For those of
you who are reading this from a city other than NOLA, I send you my
condolences. That means that you had a regular work week, your children
were in school, and life coursed along as usual. In New Orleans, it
was quite a different story, and I don't mean to rub it in, but you
missed out on a great party. Happy Mardi Gras!
2014
seems to be racing by already. As the BC patient, I am thrilled. It
means the countdown continues to the end of treatments, which should be
the end of May or beginning of June. I did have an exact date in my
head but my oncologist thwarted that plan because she wants to postpone
treatment a week or two after April's surgery. Delaying it even a week
is frustrating when you've been counting down for 52 weeks but the
alternative keeps me grateful and more than happy to suck it up.
So,
surgery in April is quite exciting! It's set for April 17. It means
I'm reaching the end of the reconstruction phase as I get implants for
spring break. (Still appropriate even though I didn't get them for Mardi Gras
as I had wished.) My plastic surgeon says this should be much easier
than the mastectomy so I'm ready. Yet another countdown. The expansion
phase is over, and I'm back to literally feeling comfortable again in
my own skin. Very happy to be finished with that part of the journey!
I came across a site that I love called My BC Team, which has an app, too. The site is just like Facebook
but for women with BC. If you know anyone who has been diagnosed, pass
on the info because it's a wonderful place to connect with people who
are on the journey and in a very easy way. Lots of times you think you
are crazy for feeling some kind of pain that makes no sense at all and
My BC Team is a great place to throw out the strange questions. When
you post a question and several people answer you, it just confirms that
you're not crazy in a way that a Google search can't. (Are my eyes
really twitching from chemo? When will my insomnia go away? Are my
eyelashes really falling out AGAIN???) It's also a place where you can
go at any time of the day or night and get support however you need it.
Although other people can be wonderfully supportive, sometimes the only
people who truly understand are the people who are ahead of you on the
journey. One of my favorite aspects of the app is the "hug" button; a
virtual hug can sometimes make all the difference in the world from
another Pink Warrior.
From Mardi Gras to spring... I am so ready!
I am coming, I am coming!
Hark! the honey bee is humming;
See, the lark is soaring high
In the blue and sunny sky,
And the gnats are on the wing
Wheeling round in airy ring.
Hark! the honey bee is humming;
See, the lark is soaring high
In the blue and sunny sky,
And the gnats are on the wing
Wheeling round in airy ring.
-from The Voice of Spring by Mary Howitt
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