Crazy Cats and Bitty Kitties

Today was my monthly MRi. Good News! My oncologist called this afternoon to let us know that my scan from earlier today showed no signs of recurrence and that my brain is stable. Last Wednesday when I had my appointment with Dr. Robins I surprised him; my eyes had improved a lot, and I had been able to read 34 pages in a row without eye fatigue. I’ll have to tell him next Wednesday that I’ve been able to read even more since that night. I’m fighting like hell, and I’m slowly getting myself back.

We all know that I’m a bit of a crazy cat lady, so when I saw that my craft hero was going to be releasing Crazy Cat stamps, I freaked out. I had to have them! My friend Stephanie Hamen reached out to Tim and Mario to see if they could help me get my hands on the stamps (for which I would gladly pay). Tim and Mario are so nice and thoughtful! I had a package arrive today with the Crazy Cat stamps and a colorful note from Tim.

I opted for a late lunch and a nap when we got home from my MRI today, but tomorrow my hands will be covered in ink from playing with the crazy cat stamps. SQUEEP!

Fight like Hell.

P.s. I love our tiny foster kitties. They're a handful, but so cute and playful.

F&%$ This Year

It's not all badass bitch tumor warrior woman and sarcasm over here. I'm pissed. I'm sad. And just when I thought we couldn’t possibly get kicked again this year . . .

I had an appointment with my oncologist and an infusion today. It turns out that the Avastin can cause a fatigue syndrome to set in after several months, So it looks like I’ll be taking naps for the foreseeable future, since the radiation fatigue is still hanging around.

My disability company had sent some forms for my doctor to fill out, so part of my appointment was spent answering super fun questions. In my oncologist’s opinion, I will not be returning to work anytime soon. He asked if I enjoy the work I do or if there were other things that I would like to do. [Cue: Panic]

  

At this point, my eyes may not heal any more. My oncologist thought that my eyes are probably as healed as they’re going to get, but he couldn’t say for sure. I’m still outlawed from driving, which is annoying. I have a stack of books next to our bed that I just want to read, but can’t manage more than 10 pages at a time. This is a hard pill for me to swallow. As if I wasn’t panicking enough about my future ability to return to work, my future ability to read makes me panic even more. . . . I’m still holding out hope that they’ll get better.

My oncologist is quite the character. The man is brilliant, but quite the character. He’ll walk out of the room during my appointment, without saying where he’s going, leave the door open, then walk back in a few moments, and continue talking right where he left off.

A final thought — This year can fuck off.

Fight like Hell.

Fight Song

I mentioned this before, but when Rachel Platten’s “Fight Song” came out, I thought about how it was too bad I didn’t have anything for which to use it. [Be careful what you wish for!] I had also said to N. that I didn’t know if I could be as strong if I had to go through this whole circus again.

Well, here we are. I don’t know if I’m being as strong as I was the first time, but I’m doing it.

Today started the 3^rd week of crockpot radiation. I have 19 more treatments remaining, so that should put my last treatment on October 30^th. I have yet to vomit – yay for Zofran and a doctor that understands pharmaceuticals!

I’m just waiting for the hair to start falling out.

Fight like hell.

KJ Gets Cooked Low & Slow

Yesterday was my first infusion of Avastin. Besides it taking Pharmacy an hour to formulate the drug and get it to me, the infusion was cake. I had to get labs drawn to start the day; I’m glad I didn’t have to do much pleading to get her to just put in an IV and draw off that. One stick day – FTW! [It’s sad when I have to measure a good day by how many times I got stabbed.] I needed an IV because my port isn’t ready for use yet, but it will be by the next time I get an infusion. Once Pharmacy finally got the drug to me, it was smooth sailing. I was able to be in my own little bay, lay on a bed with a warm blanket, and take a nap while the Avastin was pumped in. Piece of cake!

Today I got to take off my bandages from the port placement. Hurray for a normal shower this afternoon! [And holy bruises – yeesh!]

This evening begins my radiation treatments. The last time I saw my radiation oncologist, he confirmed that cooking me low and slow won’t change the radiation nausea or fatigue. I actually have good anti-nausea meds this time, though. The Zofran is ready to go before I get radiated tonight. My appointments won’t always be in the evening, but it was the only space available since it was a quick decision to change my treatment timetable. I’m hopeful that I won’t be as sick this time. I will be the queen of naps. That’s okay, though; the boy kitty and I have our afternoon couch nap routine down.

Let’s burn the Bitch to the ground! Fight like Hell.

[I'm terrible at selfies]

Badgers Game Day

I am helping UW Carbone Cancer Center promote “Beat Cancer” buttons. They are being sold at the Badger Bash before football games and also online at uwhealth.org/beatcancer. Proceeds will go to Cancer research and patient services.

Fight like hell.

Battle Plan - Phase 2: Burn the Bitch to the Ground

I had 30 sutures removed from my skull by my neurosurgeon’s NP to start our super fun day at UW Hospital and Carbone Cancer Center today. It feels so much better to have the sutures out; they were pretty tight at the bottom and starting to pull. Also, I’m glad that I took an oxy beforehand, otherwise that would’ve been a bit much to sit through. As it was, I was feeling no pain. ;)

We found out last week that the bitch tumor was a cancerous grade 4 tumor. Today, we found out that the bitch tumor was also a glioblastoma. Another question we got answered today was – yes, I do still have cancer. And I will wear that scarlet C like a badge of honor. Though my neurosurgeon was able to remove 100% of the tissue that was picking up the dye on my MRI, the cancer cells still exist in my brain.

Onto Battle Plan: Phase 2…

In two weeks, I will have an MRI to make a map for my radiation treatments. I will be doing 27 treatments of a special kind of radiation that one of the UW doctors created. Of course, UW has THE guy. . The radiation treatment I had 6 years ago was given in higher frequency/shorter length doses. This radiation treatment will be lower frequency given over a 30 minute time frame. Our cells naturally repair themselves when exposed to radiation in the world; this lower/longer dose allows normal brain tissue to repair itself as it would naturally when exposed to radiation. I’m not sure if this will have any effect on how I will feel after radiation treatments, but it will be better for my body.

One of the pathology tests wasn’t back yet today, so we don’t know if I will be doing pill form chemo along with the radiation or not yet. If the bitch tumor pathology comes back as methylated, then I will also be doing the same chemo that I did last time. My oncologist thought that the test should be back within the week. The UW Carbone Cancer Center will be my new home for the next several weeks

We don’t know and won’t know why or when the bitch tumor started growing again. We only know that it transformed from the site of the original tumor.

We have an uphill battle for sure, but it is one that I refuse to lose.

Fight like hell.