Physical therapy and MRI

I saw my physical therapist who said that now that I have been treated with antibiotics for a few days, it is okay to begin wearing compressions garments again. The Area that was red and inflamed has improved, from her perspective, but it is still red and inflamed. So for now I will stay on the antibiotic.

My son saw the dentist and all is well - no cavities!

Then I had the MRI, both with and without contrast. It wad fine except I couldn't quite get my lymphedema arm comfortable. I will get results late tomorrow or Wed. I really hope there is nothing measurable there so I continue getting stronger and let my digestive system heal. (still have some diarrhea).

Went to some friends' child's fifth birthday at a local park. Eddie played at the park and in the sand. He did the same at my friends' softball game yesterday. It feels good to get out and about.

I am tired at the moment. Got about 7 hours last night. And my right shoulder and forearm seem less tense, as does my left shoulder. I think the Valium is working! Less anxious, muscles are relaxing. Getting more sleep. It is a good thing.

What I Did Last Week-end

I had a busy week-end, as usual.  Eddie was with his dad.  I had a softball game on Friday (we lost 17-9, but it was fun) and then we went to a teammates' new house. It's really nice with some pretty updates! I was up past midnight that night . ..

And, then Saturday, I ran to the Dollar Tree and got some supplies for Eddie's birthday party on the 24th.  Then, dad, Scotty, mom and I worked to declutter the house - since it was rather warm out to be working outside.  We rearranged furniture in the front room and brought some things out to the garage, then we decided to give away old textbooks.  We managed to give ourselves a bit more room and we got a lot of things off of counters and other surfaces.  Then, we reorganized the books in my parents' room.  Then, I went to my friends' house to play cards and hang out on a warm summer evening.  Yay!

Sunday, I cleaned, did some touch-up paint work in my bedroom, then attended a friend's daughter's birthday party, then took some stuff to my office, and played softball (we won 10-3!).  Whew!  I was tired and I'm still tired today.  I think that I must've ended up with caffeinated diet pepsi instead of caffeine-free diet pepsi last night. 

Today, Eddie had a swimming lesson, then I did some work at home, then I had physical therapy, then worked in my office and wrote some emails.  I need to work on my chapter summary on the Inupiaq/Yup'ik view of Alaska Statehood!  I need to send in revisions next Monday! 

So, a productive time.  I plan on relaxing at Cathie's!

Another Herceptin Treatment and Softball News

I had another Herceptin treatment.  We'll see how this affects my lymph nodes.  The nurse felt the small nodules and wasn't sure what to tell me - I emailed the UW nurse and will see what she replies.  I meant to call Dr. K today and see what he says .. . The nurse thought my guess that they were also swollen nodes was as good a guess as any. 

In other news, my team won our game last night, 19-3, I think.  I was 1 for 2 with a walk. 

I haven't been on my feet as much the last few days, which means that the plantar faciitis isn't as bad as it was. I'm also massaging it every night and trying to stretch my achilles as much as possible. 

Also, attended some meetings on our new Native American Cultural Center on campus.  The plans are looking really really cool!  Not sure when they will break ground for it - sometime next year.

The weather was really gorgeous all week-end - even as high as about 85 or 86 yesterday - and today in the low 70s.  As long as it's sunny, I'm enjoying it!

Softball News

In softball news, we won our make-up game last night, 17-9.  I was 2 for 4 batting (two pop-ups, gak!).  I also tried to throw from right field and hurt my shoulder - I think I maybe tweaked some scar tissue in a way it didn't want to be tweaked. 

Last Sunday, our softball team won 19-6, I think, and I was 3 for 4 batting with 3 RBI's.  I even made the paper!  : )

I think, overall, our team has a winning season!  Yay!

UW Clinical Trial - Visit 7

Apologies for not posting sooner.  It's hard for me to post when I'm traveling . . .

I received my Herminator-2 cells on Thursday - all 16 billion of them!  They weren't sure if that was the most that anyone received in this trial - or the second most. At any rate, it was a lot!  : ) 

They said I might feel flu-like symptoms, namely chills and a fever.  It didn't really hit me until later (I got my t-cells from about 2:30-3:00pm) - not really chills.  I just felt chilly and then I felt my forehead about 9pm and decided it was warmer than usual.  So, I took Tylenol.  I took some again the next morning and then mid-day, but didn't really have a fever after that.  I have only been taking Tylenol since then mostly for the pain in my lymph nodes.

My lymph nodes became a bit more swollen and that whole area is red - with even a bit of bluish-purplish areas.  That's a good thing.  It means the Herminator-2 cells are at work in those lymph nodes releasing cytokines and hopefully killing those cancer cells.  I'll keep y'all posted about the status of these lymph nodes.  My hope is that they start shrinking; they said that it might take a couple of weeks.

I asked Dr. S how they would know whether the t-cells (Herminator-2 cells) they harvested from me where the ones that my body started creating after I received the anti-Her-2 vaccinations.  Dr. S replied that they don't know for sure.  However, they do measure something (wavelengths?  frequency?  something?) in my blood before I get the vaccines and they measure it afterwards several times.  I guess this wavelength?/frequency? changes when there's these t-cells.  But I won't know about these for awhile. 

So, fairly minor side effects. I have been having trouble with the bottom of my feet these past few weeks - my heels feel bruised and that tenderness extends up into the arches of my feet.  I think that it might be plantar fascitis. I talked to my physical therapist about it and she said to do runner's stretches for the achilles.  So, I've been doing that and massaging the tenderness.  They did say I might have muscle aches.  Is it due to my shoes?  I wore Keens all winter.  Starting wearing Chacos more regularly a few weeks ago. Could it be the Chacos?  Hell if I know.  I just know I'm tired of the achiness. 

I played softball today, though.  My left big toe wasn't as sore in my shoe as last week.  And, I could throw without tweaking my shoulder.  I batted 3 for 4 today and my team won 19-6!

Z-Day Today

Later this morning, I have my zometa appointment. They'll draw my blood and take my tumor markers. I'm hoping that they are the same as they were last month. I can still feel my lymph nodes under my left arm pit.

I am feeling effects of Xeloda - I gave myself a week-end off from it, though, as I could tell I needed a break. My mouth was starting to become really sensitive to spicy things . . . my digestive tract was irritated but I'll spare you the details of how I know that.

My softball team had three games this past week-end. We lost by a lot on Friday. We lost by only a few runs during our first game yesterday at 3pm. It was hot yesterday afternoon - temperature was at 91 degrees. I drank A LOT of water and then put a cold bandana around my neck. I didn't play very well. I had a couple of errors in the field and was 0-fer in terms of hitting.

We then had a second game at 4:20pm. We only lost by one run. In the first or second inning, I participated in a double play - I caught a line drive in right center and then threw the runner out on first. We'd been ahead by a couple of runs and then, in the bottom of the 6th, they tied it up. I don't think we scored any in the top of the 7th, and then they had a runner on first and I caught a long ball out in right center .. . had to go backwards a few steps for it . . . and then I extended my arm ======> just long enough to catch it. I think my teammates were holding their breath. I think that was the second out of the inning and then we got their third out on the next at-bat. So, it was still a tie-game in the bottom of the 7th. We ended up tied at the end of the 8th - both teams scored a run or two. Then, we didn't score in the top of the 9th and they got one run.

It was a close game - a fun game. I think the fact that a breeze came up and cooled things down made it easier on us. My big toes (the ones that lost the toenail last year) were sore the whole two games - the shoes were too tight in the toe-box.

Then, we went to Woodstock's and hung with members of the team for a couple of hours. Afterwards, we came home and watched Hitch until bedtime. I was bushed. Drank lots of water all afternoon and evening.

But it was a good day. The day before, we held a karaoke birthday party for Eddie. He turned 9 years old (hard to believe!). The words on the karaoke didn't work quite so well, but the kids had fun playing with the mics. We visited with the other parents. Good thing there were only 9 or 10 kids - the house couldn't have held more - because of the heat and because we only have two window units, we closed off some of the rooms and tried to contain things to just one room. In the end, I think people had fun.

Mom, dad, Scotty (my brother) and Scott (my boyfriend) all helped a lot to prepare for this party. I didn't put as much planning into this year's party as I did last year's. I feel a little bit bad about that but, on the other hand, last year I went all out with a Price is Right party for Eddie. Hard to top that. Although, I just got an idea for next year - maybe we need to try to do a Wipeout Party .. . hmmmm. Got a year to figure it out, don't I?

We made the paper!

You gotta love living in a small town! Our local paper prints the results of the city league softball games, complete with a short list of the batters who had the most hits for either team.

Three of my friends and I made the paper this week as well as one of the newer people on the team - a young guy (at least compared to some of us who are about 17-18 years older than him).

It says and I quote, "Amy Searles, Dee Kingston, and Rick Webb all had three hits, and Bryan Hill [he's the new guy] and Josh Searles each had four hits in the win." Oh, yeah, we won 23-10! We are now 4 and 2 for the season. The other Samaritan team is 5 and 2 on the season - they're in the same league as we are. We lost to them last week.

But we have a winning season so far! Yippee!

Note: Amy and Josh were on my first date with Scott and Amy, Josh, Rick, and I all went to see Journey and Def Leppard three years ago. Rick and I have known each other since 1990 since we were on a volleyball team together and then he joined the softball team I was on in 1991. Rick's wife was on the softball team beginning in 1990. Amy and Josh got on the softball team in 2001, I think.

A Great End to the Week-end

First, some updates:

Eddie - no live lice yesterday, although I found a handful of nits that I picked out of his hair. (An all new meaning to the term "nit-picky"!). I think we're beating this infestation, although I don't think we're out of the woods yet.

Scott - the area that he thinks was the first to contact the poison oak has started to weep. Poor guy is walking around with calamine lotion all over him.

Scott - today is his birthday (48th). Yesterday evening, I planned a little surprise birthday thing after our softball team's game - we always go to a local pizza place. My folks and my sister and her family also joined us. Luckily, we all showed up a the pizza place first and then 15 min later, Scott showed up - and we yelled "Surprise!" He was surprised, although he thought that I was acting a bit strange earlier when I kept pressing him for his ETA. We had pizza and cake and joked around with folks. I fed my friend's almost-year-old little bites of cake. I said I was "contributing to the delinquency of a baby".

Deanna - we won our softball game 23-10. I was 3-for-4 batting. Whatever hesitation I felt earlier this season due to my reconstruction surgery (with my tight abdomen and tight shoulder and test) has gone. Although I still don't quite have the distance on my throw, it is getting better and I'm able to get that ol' snap to the throw that I used to have. My personal chef was on the other team and then one of Eddie's classmates mothers was on a team that played just after ours. Anyway, it was great fun, topped off by a good visit.

Deanna and Scott - the reorganization of the house is coming along nicely.

Tired Today

I was up too late last night. There's a lot going on this week-end for me. Softball game tomorrow evening. Garage sale at my house Sat and Sun. A baby shower for a colleague on Sat morning. A party at another colleague's on Sat afternoon. Softball Sunday evening. And, on top of that, grading papers. I am feeling the need to reorganize my work piles and make a new to-do list.

The good news is that I don't have to teach any more classes until late September! Yay!

I am so looking forward to working on my own research and writing.

Scott won't be able to help with the garage sale. Some unexpected things happened that require him to stay in Portland. My folks, however, are helping me.

If you have more questions about the garage sale, please let me know!

I have great friends!

I had a productive day - worked on that article, repotted plants, worked on the mosaic, then played softball. We won 16-14! Not through any singular effort on my part - I walked once and got out another time and didn't have any defensive plays. But it was still fun and nice to get out there!

I wondered if I would get short of breath when I ran and I didn't, so that's a good thing. I can't throw as far as I used to, though, because of the radiation and surgery to my right side. My right shoulder is tight, but my partner is going to help loosen that up.

Scott and I made a goof on the mosaic last week - after putting the grout on it, we (or I) didn't take the time to wipe the damp grout off the tiles. So, the grout dried on the tiles and now we've just spent 5 or 6 hours this week-end trying to scrap the damn stuff off the tiles so that you can see the design. It's hard, painstaking work. Scott's doing the bulk of the work - my arthritic fingers get sore faster and I don't quite have the strength that he does. We were encouraged, though, by seeing the tiles pop out again. As long as we can see the results of our labor, we can keep going. We should only have another hour or two left - you can see the tiles with grout still on them on the bottom of this picture. (Actually, the picture is kinda cool - the light was shining through some trees and highlighted one of the two "galaxies" in the design - see it on the right side?) Then, I need to regrout a few areas. Then seal it. Chalk this one up to "live and learn". I've never done a mosaic before . . .



A couple of lurkers read my post today and sent me emails . . . saying that they are visualizing, too. Thanks to all of you, too!

I enjoyed chatting with my friends at the ball game and last night, we played cards and had fun. One of my good friend's daughter's husband said last night, "At our last game, something seemed to be missing and I realized, you weren't there!" He missed me, apparently, and said something like, "it's just not softball without Dee!".

Scott also did some massage work on me today - he was getting ready for his practicum test. Did I say he was in massage school? Anyway, I thought I should only take an hour, but it felt really good, so we went another 30 minutes and he worked on my calves and feet.

I have great friends, you know? Thank you everyone!

Another radiation update

Hi everyone,
I had my first "booster" radiation treatment today. Fortunately, the past day or so, the radiation burn has mostly healed. I have four more booster treatments and will finally finish radiation treatments this Friday! YAY!!

I did resist radiation treatments because I didn't want to risk losing the ability to have an implant. But it was nice to hear from my plastic surgeon awhile back that there is a Plan B for reconstruction. Next month sometime, I will ask about that process.

In the meantime, late last week, I noticed two black spots within the open skin wound. I asked the doctor about them today and her opinion was that these two black spots represented tumors that were forming and that the radiation has killed them and the black spots are dying cancer tissue. YAY again!! More evidence that the radiation is doing what it's supposed to be doing!!

I was only 1-for-3 playing softball yesterday, so Deechiro won't be in the paper this week. Darnit!

Well, more later .. . got to do some things. Have a great day everyone!

"Deechiro" Made the Paper!

Ahhh, the pleasures of living in a small town! Our local paper writes up quick results for the city league softball games and they include the scores of the games as well as those hitters who stood out. Well, I made the paper this week! I can't remember the team we played, but we lost 24-9. The entry for me said:

"Dee Kingston went 2-for-3 with 5 RBIs for the GSH Stretchers."

I text messaged my teammates and Heather Kenagy (of My Xeloda fame - see http://deeupdates.blogspot.com/2008/04/my-xeloda-by-heather-kenagy.html).

wrote back, "We're going to have to start calling you Deechiro"!! (Just so you know, all my friends are Mariners fans.)

So, even though my radiation burn under my right armpit prevents me from throwing a softball very well, I can still bat! HAAA!

I just might have to get a t-shirt with that name on it! Hee hee hee

(Sheesh, have I no shame? What's with all the bragging, huh?)

Sorry! I've been out of touch . . .

I just realized that I haven't updated my blog in a few days. Sorry! I guess I've either been busy or too tired.

On Friday, I took my son and niece and nephew to see WALL E. It was a cute movie with a good message. Then, we went to dinner and I brought my niece and nephew home and then was too tired.

On Saturday, I took my son and Scott and his daughter out to lunch for Scott's birthday and then took a ride on a Willamette Jetboat from OMSI to Willamette Falls. It was about 100 out and being on an open boat on the river was just what the doctor ordered. We wore lots of sunscreen and then had fun when the jetboat operator purposefully splashed us. We saw a bald eagle's nest and an osprey nest, expensive houseboats and big mansions (near Lake Oswego), then went down and saw the old Willamette Locks and Willamette Falls. All in all a great two hours on the river!

Sunday, it was much too hot to much of anything. I played softball Sunday afternoon. My brother-in-law finished doing his part on Eddie's Big Wheel. Now my task is to paint it and put the numbers on it, too.

Today, I had radiation treatment #18 - only 10 more to go!! Yay! Still dealing with the open wound (spent about $50 in one week for dressings and banndages!). The wound care nurse gave me a durable medical equipment catalog and I was able to order everything I needed directly from them and they will bill my insurance. Can you imagine? Otherwise, I might have a $200 bill for bandages and dressings that I just throw away. Criminy.

Other than that, I'm doing well - having fun - I think I finally shook that bad mood. My son's enjoying his summer break. I've more or less gave up on work for the month of June. I do have a couple of things that I want to get to this week, but I think I may take most of July off as well. I need to write a couple of articles and do some background research for a new project and write a couple of reviews.

Hope you all are doing well out there!

Of Big Toenails and Emotions

Huh? What do big toenails and emotions have in common?

Well. Softball, of course!!

We had another game last night (they're every Sunday night) and I played more aggressively last night than I have since the season started. For the first game, I was tentative because my throwing arm was tight and I wasn't sure how well I would throw. Well, it's loosened up and it feels fine to throw. But I ended up injuring my left big toenail - it turned black because it jammed in the front of the shoe when I had to stop all of a sudden. So, I have been playing tentatively and my mood (feeling lonely and sad) these past several weeks contributed to an overall less-then-stellar effort on the ballfield for my part. I didn't want to reinjure my toe and it was just hard to be there.

Yesterday evening, though, I felt better, happy to be there even though I'd sat three hours in the sun for graduation, and more confident about my abilities. But we only had 7 players to start the game. They had 10. And, whaddya know? We actually were either tied with them or were within 2 or 3 runs until the 5th inning. That was when they got ahead by 5 and we couldn't quite catch up. Overall, I was 4-for-6 batting and I threw out a runner at 2nd. We lost 17-12, I think. But since I felt better emotionally, I played more aggressively. Guess I'm an emotional player.

Unfortunately, though, during the game, I jammed my RIGHT toenail into the front of my shoe. When I took off my socks, there was blood.

So, last night, I soaked my feet in Epsom Salts (one website said that this is something one can do for black toenails). When I dried off my left foot, I accidentally snagged the end of the left toenail . . . and the whole thing pulled straight up, with only the back edge attached to the cuticle! Gave me the heebie-jeebies to see my toenail like that, but it didn't hurt at all. Just the thought, you know?

My right toe was weeping through the night and this morning, so I decided that I should go to Immediate Care and see what I should do about these toenails. First, she said she'd take off the left one and since it didn't seem to bother me much when she manipulated it, she just yanked it off. I didn't watch. Ew. But it hurt less than it hurts when you pull a hair out of your head.

She said the right toe is still pretty tightly attached on one side and not attached on the other and as long as it isn't infected, I should just watch it and see what it wants to do.

She said that it would take a year for the left toenail to grow back. And, to use moleskin and/or bandaids to protect those toes when wearing shoes.

I am definitely buying new softball shoes. Obviously, the new ones I bought are not good for me. Bummer deal.

You know how sometimes softball players have nicknames? Just call me "8 1/2 Toenails" or something like that.

Oh yeah. The doctor told me that I could go ahead and play sand volleyball. Cool.

Not Much Going On Today

Another breast cancer survivor, Jeanne from NYC, said in her blog the other day that she really didn't have much to say. Instead, she shared some little tidbits about friends and family. So, I'm stealing her idea and doing the same.

It got pretty hot here yesterday - mid-90s at least. It made me realize that I'm going to have to watch myself as I do seem to be more sensitive to the heat.

But my irises are about to bloom and my rhododendron bush bloomed a couple of days ago. Lilacs are starting to fade, but they are still pretty. Tulips are fading, too, but are still there. Dad put in some red hot pokers a couple of years ago and they all of a sudden sprouted. There was another word I could use . . . but that might imply that I have a dirty mind. LOL

Went to see Dana Carvey at Spirit Mountain Casino Event Center with Josh and Amy, Heather (of My Xeloda fame) and Kevin, and their parents (Steve and I'll have to get their mom's name. Can't remember - I blame chemo brain). It was a hoot - he had a great Reagan oracle bit about the presidential election, a riff on the use of the cuss word (s#&t) in various phrases (Does a bear s@*t in the woods? Are you s*#ttin' me? etc.), and he did a great improv about the neighboring towns of McMinnville, Grand Ronde, and Salem.

Saw my acupuncturist yesterday - no alien hickies. She said that my "san gao" (the triple burner, I think) was strong, slow, and healthy - a good thing. She says that I'm doing what I need to be doing to put that back into balance. My liver chi was still too hot . . . working on that. She offered a qi gong routine in the park this morning - didn't realize how tight many of my muscles were. Note to self: STRETCH every day.

I need to run errands, do some paint touch-ups in the bathroom and clean the house in preparation for Jeanne's visit that begins tomorrow evening. I'll pick her up after my softball game. Let's see if I can play and not injure my big toe anymore. I need to write up a summary for NSF, and draft up a narrative for another small grant proposal.

Otherwise, trying to stay comfortable. It's beautiful out there. Love it! Enjoy your day everyone!

A Black Toenail for a Losing Cause

Last night was the first softball game of the season. We stayed pretty close the first few innings and then we just lost it - we had too many errors and not enough hits! Bummer deal, man! And, then, the next to last inning, as I threw a ball in from outfield, my left big toe jammed into the front of the shoe! I think the shoe may be too long (but I had to go up 1/2 a size because part of my foot is so wide), so my foot slipped while the shoe stayed put. I just took off my toenail polish (a nice turquoise blue to match my ipod) to see what it looked like - and there's a lovely black and blue area under the nail. Crap! Don't know if that'll affect whether or not I can play next week. And, we ended up losing 19-9. Darnit! But the pizza and beer afterwards was still fun. Our new teammate is only 25! He was born the year I graduated from high school. Doesn't that make me feel old? Talk about adding insult (age!) to injury (turf toe, I think).

Woo hoo! I don't need a bra!

Today was our first softball practice of the season. This is a team that I have played with since 1990, except when I lived in Virginia, Fairbanks, Alaska, or Connecticut. A lot of my good friends were there (Tammy and Rick Webb, who host the weekly card game, Tammy's sons Don and Scott and their wives (Lynn and Betsy) and kids, Rick's daughter Kathy and her husband Chris and their daughters, Carol Olufson with her husband and three kids. I have played softball with Carol since 1990 and Rick and Tammy since 1991. (Tammy may have been there in 1990, but I don't recall - sorry Tammy if I got it wrong.) Other card playing buddies were there - Jay and Gina and Ruby. Erik was there - he's now on the volleyball team. There were a few others who are relative newcomers to the team.

I wondered how well I would do playing softball again after my surgery. I have been playing volleyball since mid-January and at first, I was tight, but I think it did me good to play so that I could stretch muscles again. I wondered how my chest area would do playing - would I be able to run without a bra? How would I do batting again? And, what about throwing?

Good news! I can continue NOT wearing a bra. I have not worn a bra since November 15, 2007. Cool, huh? I even ran around the bases once after hitting a line drive out to right field. (I used to hit grounders to shortstop, but after playing tennis, I've learned timing and can now hit to right field when I want.) No problem with batting. But I was certainly tighter throwing than I've ever been. I have a fairly decent arm - I can sometimes throw to the pitcher on a single hop from outfield. I may not be able to do that for awhile because I need to get the throwing muscles (chest wall, bi and tri-ceps, and shoulder) into shape.

But I can play! Yippee!

Before practice, my sister told me about a fundraiser for Jeff Tolbert, who has played on our softball team off and on for several years. A few years ago, Jeff found out that he had a benign brain tumor and it was surgically removed. Last summer, he found that it was growing back and I believe he just had surgery for it last month. But around the same time, he found out he had prostate cancer. They're doing a benefit fundraiser for him tomorrow night, Monday, April 14, at Bomb's Away Cafe. A band will be playing from 8-10pm ($5 cover) and folks can have dinner beforehand. I think they said 20% of the proceeds were going to Jeff. I'm planning to go as well as some of my teammates. He has two boys, teenagers I think, or one teenager and one nearly so.