Tag: breast cancer
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 […]
37. No-Breast Clinic
September 13, 2022 Update. We can truthfully say I am now more than halfway through radiation therapy, with session 11 of 20 (55 percent) today. After radiation and a mid-morning snack with coffee at Starbucks, I made my way to the Breast Center for a follow up appointment with the breast surgeon. It was strange […]
36. Radiation Therapy, Session 10 of 20 (50%)
September 12, 2022 Update. Radiation therapy session 10 of 20 finished this morning. Fifty percent! Does that make me half-baked?
35. Keratin
September 11, 2022 Update. Today’s theme: keratin. Keratin is the body’s main protein for hair and nails. The other day, I noticed my fingernails had stripes – dark stripes that corresponded with chemotherapy cycles. Chemotherapy kills rapidly dividing cancer cells, and causes collateral damage to hair and nails because those cells are rapidly dividing too. […]
