Looks Like WBR After All

Yesterday was my birthday - I'm now 47 and expect to have many more birthdays!

I am doing okay. I think the time at the coast helped me regain some of my mental and physical strength. I might have slept a lot, but I also took long walks on the beach, too.

I saw the radiation oncologist - the one who does gamma knife in Portland - and he suggested that I do whole brain radiation at this time. It is because of the size (about 3.3 to 3.5 cm by 2.2 cm), the irregular area of it (it is not perfectly round), and because there is a cystic component. The good news is that it is not next to the area that causes nausea or vomiting. He also didn't think I needd to start right away. But I decided to go ahead and start next week.

My digestive system is healing. I don't get the cramps like I used to in my stomach. I still just have diarrhea and the only time I really have any nausea is with Tykerb. So, I am off of Tykerb for a few weeks.

I am only going to do 10 treatments of WBR. I have already had 2. They want to do 13. I'm doing to stop it at 10. I also want to start with a lower dose next week - 200 rads (or whatever the measurement is). The usual at this point is 250. But as I've said before, I think the standard doses are for women (or men) who are bigger than I am. I want to see how well I tolerate the treatment.

In the meantime, through the weekend, I will stay on antibiotics. This is because a new wound opened up under my arm - where an area grew. It also bled a lot when I took the dressing off yesterday. So, I took all three Keflex (only took 1 a day for the last week and a half) yesterday and a Flagyl. I want to try to take all three through this weekend to see if that clears up that infection. I saw the wound care nurse yesterday instead of today. I won't take the antibiotic when I start WBR next week. The area where we're trying to grow skin is 2.5 x 0.5 cm, down from 3.5 x 1.0 cm last week. So, that's healing. The chest wound is also healing.

I guess I'm okay with the decision. It will all (or most of it) will happen while Eddie is bak East with his dad.

All in all I broke even at the casino. Pretty good for several days of playing. My sister, though, won about $300. She stopped when she won. Smart girl.

My parents got me a card and flowers. My son also got me a card and a gift certificate to a local coffee place. We treated ourselves to yummy summer drinks there yesterday, after his appointment. I also got a card from my oldest friend, P., who I need to write an email to. I got a card from my supervisor, too. That was cool. Plus over 100 well wishes from Facebook friends. My cousin and her husband are visiting last night and today. They head on up to our cousin up north later this afternoon.

My biggest problem is that I can't seem to relax my shoulder and arms enough. I'll relax them to go to sleep - and will sleep for a few hours (last night about 5 or so), but then I can't get comfortable again. It seems that laying down is the only way to relax them, so I tend to nap a lot.

I will meet with my grad student later today and see about getting her started on a couple of projects. A friend of mine also moved into my office - it will be interesting to see how she moved things around!

Have a good Friday!

Enjoying myself in Lincoln City

I have been enjoying myself so far in Lincoln City, but I still need to rest a lot. I wasn't nauseous yesterday but was today and that is because I started alternating my meds -yesterday I had the antibiotic and today the Tykerb. Turns out the Tykerb gives me more nausea. I was nauseous on our way to the coast on Saturday, until after lunch, same as today. Because I was nauseous Saturday, I decided to alternate the meds so I could enjoy myself more.

Took two naps Saturday evening, slept okay Sat night. Didn't sleep real well last night. My arm and shoulder get achey and I can't get comfortable. I wake up every 90 to 120 minutes at night.

I am also not wearing the compression sleeve because it seems that my infection in the armpit gets worse when I do. So, I will put up with a fat arm until that wound heals. Maybe I won't get an infection since there won't be open skin.

I don't know if I reported this or not, but the neurosurgeon advised me to do whole brain radiation. I think I will do gamma knife for now and then do WBR radiAtion later this summer. I have been getting a headache behind my right eye on occasion, which makes me think the tuner is there.

So it is a hard thing - take the antibiotic and feel better and heal the wound or take the Tykerb to keep any more brain tumors from growing and feel more nauseous (my digestive system is still healing so I think that is why I feel nauseous with it.) I am erring on feeling good right now since I am at the coast and hope I can get gamma knife for the tumor next week, when Eddie is out of town with his dad.

Have taken several walks on the beach and try to practice my "shee-shee-whoo" breath when I do. Turns out I can walk to Roads End Park, walk to the beach, then walk to the casino,then walk on the beach a short way until I find the path that takes me to them road our house is on. Takes maybe an hour, but usually longer since I spend time in the casino. So far, I think I am $30-40 to the good.

So it is good. The weather hasn't been great so I can't hang out on the deck as much. But good walks on the beach. I do feel more relaxed since I don't have appointments.

We are all fairly lazy. Eddie is having fun with his cousins. So it is good. I just wish to he'll I felt stronger and slept better.

To the coast today

In a few hours, we head to the coast for a few days, until Wednesday. I sure hope I can rest, relax, and most of all, sleep.

I didn't sleep well last night - maybe 4 or 5 hours. I also slept about an hour after dinner.

The wound in my armpit is slowly healing. It is mow back down to 3.5 cm x 1cm. And the chest wound is healing.

I have been streching the right arm -we think there is nerve tension. But it is bothering me again this morning.

I ran some errands yesterday morning and felt good. But was lazy in the afternoon. I packed in the evening, but was groggy because of the nap.

Let's hope my time at the coast is more relaxing and restful.

Busy busy busy Part 2

This week continues to be busy - both at work and holiday happenings. I had two appointments on Wednesday morning and then did a bit of work in the afternoon. I picked up Eddie from school and rested, and then I went to a holiday gathering at the Center for the Humanities and then to the OSU Bookstore sale for faculty and staff. I am done with my holiday shopping; well, except for Eddie's Secret Santa gift at school.

The holiday party at the Center for the Humanities was fun - good food and wine - because I was able to chat with colleagues I didn't know. It's always good to get to know other people.

The books at the bookstore sale were 30% off as was the clothing. I found a couple of Giving Tree gifts and then found a pasta cookbook which was on sale for $5 and with the 30% discount, it was $3.50! I love that kind of sale! Dad says he wants to start cooking more pastas . . .

Yesterday, I had a free morning, so I finished up a course proposal and graded all but the last assignment for my class. All that's left now is grading the last assignment, which I hope to do today and get my grades in.

I had lunch with this man I met through match.com yesterday - we had lunch last Saturday and it went pretty well. It was a fun conversation on Saturday, discussing everything from astronomy to reincarnation to meditation to diet to my work. Yesterday, we talked more about his work and autism. I'm not sure when we might get together again . . . at the very least, our conversations are interesting!

The Dean's office had a holiday party so I visited with a few people there and then some of my female colleagues and I got together for Happy Hour. Really interesting conversation about politics on campus. I stayed out too late - didn't get home until about 7:45pm. So, I'm tired today.

Just got my labs back and my blood counts are all good, so I'll be getting Abraxane today. After grading some papers and making travel plans for Hawaii in February, I plan to pack for an overnight trip to the Coast. It's my friend's birthday. My friend, her dog Shika, Eddie, and I are driving over after school today. We're going to Florence and the plan is to go to Lincoln City tomorrow to take Eddie to the children's arcade at Chinook Winds, but we're supposed to get another visit from the Pineapple Express - i.e., lots of rain that is apparently from Hawaii due to La Nina - so we'll see if the weather cooperates. The coast is supposed to get 3-5 inches of rain in the next day or two. It may cause landslides or washouts on the road. I'll monitor the situation and see what happens . . .

Well, I guess I better do some work. I want to avoid grading papers . . . but the sooner I finish them, the freer I'll feel!

Summer Pics!

Here are a smattering of summer pictures (and one or two from late spring).  I don't have time at the moment to write captions, but will get to that later today, I hope!  Enjoy!

The Coast and My Godparents

We returned home from the Oregon Coast yesterday. I wanted to stay there, but I was also looking forward to sleeping in my own bed! After packing up, we drove to Devil's PunchBowl to walk down to the beach there. Lots of surfers there. It was also warmer because it was more sheltered from the wind. Then, on south to Newport where we ate lunch before heading home.

We tried to get to the beach every day. I had a great time beach combing on Friday, found lots of beach treasures. We also got in some shopping at local stores, went to the arcade/casino, we went to Mo's, saw great sunsets, and listened to the surf.

My godparents showed up Friday night. At the time, we were having dinner at the Lighthouse Brew Pub, after spending time at Road's End Beach and then the arcade/casino. I ended up losing $30 (after winning $20 a few days before), for a net loss of a $10 contribution to the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians. Not too shabby, I think. I got to play a few hours for that.

My godparents live in Omak, Washington. We hadn't seen them in several years, so it was great to see them. They stayed with us at the house in Lincoln City and then at my house last night. Mom and I played double pinochle with them until 12:30am, so I spent most of today being tired. But it was fun! I hadn't played pinochle in years! I think I won more than I lost. Anyway, it was a good visit with P. And K. Thanks for visiting!

I would say that despite the fact that it was a funky house and we were on the bay, it was still a good time. Fun to get away for a few days. I also think I will try to make it to the Coast at least once a month. I think Eddie had fun, too. I will try to post pics soon!

Oregon Coast

We left for the Oregon Coast on Tuesday and got to Newport at lunchtime. We ate Mo's on the bay front -it was about 84 degrees in Newport. After lunch, I watched the kids bark at the sea lions, then drove to Lincoln City. It was cooler there - about 75.

After we got into the house, we went to the beach; however, it wasn't clear when I rented the house that it wasn't the ocean beach, but the Siletz Bay beach. We went to the bay beach and it was low tide - so it was a muddy/sandy walk to the water.

Then back for dinner and then we went to the beach for the sunset. Beautiful! When we started back to the car, we wre surprised to see the full (or almost full) moon has risen to the East! Wow, a sunset and moonrise al within a few minutes.

The house is kinda funky but it works. It's an old 1930's cottage with some additions. There's a hot tub which the kidsmhave really utilized.

Yesterday, we tried to go to the beach after we dropped off the rental car, but it was cloudy and windy. The kiddos flew a kite but it was really cold down on the beach. I took Eddie and Connor to the Arcade. Then I was able to go to the casino where I won $20! Then, I suffered from withdrawals, I think, because I got the chills and was really tired. I napped a little and I think I lost one of my turtle earrings from Hawaii. I hope I can find it before we go.

Then, today, we ran to Newport trying to find a Wii game for Eddie. No luck after several shops, but I did win $18 in lottery tickets. Then back for lunch, then We all went to look at shops near midtown Lincoln City and I found a shoe insert/arch support for my plantar fascitis. Then to the beach near Mo's where the boys and I hung out watching the waves. I saw a few seals in the surf and a murre (or cormorant?), the boys found a sand dune to roll down. Then back to the house for dinner.

I think I am heading back to the beach to watch the sunset soon. So far, a mostly relaxing time although it is hard to keep kiddos busy!they easily get bored!

A Productive Day

I managed to finish my list of to-do's today, which was nice considering how I felt yesterday with the withdrawal symptoms. Today, I have only taken half a pill, a quarter of one this morning and a quarter this evening. I was just getting the chills before I remembered to take it. It took an hour or so, but I finally got rid of the chills.

The radiation oncology dept. called me today to set up a consult with one of their doctors, but the only appointment was tomorrow afternoon, so I scheduled it for next week. Then, they called back with a morning appointment but it was the same time as another one that I have and I really want to go to that one. It's funny. I started complaining about the modules during the first or second week of July, but it took the docs about 5-6 weeks to biopsy them and now that they did, they want me to start NOW! But I am heading to the Coast tomorrow and I will not delay. They made me wait over a month, now they can wait a week. Most of the pain is gone - just a twinge and Tylenol takes care of that.

I had a productive day, ran several errands this am, met with a student, made phone calls, reserved a car for our trip to the Coast, picked up more herbs from my acupuncturist, hinge out with Eddie in the backyard, finished doing an assessment of an online course, recorded myself reading a chapter I wrote for a college class at Alaska Anchorage, sealed the tile on our fence project, and started to pack for the Coast.

Yep, we head to south Lincoln City (near Mo's) tomorrow morning. It is supposed to be an unprecedented 80 degrees in Lincoln City tomorrow. We'll take off around 11:30am and get there about 1pm. We can't get into the house until 4pm, so we will eat and play on the beach until then.

I cannot wait! I so love the Coast. The ocean relaxes me like nothing else. I promise to post pics. We will have four kiddos (Eddie, his cousins, and my niece's friend), my folks, my brother Scott, my sister, Rena, and me.

Walks on the beach, maybe a visit to the arcade/casino, maybe a visit to the Outlet stores and antique and books stores. Walks on the beach. And, oh yeah, walks on the beach!

A Nice Saturday Afternoon

I will say this: the AdSense ads are encouraging me to write blogposts that are not just about my cancer status. I will say, however, that I have not yet heard from my doctors about the next step. Which is fine. My family and I are heading to Lincoln City for five days. We leave on Tuesday. Yay!

In other news, we attended Baby Goo's birthday party. Technically, he is baby Jeremiah, but that is his dad's first name, and as we call his dad "Gooey" or "Goo" (long story about the mispronunciation of his last name), I have taken to calling him Baby Goo. He is also named after my Uncle Gabe, whose Eskimo name is Aakagak.

Baby Goo's birthday party was held at Fort Hoskins Park, located west of Corvallis. It was a nice afternoon, relaxing. Good food. Good company (several of my former students and their families). What else can I say. Once I get a chance, I will post a photo or two.

I am almost done with a mandala for a friend. And almost done putting up tile on the fence. I have a couple of work things to do - maybe tomorrow morning. Okay. Gonna work on the tile.

Cautious Good News

Dr. K. just called me with the biopsy results. The good news is that there was no cancer! Yay!

The bad news is that Dr. K. wants a surgeon to do a deeper biopsy, closer to the center of the lymph nodes. There are several larger (0.5-1cm) nodules and the area is really purple. So we will hopefully do that next week.

But for now, cautious optimism! :)

Today, I didn't have any appointments, so we drove to the coast. Maybe too much driving around, but we got to visit a couple new beaches, found some interesting rocks with shell indentations on them, and just enjoyed time away from the computer. Yay!

And, last but not least, Boobs on the Beach

On our beach walk to California from our house in Brookings, we saw some very interesting pieces of driftwood. But none were as funny or interesting as this one.

I think I found my lost boobs from my mastectomy! LOL



My colleague yesterday told me that I'd probably see boobs on a Rorschach test!

Brookings, Oregon

My family (my folks, my two brothers, and Eddie) and I are in Brookings, Oregon, this weekend. Brookings is almost as far south as you can get on Hwy. 101, before you get to California.

We got here on Friday afternoon - and it was raining! We had sun, though, shining through the clouds from Reedsport to Gold Beach. Today, it was dry and we saw sun here and there. We are staying near the mouth of the Winchuk River. (I made a silly rhyme: How much chuck can a winchuk win if a winchuk could win chuck? LOL) We crossed the river and then walked south down the beach . . . and made it ALL the way to California! Hee hee. It's about 0.8 miles away. It was a nice walk and I picked up pieces of interesting driftwood, rocks, and shells. I love the beach - it makes me feel relaxed and calm and also it energizes me. It makes me happy!

This past week was busy - long (for me) days at work, Eddie's Valentine's Day party, and then preparing for this trip. I had a couple of appointments (as usual) and on Thursday, found out the results of my echocardiogram: normal heart function with an LVEF (left ventricular ejection fraction) of 55, in the normal range. So, now I just wait to hear if I'm eligible for the UW trial.

That left armpit with the swollen lymph nodes has been a little more painful again, which means it's swelling.

I'm realizing lately that I might not be able to play volleyball much - maybe not anymore, but at least for the foreseeable future. It's a combination of potentially getting rib fractures (they've been a little more tender since playing volleyball last week) and fatigue. I think the swollen lymph nodes won't always be a problem like they are now. That makes me a little sad, to realize that cancer has taken away this activity that used to be a lot of fun; I just need to replace that with more walks on the beach, I think! Maybe not playing volleyball is a little inevitable: I'm older now and not as limber and I might have been tired anyway in the evening.

Tomorrow, we're going to head down into California and go hiking among the redwoods. I also want to get another walk on the beach.

I have a fun picture to post - but I'll get it there tomorrow. I'm tired! The long drive yesterday, watching the opening ceremonies for the Olympics, and the walk into California has me tired! Oh, we went to a local gathering today - the Art and Chocolate Festival.

I'm glad I'm here - I just need to get to bed early tonight and relax! Have a great week-end everyone!

Got to Love Liz! "We have a life to live and it doesn't involve giving in to cancer"

One of my fellow cancer bloggers, Liz at Literally Liz, said "We have a life to life and it doesn't involve giving in to cancer. Just all there is to it" in response to a comment I made on her first 2010 post.

Like, I said, you got to love Liz!

Today, I was going to accompany a friend to REI in Eugene to exchange something, but she decided she didn't need it, so ... we drove to the coast instead!

We drove to Newport, then north to Lincoln City, had lunch, hit the Outlet Mall, then an antique store, and then took the long way home. All in all, a good day. I hadn't been to the coast in a long time and it was fun. Unfortunately, it was high tide, so we couldn't really get out to walk at the beach we were at, but it was enough to feel the wind, smell the coast, and hear the waves.

Man, I really love the coast. I really love it.

Thanks, B., for suggesting the coast jaunt and thanks for the great company.

And, a good time was had by all . . .

Beautiful weather.

Ate wonderful food . . . and believe it or not, everyone enjoyed the blueberry tart that I made!

Watched pelicans and seals on the beach.

Saw a wonderful sunset.

Enjoyed good conversations and a couple of fun games.

Fell in love with the coast all over again when we (Scott and I) did a series of short hikes around Cape Perpetua.

Pictures will be posted soon!

Thanks, everyone!

Our Glorious Oregon Coast

I got back yesterday from a 5-day trip to the Oregon Coast. We had great weather (well, a bit of rain and then fog one day), but other than that, sunny blue skies, temps about 70 and sometimes it was windy.

It was 5 days of huge swells; big waves; splashes; crashing waves like a jet engine; walks on the beach; foam feet; seaweed; reading in the crow's nest; eating; antique shops; some gambling luck; good company; slot cars; mini-golf; Yaquina Head lighthouse; hiking up Yaquina Head; Boiler Bay; Devil's Punchbowl; star fish; Eddie as King of the Seaweed; Mo's; arcade; outlet stores; barking sea lions; sunsets; moonsets; soaking in the hot tub; watching movies; and beautiful beautiful scenery.

First, here's the house we stayed in:

Pelican's Perch at Bella Beach (part way between Depoe Bay and Lincoln City)

I should say that on the day we drove down there, I bought an Oregon lottery scratch-it ticket. And, we won $100! That paid for our groceries for a few days.

Then, on Tuesday, I took Eddie to the children's arcade at the child care center at Chinook Winds Casino. Mom took care of him and I went to the non-smoking casino and put $20 into a 1 cent slot machine - and 30 minutes walked out of there with $60 - a $40 profit.

Of course, I got the bug and went back the next day and went to the same machine. I only won $3. But, I guess that's better than losing, huh? Yay!

Now, here are some photos.

Here's my dad and Eddie getting caught in the surf - a wave splashed them when they weren't looking!



Eddie's enjoying his walk on the beach. He really enjoyed the waves and, for some reason this trip, he enjoyed playing with seaweed.



The day this picture was taken, it was windy.




The waves and surf were really rough and wild, so rough that it created foam, hence causing "foam feet". Here are Scott's foam feet.



Eddie had foam feet, too, although by the time I snapped this photo, the foam dissipated.



Awww, aren't we cute? You can see the water droplets in my hair.



Mom, Eddie, and I took an almost two-hour walk on the beach - we walked clear to the southern end of the beach our house was located on. It took us longer to walk down, because we played with seaweed. I think it took us about 45 min to get back to the house. Eddie and mom are showing us how long the seaweed is.



Eddie decided to collect seaweed - you should've seen how valiantly and patiently he kept picking up the seaweed to put into his hand, but it kept falling off. At one point, he looked like he was carrying a little seaweed Christmas tree.



One night, we could see the crescent moon just over the horizon - it was a "moon set"!



And, the next night, I snapped this picture of the sunset - the sun is reflecting off the water, all the way to the beach. Very cool, eh?



I still need to download more photos - and I still need to post photos from my Oxford trip. I guess I've been too busy doing things in real life that my blog has suffered somewhat. But that's okay, isn't it? : )

Thanks to the powers that be for this wonderful coast . . . and thanks to my family for joining me!

My Wonderful Quick Trip to Bandon, Oregon

Yesterday, I drove 4 hours down Hwy 101 and landed in Bandon for the night. I met one of my oldest friends, Paula, and her husband down there - she's a school teacher and on spring break, too. I arrived there about 4pm and it was beautiful down there. Windy, but sunny. While they took a nap, I walked on the beach and then on Coquille Point, where they had a half-mile interpretive trail. It took me about an hour. It was absolutely gorgeous and it felt so good to breathe in fresh, clean, sea air! I was kinda tense (issues with my partner) and the walk really rejuvenated me! Anyway, I will see if blogger will allow me to post a picture and then add a caption . . .

When I took the steps down to the beach, I first headed south and walked as far as I could in that direction - maybe 1/4 to 1/2 mile. Then, as I went up to the bedrock that blocked my way, I was greeted with a little treat! There was this hole in the rock! Didn't expect to see it; another lady was also there and we both said that it was a pleasant surprise to see that there!


I tried to take a picture of the building where my room was - you can just barely see the roof above the rocks (look over the steps) - the cars are to the right of my building.


This rock is on the north end of the beach where I stayed - I stopped and watched the waves crash through the hole in this rock for about 10-15 minutes. I was awed by how much force the waves must have as they go through this hole.



Below is a view of Table Rock, which was north of where my room was. There are a bunch of birds (the white specks) on it. I took the picture from Coquille Point, which is a national wildlife refuge, noted particularly for the migratory sea birds that fly through here in spring and fall.



This was the view of the rocks outside my window this morning - I happened to look out when the sun was shining on the rocks, otherwise, the rocks would've been dark as it was mostly overcoast today.


I had never spent time in Bandon before. I liked this little community but more importantly, I really loved this beach because of the large rocks that lay just off shore. There was one rock called "face rock" but unfortunately, I didn't get a good shot of that one. You could see it really well from my friend's room. Also, I apologize. The pictures are small - meant to make them larger, but blogger is going awfully slow posting my photos today. I think if you click on the photos, you can get them to go bigger.

We also had dinner at the Wheelhouse in Old Town Bandon - we had wonderful stuffed mushrooms (with cream cheese and crab meat) and I had the seafood linguini that had scallops, shrimp, tomatoes and capers. Delicious! It was a very good visit with my friends . . . too short, but I had to come back today for my appointment with my oncologist.