Scattered Thoughts . . .

Earlier in the week, Sheila and I went shopping for bras that are appropriate for radiation treatment and breast cancer in general. We had already done this same shopping at Kohl's when Sheila was first diagnosed but she quickly found that her choice in bras was not ideal for her current situation in Radiation Treatment. We decided to buy more appropriate bras so we headed back to Kohl's since that store is right near the hospital. The woman at the Customer Service counter talked Sheila into returning the bras she had originally bought and then called for a specific sales associate. When this sales associate arrived at the Customer Service counter, we informed her of Sheila's dilemma, and then the sales associate quickly and brightly explained that she, too, was a breast cancer patient and she knew exactly what Sheila needed.  We then followed the sales associate as she collected a few options for Sheila. As Sheila sat in the dressing room, the sales associate retrieved

Unfortunately, Sheila's health has been deteriorating more and more each day since beginning her radiation treatment last week. It actually has been pretty frightening watching this happen! The primary reason for this deteriorating health is that she picked up a cold right when treatment began and her overall health has been spiraling downward ever since.  Sleeping has been difficult for her for a number of reasons mostly related to her cancer treatments and surgeries starting 11 years ago so she is now getting worn down to dangerous levels. This second fight with cancer has only exasperated the problem.  She is also dealing with a weakened immune system now because she has started radiation treatment. About a week ago, she added a nasty cold into the mix which includes her radiation-induced weakened immune system and the result is that her declining health has quickly become out of control. Her Radiation Oncologist noticed this declining health in our visit to her yeste

Sheila's radiation treatment began yesterday. The next two months will be exhausting for both of us but mostly for Sheila   (I need a nap already and it's only been one day of radiation treatment) . For Sheila, this daily treatment will progressively get more taxing, exhausting and painful as the radiation sears and burns through her breast and underarm. I have some photos to share, which I'll insert below, but as I sit here staring at my computer screen, I'm at a loss for words. Maybe I'll just write whatever comes to mind when I see each photo and insert that with the photos... The entrance to Radiation Oncology is kind of cool but definitely a bit ominous... it is separated from the hospital by a long corridor and, now that I see it in photos, I know exactly what will make it less ominous... This hallway needs far more artwork on the walls with spot-lights highlighting each piece of art. I despise suspended ceilings... whether in residential homes or

Yesterday was a long and exhausting day which began as w e headed northward to the hospital in the morning for a relatively grueling day in Radiation Oncology. We both seemed a bit exhausted right from the get-go yesterday so we knew we were in for a fairly rough day. We managed to get the hospital visit and a few errands out of the way with little difficulty though. The appointment started with making a mold for Sheila so she could/would remain perfectly still during her radiation treatments. I wasn't allowed in the room for this so I have no photos even though this is one of the things I definitely wanted to capture in photos because it is rarely seen. Unfortunately, I was told I needed to remain in the waiting room for this part of the appointment which I found quite disappointing and a bit frustrating. This diversion in the waiting room allowed me to catch up on some reading while struggling to stay awake. In hindsight, I should have just taken a nap in the waiting room!  

We were back at the hospital today dealing with all the fun that cancer entails once again. On the positive side, I somehow managed to get an entire fairly comfortable waiting room to myself as Sheila did her thing with one of her doctors.  I think Sheila's day, overall, was good... it was a bit emotional for her... but, in the big scheme of things, it was a relatively good day.  Today, Sheila met with a new member of her medical team and this doctor is one from my own medical team.  We really do spend far too much time in hospitals... ...and, we're only just getting started this time around. Sheila and her doc as they were hunting me down... A fairly comfortable and, since I was alone the entire time, a rather private waiting room.

Sheila and I just arrived back home from the hospital again.  We spent much of the day at the hospital yesterday with a visit to Sheila's Oncologist and we had to go back first thing this morning for a bone density scan. We're both exhausted but I thought I would add a few updates about Sheila's treatment before taking a nap. For the past couple of weeks, we had been waiting on test results which would classify the risks of Sheila's specific cancer (in both the tumor in the breast and the lymph nodes). This classification would help us (including the medical team) make the decisions about specific treatment plans. Actually, the wait for these test results seemed like a couple of months and this unexpectedly long wait has definitely affected Sheila emotionally.  Although few people see it or realize it, all chronically ill patients go through a series of emotions which is a bit like being strapped to an emotional rollercoaster. Most times, these patients will ca

Our plan for today was to head up to Burlington to continue Sheila's cancer treatment plan. Unfortunately, late yesterday afternoon, Sheila received a call from her nurse at the Breast Care Center informing her that today's appointment with the Oncologist was canceled and rescheduled for late next week... another delay and more frustration. I have little doubt that Sheila is probably more frustrated than I am about the delay in treatment. I'm sure she doesn't like her whole treatment plan being put on hold, hanging over her head for longer than necessary, and weighing her down (and I am well aware that it is at this point in the waiting) .  We are also waiting for news about the latest test results which just happens to be the cause for this delay. Wondering about the results of this test is frustrating and causes some anxiety. Are the results going to show only a 'low risk'?  Or, are we dealing with cancer that rates as a higher risk? ...wait... wonder a

Friday, we were back at the hospital again for a followup with the surgeon.  Sheila's recovery from her surgery a week prior to this appointment has been relatively uneventful for which we are both very thankful. I definitely want to point out that Sheila's surgeon has done an outstanding job on this partial mastectomy as well as the biopsy and in effectively managing a slightly different and perhaps slightly creative protocol to avoid Sheila's history of problems stemming from anesthesia. In previous surgeries, Sheila has had significant problems with anesthesia and this new surgeon and anesthesiologist really came through in finding a solution to Sheila's rather unique problems.  Additionally,  Sheila's incisions are healing nicely and she is getting more and more comfortable each day. In our appointment on Friday, the surgeon cleared Sheila to begin doing more physically demanding things again as she feels up to it. Naturally, this is good news. 

Yesterday, we spent the day at the hospital running from appointment to appointment and squeezing in a couple of unscheduled stops too.  We had thought it would be a straightforward day with no significant news (which means we expected no stress and no problems) . Not only did we receive some new news but we found that there is such a thing as different levels of bad news. We started at Genetics. Here we discussed new genetic tests that help determine whether there are any known genetic components to Sheila's cancer. If we find that there are any known genetic components, then Sheila's children and grandchildren will be on a completely different and more aggressive preventive medicine schedule than that recommended for the general public.  The purpose of this genetic testing is to rate the risk of cancer being carried genetically through statistics and common cancer genes in order to avoid potential cancer getting out of hand in any children or grandchildren before the r