Pic: Meet the new kittens.
As Nobel Peace Prize-winner
Albert Schweitzer once said,
"There are two means of refuge
from the misery of life:
music and cats."
Met with my oncologist on Wednesday and found out I'm a stage 2A Hodgkin's based on these test results:
Abdomen/Pelvis CT: shows no cancer below the belt
Bone marrow biopsy: all clear, no cancer in marrow
PET: there is cancer in my collarbone area and my mediastinum (breast bone area)
My MUGA and Pulmonary Function Test show my heart and lungs are strong enough for chemo. I'll be starting on Thursday. Three months of chemo to come, followed by 6-12 weeks of daily radiation.
Before that, though, I'll need a portacath. It's a device about the size of a quarter that will be implanted in my chest. It has a hole in the middle that will accept a needle, and a tail that will slide into a vein. This will appear as a bump under the skin and will leave a 2-inch horizontal scar on my chest, marking me a cancer patient long after the last bag of chemo drips dry. Like a fraternity branding. A member of a group I never wanted to join. Hazing I never wanted to endure.
Monday afternoon I'll meet with the surgeon who will put in my portacath. I'm not exactly sure why this is necessary; I guess to educate me about what it will be like to live with this thing under my chest for the next 3-6 months. Thursday I have the surgery, and right afterward I leave for my first chemo treatment.
This is all hitting me pretty hard. I couldn't get to sleep last night and just started crying. Graham woke up, reached over to grab my hand, and said only, "Let it out." The perfect thing to say.
After Wednesday's appointment Graham and I stopped at a little house to pick up some kittens we found on Craig's List. We opened the door and were hit with an atomic cat urine bomb. Filth. Filth plus cats. Fourteen of them. So yeah, we rescued a couple. And they're adorable. A rambunctous black and white male with big blue eyes and a green-eyed lady with brownish stripes. They're best buds, and watching them race around the basement has been such a great diversion. Names to come.
So, the kittens are helping, but I need a way to party before my first round of chemo. Research the Whig Party on Wikipedia? Storyboard my own Pixar movie and call it Finding Chemo? Ideas welcome.
Love you all,
Tara
6 comments:
I know it all sounds rough and officially real, but these are good results. It's not so far along as your oncologist thought at first, it hasn't spread as far as it could have; it's treatable.
Love you and miss you!!
Tara,
My family and I are thinking and praying for you every day. If you need someone to take you anywhere, I am nannying this summer, but not all that much and can definetly take off if/when you need me. Please let me know.
The kittens are adorable by the way!
Love you,
Corri
Tara,
Chuck and I are praying for you and are thinking of you always. We are checking your blog daily. Let us know if there is anything you need.
Beth
Tara,
I also check the blog daily and think of you constantly. It sounds like you have excellent medical professionals and supportive family and friends helping you through this. Chris and I are here for you and are sending healing thoughts to you!
Love you,
Kelly Bethel (Bowman)
Tara & Graham, Been keeping up through Jessica. I have a friend also going through Hodgkins. She is about half way through her treatments and has a great blog site, as well. I've told her about you and she sends all of her support. Her blog site is annierhodes.blogspot.com if you would like to share her experiences. You should have completed your first treatment today, so you were on my mind and in my prayers. I know you don't know me very well, but I am sincere in saying if there is anything I can do, it's not that far from TN. I'll throw Jessica in the car and we'll be there. Graham, take care of yourself. It's easy to forget about yourself when someone you love needs you, but you must take care of yourself in order to take care of Tara. Keeping you both in my prayers.
Corneice (Michael's Mom)
Tara, I was thinking about you today as you started your treatments. I hope everything went well. You're in my prayers!
Jaime
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