An article for Pinktober

Not just any article, but one written by the very talented Pamela Grossman for Weight Watchers on-line. If you click, you may see a familiar occassional blogger quoted. :)

http://www.weightwatchers.com/util/art/index_art.aspx?tabnum=1&art_id=78701

Zometa Round 3

I think the further I move away from Cancerville, the more I forget I even have this blog.

I had my third round of Zometa recently. I have previous entries comparing a Zometa infusion to being run over by a truck. Flu-like symptoms just sounds so benign compared to the actual experience of said symptoms! So, it was not without trepidation that I approached this round.

The day did not start well. We have an industrial sized bottle of acetominophen in our house. For whatever reason, it could not be found. No where. Not in any medicine cabinet. Not in any place where medications end up when they don't get put away. This was bad news because I had been advised specifically to pre-medicate with acetominophen and then take it round the clock.

Then, we arrive at the oncologist's office, only to realize I had left my Zometa at home in the kitchen. My attempt at being early for my appointment (in hopes of being finished early) was a failure. After driving home and back yet again, I ended up appearing 15 minutes late for my appointment.

The morning continued a downward trend. I had people insisting on drawing my blood, something that had been done less than 2 weeks prior so that it wouldn't have to be done this day. I know I annoyed everyone by refusing the bloodwork. That is, everyone but my oncologist who agreed with me. :D

Finally, we make our way to the infusion room. I'm given a warm pack for my arm, the one with the lesser amount of missing in action lymph nodes. I ask for Tylenol, knowing they keep that sort of thing around. The infusion goes well, as always. I never have any symptoms during the infusion. The problem arises 12 hrs later when I am hit by shaking chills so severe that I can't sleep. Anyway, once it's all over, I ask again for Tylenol. The nurse practitioner says she'll give it to me if I tell her why. I explain and she says "You should have told me before. The secret is Benadryl. We would have given you IV Benadryl first." So instead, she gets me the Tylenol and a few tablets of Benadryl along with instructions to take both around the clock.

Lo and behold, t'was the most amazing thing! No shakes. No chills. No myalgias (muscle pain). I admit I did have some minimal bone pain, but nothing one would need a narcotic for. Just mild, run of the mill pain. It was the easiest round of Zometa ever! At least for me. :) And that's a good thing.

I mention all this because on all the message boards and all the blogs that I read prior to starting to Zometa, I had never seen this little hint for people with similar symptoms. I knew about acetominophen, but that was it... and that certainly did not do the trick by itself.

Lots more fun stuff coming up... really fun stuff, not medical stuff! I have tickets to see the Martha Stewart show for the breast cancer episode, I am having photos done of ME (more on that eventually), and I have a tiny bit part in the Nutcracker this year (I know, no tiny parts, just tiny dancers). More eventually...

Homeschool Science 101

The adventure continues.

One of my hesitations with homeschooling/on-line schooling was science. I felt that Rachel had several years of wonderful science courses at RPS. Her first few on-line science lessons just did not seem as rigorous as what she had become accustomed to. She has been taking it up a notch or two or more on her own and with the help of her teacher. Still, there are days when she sits down at the computer and expects to be able to fly through at least some of the material.

And then she hit her first roadblock! This happened last one day last week. She thought she could sit down and just quickly finish the week's worth of environmental science. A few minutes later, I hear myself paged. "MOM!!! MOM!!! I CAN'T FINISH THIS!!!"

So, I head downstairs to the schoolroom to see what all the excitement is.

Poor child. She has to do an experiment. Said experiment will actually take a few weeks to complete.

I admit she did have other choices. She could have chosen to write a paper. But where's the fun in that?

Instead, we spend a few days gathering the materials and drinking soda so we could finish gathering the materials! We needed 6 soda bottles. Not easy to do in a house of 3! The remainder of the materials where easy to find- water from the canal, leaves from the poplar tree out front, grass clippings, newspaper and kitchen scraps. Yup. We've got two composters hanging out a corner of the kitchen.

So, now the playroom has become the schoolroom and the kitchen has become the science lab.

What's next?

Back to paper and paste

Well, not really paste. I prefer less messy adhesives these days.

I need to convert my so-called scraproom back into a so-called guest room very shortly for a friend's visit next week. Of course, nothing ever inspires me as much as a clean work space.. and perhaps knowing that I shouldn't be making it messy!

Definitely the latter.

The arrival of new papercrafting related product also does a lot for inspiration. I received a wonderful box from Scribble Scrabble last week containing three new lines. With all this inspiration, I've been sneaking into the scrap room in spare moments and ended up with these creations (and a few more I can't shre quite yet). Unlike most of the previous releases, two of the lines are themed, a birthday line and a Halloween line. I admit that I normally avoid purchasing themed papers, but that is changing. Unlike themed papers I've tried to use in the past, these lines were so much fun and sooo very easy to use! The third line is called Lullaby of Birdland and is incredibly versatile. That's the one I used on the school layout and the piccolo layout... and I still haven't gotten into the leafy greens and the reds in this line yet... but hope to soon.

A New Journey

As of August 1, we have begun a new journey.

Rachel has started 7th grade in a brave new world. A world without dress codes. A world without finite deadlines. A world without homework!

Rachel has become a homeschooler.

There are so many reasons why we have decided to try this route. Nevertheless, it was very hard to leave her previous school. She started there as a 3 yr old in the pre-K program. We had thought that she would graduate as a member of the class of 2015. But, we did not just leave the school, we have left the conventional concept of school.

Technically, she is a distance learner. We've enrolled her in a fully accredited distance learning program aka an on-line school. She can work at her own pace, on her own time, at her own level. The flexibility is already a greater gift than we ever imagined. It's not just the flexibility of when she does her schoolwork and how much she does at a sitting, it's also the flexibility of the curriculum to suit her needs specifically. We are still working out the kinks and the specifics, but it is still early in the game. She is taking a traditional mix of courses- English, History, Math, Science, Health/PE (ballet), and French. But, what she would have difficulty getting in a traditional school environment is the variety of grade levels. She's taking a mixture of 7th, 8th and high school level courses. We've been making changes as we go.. she's been taking assessments and trying out courses, moving up a few levels (Math, Science, History) and down (French) as need be. I suspect we are reaching the end of the tinkering and she should be settled into her coursework for each subject by the end of the week, next week at the latest.

I should also add that it was Rachel's idea to start school this early, instead of waiting for the traditional September. Yet another illustration of the flexibility.

Note: The scrapbook page at the top of the entry uses a small fraction of the many patterned papers in Scribble Scrabble's very recently released "Lullaby of Birdland" line. More scrapbook pages to follow in a later entry. :D

A Tale for Tuesday

So, I am having a quiet day at home, finishing up a few projects, when the phone rings.

As I often do, I look at the caller ID before answering.

I see it is my internist's office calling. Odd as I don't have an appointment until September, but perhaps there's been a schedule change.

I answer and hear "Dr. Ackerman? We're calling because your insurance company notified us you did not have a colonoscopy this year."

Interesting.

Knowing that I am not quite the age for a routine colonoscopy but also knowing that my internist has been encouraging me to have one anyway (a result of my ever so wonderful family history and the fact that there are certain cancers that breast cancer survivors have a higher than average risk of developing.. not exactly fair, huh?), I begin to question the gal on the other end of the phone.

Before I get too far she says "Oh did I say colonoscopy? I meant mammogram. Your insurance company notified us that you have not had one this year and we are just reminding you."

Oh really? You are reminding ME to have a mammogram?

Can you see where this is going?

Without the slightest hint of sarcasm, anger or even humor, and without even thinking, I quickly respond "I haven't had a mammogram because I don't have breasts." (Silicone implants, pectoral muscles and skin are not actually breasts).

I think everyone in a 5 mile radius heard her gasp.

I matter of factly continue, "It's been almost 3 years since I had my bilateral mastectomy so I haven't had a mammogram since then."

Poor thing on the other end was babbling her apologies... and I kept talking! I did recommend they remind the insurance company so they don't count me on the lists of those not compliant with these sorts of things (it's one of the ways they rate doctors.. what percentage of your patients have had the routine screening tests they should have). The gal on the other end was still busy apologizing.

Must admit I had a good giggle when I got off the phone.

Maybe I should have just made an appointment just to see what would happen. :P

When it's time to change...

After 3 years, I finally decided to update my profile photo.

What you've seen on every previous visit to my blog was a photo taken in 2006, not long before I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Not that it was perfectly straight hair, but it was ever so much straighter than it is today. I've held on to that photo for far too long. It was understandable when I had no hair and even understandable as it grew back. I've gone from tight post-chemo curls to looser, more moderate curls and that's just where it is staying. That previous profile photo has not looked like me for a very long time.

(And of course, if you are reading this from Facebook.. you have no idea what I'm talking about because I've actually kept those photos slightly more up to date.)