Surgery part 2

Here is a picture of me and Dad at Miriam and Jeffrey's wedding in Pittsburgh from this past weekend. I had a wonderful time seeing all of my family!

So tomorrow is my final breast reconstruction surgery, replacing the chest expanders with silicone implants. It's just day surgery, but unfortunately, I have to have those stinkin' drains in me for a few days again. I'm off work for two weeks and I'll be resting at home.

The shingles I got a week ago have been a real nightmare. They are really painful and while they are healing very slowly, they are improving. Doesn't seem that Tylenol even takes a bite out of the pain so I've stopped taking anything. I'm looking forward to pain relief from the meds for the surgery!

I'll keep everyone posted on how I'm doing over the next few days.

Bed bugs?

Well, at first I thought they were bed bug bites. And I was totally freaked that I had beg bugs in my bed. I even made Doug sleep on my side of the bed. But then last night, as I was reviewing the red welts on my body, Doug said "maybe it's shingles?"... and the more I researched, the more it became obvious that I did indeed have shingles. I got this confirmed today when I saw my oncologist. He said that I'm not contagious right now but I need to take a prescription for the next 10 days. The bad news (isn't this bad enough?) is that he said that the plastic surgeon may not want to go ahead with the surgery next week because of the shingles. My breast reconstruction surgery is scheduled for next Tuesday. So, I'm now waiting to hear back.

Other news - my hair continues to grow curly and funky and I'm just dying to have it grow longer so I can figure out what the heck it's going to do. Fitness-wise, I have been working hard to get into biking shape and even competed in a hill climb event last weekend on my mountain bike! I can't remember if I had posted this before, but I have been on Weight Watchers for a month or so and have lost about 12 lbs so far. It's going really great. I've been really disciplined and it's been working out well. Doug is also on WW and has lost about 10 lbs.

I'll update again when there's more news. In the meantime, here is a picture from the Race for the Cure of my team - Pinky Mo and the Livestrongs.

Race for the Cure 2

Hi all,
Last weekend was my second Race for the Cure as a survivor and I had a great time again. A bunch of friends came out from work, mountain biking and Andrea Dwight came all the way from Toronto! Thanks to everyone who supported me either through a donation or by walking with me.

Quick update on my health... I am doing great. My surgery has actually moved up a few days and is now on October 26. I expect to be out from work for 2 weeks to recover. Just in case you missed my last blog, the surgery is the final (major) stage of my breast reconstruction and I will have the chest expanders removed and silicone implants put in.

I continue to see my oncologist monthly and i get a physical exam there as well as a blood test where they are keeping an eye on my tumor markers.

I went to see my radiation doctor who might possibly be my favorite doctor of all, although my breast surgeon was really awesome too, and everything went well there too. He was impressed at how well my skin recovered from the radiation.

My hair continues to grow all funky and curly and I hope that I will get used to it one day. When I wake up in the morning, i have a bit of an afro going and it needs some major calming down. Strangely, I still have a few fingernails that have remnant side effects from the chemo and they just don't look normal, but expect this to disappear over time. the nail bed seems a little dead in spots but far better than before.

So, generally, everything is great. I consider myself cured... and really, what else would I want to think. I find it a bit creepy when people ask if the cancer is gone. Geez, I sure hope so! I really try not to think too much about it. I just can't...

As for the rest of me, I am trying to train myself up for a few major bike rides next year. One is a big mountain bike ride in April and the other is a series of three really hard road rides in April and May. As I was riding up Maple Springs today... I couldn't help but think about how the only way I am going to get stronger is by suffering. It made me think of Lance Armstrong and how he thought that the reason he was so successful was because "if it was suffer-fest, he was good at it". So that's what I need to do. Get good at suffering.

I am also working on losing some weight, so I can be in top shape and have less poundage to push up those hills. Doug and I are both on weight watchers, and while we have only been on for 1.5 weeks, things are going really well. It is making it really clear to me, what I've been doing wrong in my eating and I am eating a really great, low fat and high fiber diet now. It's also getting me to make more dinners at home which is always important to good health. On our first weigh-ins, Doug and I both lost weight so we are really motivated to get this done. Looking forward to reaching my goal sometime in November, if possible.

That's it for now. I hope that you are all well and to my family on the Wolfson side... Shana Tova and to all my peeps in Canada... Happy Thanksgiving next weekend!
Mo

Surgery date set

I met with the plastic surgeon today and set my surgery date for October 29. This surgery is to remove my chest expanders and replace them with silicone implants (I like to regard this as taking my temporary fake boobs and replacing with my real fake boobs). Oh joy. Well, at least it will be my last surgery and sleeping should be more comfortable long term. It's not the very last part of the process but pretty close to it. Luckily I think my recovery will only be one or two weeks. They say I'll have drains again too, which is so gross but hopefully they'll be quicker to take out. I won't be able to exercise for 2-3 weeks which is a bummer because it has taken so long to get back into shape, but could be worse I guess. The good news is that if it takes 6-8 weeks to recover fully, that puts me at Dec 15 to 30 to start snowboarding! Yahoo!

Apart from my great surgery news, life is good. I feel strong and am getting stronger every week.

Oh yeah, and I almost forgot! The Race for the Cure is on September 26, 2010. Please consider joining the team or supporting me. If you can't make it, you can still join the team and Sleep in for the Cure!


Thanks,
Mo

Ready to Race?

Thanks to everyone who posted a comment on my blog or on Facebook. I still appreciate the encouragement.

Not much to update these days. I went to see the breast surgeon and he told me that I would probably have the surgery in November. Then he told me that I wouldn't be able to snowboard for 6-8 weeks after, major bummer given that we have the annual passes to Mammoth Mountain. The good news though is that I can be active two weeks after the surgery. Yay!

The radiation burn is healing up really well and my right side is only slightly red now. I think it will look normal in another week or two.

There isn't really much else to report... life is becoming normalish.

Lastly, I raced in the Over The Hump mountain bike race series tonight and despite not feeling in top form, I still had fun and didn't finish last ;-) I finished 11th out of 16 beginner riders. I rode hard and it was so hot that I felt like throwing up on every climb, but it was still a good time. I've been working hard to bring up my fitness level and leg strength. I am impatient and disappointed that it is so much harder than usual to get back into shape, but I'll get there.

Hope you are all happy and healthy,
Maureen

Radiation Done!!

Boy, I haven't posted in a while. I forgot to announce that my one year Survivorship anniversary was on July 22. If I am lucky enough to live as long as my Bubby Edna, who is still alive and kicking, then I hope to celebrate another 50 plus years of survivorship.

Another milestone celebrated last week was my very last IV of Herceptin. Woohoo! You have no idea how much I hated getting those IVs. They never got easier you know. I hate needles. My blood count readings showed that my white and red blood counts were still a little low but hopefully they'll get back soon.

Today was a milestone of a day too, I finished my last radiation treatment today! Yahoo! How did I fare from the radiation? Well, the radiation doc (who was really wonderful) said that my skin had done really well with the radiation (meaning the reaction was not as severe as expected). In the end, I have one blister on my breast and a really red area in my armpit, but apart from that, the skin has done fairly well. I have a bit of a burn on my neck and collarbone but really not too bad. I am hoping they go away in a few weeks to a month. The redness in my armpit has made it the most sore spot on my body (from the radiation), but it's nothing really bad.

So, what's left?... well, I'll have to have one last surgery to remove my chest expanders and put my real fake boobs in (silicone implants). I am told they are alot more comfortable than the chest expanders and I am really hoping so. I have had these in for 7 months now and they are still uncomfortable. When I sleep on my side, I am still sore when I get up because the expanders are hard. I'm going to see my plastic surgeon next week so he can check out how my skin is recovering, then I guess well talk about surgery timing.

How else am I doing? Really great! If you think that because I am still going through radiation and crap that I am sickly, you are very wrong. While I am still not in peak form, I'm working hard to get there. I have come a long way and am feeling pretty darn strong. Last posting I talked about just finishing a century (100 mi) ride. This past weekend I climbed White Mountain, my first 14er (14,252 ft)! We were lucky because the gate was open, so we only had to ascend about 5.5 miles and 2600 feet of elevation to the summit. I was able to ride (and push alot) the first 4.5 miles but I gave up within the last mile and climbed to the peak in my bike shoes. Not the most comfortable hiking shoes you can find but I managed. It was really, really hard. I was so exhausted when I got to the top. That is the highest I have ever been under my own power.

It's been really quiet lately, and maybe I'm in support withdrawal. I have heard of this happening. So drop me a comment so I know you are still out there and still following.

Thanks to everyone for caring and for your support over the past year.

The worst is over!

Mo

Radiation Treatment #17....

I have had 17 radiation treatments so far and have 11 to go. My skin is doing really well and over my breast, it is just slightly pinkish. It is a bit redder on my neck though. I am trying really hard to keep the exposed area hidden from the sun. The good news is that the doc thinks that my skin is faring really well so far, especially for someone so fair-skinned. Yahoo! So 11 more days to go. That would put me at the first Monday in August but you never know.... the machine has broken down once already (creepy) and postponed treatment a day. My understanding is that this is not uncommon.

I also have only ONE Herceptin IV left! I can't wait to have those finished. I am so sick of getting stuck in the arm. It never gets easier and I always feel a bit queasy when I'm there. Could be because I hydrate myself at the last minute and am stuffed full of water, or could be psychological... Last IV is around July 29. Anniversary of my first chemo... nice....

Only other thing to report is that when i went to see the eye doctor recently, they said that my peripheral vision had decreased and had I not been through chemo recently, they would be concerned. They want me to come back in 6 months to be tested. The doc mumbled something about small chance of brain tumor or cancer there affecting it. Cripes. I'll mention it to my oncologist and see what he says.

Oh, lastly, my hair! It is so weird. Doug calls it a shag rug and I call myself a chia pet. It is getting longer and is still curly. It is just plain weird and unpredictable. I'll have to post a picture so you can see. All I can say is that goodness it's not too gray and I am just happy to have hair!

Other great news is that I just finished my first century (100 mi) road ride yesterday in Santa Maria in over a year. I hadn't really ridden more than 50 miles or so in a year, so I wasn't in prime shape but what the heck. It wasn't terribly difficulty (3500 ft elevation gain) but every hill was a challenge for me. There were also 10 miles of pure hell, with a headwind, horrible road and traffic that had me digging down deep psychologically to not just turn around. Honestly, I wanted to cry with the back and shoulder pain I was experiencing. But I was very lucky to have Lois and Doug pull me along (draft behind) on large sections of the ride. Thank You!