Connie's Cancer Chronicles

I'm feeling a bit better every day but boy can I sleep! After a nine-hour night, I'm ready for a two-hour nap. Thank heaven I don't need to do anything or go anywhere because basically, I can't! I'm grateful that my visitors recognize that it's not them that's putting me to sleep. As soon as I have lunch, I'll nap some more. Oh, and I finished Glass Houses by Louise Penny. On to The Late Show by Michael Connolly.

who kicked me in the sternum on his way out. Other than that, I'm fine! Seriously, I'm basically tired. I thought I was tired on Saturday, I had no idea what tired even means!! I slept nearly all day Sunday. But the good news is that I'm off the Tylenol and codeine. Tylenol alone is enough to deal with the pain. And I've been able to shower each day and wash my hair, which at least makes me feel somewhat human. Oh, and to add to the fun, I have some kind of rash (Anne thinks it's poison ivy, I think it isn't but I don't know what it is) that itches like mad. Me with pillow and bear And I have enough concentration to read- Glass Houses by Louise Penny. I'm enjoying it immensely. Maybe in a few days I can read The Thinking Woman's Guide to Breast Cance r -- just not now. I am so lucky--friends have dropped off food, delivered a beautiful stuffed bear (thank you Matt and Suzanne!!), sent cards, called and basically "been there....

So here I am, the day after surgery, taking codeine with Tylenol and feeling like I was run over by a truck. Yesterday was a long day; up at 5:30, at the ambulatory surgery center by 7, in surgery around 11 (lots of procedures  before  surgery which took hours), out of surgery around 4, home around 7. But then there's the good news: Dr. Cahan is pretty sure he got clean margins There's no lymph node involvement I'm home! I didn't faint (well, I almost fainted when the nurse had trouble getting the IV in, but I didn't faint during the needle localization, thanks to the two nurses, Christine and Anne Marie, who held my hand and put an ice pack on my neck when I started to feel faint) Did I mention that I didn't faint during the needle localization?  That was the part I was most worried about. And I have the best family and friends anyone could want. Gini and Bob arrived at the hospital around 10 so I got to see them before I went into surgery and they s...

Clean margins and no node involvement. In case you missed it in the previous post. 🙋

Hi Friends. This is Anne writing today. I will keep you posted about Connie's progress through the day. Please check back later for updates. Everything takes longer, so she went to the OR at 11 instead of 10, after a morning that was back and forth between boring and gruesome. Lots of waiting, but then needle localizations (wires placed to point to areas of concern) and more needles for nuclear medicine injections to pinpoint the sentinel nodes. And what does Connie hate more than anything? Needles! But she did very well, did not faint! The breast surgeon will be done in about 2 hours, and then the plastic surgeon will make everything beautiful. Gini and Bobby are here with me in the waiting room. More later. GREAT NEWS!!!!!! The doctor just called me and said that he was able to get clean margins on both sides and that the nodes are negative. She is doing really well. Now the plastic surgeon will be working on her for about  the next couple of hours. Then the recovery  ro...

So tomorrow is the "day." I was going to go to the gym today--it would be my last time for at least a month. I never made it. I "slept in" -- for me that means I slept until 7:45 AM. I "puttered" around--not really sure where that term comes from, but I like it. Did a little of this, a little of that. Felt the warm prayers of my CRE/CLP community, my Bible study women, my hair stylist, my electrologist--all of these people are praying for me, and the first two groups prayed by laying their hands on me. Talk about feeling God's love! Image courtesy of foto76 at FreeDigitalPhotos.net Piled up the books I intend (or is it hope?) to read while I recover. Here's the list, in no order: Bored and Brilliant , Manoush Zomorodi I participated in the Note to Self "bored and brilliant project a few years ago and pre-ordered the book. Glass Houses, Louise Penny Shout out to my friend Sheryl who got me hooked on Armand Gamache, ...

I've had my pre-operative testing/medical clearance and I'm cleared for surgery. Surgery is Friday. I'll know what time after I call the hospital on Thursday. Here's the protocol: I need to take a total of three showers with chlorhexidine gluconate soap (which we have from Anne's surgery prep). The last shower is the night before or the day of my surgery--I'm planning the night before. I need freshly washed washcloths, towels and clothes. This is different for us because we use towels for a few days before washing them. The instructions say "dress warmly." Clearly these are not re-written for those having surgery in the summer/early fall. It's 75 degrees--I'll be warm enough. It's interesting to me because I had surgery in 2012 for a compressed ulnar nerve and I don't remember having to prep at all. Maybe I did and I just forgot? Here's my favorite part of the post-operative instructions: Things to avoid: ...