How to Train Your Dragon

Dragon Fruit.  Our latest adventure in trying some different fruits and vegetables and trying to expand our palates!  We were shopping in Wegman’s and as I was looking for something new, Ethan found a dragon fruit.  It was the only one left, and he was pretty excited about it, so I agreed.  We had to Google dragon fruit when we got home to learn how to cut it.  It was actually pretty easy… similar to a melon:  cut in half and scoop out the flesh, a pretty white with black seeds.  The Internet indicated it would take like a cross between a pear and a kiwi, and that was pretty much dead on.  I think it would have been better if a little colder, but it was tasty.  For the price, I’m not sure it’s something I would do on a regular basis.  It was $5.99 per pound, and this one fruit was 1.25 pounds.

Dragon fruit is grown in Southeast Asia, Mexico, Central and South America, and Israel.  It is low in calories and is very nutritious: vitamin C, phosphorus, calcium, fiber and antioxidants.  I’m glad we tried something new (especially Ethan)!

http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/nutrition/healthy-eating/the-nutritional-value-of-dragonfruit.html#b

 

 

 

 

The other new thing I purchased was fennel.  I have never personally worked with fennel, even though I have had some very tasty salads that included it.  I’ll have to look for a new recipe now!

The Magnet

I had the pleasure of experiencing my first MRI today (Magnetic Resonance Imaging).  I was a little nervous about it, because I have heard so many stories about it feeling claustrophobic and being really loud.  I didn’t anticipate any issues, but I wasn’t sure.

So first, let me start with “why an MRI?”  As many of you know, I had renal cell carcinoma in 2008 and as part of my regular follow ups, I am required to have a CT scan to check out my kidneys.  I had a CT scan back in August of last year as part of my periodic check ups. The timing coincided with my breast cancer diagnosis, so it was comforting to not only check my kidneys out, but the CT scan showed my liver, ovaries, etc. also.  I was quite relieved that nothing showed up then.

I didn’t get to see my urologist at the time of my last CT scan because there were so many other things going on to prep for my breast cancer treatments.  He pretty much said “call us when you’re done”, which I did.  I am scheduled to go back on Monday, but he did want a chest xray, blood work, and a repeat CT scan.   The first two were easy, since I had to do those as part of my pre-admission testing for my portacath removal.  But the thought of having MORE radiation at this point really turned me off, so I asked if there was an alternative that didn’t involve radiation.  I was thinking maybe an ultrasound, but he agreed to let me do an MRI instead.  To my surprise, my insurance company even authorized it.

The experience was odd, but tolerable.  The worse part was having to hold my breath for each picture.  It seemed to go on forever and I couldn’t wait until the tech said “breathe” each time.   I was sort of hoping to just lie there for the 30 minutes and take a nap, but I actually had to pay attention to the instructions.  I didn’t mind the enclosed space, nor the loud noises.  They were nice enough to pipe in my favorite, 70′s on 7!  I was surprised that the machine made a bunch of different noises.  For those of you unfamiliar, here’s what one sound was like:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oI9YnhPNcQ    There were others sounds too, and I wondered if the different sounds meant different things.  I meant to ask, but forgot.

The other interesting thing was the contrast they give me (which I wasn’t expecting).  When you have a CT scan, the contrast has to be warm, and so when it gets injected, it feels like you peed your pants.  I also feel that typically in my thyroid, I think because of the iodine.  The contrast for an MRI is actually cold, and I learned what it means to have ice flow through my veins.  It was weird, burned a little, and I felt in through my whole arm.

My poor arm had a tough day, as I also had to go for blood work this morning.  The reason for the tests was because my pre-admission labs showed high levels of calcium.  Since I was taking an herbal calcium supplement (to counteract the effects of the Femara), I was ordered to stop taking it for two weeks and repeat the blood work.  I’m going to have to ask my oncologist at some point how we can monitor that.  A side effect of the Femara is osteoporosis so I think the supplement is important, but apparently it’s not good to have too much calcium either.  Hoping it comes back normal this time and we can find a way to monitor the calcium levels to keep the osteoporosis at bay.

Happy Friday, everyone, and enjoy your weekend!  We will be celebrating my stepdaughter’s graduation from college!

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

I’m very excited to have hit another milestone in my blogging:  over 20,000 hits!  Considering I have written 184 blogs to date, that’s an average of 109 views per blog.  While compared to some, I’m sure that’s not much, but to me, it’s about 100 more a day than I anticipated when I started this!  :)  As always, my gratitude goes to all of you who continue to follow along.

I was updating some medical information on my WebMD account today and had some surprising discoveries.  I had mentioned previously that my cholesterol dropped 40 points since I have gone vegetarian / pescatarian / wannabe vegan.  In reality, it has dropped 53 points (215 to 162)!  Additionally, my triglycerides dropped by 101 points!  (173 to 72)  What WAS I eating all those years, exactly???

The “healthy lifestyle challenge” at work has us earning points for eating at least 25 grams of fiber a day.  It’s been interesting talking to people about this, as some are struggling and some are finding it quite easy.  I’ve been managing to hit 25 (and more) by eating a lot of raw fruits and veggies.  And my tablespoon of chia seeds each day adds an easy 5 grams.   In reading up on fiber, I have come to the realization that there is no way my son is getting the necessary fiber in his diet.  I think it’s time to start adding flax and chia seeds to his cupcakes.

The hardest part of the “HLC” has been the sleep requirement — at least 7 hours a night.  According to my FitBit, I am getting that amount of sleep, but the number of disruptions continues to be way too high.  I am still waking up 25-35 times a night.  How is that possibly restful?  (Rhetorical: clearly it explains why I am so tired.)  I blame the Femara since my pattern of sleeplessness resumed when I started taking that medication.  I did struggle with poor sleep during chemo, but it was more from the bone pain and restless legs issue.  Now, it’s almost solely due to night sweats.  I spend my nights in a vicious cycle of:  sweat.  Uncover.  Freeze.  Cover back up… over and over and over. If this is what I have to look forward to for the next five years, it won’t be pretty. 

Food Matters

Some of you may recognize the title of today’s blog as I documentary focused on taking control of your own health by taking control of what you eat.  My thanks to Linda for bringing this documentary to my attention today!  I have seen so many documentaries, and read so many books, but this one had escaped me.  So I promptly watched it tonight after work, all while juicing and making a healthy dinner.  I highly recommend this movie, which you can access on Netflix streaming.

Let thy Food be thy Medicine and thy Medicine be thy Food – Hippocrates.

http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/food-matters/

As I continue to take the right steps, in the right direction, in terms of controlling my own health and my own diet, yesterday I started planting my garden!  This is certainly a step in the right direction!  I planted my four recently acquired Earthboxes and planted cucumbers, carrots, zucchini and pumpkins (the latter being a special request by Ethan… I guess we’re preparing for Halloween!).  I still have tomatoes, green onions and lettuce to plant.  I followed all my planting instructions and am really hoping I am successful in this endeavor.  Growing up, my dad always had a huge garden, and we were required to spend an hour a day in that garden, pulling weeds and picking rocks.  I’m hoping those years of garden work pay some dividends now (although the Earthboxes seem to be pretty “idiot-proof”!).

Today I was scheduled for a dexa scan.  This is a bone density test to determine how strong my bones are.  As I have mentioned, the Femara I am taking to mitigate against a recurrence of breast cancer reduces my estrogen levels, and can contribute to heart disease and osteoporosis.  Today’s test was my “baseline” and I’m guessing we’ll monitor over the years somehow.  Definitely a question for me to ask the doctor next week.  Some of the questions the tech asked me were quite interesting:  what color are your eyes (green), what color is your hair (not sure… brown, I think?), are you right or left-handed?  I learned that the non-dominant side is used for the scan, so only my left arm, my left leg, and my lower spine were involved in the x-ray.  They are looking for the lowest score in your bones, and that would likely be on your non-dominant side.  As for the hair and eye color?  I did have to ask why that was relevant… The tech said it was just part of the questionnaire and he suspected it was to look for trends (for example, fairer skinned women tend to have a higher occurrence of osteoporosis, he said).

Next up:  blood work and MRI on Friday.

The Garden

Did I mention how glad I am that I decided to take the day off today?  After getting Ethan off to school, I went back to bed and literally had to drag my butt out at around 9:30!  While I planned on taking it easy, there are so many things I need to get done this weekend, so I tried to attack some of the easier tasks.  (Now that I think about it, laundry, dishes, vacuuming, and grocery shopping were probably not things I should have been doing…)

I am feeling pretty good post-surgery, although I did wake up with a wicked headache.  It subsided a bit after my morning nap… maybe an anesthesia hangover?  My incision feels tight, so I’m trying not to move my left arm too much.  The only other thing I noticed is that I have these little red squares all over my body where they stick all the wires during surgery.  Apparently, my skin is a little sensitive to that adhesive.

I’m hoping to plant my little garden this weekend.  I assembled my Earthboxes, and Dad was kind enough to get my soil and fertilizer for me, since I’m not supposed to lift over 10 pounds for a few days.  All I need is the weather to cooperate, so maybe Sunday…?

I did transplant my herb garden starter kit into bigger pots, although two of the six herbs didn’t make it.   I’ll have to give it another go for those two.

In the meantime, I got re-stocked on healthy foods today.  With all my travelling of late, the fridge was looking mighty bare, particularly of the good stuff.  I am now fully loaded up on fruits and veggies!  Time to get back on track!

Are We Done Yet?

6:00: Got up, brushed my teeth and took my Femara with my allotted one mouthful of water.  Got Ethan up, made him breakfast, got him on the bus, and notified the bus driver that he needs to get off the bus with his cousin, Marissa, since my parents and I will both be busy this afternoon. (Dad has an appointment with the ENT.)

7:00: I went back to bed. Since I couldn’t eat breakfast, I figured it was best to sleep through the morning!

9:00: Up again, showered and dressed.  Off to Geisinger-CMC for the final step in my treatment… removal of my portacath!  Woo hoo!

10:15:  in the car, as we need to arrive by 10:30 for my 12:30 surgery.  Luckily, it got moved up a half an hour. I know it’s not much, but I’m not used to going this long without eating!  The sooner, the better.  I knew taking a later appointment was going to be tough, but I did not want to push the date back.  I want this thing out!  Part of it is the fact that having this little box in my chest is annoying and unattractive.  But largely, it’s symbolic for the end of my cancer treatments.  I know there are still follow ups and additional tests ahead, but it’s really freeing to know it’s not needed at this point in time. (Having had cancer twice, I think it would be delusional of me to think I’m done forever. I will hope and pray, but the fear will always be embedded deep within me.)

10:45: checked in, bracelet on, and waiting to get called for surgical prep.

11:00: I’m now in the back, dressed in my paper gown. Yes, paper, and plastic.  Like a cheap tablecloth.  The gown has all these pockets and slots for wires and tubes, I’m guessing.

11:30: still waiting. Hot and sweaty in this silly gown and annoyed at having to wait so long just for the nurse. Why do they make you come so early to sit and wait??  Grrrr.

11:40: finally a nurse. I have a slew of bracelets now: white identification, pink limb alert (due to prior lymph node removal, my right arm is to be avoided for BP, IVs, etc.), red allergy, and yellow fall risk (apparently anyone going into surgery gets the latter).  I did get to visit with the nurse I had when this all began back in August.  She gave me a hug and we chatted a bit.  She even remembered that I’m in the same bay today that I was in when I had my mastectomy! Ah, memories!

12:00: The nurse and David are talking politics and college stuff.  I think she forgot I’m here.  Can we just move this along?  I really don’t like that she’s clicking away on the computer without focusing!

12:15: My least favorite part: the IV.  It actually wasn’t too bad this time, I will admit. Whew. Glad that’s over.  I did take a final picture of my port before it goes away.  The picture isn’t too clear, but you can see the scar and a bit of the lump under the skin.  What didn’t come out clearly is the two dots that showed where the needles were inserted for chemo.  I hope those scars go away.

12:30: My ride is here. Off to pre-op.

3:00: I’m on my way home already.  After meeting with the nurses, my very handsome surgeon, and the anesthesiologist, they took me into surgery around 12:45 or so.  I was back in recovery by 1:30.  The nurses monitored my vitals, and the one nurse was nice enough to change me into a cloth gown. That paper/plastic gown was really making me sweat!  And they kept covering me with more blankets!  Too hot!  I had some cranberry juice, got disconnected and dressed, and was on my way.

It is so great not to feel that big lump. It’s so nice and flat now!  The surgeon said he “cut the old scar out” so he could make a fresh thin scar. The old incision had stretched out a bit because of the actual device.  So that was nice to know. I thought I would end up with two scars.  (I’ll post a picture of the new scar when I’m allowed to un-bandage… in 4 days.)  I had asked the surgeon how they disconnect the device, which was connected to 3 veins, and he say he just yanks it out!  I’m not sure if he was kidding or not, but he seemed serious.  I did ask about bleeding then, and he said nothing to worry about.  Weird.

I am glad I decided to take tomorrow off.  I’m a tiny bit sore and because of the anesthesia, I can’t drive (or sign legal papers or make any major decisions!).

So much has happened in the past 10 months and I just can’t believe that I am officially DONE!!  Now it’s time to eat!  :)

World Ovarian Cancer Day

Reblogged from Saying NOPE to Breast Cancer:

May 8, 2013: today is the first official World Ovarian Cancer Day.

Did you know that ovarian cancer has the lowest survival rate of gynecologic cancers? Almost a quarter million women are diagnosed each year and it is responsible for 140,000 deaths.

It is important to know the symptoms, which are often misdiagnosed. Do you know what they are?

Read more… 342 more words

This was such an important message, I wanted to share it on my blog.