l i f e

 

Life is a little crazy right now.

When isn't it, really?

My mother's husband has brain cancer.

He was diagnosed 2 years ago with stage 3 anaplastic

oligodendroglioma. 

He had surgery to remove as much as possible as soon as he was diagnosed

and then 1 year of chemo.  It was an oral chemo that was very easily tolerated.

And then all was mostly well.  About a month ago, after one of his

usual MRIs, we could see that the cancer had started to grow again.

We knew it would eventually.

So he went in for surgery last Wednesday and his home now.

The surgery went very well at UCSF.

He had the best possible surgeon.

Joe, my step-father, is now scheduled to start brain radiation

in less than two weeks.  Treatment is EVERYDAY for 7 weeks.

And now they have opted to add chemo again while he is doing the radiation treatments.

I don't know how this will affect him. 

From what I have read online, it will not be easy for him.

But he is still young, in his mid fifties, and healthy otherwise.

But in the end, we all know this will take his life much earlier than

expected.  It is a lot to deal with.

I haven't even mentioned it here because then it becomes more real.

I am very concerned about my mom and how she is

handling everything.  We are going to visit tonight or tomorrow, depending on

how Joe is feeling. 

As for me, I am starting my chemo cream for my face today!

My insurance did not want to cover the prescription at first.

But my amazing doctor got on the phone and made it happen!

 

On a happier note, we are getting ready for Halloween!

Binky only needs 2 more things and then both kids are all set.

Goose will be a gypsy and Binky will be Jester, a comic book character.

I can't believe how grown-up they both look in their costumes.

I will post pics later.

I am looking forward to the distraction.

Watching all the kids with happy faces and fun costumes.

I hope your celebration is filled with fun!

Happy Halloween!

 

 

 

 

 



surgery update

My surgery went very well!

Only two excisions were needed.

The cancer had gone quite deep and some

precancerous cells were also found.

My scar is about an inch long.

But the doctor was able to sew me up, which isn't always the case.

So I was happy.

There was some swelling for the first several days, but

icing every hour really helped.

I still cannot exercise or do any lifting until next week.

I am having the stitches removed on Tuesday.

And we will talk about when to begin

treatment for the precancerous cells.

Which will include chemotherapy cream.

All in all, I am happy with the results of the surgery!

Now if only people would stop staring at me in public.

One guy even asked me what happened while I was with my husband.

He looked at me with a "likely story" look on his face.

I get so many stares!  What do they think happened, I wonder?

 

Thanks, Nicola for your concern!!

 

 



knight's helmet

I am not sure why, but Binky decided he wanted to make his own knight's helmet.

He started with a basic sketch.

There are so many designs to choose from!

We did a little research online and found this site very helpful.

We started with cardboard, a stapler and tape.

He had to model his helmet, of course!

And pose with it!

Next, we covered the entire thing with foil.

And now we are working on covering it with paper maiche.

This will take several layers and several days to achieve the final look

he is going for.  I can't wait for the finished product!

I will post pics when we are finished!

So, I had the cancer removed from my arm last week.

It only took about 10 minutes.

Scrape, burn, scrape, burn, scrape, burn.

While I was there, I had one more mole removed to be biopsied.

And the results for that one are benign!!!!!

The doctor also made me feel better about the

upcoming surgery on my face.  I am scheduled for

August 21 at 10am.

Keeping busy with the kids helps keep me calm.

Being crafty, like with Binky's helmet, also is a big help.

How do you keep calm in times of stress?

skin cancer

So... I have skin cancer.

I have one on my face and one on my arm.

They are both basal cell carcinoma.

The one on my arm is not very deep.  I am having it

removed July 12.

The one on my face is a different story.

I have had it for several years and that is not good.

It was just a flesh-colored bump with an indent in the center.

No strange color or texture.

I had no idea it could be skin cancer.

Basal cell invades other tissue under the skin so we won't

know where the cancer has travelled until they perform the surgery on

August 21.  It is a special surgery for skin cancer called

Mohs surgery.  Layers of skin are removed one at a time and checked by a

pathologist in the office until there are no more cancer cells

visible.  It can be an all day procedure.

But, there is a 99% or above success rate of removal.

I am terrified.

I am trying to stay upbeat.

I found out last Tuesday, my poor husband's birthday.

I got the call about an hour before his family was coming over to

celebrate.  It was not fun. 

So, for now I wait for my surgeries.

That will be the hard part.

Waiting...