Skip to main content

Week 21 Update - Happy Birthday to Me!

XLIV - With mirth and laughter let old wrinkles come



What a great week to have off! My birthday happened to fall on the week without chemo treatment. Instead I got spoiled with some treats and a visit from some of my family...


Birthday surprises... snacks & visitors...


In addition to celebrating another year alive (bonus), I had surprise packages sent my way. It was always exciting to have unexpected mail and be showered with warm wishes and occasional gifts. Shoes and hats were given courtesy of my aunt who has throughout my treatment showered me with thoughtful items and loving thoughts.



New gift... a hat for fall!


I would like to say my recovery week was full of magical birthday healing, but it was still a tough week. The chemo has compiled and I am trudging my way through. Each day provides some relieve, but I never really get to wake up feeling "good". Sometimes I wake up feeling in less pain, but I have not had a good day in a very long time. I definitely feel the toll of chemo and cannot wait until I do not feel sick. The continual feeling of pain and discomfort and exhaustion can be daunting. It can be down-right exhausting. However, I am so grateful for the days that allow me to get up and function without too many issues. Of course by 4 pm - watch out world - you don't know what you are going to get!!!


Those crazy side effects won't stop... runny eyes & bloody noses.


I had a new experience during the week... driving the kids to school with watering/crying eyes and bloody nostrils. The kids were quite confused... why is mom crying while having tissue paper shoved up her nose? I kept telling them, I am not sad. I am not having a mental breakdown. Instead, I was having full on crazy side effects that I could not control. The crying eyes are a nuisance... and one that makes me look a bit insane... even during my parent-teacher conference, grocery shopping, and just about everywhere. Trust me, I did not want to be driving my car with bloody tissue paper up my nose while full on crying in the car. I looked like some demented mother... it only would have been better if I was still in my night clothes!!!


In my head...


I am really getting to the end of the chemotherapy journey! Only 3 more to go! I cannot believe I am getting down to the end of it. The past six months have really been challenging. And I have really been up for the challenge. I am so grateful to be alive. Each day and year is like borrowed time. How lucky am I to have it!

Even though I am exhausted - and I am - I am looking forward to finishing up my treatment and being cancer free. I am so grateful to be a year older... and for the many, many birthdays to come!!!


"There's little of the melancholy element in her, my lord:
 she is never sad but when she sleeps; and not ever sad then; 
for I have heard my daughter say, she hath often dreamt of unhappiness, 
and waked herself with laughing.” 
- William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing


Episode Reference: Line from The Merchant of Venice, William Shakespeare


October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month - Go Pink!

Comments

  1. Hi there! I was reading a few of your posts and had a quick question about your blog. I was hoping you could email me back when you get the chance, thanks : )

    Emmy

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

More biopsies... where? down there?

Cancer survivors are always wondering and waiting to see if something is going to happen, so it is only natural to worry when something is "off". Then when something turns out to be abnormal more testing and follow-ups are needed. It seems like a continual wave of worries. Sometimes our worries turn out to be issues. Sometimes our worries turn out to be nothing. Either way, we are going to worry... it's just an issue of determining how much and when we should really worry. Finding out my endometrium lining was so thick meant I needed to get a biopsy. What's an Endometrial Biopsy? An endometrial biopsy is a medical procedure in which a small piece of tissue from the lining of the uterus (the endometrium) is removed for examination under a microscope. The removed tissue is examined for cancer or any other cell abnormalities.  Lucky me. Right?  Now I get to go back the GYN only a few days after my initial exa

A roaring river...

As cancer survivors, we all have a worry that lingers in the back of our minds waiting for bad news. Most of the time we will be told things are good, keep moving forward. We feel a sigh of relief and move on until the next test or scan or weird symptom. We all have those moments. Moments of fear and worry, especially when waiting on a test or scan results. As with all things, there are times the results come back indicating something is wrong. I had that moment only a month ago. Oops... it's been awhile! I had honestly forgot about going to my GYN. I mean, I go to so many doctors that I avoided the ones that seemed less important on my importance scale. My breasts are getting examined by multiple doctors every few months, along with my hormone levels. And I was technically menopausal (medicinally), so I wasn't worried about pregnancy. So, I took time away from the GYN until my mother reminded me it had been too long. And like most mothers, she was right. When I sche

PINKTOBER

I love fall, it is my favorite time of the year. Instead of fall colors, I am surrounded by pink. Everywhere I look I see breast cancer paraphernalia being marketed and displayed. Companies look charitable. Social media is ablaze. The world is turning pink. I live pink. It is not just a Pinktober thing. Breast cancer has infiltrated my life, it is here year round. Pinktober is a double-sided sword for me. On one side I am grateful to whatever it takes to get people motivated, involved, concerned, donating, caring, or active in the cancer community. Then there is the other side, the part that makes almost all breast cancer survivors cringe… the blatant misrepresentation and misuse of all things Pinktober. Ironically, the whole breast cancer awareness month was created by a drug company. October was labeled National Breast Cancer Awareness Month where pink ribbons and merchandise began being sold without any regard to education or awareness. Breast cancer activists, like the fight