Shakespeare ~ A Midsummer’s Night Dream, Act 3, Scene 2 I am mostly fearless. I meet cancer head on and don’t flinch … which is exactly how I have always approached life. Tomorrow is my third of four chemotherapy infusions with the AC combination of drugs: doxorubicin (Adriamycin), and cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan). Once the AC combo…
Category: Chemotherapy
S’not funny!
This is so s’not funny … I lost all my nose hair. Who knew those tiny hairs were so useful? Is there no end to the indignities of cancer? While out shopping at Costco, Heather had to wipe her nose on her sleeve like a snotty brat. Caught red nosed without a kleenex. So not…
Daffodils for Mother’s Day
I’ve pretty much always had Mother’s Day covered via one angle or another. My Mom lived to be ninety-two. By the time she passed away in 2013, I had already been a mother myself for 15 years. While I’ve usually looked back and reminisced on Mother’s Day … this year I look ahead into an…
Do I shampoo or wash my head?
… and other TMI oddball quirks that result from chemo. #1 – During my very first shower after having my hair shaved off, I put my hands up to wet my hair – and SHOCKED myself when it wasn’t there. This put me in a quandary … do I shampoo my bald head or use…
“You almost make me want cancer!”
“Nobody does cancer like you do!” “They (the nurses and doctors) will never forget you!” “You almost make me want cancer! How do you manage to make even cancer look like an adventure?!” I take those comments as compliments! Yes … I am giving cancer a different (fresh) face and attitude. You get to see…
The High Co$t of Cancer
I have been trying to piece together a CAD$ price tag on my cancer treatment since my surgery. I’ve asked my surgeon, Dr. X, what my diagnosis and surgery cost. He threw some numbers around – $1k for the OR for an hour, triple that for the attending staff, the nuclear dyes – but he…
The cellular warfare of Chemotherapy
Why do I feel like I should be singing Pat Benatar’s Love is a Battlefield as I write this blog entry? This post is dedicated to my chemical warefare … Doxorubicin – Adriamycin – Red Devil is the first chemotherapy drug in my regimen. It stops the growth of cells by blocking an enzyme called…
Oh, Heather … You didn’t!
Do honey browns with blonde highlights have more fun? You bet they do! Even with cancer! That’s me … second from the left in front wearing white like an angel … Thirteen days after I had my first chemo infusion, I lost most of my hair and had the rest of it shaved off. Saying Ciao…
My Cocktale of Chemotherapy
I will have to edit this on the fly … my head is pounding and I can’t figure out why it is featuring the lunch menu on Facebook rather than the chemo photos! I can’t look at my own FB feed because the photo now makes me barfy *Fixed! This blog post isn’t for the…
Cancer is a full-time job
Being treated for my Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) has felt like starting a new full-time job in this completely foreign – and toxic – industry. The initial shock of finding the lump caused huge waves of stress and anxiety to ripple throughout my life and echo again and again in my head … much…
