Some of my new friends

Here's a pic of some of my new friends. Six of us met in the summer as part of a 6-week support program, and have continued to meet weekly (usually 4 or 5 can make it each week). It is so great having each other just a phone call or meeting away. We can talk about anything, including our hair, our aches and pains, how we are dealing with our relationships, our kids, our plans to go back to work (or not). All of us had the same chemo, but different surgeries and radiation doses. Here you can see 3 post-chemo hairdo's and 1 wig (and our Tim Horton's coffees).

Countdown to going back to work (< 4 weeks)

A busy week... I met some friends for lunch. We're wearing our beaded bracelets made to support our friend's mom when she was diagnosed with breast cancer (and now it shows support for me as well!)

After lunch, I had my followup with the radiation oncologist, who says all looks good. He did say I need to get a compression sleeve to wear if I'm flying, since there is a life long risk of developing lymphedema in my right arm, where all the lymph nodes were removed.

I went for lunch with my support group. We meet weekly, either coffee or lunch, or sometimes at someone's house. This will be hard to fit in once I'm back to work, but will definitely be a priority.

I went for a walk with Nancy, who is my running partner and is training for a half marathon here this month (in the snow). We ran it together a few years ago. I miss running, but I'm just not ready yet. I've tried a couple of times, but am sticking to walking for now.

I talked to Jan, my friend in Vancouver who calls every week or two to see how I'm doing. In addition to her regular job, she has a dog walking business, so she is usually walking through some forest or along a beach when she calls. She always asks me to come out to visit, hopefully I'll get out there in the summer with the kids (we missed our planned BC trip last year which was to include biking down the mountains at Whistler - them, not me).

I watched a webinar on 'Healthy Lifestyle Choices for Breast Cancer Survivors'. The main message is to eat low fat, maintain a healthy body weight, and exercise. Unfortunately, all the studies were on postmenopausal women. There were also discussions on alcohol, soy, and flax, which can affect estrogen sensitive cancers (mine is not). Vitamin D was the last thing discussed, the recommended range to take is 200 to 1000 IU. It's disappointing not to hear that there is something significant I can do to reduce the chance of recurrence. The one change I have made is drinking green tea everyday. Green tea is shown to lower the risk of cancer in general, not necessarily the recurrence of breast cancer. It is a healthy drink since it's a rich source of antioxidants.

I'm thankful again for what a strong support group I have - so many people that check in on me or I just know are there when I need them.

Last chemo is in 6 days...

I'm still feeling good, except I'm tired, very tired. And always have a faint headache. I'm pretty sure it's my low hemoglobin - I go for bloodwork Tuesday so we'll see what they say. The rash on my face faded away and I am sleeping fine now. So really no complaints.

I made it to my support group last week - it is so good to see other normal people going through this (well sad, but if we're all going through it at least we've found each other). Anyone walking into the room would probably think we were a book club, not a cancer support group.

I had a busy week - after our Toronto company left, we had some unplanned visitors for a few days - two of my favorite extra kids. Their parents dropped them off while they went to Edmonton to deal with a family situation. It's nice to be able to do that for them, and to know that I have friends that would take my kids in, and my kids would be totally comfortable in their homes.

And, school supply shopping is done!! I must admit, with the boys going into grades 7 & 10, the lists are a lot simpler, and things like backpacks and pencil cases can be salvaged from last year. Of course, those special oil pastels that I had to search everywhere for last year, and probably paid too much for, came back untouched at the end of grade 6 (and are not needed by either child this year). Sigh...

The earring fairy dropped off another beautiful pair of dangly earrings for me...

Support Group

Today was the first of a new weekly support group for young women with breast cancer. There were 6 of us, ranging in age from 32 to 44. It was great to be face to face with other regular women who are going through the same thing, even if we're all at slightly different stages. I remember how worried I was during the waiting/worrying time before they stage the cancer and determine the treatment post-surgery. That's actually when I had made the call to get into a support group. It made me appreciate that having my treatment plan and knowing what the next few months entail is a good place to be.

It was great to meet someone who has recently completed treatment and looks great (hair and everything!)

I think this support group will be something good for each of us that was there today. I'm already looking forward to our meeting next week.

My Support Network

I am feeling pretty good this morning. I could never have got through this last week without my support group (especially with Nancy away!) I have had lots of phone calls and e-mails, supportive comments on my blog, my sister brought Friday's dinner and played Scrabble with me Friday and Saturday to help pass the time, and brought my dad over for a visit. My boys have been great - when I broke down crying they called Brad to come home and stayed very close to me. Brad got his mom to come over until he got home. Dave brought Wendy's Frostees for all of us. Barb brought me beautiful fresh fruit. Brad's mom made us lasagne for dinner the next day, baked us a carrot cake, and yesterday morning when Zach got up and said 'mom, is there any cinnamon buns for breakfast' - she actually showed up with cinnamon buns 2 minutes later (total coincidence). And she took both boys to their orthodontist appointments this week. Brad's sister comes by with good advice. My nurse Bonnie who called me back 3 times to check on me. Brad has been wonderful, I know it's hard for him when I feel bad and he can't make it go away, but he's always there for me. Knowing so many people care has really helped pull me through this. THANK YOU!!



Like too many others, I can't/won't ask for help. I found this pic on Renee's blog (she finds the most amazing pictures):