Encouraging Signs?

I saw the wound care nurse yesterday - we changed the dressings we're using again because the wound started draining more the night before. Sigh. I'd gotten used to one dressing change per day with a minimal dressing. Now, it's back to more drain sponges to absorb the drainage.

I saw the surgeon today and he took a look at the wound. He felt that the satellite lesions near the back were softer. He saw that there was more white tissue that might be slough but he didn't see anything to debride. Dr. F also thought that the increased drainage was a good sign that the chemo was working to kill the cancer.

Also that red area that grew a white tip? I thought it might be cancer, but he didn't; instead, he felt it was granulated tissue - i.e., tissue that was trying to regenerate.

Really? That's an awfully unusual shape for new tissue - a long skinny bump? Am I trying to grow a new lymph node? Better yet, maybe my body's trying to grow a new BOOB!! Ha!!

(Gotta keep a sense of humor!)

He doesn't know how deep the cancer extends, so he's ordering a CT scan. I'll probably have that in the next week or so. Dr. F wants to know where the cancer is so he can make a decision about surgery. I'm curious, too, to see where the cancer's at. I fantasize that it's only under my armpit and the deposits in my bone marrow. I hope that it's gone from my lungs and liver.

My February is very busy so I don't think I'd have surgery before the beginning of March. I'm in Hawaii Feb 2-11, at Eddie's school's tournament Feb 16-18, Las Vegas Feb 20-22, and at a cabin in the woods co-writing an article Feb 25-27.

So, in the absence of any other explanation, I'll take Dr. F's opinion as an encouraging sign that treatment is working.

Latest Herceptin Treatment - and Next Week-end's Plans

I had my fourth Herceptin treatment yesterday. Then, after a quick lunch, I went to campus for about an hour and then came home. I started getting more fatigued afterwards, but it was progressive - okay at first and then more and more tired. Last time, I tried to walk from my son's school to my office, but this time, I parked in the paylot across from my building. My legs were a bit shaky, so I thought it was best.

By last night, I was tired, but sorta giddy silly tired. I kept thinking about what Joanna (at "Life Has Its Ups and Downs") told me last time: that my fatigue is indication that Herceptin is working against active cancer cells. I thought, "go for it, Herceptin, do your thing! I won't tax my body so the drug will do its trick".

This morning, I felt pretty groggy. My eyes felt heavy, even though I slept about 8 hours. I took Spagedward to school and then came home, did some work/email/facebook, snapped at the cat - and dad caught some of it, too - when the cat attacked my hand, took a shower, realized just how close my emotions are to the surface (either 'cuz I'm tired or mood swings or something), then played on the computer some more before going to work. I wanted to stay home, but today was the day that a potential grad student was able to come to campus for a visit. So I met with her and then had to introduce the course I was supposed to teach - the person we hired to teach it in my place couldn't make it - my legs were shaky. So, I did my thing and then picked up Eddie.

On the way home, I felt like I could take a nap. But I hate naps. After doing some checkbook balancing, my neighbor stopped by. The poor lady really has no support system, but on the other hand, she kinda drives me crazy, so I understand why she doesn't have many friends. She told me about some legal problems, but her story changed slightly each time I asked her a question - the story was convoluted and the only thing I kept thinking was, "Man, I do not have energy for this". In the end, my dad and I decided she just needed someone to talk to.

But, holy cow, why me? Why today? Ah well. Such is life.

Dad cooked a delicious dinner - pork chops with potatoes and carrots. I've been hungry all day. I figure my body needs extra calories to help Herceptin do its thing against the cancer.

In the meantime, travel plans have been settled for next week-end. Dad, mom, Spagedward, and I will drive to Port Orchard, WA, on Saturday morning. My dad's sister, Aunt Judy, lives there. We'll hang out with her and her husband for awhile, and then Eddie and I head to my old high school friend's house in Bremerton, where we'll stay the night. My old high school friend, S, has two boys, ages 9 and 6. I worked for S's dad for almost three years in the high school and we were friends throughout that time. I haven't seen her in nearly 25 years. Wow.

On Sunday, we'll pick up mom and dad and take the ferry across Puget Sound to Seattle. We'll stay the night in Seattle and Monday morning, we'll go to my first appointment at the UW Tumor Vaccine Group.

So, at least my first trip north will be fun, full of visits with rellies and old friends. I think it bodes well, dontcha think?

Enjoying the Days

The last two days have been beautiful here in western Oregon. I've enjoyed the sun and seeing all the flowers bloom. Love that!












Spent the last couple of days running around - had an acupuncture, physical therapy, and counseling appointments the last couple of days. Had other errands to run. Did a few things with Eddie.

Last night, I was up until 1am working on a grant proposal. Hoped to get back to it today, but was too busy.

Tomorrow, we head to Bend for three nights. Yay! It'll be fun to be in different surroundings and have a change in routine. My sister and her kids, my folks, my youngest brother, Eddie, and my folks' dog are staying in a 4-bedroom, 3.5 bath house (got a good deal - Bend has been hard hit by the recession, so things are relatively inexpensive) with a hot tub. We may play in the snow. We will definitely go hiking. We might find a family fun center - I think there's one with go karts. That'll be fun.

Since my siblings and I went to high school in Central Oregon, we may also visit with old friends. I know I will definitely see a friend who came to see me before the holidays. L and I first met when we were 10, when we first moved to Prineville.

I'll have to bring some work with me. But it'll be relaxing. I love to change up the routine. Enjoy the rest of your spring break!

Family Medical Leave Act

So, in Monday's post, I said I was sad and angry at my colleagues for not supporting my idea to take sick leave for spring term. Well, it turns out that one person was too busy with something else to really hear what my request was and for the other, the person didn't quite realize how much the Herceptin treatments impact me - nor did that person really have a full understanding of all the side effects that I have. When I showed him how big the swollen lymph nodes under my arm are (if you cup your hand like you do when you're swimming - the volume of your cupped hand is what the size of the lymph nodes are), he visibly looked a little bit shocked and then said, "and that's all bad stuff?" and I said, "yes". I reiterated how exhausted I felt and how worried I was that I wouldn't be able to perform in front of the classroom on a regular basis - that one out of three weeks, I'd be exhausted - and I think he finally got it. I guess I talk about all my aches and pains and fatigue all the time so I tend to think everyone has the full picture. But on any given day, I might only talk about one or two things. I think this was the first time that my colleague knew about the whole picture - and then understood.

I also thought to ask our office of Women and Gender Equity about FMLA and the associate director looked at me (and congratulated me on the Phyllis Lee Award from January) and said, "You've been working full time through all of this? It's about time you applied for FMLA!" I responded that last year my tumor markers were good and I had good energy so I didn't see the need. However, this new treatment of Herceptin is really affecting my energy levels and I don't see how I can teach ten weeks, when every third week I'm suffering from fatigue. She said that I can file for FMLA, which allows me to take 12 full-time weeks off without getting fired, but I can also do a part-time FMLA and extend it to 24 weeks or whatever the case may be. And, I can use what sick leave I have to cover it.

So, we're filing for FMLA - that ball is rolling - and the department is thinking about their options with regard to the class. I don't mind helping with the class - I just can't take full responsibility for it.

Also, in other news, I heard from the American Cancer Society today - they work with local hotels and usually can offer me a room at no cost, so that's in the works. There's also the possibility of getting a "gas card" - a credit card to pay for gas.

Anyway, the pieces are falling into place . . . I'm just glad we had a month or so to work on things and am relieved that my department is willing to work with me on the leave ...

Lessons learned? That communication is very important. That I can't assume everyone knows everything. And, that there are always options.

Have a great evening - enjoy American Idol! BTW, my favorites last night were Crystal and Siobhan. Wow! I think Crystal sang Tracy Chapman's song better than Tracy Chapman!

Still Tired but Trying to Focus on the Positive - Tumor Markers

I just sold my organic wool mattress topper - it was twin-sized that was on Eddie's bed. I've been trying to sell it for a couple of months.

I also got the newest tumor markers - they only take them every six weeks. Here are the numbers:

Here's the CA15-3.

Sept 2007 - 23 U/mL
Jan 2008 - 31 U/mL
Mar 2008 - 36 U/mL
June 2008 - 23 U/mL (started radiation that month)
Aug 2008 - 18 U/mL (week of August 4th)
Sept 2008 - 14.5 U/mL YAAAAAAY!!!
Oct 1 2008 - 19.6 U/mL
Oct 31 2008 - 15.3 U/mL
Nov 28 2008 - 19.5 U/mL
Dec 30 2008 - 16.0 U/mL
Jan 22 2009 - 15.4 U/mL
Mar 2 2009 - 17.8 U/mL
Apr 8 2009 - 19.6 U/mL
May 5 2009 - 18.4 U/mL
June 4 2009 - 19.7 U/mL
July 2 2009 - 22.1 U/mL
Aug 3 2009 - 29.7 U/mL
August 31 2009 - 31.9 U/mL
Oct 3 2009 - 38.7 U/mL
Nov 2 2009 - 36.4 U/mL
Nov 30 2009 - 38.5 U/mL
Dec 28 2009 - 37.5 U/mL
Jan 25 2010 - 33.8 U/mL
Mar 8 2010 - 30.9 U/mL

I'll post the CEA numbers. Anything 3.8 and under is "normal".

CEA
1/2008 - 1.2 ng/mL
3/2008 - 0.9 ng/mL
6/2008 - 1.0 ng/mL
8/2008 - 1.1 ng/mL (need to double check this number, but it was in that 0.9 to 1.2 range)
9/2008 - 0.5 ng/mL
10/2008 - 0.9 ng/mL
10/31/2008 - 1.2 ng/mL
11/28/2008 - 1.2 ng/mL
12/30/2008 - 1.1 ng/mL
3/2/2009 - 1.4 ng/mL
4/8/2009 - 1.6 ng/mL
5/5/2009 - 1.9 ng/mL
6/4/2009 - 3.0 ng/mL
7/2/2009 - 3.7 ng/mL
8/3/2009 - 4.2 ng/mL
8/31/2009 - 5.1 ng/mL
10/2/2009 - 5.7 ng/mL (or was it 5.8?)
11/2/2009 - 7.6 ng/mL
11/30/2009 - 10.5 ng/mL
12/28/2009 - 13.2 ng/mL
3/8/2010 - 22.9 ng/mL

So, the CA15-3 went down by almost 3 points (maybe it was 30.7 U/mL), but the CEA went up 9.7 points in 10 weeks. My colleague found two articles about the CEA that says that a "spike" in the CEA does not mean disease progression. In fact, it might mean that the treatment is working since the CEA works on cells in the pre-embryonic stage and so the CEA measures the amount of dead cell matter.

My question is whether or not the numbers here constitute a "spike". From October to November, the number went up 1.9 points for 0.475 points per week. From early November (the 2nd) to December (Nov 30), the CEA went up 2.9 points, for an overage of 0.725 point increase each week. From Nov 30 to Dec 28, the CEA went up 2.7 points for 0.675 points per week. Then, from Dec 28 to Mar 8, it went up 9.7 points in 10 weeks, for an average of 0.97 points each week. Is that a spike?

Perhaps. Maybe in light of the fact that the CA15-3 went down 3 points combined with this "spike", I could interpret the numbers as indication that the treatment is working. However, my left lymph nodes don't feel like they've decreased in size. Does this mean that there's active cancer running around? Or, my body trying to flush the dead cancer cells out of my body?

Who knows?

In the meantime, I have sent paperwork to the UW Tumor Vaccine Group, that they will use to apply for travel funds for me from the American Cancer Society. I also talked to my local cancer center and so far, the Chaplain's office plans to give me $100, they have travel funds for clinical trials from the American Cancer Society via the Komen Race for the Cure Foundation, and they have some funds as well.

I estimated how much travel would be for one trip to Seattle and came up with about $450. That includes $120 for a train trip, $100 for food for two days, $200 for a hotel (unless they can get me a discounted rate) and $30-50 for taxi.

I have seven scheduled trips to Seattle - 7 x $450 = $3150. Yikes, huh? Let's hope they can come up with funding!

My scheduled dates are:

April 5 (4- hour visit, including informed consent process, history/physical, vaccine)
April 12 (vaccine)
April 19 (vaccine)
May 3 (leukapheresis - a four hour procedure in which they take out white blood cells)
June 30 or July 1 - I get my own white blood cells back via infusion.
July 8 - white blood cell infusion
July 15 - white blood cell infusion

However, if I am able to take sick leave during Spring, then maybe I can get my white blood cells earlier, over three weeks in June.

In other news, the King Island Native Corporation may want me to come up to their annual meeting next month to present on some of the work I've done. It'll be kind of hectic because it's on April 24, so there'd be a lot going on . .. I have to think about that just because of the timing.

Today, though, I was tired tired tired. I was okay for the first appointment and lunch, but I got more tired for the second meeting. And, I have successfully got more tired. So, tired that it's hard for me to focus on small print. So, I'm signing off - gonna watch American Idol - but maybe from bed. Good night!

To Victoria and Home Again

I'm sorry I haven't posted the past few days - I traveled to Victoria, BC, on Wednesday (it took me a flippin' 14 hours!!! because of a mechnical problem on a plane) and didn't get there until 11pm. I was routed through Vancouver BC and while waiting for my flight to Victoria, I decided to have a beer at a pub there. While I was on Facebook, I heard a screech - several screeches really - and then there was a rat running across the floor! It went from one side of the bar (on one concourse) and ran to the other side of the bar (to the concourse on that side) Holy cow! At an airport! I took my feet off the floor and put them up on the chair across from me, just in case. Then, about ten minutes later, the rat (same one, presumably) ran back across to where he or she came! That was my excitement.

I spent Thurs and Fri in meetings - about 12 separate meetings with individual people each day. I was part of a three-person external review team that was evaluating a master's program in Environmental Education and Communication.

The program itself is unique - I don't know that there are any other specifically Environmental Education programs anywhere else in North America.

Anyway, I learned a lot and then took a cab about 4:15 to the airport, then waited for the flight to Seattle, had a 3+ hour layover, then a flight to Eugene. We landed at 11:45pm and then I got home by about 12:45am. Asleep by about 1:15pm and up at 8:30am this morning.

I'm tired.

I have an afternoon qigong workshop today. Nothing really going on tomorrow, but Monday afternoon, I'll be part of a meditation class. Before the class, I will start Herceptin and will take that along with zometa every three weeks and then take daily Tykerb pills.

The pain under my armpit - which is episodic and happens only when I use or stretch out my arm - is probably due to a pinched nerve from the swollen lymph nodes. I've been taking Tylenol fairly regularly which seems to help.

Anyway, the sun is shining and things are settling in at home. Time to get going! Enjoy your week-ends everyone!

Visit with My Doc

I decided to call my oncologist about my on-going rib pain today and luckily, there was an afternoon cancellation, so I went in to see him. He checked the tenderness in the ribs and found the nodule and then had me lie down and he checked my liver and then all the abdomen - and found another tender spot on my lower right side. When I asked what that could be, he said that it was possible that the nodule is resting on a nerve that extends down to the rib area.

In the end, we decided to get a CT scan - both to check on the status of the lung tumors as well as to see what's going on in the ribs. Before making a treatment decision, we want to see the CT scan results. But he's leaning toward me starting Herceptin and Gemzar, which is a treatment that I'd get every two weeks. I wouldn't lose my hair and I shouldn't get nauseous, but I would experience fatigue. If I start that, then I would probably get a port. I asked if the lymph nodes under the left armpit would get back to their regular size and he said that they probably would. In the event that they don't, they sometimes remove them and/or radiate them.

Other treatment options include this "super Herceptin", TDM-1 (or something like that), which is a targeted therapy that finds the cells that overexpress Her-2 and then deliver a traditional chemo that kills them. He doesn't know how to get it, though. Another option is that researchers at UW in Seattle are experimenting with a vaccine that stimulates your immune system to attack the cancer. He did say, however, that they have been experimenting with vaccinations like this for 30 years and haven't been successful.

I asked him about the radiation therapy that can direct radiation more precisely to the tumors in the lungs and his reply was that usually, that treatment was done for single tumors and that it might not be feasible for multiple ones. I don't think I'll give up that easily, though. I think it has to do with how much lung tissue is damaged by the radiation.

In the meantime, he said I can go ahead and stop taking Tykerb and Femara since they are apparently not working. Maybe he wants my body to recover from the treatments so that I can be as strong as possible prior to starting a different regimen.

I'd been planning to go to a conference in Miami in March and am now wondering if I should just wait and see how I do with this treatment. I'd hoped to use my tax refund to take Eddie to Orlando and Disney World ... but I think the only way I could do it (if I have some side effects from treatment) is if someone else joined me. Gonna think on that one for a bit longer.

I'm here in Anchorage!

Hello everyone,
I made it safely to Anchorage and have been running around all over the place. Mom got in a lot of visiting for her birthday and I made some good contacts for my work projects.

Will try to fill folks in on what I'm doing later. Tonight, however, I need to go to SLEEP. I woke up too early this morning so I'm feeling tired.

Have a great day!

Anchorage, Ready or Not, Here I Come!

Whew. What a busy couple of days! Yesterday, Eddie and I and my folks went to Bauman Farms in Gervais - and he had a ball. Then, we had dinner at Heather and Kevin's house - good dinner and good company. (Thanks, guys!)

Today, I had to: get cash, put gas in the car, get Japanese food treats for Eddie's country report, get my chai, drop off a suitcase for mom, pick up a form at Parks & Rec for volleyball, get Cheez-its at the store for Eddie, come back home to get cooked spaghetti for Eddie's science project, and then go to work and gather materials I need for my trip, then I watched Eddie's oral report on Japan, then lunch with a colleague, then back to the office to copy off some forms for my trip and then bring stuff home, then to pick up a friend of Eddie's for a playdate, then I brought him home, took Eddie to K-Mart so my folks could babysit him so I could do qigong. Now, I'm home again and still need to pack and do dishes and take out the garbage.

Whew. Again. Just finished eating dinner (leftovers from my folks) and am watching Field of Dreams while I blog. But I need to pack still. So, signing off!

Tomorrow, I pick up A., R. (two students), and my mom after I drop Eddie off at school. Then, we head to Portland; mom will visit with her cousin and the two students will go to Powell's while I go to the Tribal Museums Conference at the Red Lion Inn Columbia River in Portland. Then, about 3:30 or so, we head to the airport to catch our plane to Anchorage. We land about 8:45pm . . . we are attending the Alaska Federation of Natives convention - I need to do some interviews and also demonstrate the King Island interactive map. I come back home on Sunday.

It'll be a good trip. I'm gonna miss Edward Spagedward, though, as he's staying home so he can do his Jogathon.

Have a good week everyone!

PS I'm feeling better.

Illness Update

I didn't mean to make my last post sound dire - if anything, I have mild symptoms, just slightly achey, slight headache, some fatigue. It could be a lot worse. It's just kinda hanging on, which tells me that I need to rest. Luckily, I don't teach for a week or so - I'll be in Alaska interviewing and such, but most of the time, it'll be things I enjoy and I have students to help me out with the technical side of things. And, I'm with my relatives and other Alaska Natives which is always a good thing.

My son started getting a runny nose yesterday - not sure if he has a cold or if he just has some allergies to the hay. He's decided to rest up today so that we can go to Bauman Farms tomorrow. It's been rainy here today but only scattered showers are expected tomorrow. Yesterday, we went to another local farm, Heavenly Harvest, and raced ducks, shot the corn cannon, and went on a hayride and picked out pumpkins. It ended up being a beautiful if muggy day - temperatures got up to 75 I think, which is unusual for this time of year. We were supposed to have some showers according to the paper, but they didn't materialize until today. Afterwards, we just rested after we came home.

Today, we ran some errands. I'm trying to declutter the house a little bit, write thank you cards, hang up a new picture, and decorate pumpkins. An open house at a colleague's later. Dinner at a friend's tomorrow evening.

Happy week-end everyone!

Labor Day Road Trip with The Car That Doesn't Get Dog Sick

As soon as I download photos from the camera, I will add them to this post.

With spur of the moment decision-making, Eddie, my folks, my brother Scotty, and I went on the "Labor Day Road Trip With the Car That Doesn't Get Dog Sick!" on Saturday. And, yes, sometimes general Kingston silliness ensued.

Two and a half days and 600 miles later, we are home again.

What'd we do? Well, we thought we'd go to Wildlife Safari and since I heard that it was better to go in the morning, we decided to go Sunday morning and stay the night in Roseburg. However, after we got to Roseburg and our hotel, we decided to go to Crater Lake, then Ashland (where I'd already booked a hotel) and then on our way home, stop by Wildlife Safari, but then on Sunday, after Crater Lake, my brother mentioned the Oregon Vortex, so we decided to fit that in as well. Confused about our itinerary? Here it is:

Saturday afternoon - drive to Roseburg; then we drove up the Umpqua River to find waterfalls, but the trail was closed : (. So, we just got take-out and hung out in our rooms and watched movies since the day had been cool, cloudy, with some showers. Got up the next day to sunshine (a pocket over Roseburg) and then drove to Crater Lake. On the way, Dad decided that we should pronounce the words on the signs as if you had to say every letter. So, b-o-u-l-d-e-r became "bo-ul-der" and "debris" became "de-bris" or "deb-ris". We all got a chuckle out of the words - including Eddie. That's the Kingston silliness I mentioned - also on the way to Roseburg, we (well, I started it, but it was something Dad always did when we were growing up) baa'd at the sheep, mooed at the cows, etc.

Crater Lake was really cool. I mean, really really really chilly and cold cool. We were up about 6900 feet in elevation after all. It was 37 degrees with a wind chill up there. And, a fog came up. We stopped at one look-out and we could see Wizard Island, but within the five minutes we were there watching, the fog came in and partly covered the island. It looked pretty cool. We made a couple more stops before getting to Rim Village - looked around up there and at the gift shop.

Here's a picture of Eddie and me with Wizard Island behind us. We look cold, eh?



Wizard Island with the sun shining on it:


Eddie and my folks wouldn't get out of the car because of the cold.



Then started driving south - on our way to Mazama Village, we pulled over at a look out and saw the remains of several fumaroles, which was way cool! (cool in the amazing kind of way - and it was still cool in the temperature sense).



I think the National Park Service was hinting at something here:



Stopped at Mazama Village just to check things out, then we started driving south to Fort Klamath on Hwy. 62, then hung a right (west) to Rocky Point and Lake of the Woods, where we caught Hwy. 140 west for a ways and then took the Dead Indian Memorial Road (didn't know it was named that when we plotted our trip on the map . . . but at least, they were memorializing the dead Indian and not just ignoring that sad part of our history) to Ashland. It was amazing how quickly we dropped in elevation to Fort Klamath and then amazing how quickly we dropped into Ashland.

Found our hotel room - forgot to get the address before I left, but luckily my friend Paula (who had recommended this inn to us) said it was on Siskiyou. We stayed at Cedarwood Inn and while it was a tad run-down, it was nice to get a family room (with two rooms, three queens, two baths) next to the pool for a reasonable price. After relaxing for awhile (and Eddie and I swam in the indoor pool), we headed to this Mexican restaurant where we sat on the patio with my folks' dog, Mimzi. (Mimzi is a little yip-yip dog - slightly annoying but in the end, she did travel fairly well, considering how yippy she gets when we go to their house.) Then, we went to Lithia Park in downtown Ashland and walked around for awhile. That was fun. Eddie climbed up this rope contraption at the children's playground.



BTW, my dad meant to say, "It's good that the DOG doesn't get CAR sick, but it came out "It's good that the CAR doesn't get DOG sick." - well, he started laughing before he finished the sentence but after he explained it, I chuckled and said, "yes, I'm very glad that my car didn't get dog sick!" (Can you imagine if a car got dog sick? It'd spew all sorts of smoke from the hood of the car and refuse to move.) (Sorry - general Kingston silliness - I'm a bit goofy tired tonight, if you hadn't noticed.)

Then, as I mentioned, my brother had heard about this place called Oregon Vortex - and once we got to Ashland, we discovered that it would be quick enough to visit on our way to Wildlife Safari. The Vortex was interesting - it's mostly how light is distorted around the earth's magnetic lines, causing things that were closer to the center to look smaller, etc. We had great weather on Monday - it was sunny with blue skies when we left Ashland.



Then on to the Wildlife Safari. We had fun spotting the animals as we drove through the safari. At one point, near the cheetahs, the cars in front of us stopped and we didn't know why until one in front of us drove away - an emu (or was it an ostrich?) was right next to the car in front of us and was trying to get inside the car window. After it drove away, a baby emu walked up to our car - and I parked next to it so that we look at it through my window. It opened it mouth and closed it a few times and then I put my nose and head against the window . . . and the dang thing pecked it!! I jerked my head back so quickly ... being thankful that I had my window closed! Then, we all burst into laughter.

Rhinos in the shade:


Giraffes on the road:


Chilean flamingos hanging out:


White deer resting in the shade:


And, our [not quite so] friendly Emu:


So . . . a good holiday week-end. Lots of driving. Lots of time in the car. But overall fun. The whole group traveled together fairly well, even the dog. Hope you all had a fun time, too! Thanks to my folks and my brother for joining us!

Wow - a great new friend!

When I was in Norway in May, I met Renee, a Hawaiian geographer. She and I hit it off and have been having this wonderful email exchange regarding healing and relationships and also work - she and I are hatching a plan. Anyway, Renee offered to let us stay at her house in Hilo if and when we were able to come to Hawaii. Initially, she was going to be traveling in September, but now she's going to be home, so I decided to go to Hawaii and visit her and not worry about home improvement projects.

I booked our trip for the last week of September, before I start teaching, and Eddie is coming with me.

She started asking me this week what we might like to do and then, the other day, told me that Hawaiian Airlines was having a $25 one-way island-hopping special. She asked if we were interested and I thought going to one island might be fun and the next morning . . . .

she had already booked an overnight stay for us on Oahu!!! So, we'll fly to Hilo, stay two days, go to Oahu for a night, then back to Hilo for three days before we head home.

Isn't that amazing? I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful new, generous friend. Thank you, Renee!!

Hawaii - Here we come!!!

Home in Oregon!

I arrived home yesterday. I was pretty tired as I didn't sleep much on the plane and didn't sleep much at my hotel at Heathrow. I think I figured out that I probably hadn't slept more than about 60 min. at a time over a 38 hour stretch. Not a good thing when you have cancer, when your need for restorative sleep is greatest.

I landed about noon at PDX, then we picked up Eddie at 2pm and was at my house by 3:45pm, after grabbing a bite to eat. I unpacked quickly, took a shower and brushed my teeth, and went immediately into my pj's. I laid around for a couple of hours, dozing off, and then fell asleep about 6:30pm. I woke up about 8:45pm and was awake about an hour, resting, and went back to sleep. Through the night, I woke up perhaps three times (from 10pm to 7am), but I feel mostly rested and normal.

My impressions of Oxford? Well, I certainly like it better than London, where there are way too many people rushing around. I'll go on the record as officially strongly disliking big cities. Oxford seems more manageable especially when you get away from central Oxford and there aren't as many people. My colleague, Tom, and his family live a little bit north of the central part of the city. I think it took about 20 min or so to walk to his house. Coincidentally, his family just moved to Kingston Road, a fact his 6-year-old son found interesting. We also discovered that Tom and I share the same birthday - he's exactly one year older than me. But I digress.

Central Oxford is very busy - with buses going by all the time (buses take off from Oxford to Heathrow every 30 min) and people walking all over the place on the sidewalks. Sidewalks are relatively small, with barely enough room for two people. I think that, over time, I would start to feel claustrophobic. I do, however, like the walk-ability of the place.

Oxford's colleges are scattered around the town - that system is quite interesting, but I am still not entirely clear on it. It was cool to see the old stone buildings and there's an old castle there as well. You can see the gardens of various colleges - and I glimpsed the botanical garden that Cat, Eddie, and I toured around four years ago.

Something that really struck me when I lived in London four years ago and I was reminded of this trip was just how commercial England is. The stereotype of America is how materialistic and capitalistic we are; however, I find England to be much more capitalistic than we are. There are ads absolutely everywhere - it's a very commercial place. And, the differences between the haves and have-nots seem pronounced as well. I think what America is guilty of is the fact that what we have is BIG - bigger houses, bigger cars, bigger stores. But the selling and marketing of things is so much more over there. I also find it to be dirty over there.

I do like the pubs, though, and hanging out in these old buildings and talking with colleagues. In moderation, though, of course! Pub food is pretty greasy and there isn't a lot of flavor. I found a cafe that had healthy salads and sandwiches that were quite nice.

Anyway, it's time for me to start my day. I'll write a post later and share some of my pics!

Hmm . . . note to self: Do not try to keep up with Australians!

I'm sitting here at the Holiday Inn Heathrow, watching TV for the first time in days! I just finished watching Loch Ness with Ted Danson and now the Scorpion King is on! I haven't cruised through the channels to find something else yet.

I got to London this afternoon after having breakfast with my colleague, Tom, and walking around Central Oxford some. I managed to find a DVD video set that Eddie wanted - videos of Mr. Men and Little Miss.

Yesterday, I had dinner at Tom's house. His wonderful wife, Tia, made dinner: dumplings, noodles, red and yellow peppers, Szechuan tofu, and chicken. We hung out on their backyard patio. It was a relatively warm evening.

I spent most of yesterday resting and recovering from a night out at the pubs the night before. After our meeting finished, we went to the Lamb and Flag for a couple of pints, then to another place that had a nice open courtyard where I had the requisite fish and chips and another pint or two, then we went to another pub on George Street - where I only drank water - and then back to our rooms where one of the Australians invited a few of us back for a "nightcap". It was a shot of whiskey. I hate to admit it but I was a little worse for wear Friday during the day. I told the Australian that he was a bad influence. I will say, however, that it was quite fun hanging with this group of academics - there were Australians, Scottish, Irish, English, a Croatian and Canadians in our group, in addition to me and Tom (Americans).

Our two day meeting was interesting and now we will see what happens and how we will move forward. At the very least, we may meet again in a year or so - perhaps in Auburn, Scotland, where several people now work. I learned a lot about the Law of the Sea and how the various Arctic countries are delineating their territory in the Arctic Ocean. There were other presentations on maritime law. In essence, I think what we aim to do is to do research relating to the opening of shipping lanes in the Arctic Ocean. My own personal goal is to figure out how to empower indigenous communities in the Arctic when these shipping lanes open up because of climate change. We'll see what happens.

I did take pictures, but not many. I had visited Oxford four years ago - just for the day - so I didn't really do a lot of sight-seeing. I was more interested in learning how people live here. But I will post what I have soon.

So, back home tomorrow . . . I need to catch the 4:15am shuttle for a 6:30am flight to Amsterdam - then back to Portland. I hope I can sleep on the plane!

Merry Ol' England

I'm here! I'm here! I made it safely and with no incident. I had good instructions from my host, about how to catch a bus from Heathrow to Oxford and while I'd forgotten to find the bus station in Oxford on the map, I managed to get an internet connection in Amsterdam and figured out where I needed to go. I tried to pack light - I only carried on my luggage.

I need to find my colleague, Tom. We didn't make any real arrangements other than a vague "we'll meet up on the 11th". I don't know how to get hold of him other than through email.

I'm staying in a dorm room and it has NO clock and NO internet and NO phone. Gadzooks! So, I think I may try to find a temporary phone to use while I'm here. I'm at a cafe - having a quinoa salad - that has free wifi. So, I'm not completely unplugged. : ) I also need to find an adaptor for the electrical outlet . . . brought the one for mainland Europe not the British one. Grrr!

Later this evening, I will go to the Eagle and Child Pub and will try to take pictures and post them.

It's cloudy and muggy here . . .

Anyway, I will update everyone on how I'm doing as I'm able!

The Eagle and Child Pub

I leave Monday at noon to fly to London, then I will take a bus to Oxford, England. I arrive in London at 9am on Tuesday morning. On Tuesday afternoon, I will meet with my colleague Tom - thankfully, we can check into our rooms by 10am, so I hope to get to my room, rest and then shower before meeting Tom.

Then, our host says that he plans to go to the Eagle and Child Pub at 7pm on Tuesday, in case there are others of us who arrive early and want to go to a pre-workshop event. Then, he said "where we can soak up the atmosphere of JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis".

Well, that caught my interest - I'm a huge Lord of the Rings fan. I don't know how many times I read the books (and while the films did a fairly good job, I was terribly disappointed in how much the director fudged the story line in terms of the love story between Aragorn and Arwen; there were other inaccuracies of the films which pissed me off, but the scenery and the creation of the characters were spot on).

I also enjoyed the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and read some of the series, but not all.

Apparently, Tolkien and Lewis with some others would go to this pub and hang out. They called themselves "The Inklings" and it was quite a literary place to be.

How cool is that? I got to admit . . . sometimes, I love my job!! (Yes, I do have to do a presentation . . . but I'm not gonna stress about that. It'll get done. But going to the pub where Tolkien went ... very cool.)

Getting Ready to Go to Alaska

Hello everyone!
This will be just a quick post as I have a lot I'd like to try to do today to get ready for my trip to Alaska. Still got to pack and do several other errands!

I'm doing well - I've upped my Xeloda dose up to 2/day beginning on Wednesday the 15th.. Not experiencing much in the way of side effects now. I think my body's gotten used to it and/or my "attitude adjustment" (welcoming what it does) has helped. I'm glad I gave myself a week-end off and then started it over again.

Went to my friend's pool on Wednesday evening and then we grilled burgers for dinner.

Went blueberry picking yesterday morning, Scott and I then ran an errand, and then Eddie, my folks, Scott, and I went to Alsea Falls. It was a beautiful, if hot, day.

Running errands with Eddie today, then to my office to pick up some things, then back home to pack and do several other things like prepare Eddie's invitations for his birthday party.

Have a great day!

We leave at 6:40am tomorrow out of Eugene and land in Nome at 8:10pm. A long day, but worth it. Aunt Becky picks us up at Anchorage for lunch - we have a 5 hour layover. Toni will pick us up from Nome. Yay!

In DC, at NSF

I'm in DC now and on the second day of our two-day meeting. I was part of this same committee last year and this year is much better. Last year, there was a lot of angst about the data we were given. NSF did a much better job explaining where this data came from and how it was gathered, so all that angst has gone. Instead, we have this sense that this is a much more productive meeting, instead of talking ad nauseum about what's wrong.

I always find these meetings interesting. The people on these committees are engaged, intelligent, and fun (especially for a bunch of stuffy academics!! I'm one of them). I always learn something at these meetings, whether it be something new about NSF culture or about some new field or finding.

I also met with my program officer at NSF, who continues to be very supportive of the King Island work as well as the new research I'm conducting with a colleague from Portland State. I also got to see a colleague of mine from OSU who is finishing up her two-year appointment at NSF. She's coming back to OSU in a few weeks; it'll be good to get caught up with her! I also saw the director of Polar Programs while I was here - it was good to see him, too.

My former sister-in-law, D., is picking me up from my meeting today and taking me to the airport. It'll be good to get caught up with her, too.

So, all in all, a successful trip! I'll be back home late tonight.

I'm leavin' on a jet plane . . .

but know when I'll be back again!!

Hehehe. I'm heading to our nation's capital today - will get there about 10pm tonight, after a 4 1/2 hour layover in Seattle. Good time to get some writing done, that's for sure. I'm on a committee at the National Science Foundation - we'll meet Thurs all day (including working lunches and dinner) and Friday until about 3pm. It's intense, but interesting. I always view these meetings from an anthropological perspective. I get home late Friday night, just in time to go to MisAnthropology's wedding reception Saturday evening.

If I have a chance, I'll blog! Have a great week everyone!

P.S. Made travel arrangements for Nome, Alaska. We leave July 18th! Yay!

Sigh! Feeling MUCH Better

I'm feeling MUCH better today! Although my digestive system is not yet 100%, it's 90% or better and I feel back to my positive good self. There's something about stomach problems and nausea that really gets me down, more so that a cough or whatever. I remember that even with those few weeks of morning sickness I had when I was pregnant. That's why I dread the thought of IV chemo again and how I react to anesthesia. I hate nausea more than anything.

But it's gone now and I'm regaining strength (my legs felt shaky all day yesterday). Yay!

I would be grading now but my students haven't turned much in yet. I have two short papers I can grade . . .

I need to wrap my head around summer travel plans - will probably settle on something tomorrow. I need to talk to a few people first - like folks in Alaska as well as my mom.

I've been invited to attend a symposium and workshop in Oxford, England, on their dime, in August. Hard to pass something like that up.

Hmmm . . . definitely feeling better if I'm thinking about travel stuff, too. Also, the issue that Scott had to take care of looks like it's close to being resolved, so there's less stress there, too. I tend to reflect the mood of those around me - I take on their stress. I need to stop doing that as I have enough of my own, right? : ) Easier said than done . . .

Have a great day!