With Spring Comes New Life

I don't seem to be getting to blog much of late which means that I am extremely busy.

I have now changed jobs, Yes AGAIN. I didn't really feel that retail was my thing and felt that I could make a difference in a caring environment. I am now a caregiver. I go out to people's homes who are elderly, ill or have had an accident or operation and I help them with there personal cares, meals, cleaning, shopping, medication etc. I am thoroughly enjoying it. It is such a great feeling to be able to give something back to the community which helped me when I needed it. Having been through the BC journey I feel that I am looking at life from a very different angle. I have never been a money driven person but seemed to always end up working in that sort of environment. Now I finally feel like I am where I belong; to help people, to understand them and to be able to cheer their day. I am looking forward to doing some study to give me a qualification; something that at 48 years old, I have never had the opportunity to obtain.

I had my 2nd monthly checkup at the end of July and am pleased to report that I have a clean bill of health. I also had an ultrasound on my thyroid to keep an eye on things and once again, I have passed with flying colours.

The beanies are starting to get really busy again and I have had people ringing me from different organisations wanting to know how they can purchase them. It is so nice to be able to offer something pretty and practical for ladies going through treatment.

All Done and Dusted

Firstly, a very belated happy new year to you all. Gosh, I knew I was a bit behind with my posting but didn't realise just how much.

Life has been so very busy, what with Xmas and New Year and all the birthdays following that.

Well I have been into hospital and had my thyroid operation. This took place on the 10th January and all went well. I was actually more worried about having this operation than I was any of the others. I think because the operation was going to take place very close to my face and there was a risk that my voice would be changed to a husky, quiet voice if things didn't go that well.
I was releived when I came out of the anaesthetic that my voice was still all intact. It has changed slightly in the fact that I can no longer speak in high tones or sing high notes (well, I couldn't to start with, so nothing lost there). With regards to getting out the cancer, the surgeon advised me at my check up two weeks afterwards that if we had left the surgey any longer, we would have been in real trouble because it would've most likely have gone into my windpipe and then my voice would have been dramatically changed, so hallelujah to that. There was no need to take the whole thyroid, just the side the growth was in, so I am very releived about that as if I had had a total thyroidectomy I would have to be on medication for the rest of my life which I wasn't keen on. The scar is healing up nicely and was cut in the crease of my neck so in a year it won't be visible at all.

On the 29th January I had my first check up with the breast surgeon, Dr Burton King. I was very nervous about this as I knew he would be doing an ultrasound on the reconstructed breast and the other one. Well I needn't have worried as everything is fine, there was nothing detected. I also had a routine mammogram on Monday of this week so a close eye is being kept on me. Not that there needs to be but it is comforting to know that I am being looked after and if there does happen to be a recurrence, then they will be onto it pretty darn quickly.

Well, I have started on my two year course of Tamoxifen (Estrogen blocker)and I must say the hot flushes are not pleasant at all, especially when I am trying to apply make-up and it is running off as fast as I am putting it on. But that is a small price to pay if it is going to help keep me in good health.

I have a new saying (which I read somewhere) It says "Don't wait until death looks you in the face, to start living your life" so I have taken notice and am living life to the full.

I have a lot of my energy back now and have started exercising again and eating healthy. My hair is a couple of inches long and you would never know of the ravages it has been through. My eyelashes had grown back nice and thick but I noticed in the last couple of days that they are thinning out again so I Dr Googled it and apparently that is quite normal after chemo. The eyelashes take time to regain their renewal cycle.

My beanies are going extemely well, although that's a really sad thing as it means more people are requiring chemo. Some people have bought them and then come back to me for more so I must be doing something right. I have met lots of lovely people through the beanies, some of which have really sad stories to tell but I accept that if I want to continue to make the beanies, then I will hear stories both good and not so good. It just feels good to be able to provide something nice for people and also to give them a little support where I can even if it is just a listening ear.

Next time I will post about my birthday and put up some more pics.
Ciao

Everybody Has A Story To Tell

Last Saturday I went to the hairdressers to have a colour put through my hair to cover the 'ahem' grey ones.

My usual hairdresser put the colour through and when it was ready to be rinsed off, a pretty young hairdresser, probably in her early twenties, took me over to the basin and rinsed out the colour. She asked me if I was having it cut and I said no, as there isn't much to cut off as I am waiting for it to grow back after losing it all.

I sat down in front of the mirror and she asked me when I had finished treatment. I told her that I had finished about 8 weeks ago. She then went on to say that she knew exactly what I was going through as she had been through it with her mother. I asked her if her mothers cancer was breast and she said yes it was. She then added that she had died in March of this year after battling it was 12 years. I felt kind of guilty for sitting there having beaten this horrible thing. She went on chatting about her mum and what a strong woman she had been and that she was so well and then she just lapsed into a coma one day and was gone. When she had finished we went up to the counter to pay and I said that it was probably going to be very hard this first Christmas without her mum and she said yes, especially for her dad. I had tears in my eyes for this poor family who had been through so much. When she saw that I was upset for them she then came around to my side of the counter and she gave me a big hug. I went out to my car and just sat and cried. I cried for the young girl who would need her mum throughout her life but wouldn't have her here to share Christmases,her engagement and wedding, the birth of her children and because I have daughters roughly around the same age, this could so easily have been the outcome for them.

So, yes, everyone has their own story that we are not even aware of; a workmate, a friend of a friend, it may be the lady who runs the local shop, someone you end up sitting next to on a bus - the connection and unspoken understanding is instant.

The next day I had agreed to meet up at a cafe in Wellington with a lady who was doing a study through university. She wanted to talk to me about my experience especially the services and care that I had received during my illness. Her last question asked me if I wanted to add anything else about my experience. I started to tell her about the unity amongst patients, family and friends of breast cancer patients. I started to tell her about the lovely girl at the hairdressers and the next thing I knew I was sobbing my heart out again....I didn't realise it had affected me so deeply. I looked up after trying to wipe my tears away (in a very public place) and noticed my survey lady was also wiping her eyes.

As I am relaying all this to you, I can feel a lump in my throat and my tears start to well up again. This is a cruel, horrible illness that robs the life of mothers, grandmothers, daughters,sisters, aunties,neices and friends alike. Let's hope they find a cure soon.

Up And At 'Em

Well, time is flying.  I have been so busy lately that I haven't got around to posting.
I had my 3rd round of Paclitaxel last week.  I didn't have any reaction the two previous times so I was allowed out of the ward and into a laz-y-boy this time.  I also only had to have half of the antihistamine.  So I am now over a quarter of the way through.  I have had relatively little side effects, just a little tired, but what's new!  I feel almost 100% again and am back cooking meals, getting groceries and doing a little bit of exercise.

You regular bloggers may remember a few posts back that I was busy making chemotherapy beanies.  Well I have gone one step further with this concept and have gone into mass production, if you will.

I told the wonderful Cancer Society volunteer at Oncology that I would like to start making them for other wearers and she has helped me immensley in getting this off the ground.  So far she has given me email addresses of four women who may be interested.  Over the weekend my lounge became a sewing factory and by 6pm Sunday evening I had cut out and sewn 17 beanies, all in beautiful bright colours.   I have also put together my own little business card and am in the process of completing a flyer.  My darling husband has built me a website and if you click on the J'Beanies tab at the top of the page, it will take you to the link.

These beautiful beanies will also be available through this blog at $12.50 each.
I have gone with a jelly bean theme because of:-
1.  The bright colours that I will be using are similar to jelly bean colours
2.  The play on the word beanies and beans
3.  The 'J' obviously being my initial.

I have also approached our local Cancer Society and they are interested in perhaps displaying them for me.

So out of a bad situation, perhaps a new venture will be born. Wish me luck!!