A Humorous Look at the Bright Side of Cancer... and There Is One
I slept through the night for the most part and managed to take a bath just before the third visiting nurse arrived. She was very professional as she listened to my heart, lungs, and bowels; took my temperature and blood pressure; drained the tubes; and checked the bandages. My arm was a bit swollen. She […]
Continue Reading »The last thing I remember before going under–way under–is the anesthesiologist asking me if I knew of a good piano teacher closer to home because he wanted to take piano lessons. It seemed like seconds later that the nurses told me they played Chopin in my honor while Dr. Williamson performed the mastectomy. The kids, […]
Continue Reading »No, I haven’t had anything to eat since 10:30 last night, nothing to drink (including Vodka) since 11:00, I haven’t shaved for two days, I refrained putting on deodorant this morning, I’m not wearing a bra, wrote “NOT THIS ONE” on my good breast, left my jewelry off, leaving my purse home, have no perfume on, […]
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In the whirlwind of last-minute pre-op appointments (I think there were seven), I have learned a lot about mastectomies and the protocol of said surgery. The thing that stands out most in my mind is what you can eat/drink the night before. My husband, Ken, and I met with the surgeon, Dr. Williamson, who was […]
Continue Reading »As a family, we decided to get away for the night. While packing, my bathing suit was the first item to go in; I looked forward to sitting in the hot tub with my cleavage still intact, relaxing, and not thinking for once about the mastectomy coming up in a few short days. My husband, […]
Continue Reading »I did not live through the sixties. Well, just a couple of years, but I was way too young then to wear a bra, much less burn it. There is only one week left until my mastectomy and then I will have to burn my current bra and get a new one. A bra with […]
Continue Reading »Trying to figure out one’s hair style after it starts growing back in after chemotherapy is one thing; having to decide whether or not to do breast reconstruction after a mastectomy is quite another. I’ve got nine days left to dwell on this subject, but I’ve pretty much made up my mind not to do it. Many […]
Continue Reading »Okay, now that my hair is finally growing in enough so that I can see what it is doing, I need to decide to: a) keep it short and grey, b) grow it out and start spending exorbitant amounts dying it some other color, c) keep covering it with a hat, scarf, or bandana and […]
Continue Reading »I will be the first person to admit it: I am a control freak. Since my Stage III breast cancer diagnosis nine months ago, I’ve noticed that my “control-freakedness” has been taken to a whole new level. Maybe I figure since I can’t control the cancer that has taken over my life, I need to fight […]
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