starting the process

Sitting here checking email and messages while waiting for a telemedicine call this morning before my appointments this afternoon at Duke. MonsterMustDie runs into my office and says “Do you know what time it is?!” My answer “It's 10:00 AM. My appointments start at 12:40 check-in time.” The drive to Duke in Durham, NC is 1 hour, 15 minutes away. He says ok and walks out of my office. He also wants to go to the Scrap Exchange to shop for art supplies for his future assemblages. I am not sure if I will be in the mood to spend an additional hour in the store after my appointments but I definitely do not want to risk being distracted by shopping before my appointments. The last one today is a blood-draw for at 2:40 PM. Seems like we can revisit that possibility after I am finished with my appointments today and depending on what mood I am in.

low spot

Yesterday, after being inundated on TV and online with metastatic breast cancer treatment ads, I was feeling hopeless and defeated and angry. I had troubled dreams all night. This morning, I spent a large amount of time listening to Senator Cory Booker's marathon speech. He is amazing and I am glad we have people like him and Raphael Warnock in our government, fighting the good fight.

starting cancer treatment

I spent most of Wednesday at Duke Cancer center. Karen accompanied me there and drove. 

now I am a cancer patient

I had a biopsy done on Fat Tuesday, March 4. I got my test results on the following Friday. I have breast cancer. I have what looks like I have what is probably stage 1 invasive breast cancer. Invasive Ductal Carcinoma 7 - 8mm They started to put me off til the end of April to make an appointment to consult with doctors at Atrium. My friend Karen, who was with me when I got the results, immediately spoke up and said I wanted to go to Duke. She already had the new patient contact information for Duke and she is shepherding me to go straight to Duke with this. I’d have to wait until Monday to hear from Atrium or Duke about sending my records and samples to Duke. Here’s hoping I can get in ASAP to deal with this. The good news today is I got my first trio of appointments at Duke scheduled for Wednesday, March 26, starting at 9:00AM, with the last appointment of the day starting at 1:00PM. Karen is going with me on Wednesday to my appointments in Durham, NC.

Looking for Spring

It is still lonely and boring here in North Carolina. Wondering if I should attempt to arrange any sort of Spring holiday-ish gathering at the house with friends and nearby neighbors. I doubt anyone will come but I still have an urge to try. I wish someone here would invite me to such a nearby event on a day that I don't have to be at the dress shop. Saint Patrick's Day is on a Monday this year. Maybe a potluck Irish-themed brunch on Sunday? What about an all-age alternative to an Easter Egg (without real eggs) hunt to celebrate the beginning of Spring? My calendar tells me that Spring Equinox is Thursday, March 20 and all Spring holidays seem to include eggs in the mix somewhere.

my medical schedule is looking geriatric

I had my first mammogram since 2018 last Tuesday. Late this afternoon, I got a call from Atrium. They want me to have a diagnostic mammogram and an ultrasound as soon as possible. To satisfy work RTO requirements, the soonest I can make an appointment for that is March 4. Hopefully, they will approve that at work so I don't have to lie and call in "sick". I already put in RTO requests in for both days. After everyone refusing to see me even for well-checks without full insurance since I lost my last full-time job during the Covid shut-down, I'm finally getting the tests I should have been having annually for the last four years. My regular doctor still doesn't have time for my Welcome-To-Medicare checkup until May 13. I am still trying to figure out what's going on with my back and side, other than routine sciatica pain. It has been going on since April 13, when I woke up and could not even tie my shoes, and X-ray and MRI tests say there is nothing wrong with me. It is a lot better but it is still bad enough to prevent me from traveling far in a car or being able to sit down too long at my desk; although when it first started, I could not bear to drive or sit upright at all. So, I've gotten much better all by myself but I really need my fully-functioning life back. I have one more orthopedic appointment on March 6 - I think this will be the last one I make for my back.

Saturday

This is a rare Saturday that I'm not working at the dress shop. Rather than sleeping in, I had an anxiety attack that woke me up at 4:30 AM. I tried to stay in bed but I gave up a bit before 6:00 AM and started trying to quietly put things away and clean up the kitchen. MonsterMustDie woke up not much later and made coffee. Around 11:00 AM, we pulled some of the plastic bins down from the attic and began putting away the holiday decorations. Then we had lunch with Karen & Bob at Taste of Troy, a Greek restaurant in Jamestown. I had the vegetarian moussaka and MonsterMustDie had the gyro. After that, we continued working on putting up decorations and breaking down the tree.