Sunday, August 23, 2009
4:19PM
Janet’s Not Fond of Cancer Update: #3

Editor’s Note: Janet’s first post about her cancer diagnosis and treatment can be found here. Janet is going to keep udating the Colony and the Colony is going to keep sending thoughts, prayers and good juju her way.

I’ll start off by saying I saw the movie Julia & Julie Sunday night and cried like a baby at the end (I really loved Julia Child…she reminded me so much of my Grandmother) and I think that started Monday’s crying jag (I also cried talked to my friend Megan’s husband on the phone that night, poor guy).

Monday I met with Dr. W, who said the blood work is still looking good. He commented on the book I was reading, The Poisonwood Bible and said he’d liked it a lot. I’d just read a sad part and so burst into tears, which, to his credit, he handled very well. He asked if anything was wrong, if I was feeling stressed or sad or unsupported or anything and I said no, just weepy LOL! And that is SO unlike me, I hardly ever cry. So off I went to see my friend, the chemo nurse, and I promptly burst into tears in front of her, too! Lovely…I so enjoy making a spectacle of myself…NOT! She, too, handled it well and I blamed it on the movie I’d seen Sunday night. We showed each other pictures of our dogs (she said, since we don’t have kids LOL) and off I went to the Cancer Center’s reading room (are you sensing a pattern) to read for a bit and eat a turkey sandwich. I wanted to go to the rooftop garden, but there’s a sign that said “Food not allowed” so oh well. Then off to radiation, where my favorite tech, Barry, was there and the dude named Hiney! Score!!! I showed Barry a picture of Wolf (since he’d asked to see it last time) and he oooh’d and aaaaah’d over him (he is damn cute, Wolf, that is). Then I cried in front of them when they asked me how I was doing. Gah! Waterworks! Shut off!

After the treatment, I was feeling extremely a bit nauseous and actually had to stop in the building where I work on the way home to visit the rest room. When I got home, I didn’t feel much better and alternated between the bathroom and couch (luckily not far away from each other). Dr. H had given me a prescription for Compazine (anti nausea meds) which I hadn’t filled since I hadn’t felt nauseous. Mistake! I didn’t feel well enough to go to the pharmacy and Megan was off with her hubby to see a Red Sox game, but then I felt better and just took it easy the rest of the night…Dinner was white rice (with some dried umeboshi flakes, YUM) and I tolerated that fine.

Tuesday was much better, waterworks & nausea over and done with and a quick trip into Boston for the radiation (10 seconds, 10 seconds, 1 second, 6 seconds seems to be the average). While there, the lead tech told me that since they have a staff meeting on Friday they rescheduled my appointment to 4 (from 1245) and my face just fell. Lead tech says: I sense you have some tenseness over this and I said um, yeah!!! I have plans on Friday and plus … I want that chemo bag off as soon as possible. He said…well, how about 330? If I don’t have a say in it, I guess 330 it is. And…home.

Wednesday I met with Dr. H & his resident and told them about the crying, which they assured me was normal. They said the radiation films look great and everything is on track. Certain areas are feeling a bit dry and chafed, so they recommended an ointment and so far, so good. Afterward, the resident asked me to tell her about Julia & Julie, which I did…withOUT crying, woohoo! They both encourage me to do as much as I’m able in regard to living my life as normally as possible.

Thursday…gah…will this week never end? Good news is they’re fitting me in at 1130 instead of 330 on Friday. That was awesome. When I got home, I was taking Wolf out for a walk and we saved a snake in the road! I was afraid he’d get run over, but I also didn’t really want to touch it…so I stomped behind him hoping the vibrations would make him move. That worked…but it also had the added effect of making Wolf FRANTIC to GET THAT SNAKE! But I perservered and he slithered off into the woods…sorry, no picture of that!

Friday: Woohoo! Got to chat with Barry; he was amused by this tattoo:

The nurse who takes off my chemo bag said he’d make someone a good wife and then caught herself and said, quickly, husband! I meant husband…and I just chuckled. Afterward, I headed to Beacon Hill Chocolates to pick up a birthday present for my friend Megan

…I felt, as always, so much lighter without that bag by my side. Don’t get me wrong…I appreciate it being there, cause I know it’s saving my life…but…it’s a constant reminder that my life NEEDS saving, you know?

And regarding living a normal life, that evening, my friend Michelle came over and we had pizza (probably not such a good idea for me, but it was damn good) and watched the movie Taken, with Liam Neeson…very peaceful (the evening, NOT the movie).

Saturday, Max came over to spend the weekend:

He’s being taken care of by my friends Megan and Jim since it’s hard for me to handle both my dogs right now. It was good to have him here!

Later on, I went over to my friend Karen’s house with the idea of swimming in her pool; it turned out we played a fierce game of Scrabble by the pool (in the shade, since I can’t tolerate the sun for long) and she made this most deliciuos salad:

And this is a lovely flower from her garden:

My friend, Maureen, came down from Vermont and we hung out for a bit, then met Megan & Jim and Megan’s sister Tara to go see the movie Julia & Julie (I didn’t cry [much] this viewing) and then had a delicious supper at a local restaurant we love.

Sunday, Maureen and I had a fantastic breakfast:

And then headed to the dedication of hymnals and bibles at the church my parents (both deceased) attended since 1960; my brother and I made a decent donation to help the church acquire these books and they dedicated some of then in my parents’ names. That was nice! I’m happy to say lightning didn’t strike the church while I was in it!

Janet is…a woman, a daughter, a sister, a cousin, twice a wife (third time’s the charm, right?), owned by a shiba inunamed Wolf; she’s a photographer; a lover of life, travel, food, books, movies, tattoos, the usual and unusual, and last but not least hopefully a cancer survivor. Happiest with a camera in one hand and Wolf on a leash in the other, she loves exploring her surroundings and sharing what she sees. You can read more of her at her blog Fond of Snape.