Month: December 2020

2020

It's almost over! Yay!

A shot into our living room. The Christmas tree is up and lit, covered in ornaments. Some art of screaming ladies hangs on the wall.
CHRISTMAS EVERYWHERE!!

If you are reading this, you are either:

Christmas photo - Gabe and I are smiling, Edie is trying to grab my shoulder, Arthur is looking at something and not wanting to be involved in this fiasco.
Sure, there were lots of outtakes...

A:  A regular reader of my blog ‑‑ thank you! I do see the 18 to 20 of you that tune in regularly and very much appreciate it!

Or

 

B:  You got a Christmas/holiday card from us and this link was on the back and you may be checking this out for the first time.

We are doing well here and hope you are too!

 

This post will hopefully be fun for all, but it's going to start with a review of what on Earth this website is about:  Tata cancer.

Dusk, fall. The trees are changing, the sky is blue. A dead tree is in the foreground.
Our neighborhood is often dramatic.

A butterfly bush with purple flowers and white flowers. Butterflies with orange wings with black spots are taking advantage of the blooms.
Our butterfly bushes have been fun to watch!

A cow lawn ornament in one of our planter boxes. In front of it is a white flower, perhaps a dianthus.
Gardening.

Specifically, my tata cancer that I discovered in 2019 when I went to get a mammogram. I didn't want to go, but after my doctor's office called me to make sure I was going ‑‑ I'd gotten it scheduled by then! ‑‑ I went. And they saw something.

 

After that I went for biopsies ‑‑ those are super fun ‑‑ where they thought it was going to be a cyst, but no. It was not a cyst. In June of 2019 I was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), stage 1, in my right breast and ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) ‑ basically pre‑cancer ‑ in my left breast.

 Awesome. Not.

 

But wait! There's more!! I underwent genetic testing and found out that I also have a BRCA1 mutation. Basically, people with mutations in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 have a higher likelihood of breast cancer. And other cancers. Great.

A black swallowtail butterfly on a person's hand.
We are forever rescuing butterflies from our sunroom. It's either that or have dogs bouncing off the doors...

What I keep trying to hammer home in this blog ‑‑ feel free to go back and read all 80 + posts! ‑‑ is that all cancers are different. My cancer was very aggressive. But it was also kind of a niche cancer because of my mutation. Because I like to be special.

Pumpkin pies in the oven.
Mmmmm... pie.

Anyway, before starting chemotherapy, I found out that I could do a clinical trial instead. It was a PARP inhibitor. It basically would starve the cancer cells if it worked the way they thought it would. It had already been proven to work the way they thought it would on stage 3 and 4 cancers.

Arthur chi-mix looking over the edge of a hammock.
Arthur sat with me in the hammock one day! That was nice.

So, I signed up for the trial and starting in August of 2019 I took a pill at pretty much the same time every day for 6 months. It made me tired. I was nauseous for a day, but that's certainly manageable. I couldn't exercise like I had been and wanted to. I gained weight ‑‑ common with any cancer treatment despite what the movies say ‑‑ and overall felt like crap.

A dirt road in the fall with trees changing colors along the edge.
Fall was for fall drives.

I didn't drink alcohol except on Christmas Day with approval from my oncologist. I had mimosas. One of the side effects seen in the previous trial was liver failure, and although they could not trace it directly back to the drug itself, better safe than sorry. Amiright?

Edie on her side getting rubs from a human. She looks content.
Edie is the sweetest girl.

I finished treatment in February of 2020 and was set for surgery in March of 2020. March 18th. Because of the type of cancer I had, they did treatment first. Other cancers they'll do surgery first and treatment after. All cancers are different.

Anyway!

March 18th, 2020, I had a double mastectomy with a flat closure. I also had a salpingo‑oophorectomy and a full hysterectomy that day because one of the additional cancers that my mutation could cause was ovarian cancer. Most people have a 1% chance of developing ovarian cancer in their lifetime. I had a 40% chance. Now I have less than 1% chance. Ha!

Amanda all decked out in Iowa Hawkeye gear. Black Iowa Hawkeye Marching Band stocking cap, black Iowa shirt, pink Iowa Hawkeyes temporary tattoos under both eyes.
Go Hawks!

That threw me into menopause, though. Oops. And I'm not allowed to take any hormone drugs because of the type of breast cancer I had. peachy.

Gabe dressed as a pink unicorn in an inflatable suit. Rainbow mane and tail. Holding an axe and a beer.
Because.. yeah.

I think that's the back story. I'm sorry about the pandemic, but I decided that if I couldn't have any fun in March, no one could have any fun the rest of the year. My bad. I was lucky in that Gabe was able to visit me in the hospital still. I could have one visitor. I felt kind of bad ‑‑ I had to tell my dad not to visit because pandemic. And now here we are in December and I still haven't seen him or any of my family since my surgery because pandemic. I look the same, just with no tatas.

Selfie out for a walk wearing a Halloween shirt that is two skeleton holding pumpkins over where my tatas used to be. I'm also wearing a skull buff on my head and sunglasses.
Halloween walk!

You can find the posts about why I chose the route I did with no reconstruction if you'd like. It was not a light decision I made, but I'm glad I did it. It was the right decision for me!

Gabe in a red chair with Arthur tucked into his shirt.
Pandemic entertainment?

So, here we are. Almost the end of 2020. Since this is my blog, this post is heavily about me, but I want to say that I could never have gotten through this time without my husband ‑‑ he's been awesome. He's the tall guy in the holiday photo. I really don't know how I would have gotten through this without him. He's the best husband in the world. No contest.

Gabe looking like the most interesting man in the world.
He may be the most interesting man in the world...

 

Also, the little doggos have helped keep us sane throughout this time. We adopted Arthur the Chihuahua‑mix right before I was diagnosed because we had lost our old man Spencer and Edie beagle was so sad without a friend in the house. It was palpable.

My next adventure is a Project Athena walk in San Diego in May. Hopefully I'll have gotten a COVID vaccine by then and things will be better for everyone. I know one person who has died, and countless friends have lost people they loved, others are struggling after the illness is with health issues. It's just been a really crappy time. I mean, even as an introvert, I'm ready to get back out there and hang out with people.

 

Anyway, for now I hope that you all stay safe and healthy. Stay home if you can. We are for the most part. I haven't been to a store since March, Gabe does all the shopping. And now I know how long it is before I really start craving people again:  Approximately a year. Ha, ha.

Edie Beagle and Arthur brown chi-mix standing on their back legs begging for treats. They are both wearing red plaid collars for the holidays.
Let's dance!

Arthur chi-mix sitting on a rug with squares on it. An orange shirt was dropped on his head and he looks sad.
Arthur is a nudist. He hates all clothing.

I hope you have a wonderful holiday season. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Bhodi Day, Happy Pancha Ganapati, Happy Yule, Happy Yalda, and, of course, Happy Festivus.

Amanda laughing, happy.
I'm still smiling. Oh, yes!

Gabe is pointing - Christmas photo - I'm smiling, Edie looks like she's going to take off and Arthur looks pissed.
Ready? Set? Hahahaha.

Christmas photo. Gabe is pointing and you can't see his face, Edie looks sad. Arthur looks like he'd rather be somewhere else and I'm laughing at Gabe pointing.
Take 40!

Filed under: Uncategorized

Project Athena

My goal currently is to get in shape. Yes, I have a shape. No, it’s not my ideal shape. I’m honestly not sure what that ideal shape might be, but I think it is something to do with a small tummy area. It’s amazing how much tummy you can see when you don’t have any tatas in the way! It’s quite expansive.

 

So, as part of this goal I have been working out, walking a bit. Not running because I really don’t think that would be wise until the tummy has been reduced a bit. Aka, lose some weight so that my joints don’t give out. I’ve done body weight exercises most days for months. Just kind of an amorphous blob of attempting to get in shape.

 

And then I saw a thing. Someone in a Facebook group had walked 50 miles in the Grand Canyon in two days through something called ‘Project Athena.’ I thought, wow! If I tried to do that, I would probably die.

 

Thankfully, when I got to looking at the Project Athena web page - A Project Athena - I saw that they had other walks that might not kill me! Excellent. 

 

I of course immediately applied for a grant. 

 

And then one day I got a text - can I call you this weekend? Oh, yes. I was working on that Saturday, so I let them know. Then I talked to the person who talks to possible grantees for the Project. We decided that Zion might kill me, so the San Diego Harbor to Harbor Adventure Trek might be more my speed.

 

Awesome! 

 

And then just before Thanksgiving I received the information. Yes, you’ll get a grant. Yes, you’ll have help with training starting in January. And… you should start training now because it’s bad for the Project if people die on their adventures. I added that last bit, but I imagine it’s true.

 

So, for 1.5 weeks now I’ve been in training. I started on week 8 because I’d already been walking 4 miles a few days a week and doing weight-bearing exercises most days. I stopped counting the dog walks in my ‘exercise’ after talking to them initially because, well, walking dogs is more of a meander. Sniff something. Take a wee. The dramatic moment of stopping for a poo, picking up the poo. Not exactly exercise. Except the hills still count as stairs according to my fitness tracker. Sweet.

 

The first week I walked a lot. 4 miles. 3 miles with hills - basically every walk I take has hills because of the geography though. Rest day! Rest day is the best day. Walk 2 miles. 45 minutes cross-training = an excuse to buy a Nintendo Switch and get a dancing game. My extensive research (approx. 5 mins) said anything other than the main exercise was cross-training. Got it. 

 

Then walk 6 miles on Saturday. Wait. What? Okay. I walked 6 miles on Saturday. Sunday… rest day! 

 

I wasn’t even sore. I think there’s hope!

 

I started on what would be week 9 of pre-training on Monday of this week. Walk three miles and lower leg exercises. I’m still feeling those today. It’s Wednesday. Tuesday, 4 miles. 2 of the miles in less than 21 minutes. I walk fast. No problem. It was getting dark by the time I finished. And I was exhausted.

 

Today: Rest day! Last true rest day until next Wednesday. 

 

So, this is the journey I’m on. Tomorrow I’ll walk 5 miles in less than an hour and 40 minutes. Thursday is dancing for 50 minutes and core work. 

 

Want to join me? I’ll try to post how training is going here, and I urge everyone to follow whatever weird dream you have! Mine is now to walk 50 miles in two days. Assuming I don’t die, I plan to fundraise for the harder adventures in the future. Because I’m slightly nuts. 

 

Stay safe, stay home if you can, and have a good week!

Filed under: Uncategorized

I’m Doing Pretty Okay

Are you?

 

We have been living in pretty much complete pandemic mode since my Surgery. March 18, 2020. It’s nice to be able to pinpoint a date in time. I’m hopeful that a vaccine will come through by the one year anniversary of my surgery. I’m putting my money on Moderna, backed by Dolly Parton. Because she’s awesome.

 

During this time, I’ve been making sure to do some things every day. Practice my Spanish. Donde esta el bano? Just because I practice every day doesn’t mean I’m great yet. I’m still very much a beginner. I also have a workout I do every day, except every fourth day when it gives me a rest day. I look forward to those.

 

I try to knit most days. And I have been working too much. This week I am not working as much, and last week? Hardly at all. I’m looking forward to winding down for the last 2 weeks of the year and working little if at all.

 

Since the last time I wrote, there’s been an election! Oh, yes. It’s been totally weird since then because someone refuses to concede. No matter, he lost. He can start running again on Inauguration Day - that is, raising money with little restriction - and I will be happy to ignore him. Maybe if someone gave him a participation trophy, he’d quit throwing fits? Possibly?

 

I won’t gloat too much about ‘my’ candidate winning. The Senate is still up in the air, and unlike many people, apparently, I hold my elected officials accountable and expect them to get things done for the good of my country and communities. I don’t want a king. I don’t want a dictator. I want public servants who are focused on the public good.

 

Yes, I’m focused on universal health care. I have a vested interest. I shouldn’t feel like every time there is a political party change at the federal level that someone might try to take away my health care. Or anyone’s health care. And we should all have access to health care. 

 

The current biggest limitation on that currently is the complete disregard for COVID-19 by way too many people. There are places where the hospitals are full. They cannot accept any more patients. None. Not a good time to have a heart attack or chop your arm off in a freak chainsaw accident or something.

 

Anyway, I promise my next post will be more happy - I have some news, and I’d love to take you on a journey with me. Don’t worry, it’s walking only. Although I’m hoping by the amount of walking I’ll be doing that I’ll be able to run eventually.

 

It is the holiday season, so a call to action for you: Donate what you can. Give where you can. Help where you can. Bring joy when you can. We all need to take care of each other to get through this time, but also every day. It’s important. Really, it is.

Filed under: Uncategorized