Don’t Tell Me How to Feel

Would you tell someone that it’s great their son only lost his arm rather than die in a car accident? Say “Oh my God! That is fucking fantastic that you just have epileptic seizures!  Better than brain damage or worse!” No?  Then why tell me how to feel about my cancer and my life? Why…

Fever

Well, I’m hot blooded, check it and see I got a fever of a hundred and three Come on baby, do you do more than dance? I’m hot blooded, I’m hot blooded … Hot Blooded by Foreigner Sorry … this isn’t a Hot Andrew* Diaries post. I waited a full 24 hours to see where…

I AM the Storm

And … I am Storm. Let me introduce you to her … as a thunder and lightning storm rages outside.  It is only fitting! Cancer may have raged inside of me, but I am determined to beat it and rage back. Today marks the end of Phase 13 – I think … if I am…

Dust to Dust

Have you decided your funeral arrangements?  Have you even thought about them?  What, where, when and how do you want your body to spend its eternity returning to star dust? The options, these days, are endless. My emotions over the pending Chemo 4 infusion bubbled over today, and tears spilled over life & death, unresolved…

Breast Story

This is going to be one of those blog entries that is a bookmark work in progress.  As I research the story of our breasts and bring in the context of cancer, I will modify this post into a whole chapter.  Check back occasionally for updates. My breasts are two of the smallest in the…

(Ir)+rational fears

I have this reoccurring nightmare that my PICC line will bleed out.  The nurses tell me that it can’t happen because there is a valve that prevents the backflow of blood … but what if the line is severed?  As in a car accident?  May as well slice my neck. The nightmare has me slowly…

Chemo 3 done … 13 to go!

I think I deserve a celebration of sorts!  And I didn’t want you to think chemotherapy was all exhaustion and feeling on the verge of vomiting! This round – knock on wood – hasn’t been so bad.  Today is Day 3, which has been the morning I woke up feeling like death warmed over.  But…

… So this is Coco …

She’s a little coo coo.  Tower 10 as Bridget says, which I think means certifiable, without the cheque!  She’s only coming out for special occasions … à la Coco Chanel.  If you are just tuning in … I had Triple Negative Breast Cancer and am going through chemo now.  I lost all my hair after…

And though she be but little, she is fierce

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…

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…