Adventure Update ....

Although I have been a little motor-mouth the last couple of days, I've been remiss on keeping this blog up-to-date.  

Tumor 

The day before my last oncology appointment I wrote that I thought I had good news but I wanted confirmation from the doc.  It seemed that the cancer drug was working and that baseball size tumor was shrinking.  Good news!   My oncologist thought so too.  

The doc used her little measuring stick & it appeared smaller.  She cautioned that the tumor may have moved deeper inside.  There's no way of really knowing until the radiologist does his special ultrasound & pinpoints the marker he left inside my breast.  I think they plan on doing this 4-6 months after the start of the cancer drug treatment.  I'm nearing the end of the first  3 months.

Hot Flashes

I've been a little bit worried the drug isn't working as well because I don't seem to be having as many hot flashes.   But I am having other side effects.   I'm still trying to recover from a miserable cold & cough that hit me the week after Thanksgiving.   Funny, as I've been typing this, I've gotten 2 very hot hot flashes !  

 Diabetes

 In November I was shocked and unhappy to learn I am a diabetic.  Boy, if that isn't a life-style changer!  

 Medicine has changed over the years.  Remember the old Glucose Tolerance Test that seemed to take all day?  You fasted, drank a bottle of a sweet syrupy concoction, followed by blood levels drawn?   Nowadays they draw some blood & do a test called an Hb A1c Test.  This is a lab test that shows the average amount of sugar in your blood over 3 months.  That's a pretty cool. No muss, and no fuss.

• Hemoglobin A1c test --
  
  • Normal: Less than 5.7%
  • Pre-diabetes: 5.7% - 6.4%
  • Diabetes: 6.5% or higher

The day this test was taken I measured at 6.8%.  It was about the same when I went to my first diabetes class.

I went to the first of my two classes to learn all about diabetes and how to live with it.  I thought the class was really interesting.  They brought in a dietitian who taught us how to read food labels, and how to count carbohydrates, and how many carbs we're allowed to eat.  We learned about the meters to measure our glucose levels, and what level parameters we should strive to stay within. 

My next class is next Tuesday.  I'm looking forward to it.  My meter is in the mail & should be here any day.  Oh, boy, a new toy!  

Diet

Because of the cancer, I had already changed my diet.  The family & I agreed that all of us would benefit in eating smart and balanced foods.  We had a sit-down meeting about how we were going to do this, and that it would be a family affair.  

Before learning I am a diabetic, I had solace that I could cheat every now and then.  Now, however, that's not even an option, & that ticked me off.  Anyone who knows me knows how much I love potatoes.  I can't live without potatoes, & I refuse to go without potatoes!  Luckily for me, I can still eat potato, just not in the quantities I think I deserve!  LOL

 Family

The kids have told me they want to do all they can to help me stay alive.  Those are wonderful words to hear.  I admit I wonder about what next Christmas might or might not be like.  Makes me sad, not that I'm afraid of dying, I don't think I am.  It's just that I don't want to die.  Anyway, I'll do what I personally can do, pray the meds will continue to work & shrink that dang tumor & keep the cancer from spreading beyond the breast & lungs. 

This afternoon I have an appointment w/ the GYN to set me up for a biopsy.  Been having sporadic post-menopausal bleeding, so doc wants to rule out cancer.  The GYN I'm seeing is my oncologists' GYN.  That's reassuring, I think.

Well, that's it for now.  Hope I wrote this well enough where it's understandable.  Ol' motor-mouth me, eh?