schedule the final operation and put everything behind us. Trouble is, is that I have two doctors to work with. Dr. Thaker operates Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. Dr. Munro does her operations on Thursday. Ummm... see a scheduling conflict there??  Ha. So I got a call in late April with the date of May 23. Holy cow! But I want this done and I have to do it then. My surgery was set for the afternoon... 2.30p with check in at 11.30a Then a day or two later, I got another call stating that there was a conflict in scheduling. And so now my real surgery is first thing in the morning. I have check in time at 5.30a with surgery scheduled to start at 7.30a. I'd rather have that surgery time. I won't be able to eat after 11.30p the previous day. But that's okay. I like it because I am not supposed to eat any food. Only clear liquids. I'm going to be hungry. So it worked out for the better.

This month has been busy with doctor appointments. Dentist on May 1 (no cavities for me or Amelia!). Yesterday I had a follow up appointment with the radiation oncologist, Dr. Marquez. Everything is looking good there. I kept getting compliments on my hair. They all say it's really cute. Dr. Marquez asked where I was in my surgeries. I told her that I have my last surgeries scheduled for the end of the month. I'll be getting the tissue expanders out and the implants put in as well as the oopherectomy. She said that will be good because it will save money and time (she mentioned that anesthesia is the most expensive in an operation). We discussed Dr. Thaker and how she just saw her the other day. She said that Dr. Thaker has new implants and was throwing them around in clinic. She said that they feel like gummy bears. I said that YES, I know about those. They have been around for awhile in Europe and they are just catching on here in the states. She said that I am going to love having the TE out. I cannot wait! I will feel so much more comfortable. We also talked about Dr. Moffitt and Dr. M also said she's got an interesting personality. That's why I love the doctors I picked. So truthful. Dr. M also asked if I saw my Radiation Therapists - Dan and Linea. I said yes, I did see them. I got a clean bill of health and I left. I don't have to go back to see Dr. Marquez until December. That seems like ages away.

I did see Dan and Linea. They sooo remembered me. We chatted for quite awhile. I also saw Andrea and Rebecca is pregnant! The front desk receptionist also remembered me. She said she saw my name on the schedule and thought "I know her." So we chatted a little bit. It really nice because these visits are social visits. Dan says I have to come see him more often. I said I will - when I am around.

No doctors appointments today as I have jury duty today and tomorrow. Next week I have my pre-op appointment with Dr. Thaker. We'll go over what kind of implants I want. I've got a pre-surgery anesthesia appointment on Thursday with blood draw. Then on Friday I have a ulta-sound appointment so they can take a look at my ovaries. Oh yea, next Tuesday, Elaina has her first dentist appointment. Then it's surgery day! Mom is flying out to help out, as I will be out of commission for a little while and will need help with the kiddos.