After my terrible second round of chemo (which I wrote about here and here), my third round's dose was reduced by half, and was lower than any of the other doses I have had so far. So--- it felt pretty mild, and my labs didn't budge at all. My doctors were happy that I tolerated …
Continue reading Chemo Rounds 3 and 4, and another “trip in the tube”
I'm going to start this post by saying I am no graceful ballerina. As a child I toe-walked so much that I was seen by a neurologist. I had zero athletic ability-- in fact, I distinctly remember thinking that I could run faster if I held my arms straight behind me and ran half bent …
I've had a lot of people ask me what I'm up to, and sometimes this is kind of a hard question to answer. I'm not back to work yet since my chemo has still been so unpredictable. So, when I go to answer this question a lot of the time my natural response-- in the …
Some of you may have seen me announce on social media recently that I have joined the board of a local non-profit organization called Consano. When I first started talking to people about my intention to raise money to fund Oligodendroglioma research, to find new treatments and hopefully a cure-- my colleagues and friends in …
For months I had been looking forward to going to a concert at the Oregon Zoo. The concert series at the Zoo is one of the highlights of summer in the Pacific Northwest. The stage is set up right next to the elephant exhibit, and you are able to sit on lawn chairs and blankets, …
Continue reading Making it work- going to a concert at the Zoo.
I have a Type A personality. I always have a plan, and a back-up plan. I keep 2 paper calendars up to date -- one has the kids' schedules, and one with our whole family's plan laid out for months at a time. Usually this is full with potential conflicts-- my husband and I may …
Continue reading Learning to go-with-the-flow when plans change
I used to joke that my surgery was my tumors' "eviction day." I was scheduling their removal, their destruction-- they were NOT welcome to stay one second longer. The planning was constantly on my mind, I was aiming all of my energy towards the ultimate goal of evicting these... tenants from hell. But-- my mind …
Continue reading The absurdity of conspiring against the intruders in my head
After surgery, I was given 2 treatment options. Option 1 would allow me to live longer without recurrence of my cancer. The cancer would recur, but it would be kept at bay for maybe 2-3 years longer than option 2. However, option 1 would leave me with side effects that would develop over time. The …
I love celebrating other people's birthdays, but I like to have mine pass without much fanfare. Yesterday was my 37th birthday, and I honestly went back and forth on deciding to celebrate in a bigger way than I normally do this year. YOLO, right? Why NOT have a huge party every year that I'm alive!? …
Thankfully my chemotherapy is a pill, so I can take it at home. The routine is set so that I take 3-4 pills every night before bed for 5 nights in a row. Then have 23 days off, and start again. This round was delayed by 1 day because my platelets were too low (side …
between the busy 