Going through this experience, I try to follow the Hippocratic oath - "First, do no harm." On Friday, that meant removing myself to protect others from my foul mood. I found my tennis shoes, put on a "Toad the Wet Sprocket" baseball cap and walked out the door. As I walked, I started to cry. Not … Continue reading Art Brut in the Neighborhood
My new reality, combined with a shaved head and unexpected weight gain from IV steroids prior to each chemo treatment, dealt my vanity a debilitating blow last week, right about when I decided to watch Love Actually for the first time. Let's just say I experienced a cathartic cry. Walking into a plot rife with … Continue reading All We Need is Love
Much like Chris Farley's "That's going to leave a mark" clip from Tommy Boy, cancer is beginning to leave it's mark on me. Naiveté regarding my ability to keep things pretty much "normal" disappeared along with the remaining hair I still had. My pillow looked like the dog bed of an old schnauzer. At the same time, … Continue reading Leaving a Mark
After pulling my hair out by the fistfuls all week, I texted Sarah that it was time. She reached out to our hair stylist, Angelique Hoover, who, in spite of the fact that her grandmother was dying, agreed to come to Sarah's house on Saturday morning at 11:30 to shave my head. Sarah and I … Continue reading Non Sequiturs
Multiple people kind enough to read my blog have asked, "How did this happen?" And usually, they are referring to my love of art, not breast cancer. The breast cancer part is easy: I woke up one morning and decided it was time to end my two-year hiatus from MD Anderson's high risk clinic. I called … Continue reading How did I get here?
My Tuesdays at MD Anderson involve three, sometimes four, appointments: getting my blood drawn to see if I'm healthy enough for chemo; accessing my port (sticking in the needle used for IV chemo); checking in with my oncologist and receiving chemo. Schedulers try to stack these appointments as close together as possible, but it's never … Continue reading Migration at MD Anderson
Three weeks into cancer and I'm figuring out a few things: My port, "Rose," is my best friend. If I can nab a recliner in a certain area of MD Anderson, a hospitality cart rolls by with hot tea - multiple flavor options. MD Anderson's library is well-stocked and more lenient on overdue issues than other … Continue reading Beautiful Disaster
