47. Cording, Human and Otherwise
November 15, 2022 Update. Today’s theme is cording, both medical and otherwise. Cording, also known as axillary web syndrome (axilla = armpit), is a common side effect after breast cancer surgery. Since breast cancer often spreads from the breast to the axillary lymph nodes, surgeons often have to disrupt and/or remove the lymph nodes and […]
46. THBSO Recovery is Going Well + Anastrozole
November 10, 2022 Update. Long-ish post. Today is post-operative day 7 after laparoscopic THBSO (refresher: the uterus, fallopian tubes and ovaries are gone) and I am now in surgical menopause – as opposed to “natural menopause” when your ovaries just stop pumping out hormones due to aging. Went for my follow-up clinic visit and of […]
45. Discharge Home: the Long Goodbye
November 4, 2022 Progress: Out of bed Walked around Tolerating diet well Urinated multiple times (goal met) Passed gas twice! (goal met) Discharge home today! But discharge paperwork is taking forever. Doreen is tired and so am I!
44. Returning to the Room & Waiting to Pass Gas
November 4, 2022 Update. [Late post – wrote this about 6 hours earlier today] Good morning! Finally in hospital room at 2:10 AM [early Friday morning]. Got anesthesiology and ob-gyne clearance to leave the recovery room at 11 PM or so, but of course babies being born could not wait and the delivery room complex […]
43. Goodbye, Lady Parts. Doreen is Here Too.
November 2, 2022 Update. Warning: long post. Bottom line: please send prayers and good vibes for successful surgery and recovery Admitted to the hospital today (Nov 2nd, Wedensday), for tomorrow’s laparoscopic total hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (LTHBSO). Long fancy words describing the surgical procedure to remove the uterus and ovaries. Doreen is here too. There’s […]
42. Radiation Therapy, Session 20 of 20 (100%)
September 26, 2022 Update. Done with radiation therapy, 100 percent! 20 of 20 sessions. On Sunday afternoon, I was a bit worried about whether Monday morning’s radiation therapy session would push through. Tropical storm Noru (Philippine name: Karding) rapidly became a super typhoon Sunday morning with “explosive intensification” – quotable, almost poetic words from the […]
41. Radiation Therapy, Session 18 of 20 (90%)
September 22, 2022 Update. As usual, we started off with arriving early at the radiation oncology unit for the 8-9 AM time slot. Someone else was in my usual waiting room seat so here’s another view of the area. The rooms housing the linear accelerators (Linac) are in the background (closed green door on the […]
40. Radiation Therapy, Session 16 of 20 (80%)
September 20, 2022 Update. I wasn’t going to write an update today, but I might forget the details so I’ll do it anyway. 16 of 20 radiation therapy sessions done, 80 percent. Although I may be further along than I think, because the boost dose (after the “primary course” of 15 sessions) is really a […]
39. Radiation Therapy, Session 15 of 20 (75%)
September 19, 2022 Radiation therapy session 15 of 20 done, 75 percent of total course. The radiation technologist reminded me today that sessions will be shorter from tomorrow onwards: the first 15 are like the “main course” and the last 5 are “dessert”. Technically they are called boost doses, and not dessert The boost doses […]
38. Radiation Therapy, Session 13 of 20 (65%)
September 15, 2022 Lucky 13(th) zapping today at radiation therapy. Lucky 7 more sessions to go. Here’s Doreen showing off the Calmoseptine ointment (Doreen : ahem, oink-ment), newly-prescribed protective barrier for the skin under my armpit which has begun to darken from the radiation. This happens in areas with skin folds; my flat chest does […]
