Advice on Taking Care of a Patient After a Mastectomy or Breast Reconstruction
I had a very nice woman email me because she is going to be taking care of a friend after her double mastectomy and asked for tips and tricks on how to take care of a patient after a mastectomy. I figured that I would also share my advice on a blog post since I know some website visitors are caretakers of breast cancer patients and breast cancer patients themselves preparing for surgery – and my life is pretty boring cancerwise...
Strange Anniversaries
Yesterday, June 3, marks exactly one year from my final chemo infusion. Life is full of strange anniversaries after cancer treatment, some good, some less good, but each anniversary is a cause for celebration in its own way. I find myself in a strange transition between moving past everything, but knowing that everything can turn itself upside down unexpectedly. I have been putting my life back together even though it never truly fell...
If I Said This Was Easy You Could Call Me a Liar
As much as I want to insist that I have been completely calm and relaxed and haven’t thought about cancer at all this past week I would be a liar. Staying positive is hard work and pretty much impossible. You feel like the bringer of doomsday, but these days, EVERYTHING is cancer. Acne = cancer. Sore toe = cancer. Mole = cancer. You name it… luckily I only panic about things that realistically could become/be cancer (at...
Radioactive Urine
I don’t know where I come up with these titles I swear… So… the pain in my neck got better, but the spot in my mid back got worse. Mike and I swore at the internet yesterday because there is just way too much available information when it comes to cancer, side effects and all other lovely things from Cancertown. I had my appointment this morning. I had called the nurse a couple of days ago to see if I should see my...
Pain in the Neck
I feel like a pain in the neck, but really, I actually have been having pain in my neck. I got a cold after my trip to New York last month (yes, I went back to NYC, luckily it remained adventure free this time, unlike my crazy trip in October). On my flight out the flight attendant pointed at my lymphedema sleeve and asked if I had “earned it.” I stared blankly at him for a moment and once it connected in my brain I...