Hello Again!

Yes, I know. It's about time!!

Kathy is doing well! I don't know if any of you saw her comment on the last (long ago) post. So in case you didn't,
"I saw the oncologist today, and she used the word "remission"! I need to heal more before radiation can start, but at least there's a dim light out there now!"

I can't think of any better news than this, can you? I can add to this that Kathy looks great and is feeling better and better. The radiation won't be starting until she has healed more fully, and that is taking longer than she expected, but patient (the adjective) and patient (the noun) are not words that should go together are they? Wouldn't you like to know why this one word has both meanings? No? Oh, ok. I have one of those dictionaries with word origins in it if you change your mind....

So for now Kathy is kicking back, enjoying summer, reading, resting, enjoying spending time with her family, and working on curriculum. In short, doing all her favorite things! And a few doctor's appointments thrown in for good measure. She will still need all our support as she endures radiation (every day for about a month--the sheer annoyance of all that time spent in a medical office...), and the start of school (25 days, people!), and all the chaos that has become normal at HC.

Remission. What a glorious word! Our blogstar has kicked some serious cancer ass this year!

Lunch with Kat

I had the opportunity to have lunch with our blogstar over the weekend. She was feeling good enough that she cooked! I think that is a good sign! (It was yummy, too! Thanks!)

She looked great, wearing her "Hey Cancer, you picked the wrong bitch" t-shirt. She looked relaxed and rested, as a teacher on summer vacation should. Her hair is starting to grow back as soft down and she showed us that her eyebrows and eyelashes are coming back, too. (I must add here that I really am impressed how striking and beautiful women look without hair! It isn't what society tells us, but without hair a woman's face is more revealed and interesting--bone structure, eye color, strength of jaw, length of neck. Kat is no exception to this! Losing hair to kemo is no one's choice, but it does reveal elements of beauty that aren't always front and center when competing with a head of hair.)

Recovery from the surgery isn't going fast enough for her, but according to the doctor, she is an impatient patient! She has a couple more appointments coming up as they determine when/how to do the radiation to get the best effect. It continues to amaze me how individualized the treatment is. We have a tendency to think of disease treatment as a standardized thing, but with cancer it seems to be very much based on the specific person and their responses to the previous intervention. Hey, an assessment loop in everyday life! ;-)

On another note, I just noticed that we are past the 1100 mark on the number of hits to this blog. That is a great show of support everyone. Keep up the good work!

She's Home

Kathy is now home from the hospital and according to a text from her son, "doing surprisingly well." In fact, Cheryl called Kat's husband for an update and guess who answered his cell? Yes, Kathy! They were at the pharmacy waiting for a screw up to get resolved so she could get her drugs and get home. Cheryl commented that Kathy sounded really awake and coherent. The response? "Hello! That's because I'm still waiting for my pain medicine!"

More virtual flowers for the patient...
Get well soon! We will miss you at graduation tomorrow!

Today is the Day

Today is surgery day for Kat. She goes in at about 10:00. She has been told that it is about a two hour procedure and that she will go home later today. Please keep her health and recovery in your mind.

Almost June!

June is the month we have all been waiting for. June is the end of what has been a very difficult semester. June is also the month for surgery and the end of cancer. All Kathy's kemo treatments, all her visualization of death to cancer cells, was to get her to this point. Her surgery is on Tuesday. The doctor says she will go home that evening and get to sleep in her own bed. Amazing!

I was listening to this radio show yesterday and Dr. Dawn was saying that cancer treatment is like a race. The body's immune system is racing with the cancer cells. The idea is that the different treatments allow the immune system to get far enough ahead of the cancer cells that they can win. She thinks cancer survivors should be called cancer winners! I guess that is more radio friendly than cancer asskickers!

Remember Big Sur, Kathy? If I think of this as a race, I can imagine that it is like having the Highlands with the rolling hills and cambered road behind you. It's like the last five miles of the race now. Still more (painful) racing to do to keep ahead of those nasty cells. But the surgeon will give you a big boost and put you even further ahead of the cell counts. Struggling for a Big Sur comparison to that---maybe like the boost you got from the double caffeine espresso GU and Cheryl's singing (one word, kept coming up over and over in the songs she was making up, can you guess which word ;-) ????) You'll be putting those #$%&*@ cells will be so far behind you that they'll never be able to catch up.

...and if you need it, I have a GU packet and I'm sure Cheryl will come over and sing her made up songs with you...one word over and over... ;-)

We Did NOT Do This!

Our blogstar chaired the last Curriculum Committee meeting of the year today. In fine style, she ended the meeting at 3 so we could get over to enroll in our new insurance.

Exciting, but not as entertaining as some curriculum committee meetings documented on youtube! (I am always amazed by what I find when I do off the cuff searches--like searching youtube for curriculum committee just to see what was there!)



The semester is winding down and Kathy is getting closer to the end of her year of treatment. Hooray!

Stringing You Along...

...and leaving you hanging.

That's what I have done lately. That is kind of how cancer treatment is, too. Now, I didn't plan it that way. I didn't leave the blog with no new posts to make a point or anything. Just the normal end of the semester crush. But it is true that the nature of cancer treatment is sort of like that too. For example, you find a lump and you make an appointment, then you wait. Then you have a test and then you wait. Then you have another appointment and schedule another test and then you wait. There is a sense of urgency, and always a next item in the future stringing you along. On the other hand, there is a lot of hanging in wait for the tests to be read, for the doctor to be available, for the next test or the next appointment.

Now that the kemo is done there have been more tests and more waiting and more scheduling and more waiting. The end result is two pieces of really good news.

• The kemo worked really well to shrink the tumors!
• The surgery is scheduled for June 1st, after the end of Kat's semester!

Sadly, she will miss graduation ;-) and even more sadly, she will miss the end of the year faculty party. But as I write this she is working hard to wrap up her work for the semester--curriculum agendas and grading student work. (Hmmmm Kathy, are you sure you wouldn't have rather left the finals and all the grading for someone else?!?!)