So I did it. Yesterday, on my birthday of all days, I started taking tamoxifen. This is a medication that blocks your body’s production of estrogen – which is what was feeding my cancer. It is interesting, as the information package talks about how the medication is used to treat breast cancer. It is used to… Read More »
Yesterday was #bellletstalk day – for those who are not in Canada, it is a day that the major telephone provider encourages people to talk about mental health, and donates money (e.g. 5 cents per tweet or text) to mental health charities. It has been criticized here by Torquil Campbell as purely a marketing stunt… Read More »
In the land of Breast Cancer social media there is some talk of Joan Lunden’s 7 tips for those facing breast cancer – cause well, everyone wants to know what a celebrity thinks right? I’m going to rant about her first tip, because I hear it time and again – whatever you do, don’t read the Internet.… Read More »
Spell checkers hate the word debride. It seems that ‘debridement of a wound’ is the correct spelling, but debride by itself is not. I also tried debreed – that too does not show up as a word. Too bad it is a real thing! After finding out that my plastic surgeon would have preferred the… Read More »
As much as I hate war … I must admit that the war metaphor for cancer is working for me right now. There are many bloggers who talk about what is wrong with the war metaphor (fighting cancer, cancer as a battle, etc) – and in particular how that metaphor is problematic when someone doesn’t… Read More »
Several women in the breast cancer blogosphere have commented on how inappropriate it is to say to someone with breast cancer that “at least you get a free boob job” or any variant thereof (see Reconstruction after breast cancer: It’s not a boob job). I agree. If you have never had breast cancer, you really… Read More »
I sometimes need to just cry. It has been awhile since I’ve had that feeling. It used to be that my eyes would plug up (they produce goopy oils that don’t always clear on their own) – so a cry would help that out. The cry also helps with processing feelings – it just feels… Read More »
I was really hoping to have both my drains pulled today, but truth be told, neither had output low enough to warrant being pulled (close by not quite). I do wonder if it had more do with my mental health than anything else; when, they did remove one of the remaining abdominal drains. So, now… Read More »
At this time of year, people often blog about new years resolutions – things they will do differently in 2015. I’m not a big, fan of new years resolutions. I’m more of a goal oriented person. I like to set myself goals for the coming year. My first and foremost goal for 2015 is to… Read More »
Healing is full of ups and downs. One day you are doing really well, and then then next, not so much. Saturday I really over did it. I walked over 5km, then went to two support groups (so sitting for 4 hours). To top that off, I tried to taper my overnight pain meds …… Read More »