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
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Happy Boob Day To Me
Yesterday was officially the first day of summer. Apart from that the date passed insignificantly. I wasn't until I got home from work that I got a text from my friend in Nelson. If you have been reading my blog from Day 1, you will remember that I struck up a friendship through the Trade Me message board with a lovely lady called Brenda who was diagnosed the same day. Well, she text me to remind me that it was a year ago that we had our mastectomies. Gosh I hadn't even given it a thought. How ironic is that though, that yesterday I posted off my wig to a lady in Auckland, who bought my wig from me off of Trade Me.
So we have come full circle and are back to where we started a year ago, minus the cancer, but with a new lease on life!
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.
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.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Thyroid Update
Last Thursday I had an appointment with my new elected surgeon to discuss what we are going to do about the growth in my thyroid.
After looking at the CT scans of my neck and discussions with the pathologist who did the Fine Needle Aspiration on the 'lump', they are not entirely sure that the growth is in fact cancerous. The main concern the surgeon has for me, is that I have had three surgical proceedures in the last 12 months and he doesn't want to do a forth operation if I don't really need to have it. In his own words he explained that in USA there has been a high increase of people thought to have thyroid cancer. They have had their 'thyroids' ripped out only to discover from tests post-surgery, that they didn't actually have thyroid cancer. There is a 10 mm calcification on my thyroid, there is no doubt about it but it has been there for at least 15 months to my knowledge. If it is malignant, it is not life threatening and has not spread anywhere else. Another reason is that if they take out the thyroid, then I will have to be on thyroid meds for the rest of my life. If the para-thyroids (little glands behind the thyroid)also get taken in the surgery, then I will have to be on calcium for life as well. I'm not too keen on taking any meds at this stage as I will be taking tamoxifen (to prohibit the growth of breast cancer) for the next five years. He said that I am a difficult case (I could have told him that) and he is going to meet with the medical board to get their opinion on what we should do. One option is to monitor it regularly and if it starts to grow, then perhaps look at surgey then. There is no need to rush into anything so I don't see him now for three months which I am pleased about.
As promised, here is my new nipple tatto. I'm not entirely pleased with it as it is a bit on the orange side and slightly too big but I guess it looks ok from a distance. Probably not going to be doing too much nude sunbathing in the future anyhow. They wait until the body is warm and they take the measurement from the areola. I can't see the sense in that logic really because if you've got your clothes off, nine times out of ten you are going to be cold, so therefore they should have taken the measurement whilst the body temperature was lower, if you get my drift.
After looking at the CT scans of my neck and discussions with the pathologist who did the Fine Needle Aspiration on the 'lump', they are not entirely sure that the growth is in fact cancerous. The main concern the surgeon has for me, is that I have had three surgical proceedures in the last 12 months and he doesn't want to do a forth operation if I don't really need to have it. In his own words he explained that in USA there has been a high increase of people thought to have thyroid cancer. They have had their 'thyroids' ripped out only to discover from tests post-surgery, that they didn't actually have thyroid cancer. There is a 10 mm calcification on my thyroid, there is no doubt about it but it has been there for at least 15 months to my knowledge. If it is malignant, it is not life threatening and has not spread anywhere else. Another reason is that if they take out the thyroid, then I will have to be on thyroid meds for the rest of my life. If the para-thyroids (little glands behind the thyroid)also get taken in the surgery, then I will have to be on calcium for life as well. I'm not too keen on taking any meds at this stage as I will be taking tamoxifen (to prohibit the growth of breast cancer) for the next five years. He said that I am a difficult case (I could have told him that) and he is going to meet with the medical board to get their opinion on what we should do. One option is to monitor it regularly and if it starts to grow, then perhaps look at surgey then. There is no need to rush into anything so I don't see him now for three months which I am pleased about.
As promised, here is my new nipple tatto. I'm not entirely pleased with it as it is a bit on the orange side and slightly too big but I guess it looks ok from a distance. Probably not going to be doing too much nude sunbathing in the future anyhow. They wait until the body is warm and they take the measurement from the areola. I can't see the sense in that logic really because if you've got your clothes off, nine times out of ten you are going to be cold, so therefore they should have taken the measurement whilst the body temperature was lower, if you get my drift.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
The Artwork Is Almost Done
On the 27th October I had the last part of my 'cosmetic' proceedures done on my new breast. I had the aerola tattoed on.
The new breast is numb but David Glasson injected the area with anaesthetic just to be sure. The nurse then drew a circle around the nipple and then proceeded to put on the ink with a tattoing tool. She had previously matched up the correct colour ink with a sort of a mini-paint chart to get the right shade of 'skin'. I thought she could have at least offered me a luminous pink that glows in the dark. It would save me a lot of hassles when getting up to the loo in the wee small hours of the morning, I could see my way down the stairs a lot more safely.
I go back tomorrow to get the dressing off, so stay tuned for the grand unveiling.
The new breast is numb but David Glasson injected the area with anaesthetic just to be sure. The nurse then drew a circle around the nipple and then proceeded to put on the ink with a tattoing tool. She had previously matched up the correct colour ink with a sort of a mini-paint chart to get the right shade of 'skin'. I thought she could have at least offered me a luminous pink that glows in the dark. It would save me a lot of hassles when getting up to the loo in the wee small hours of the morning, I could see my way down the stairs a lot more safely.
I go back tomorrow to get the dressing off, so stay tuned for the grand unveiling.
I Don't Do Hats No More!!
On the 15th October my cousin Helen came to visit us for ten days. She is from England and had been planning a trip to Australia for quite some time. She and I last saw each other in 1977 when she was 4 and I was 14 and hadn't really kept in touch. Through the wonders of technology I managed to track her down about 18 months ago. She decided to cut her stay in Brisbane down and come and meet us all.
We took a wee holiday up to the tourist meca of ...yes...Rotorvegas
and had a great time. I was worried that I might become quite tired as I hadn't long finished chemotherapy, but I really outdid myself.
We went on an hour long horse trek in the hills at Paradise Valley and the next day we went out to the Agridome and we had a ride in a Jet Sprint boat. We also did all the tourist things like visiting the hidden valley, bathing at the Polynesian pools, visiting Huka Falls etc. We also did plenty of eating and drinking.
On the 2nd Saturday night of Helen's stay we decided we would go into Wellington for a meal and a bit of a boogie. i was not looking forward to spending the majority of the night wiping the perspiration from under my wig, nor did I want to wear a hat and look like a complete plonker so I decided I would go hatless. That's right No More Hats for me. So from the back of the bathroom shelf came the pot of hair gel and I gave myself a bit of a spiked up 'do' and off we went. It felt great to be out without my extra accessory. I have now put my hats away and have put my wig on Trade Me. I won't be needing it anymore!
We had a great night out, starting off with a beautiful meal which my Aunty had generously paid for for us all. We then had a few drinks and went on to Boogie Wonderland where I could quite happily have danced the night way.
During the last couple of days I have noticed that the few long eyelashes that I have managed to retain have now fallen out and my eyelids are now naked. On inspecting said area more closely I now know that the old ones have fallen out for a reason.....they are being pushed out by the new spring growth. My lovely new eyelashes are coming through....I'm so excited; they are growing so fast I can literally see the difference each day.
We took a wee holiday up to the tourist meca of ...yes...Rotorvegas
and had a great time. I was worried that I might become quite tired as I hadn't long finished chemotherapy, but I really outdid myself.
We went on an hour long horse trek in the hills at Paradise Valley and the next day we went out to the Agridome and we had a ride in a Jet Sprint boat. We also did all the tourist things like visiting the hidden valley, bathing at the Polynesian pools, visiting Huka Falls etc. We also did plenty of eating and drinking.
On the 2nd Saturday night of Helen's stay we decided we would go into Wellington for a meal and a bit of a boogie. i was not looking forward to spending the majority of the night wiping the perspiration from under my wig, nor did I want to wear a hat and look like a complete plonker so I decided I would go hatless. That's right No More Hats for me. So from the back of the bathroom shelf came the pot of hair gel and I gave myself a bit of a spiked up 'do' and off we went. It felt great to be out without my extra accessory. I have now put my hats away and have put my wig on Trade Me. I won't be needing it anymore!
We had a great night out, starting off with a beautiful meal which my Aunty had generously paid for for us all. We then had a few drinks and went on to Boogie Wonderland where I could quite happily have danced the night way.
During the last couple of days I have noticed that the few long eyelashes that I have managed to retain have now fallen out and my eyelids are now naked. On inspecting said area more closely I now know that the old ones have fallen out for a reason.....they are being pushed out by the new spring growth. My lovely new eyelashes are coming through....I'm so excited; they are growing so fast I can literally see the difference each day.
The Finish Line
On the 11th October I had to go and once again have a CT scan. My oncologist wanted me to have one to make sure that I am all clear and the chemotherapy has done it's stuff and to have a baseline scan to have something to compare to if the need ever arises for me to have a CT again. I can now honestly say that I have seen most of my body from the inside out.
On the 14th October Darren and I went to my oncologist for my final checkup and to discuss where to from here. I was really nervous on the way to the appointment as I was afraid that they were going to give me bad news....but I needn't have worried. The first thing my doctor told me was that the CT scan had shown no signs of any tumours. I was jubilant and let out a loud 'wahoo'. It was over, the journey back to recovery was all but finished.
We discussed what was to happen next regarding the Tamoxifen medication which I will be taking for the next five years to hinder the production of eostrogen in my body, therefore making it difficult for more breast cancer to return. I will see the oncologist again late November to start on this but for now I need a holiday from all things medical.
On the 14th October Darren and I went to my oncologist for my final checkup and to discuss where to from here. I was really nervous on the way to the appointment as I was afraid that they were going to give me bad news....but I needn't have worried. The first thing my doctor told me was that the CT scan had shown no signs of any tumours. I was jubilant and let out a loud 'wahoo'. It was over, the journey back to recovery was all but finished.
We discussed what was to happen next regarding the Tamoxifen medication which I will be taking for the next five years to hinder the production of eostrogen in my body, therefore making it difficult for more breast cancer to return. I will see the oncologist again late November to start on this but for now I need a holiday from all things medical.
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