Today we went to the dermatologist to get his opinion on several issues. I wanted to see if he felt it were hives hence an allergy. But he didn't think so. He feels it is an internal inflammation that spread to the lymph glands nearby because of the reaction that I had red lines running up from.
He
said the hair falling out now [4 months later] is normal for radiation
because of the stress the body underwent. He feels it will grow back one
day. But he said, as all the other drs. have told me, that the scar
tissue from my surgery can actually get worse. The radiation does that.
If the radiation is strong enough to kill cancer cells, then it is
strong enough to fry your good layers of tissue too .
What
I have to learn is what feels 'normal' for me now and what is not a good
sign. It is all so new right now.
The
two 'nevi' that the gyn identified, he said he'd leave alone for now.
Though radiation promotes the growth of more moles and skin cancer, he
thought mine looked normal for now. There I go getting jaded
again; it didn't bother me in the least [ahead of time] that maybe I'd
be under the knife today. There's a point when you get so
overwhelmed that you find it hard to feel anything. He didn't
render too many other opinions but defers to the PHila. drs. No
one likes to answer any questions. Circles.
So
we left there and went straight to McDonald's. Now there is a meal
for you! We let out our inner frailties in great greasy food.
That is for sure. I was so in the mood for it after the
appointment.
So
far I haven't scheduled any PETs or CATs; I am just laying low until I
can catch my breath. The PET should be in Dec. I guess
I forgot to tell you - Dr. Brady thought the lit up area may even be a
salivary gland or parathyroid gland. It is all so interesting but
at the expense of my mental health. I'd rather this all be
happening to someone else [and I can think of a lot of 'someone'
else's-like the snipers]. He wants me to have a special CAT scan
with ultra fine thin sections.
I
am picking up the CD for the PET scans, finally, at the imaging place.
Monday I will be having the CT scan with intravenous contrast [by ultra
thin
section technology]. And I will pick up the PET scans on a
CD... I told
you that story [the first 6 people I spoke to there, your basic lackey,
said
they didn't have the technology to put the PET on a CD and furthermore,
patients couldn't request that].
HAHAHAHA---wear them down, the Neibauer school of obtaining.
If one road
is closed, I always take another. I called and asked to talk to
the
radiologist; of course, I was told that "we don't usually LET
patients talk
to the doctors." SO a new imaging place just opened on
COMPETITION - and I said to the girl maybe I'll take my imaging there.
Within an instant, the dr. was on the line and I explained how rare my
malignancy is and how
films will be cited, blah blah. And then I asked if he'd like a
copy of the
article. And while I was at it I gave him Alan's website.
Before we hung up, I had everything I wanted. You have to be so
tough these days.
We did go to Cowtown today and it was reminiscent of Rice's Country
market
in
$1.oo, a belt for $2.00, some bath gel for .50, a 72 inch bungee cord
for
$1.00, and a bag of just roasted peanuts. Then we went to
this restaurant
called Kountry Kitchen in
there, lots of farms, and a nice change of pace, and even a town called
Mitzvah, of all things.
The restaurant we ate at was in the entertainment book and had a sign in
the
lobby "For sale - piglets." I'm thinking more on the
line of a rooster to
aggravate the hell out of the 'neighbor.'
No doctors appointments on Wed. - yeah - a day off. But I do have
to talk
to 2 of them. But at least I don't have to get undressed to do
that!
Always remember to be prepared ---it wasn't raining when Noah built the
ark.
We
are coming up to Phila. again on Tuesday to Hahneman [for the radiation
oncologist] and also have to come to the Fox Pavilion in Jenkintown to
the dentist [Alan is having toothal pain]. Dr. Brady is a
radiation oncologist that has been President of every radiology
association according to Harold; Harold Weiner is a radiologist,
recommended him back in the beginning. Harold studied
under him for a fellowship on radiation oncology. Dr. Brady
[Harold told us] has a CV of 100 pages. Some of it may be on the
internet. He is also a benefactor of the
You're right about fighting for patient rights. Most drs. are fine ---we found that it is some office staff that gets on a high horse because they think they have a little power.
Our new neighbors are very very nice and just like us in so many ways. They are our age, no children, and like their environment as we do [QUIET, CLEAN, and free of excess unsightly objects, like street signs,etc.]. I pity the excrement across the street after they move in because they definitely told us they will not tolerate any barking. So it almost doesn't matter what happens on 11-21 at the hearing. The barking is as good as over, that is for sure. These people are strong. She went to city hall before she moved in and said she doesn't like looking out of her window and seeing 9 street signs. SO the public works department removed 4 of them already!
You
are right about the waiting. People that haven't gone thru this
have no idea how we have to live the rest of our lives [in fear it may
return]. So it goes without saying that we need something to
keep our spirits up while those around us are falling flat on their face
with meaningless comments to us. Sometimes I think that when you
have cancer you become the only sane people on the planet.
You see things a bit more clearly than others.
It has been warm out so this weekend that we washed out the garage - all the summer sand; very ambitious. People kept stopping by as they were out walking so we didn't get much done for all the talking. Many of the people heard about the weather and came down for the weekend. Then we cleaned our upstairs deck [it was covered with black - sand - beach sea grit.] The lights, railing, and furniture get covered in it so we don't want it to accumulate for too long or else it will never come off.
Tomorrow I get a special ultra-thin sectioned CAT scan [to see how my neck is doing - and to monitor the spot from the PET scan, which we hope is nothing]. And then Tuesday we go back to Hahneman to have the lump looked at; I hope they don't have to biopsy it. That freaks me out. People say it is nothing compared to my surgery but I don't think I am ready for any pain whatsoever for a long time to come. The red lines are gone and the lump has reduced in size.
The test was short in duration compared to the PET, which is near an hour ------flat on your back. This one, finding the vein and doing the radioactive injection takes longer than the test. Once she takes a few baseline measurements, she told me to lay perfectly still since the scans only take 27 seconds. 27 SECONDS!!!!!! I find that remarkable. When I had it done at the hospital in August, the machine must have been ancient because I was under it about 40 minutes.
My
natal day is Saturday but we are telling people - please no presents.
We have a better idea, for when the time comes. I told you that we
are looking for a newer technique, just in case, this lit-up area is on
my recent PET scan is not an artifact. [like smart bombs or
monoclonal antibodies] .
Several medical professionals have given us the encouragement to start a
Foundation for that research. So if they used their medical
expertise to
give me a 2nd chance, I have to now give back something to others in the
same situation. As I get my energy back, we are starting the
Foundation
for Thymic Cancer Research. We have filed the papers with the
government
and Alan reserved a website for it. There is lots to do but
it will take
time. The organization is dedicated to providing support for
patients with
thymic-related carcinomas in particular, but also to patients
treated for
neck cancers in general. We hope to develop a database of
physicians,
pathologists, and other medical personal with experience in thymic-related
cancers and carcinomas.
Instead of gifts [I don't need anything - really, except, good
health
again], it would be nice to get donations to the Foundation so we can
get
started helping other patients. We will have fundraisers when I get my
energy back and can plan them. One may be an aerobics class, in Somers's
Point, where people can pledge by the minute.
Right now we both are still exhausted. A very long and
tiring day yesterday. Would you believe, both of us have colds.
We have tried so hard to avoid this and now we have noses like faucets.
And I am coughing, with sometimes a wheeze, where I can't catch my
breath.
We went up to Hahneman to see the chief of radiation oncology and he had
just
received the ultra-thin slice CAT scan results. He said there is
some soft
tissue on the left of my neck, that the radiologist who read the scan,
is
worried about. He wrote, alarmingly, that it could be the
malignancy
re-growing. Scared the merde out of us when he wrote it.
The dr. said
that he knows my neck better than the radiologist at the imaging center
and
they'll watch it; he is very low key. Hope he is right.
Probably - he
thinks - it could be scar tissue and burnt radiated tissue. There
is
another spot near the larynx that needs watching too. The
radiologist
suggested a scoping [which we will try to put off]. He seemed
confident in his theory. Maybe this is
why my voice has been so bad each morning. Of course, it leaves you with
a
constant feeling of uncertainty. Who is right.
One reason I tend to trust him [This is so classic - you can send this to Rich too, if you want], is that the radiologist from the imaging center said he sees that NO BLOOD IS FLOWING THRU THE JUGULAR. Duh---and double duh! They took out the jugular.
You
know, he didn't say anything about a breast biopsy so we didn't bring it
up. I suppose he and the resident were satisfied with what they
felt.
Feeling lousy, I felt that if it is needed, when I see the gyn or go
back to
last thing you want is to undergo more needling.
Before we went to the dentist for Alan, we met Rabbi Andy at a
restaurant in
recognize us. Alan told him I resemble my sister.
We had such a pleasant time; I brought my photos of all our soap opera
events because he used to live in NY city at an apartment next door to
the
ABC studios where our shows were filmed. He said many of the stars
we
showed him lived in his building or he'd see them going in and out.
He
said he has no interest in sports and barely understands it.
Then Alan saw the dentist in Jenkintown. He took an x-ray and doesn't
see a
cavity and wants him to watch it for 2 weeks. He said something
about a
hairline crack and a crown and root canal. We hope it is nothing.
Much
driving in the pouring rain.
Finally home after 9 hours out.
The
dentist is the only dr. we haven't changed yet. You're right ---it
is a
very long hike. But, he meets my very high standards of avoiding all
cross-contamination. I sit and observe, looking for any breach in
the
process, and if I find something, he welcomes my input. I am nuts
about
that stuff, OCD. But I will keep Bob Farber's name in my book.
WHAT IS IN THE AIR?
A diversion from the bodily problems, that's what. One
night we lost the
power here 2 short times and then the 3rd time, it was for a few
hours. The
cable went out too. So we used candle power. But
one leaked on the
carpet so now we have to try to get the RED wax out. This
happened last
spring and I JUST got the orange wax coloring out. After mucho
scrubbing.
Here are my
escapades from the other day that made me ALMOST feel as if life
sometime could return to near normal, maybe. We went to the
little SHoprite of Horrors. It was a zoo. They must have
brought every senior citizen home in at the SAME time.
I was minding my B-I- Business ---pushing my cart---and this lady comes
up to me and real LOUDLY, says, aren't you the one looking for the
DEPENDS? After I crawled into the shelf......I told her no, she is
confused. Either her eyes are very bad or I look very bad.
At one point I couldn't move my cart an inch down the papergoods
aisle
because 8 old old ladies were teaching each other about Kleenex. I
tried to
reach around them for what I needed but they wouldn't budge.
Others were
losing their patience with their blockade too.
Then the final straw came when we went out to our car and Alan
said, "It
looks like our car is blocked in." Some idiot pulled behind
our car, IN THE
DRIVING LANE. There were no yellow lines where he parked. He just
left his
car behind ours - out of 100's of cars, he chose ours. And someone was
in
front of us, in YELLOW LINES, so we couldn't get out. Alan
went in to get
them to announce it and no one came out. We saw a cart guy and he
called
customer service to make an announcement. Finally this old geezer
tottered
out saying that when he pulled there, the OTHER car in front of us,
wasn't
there. He tells us that car shouldn't be there since there aren't
any
yellow lines on either side of it.
Being the true teacher, I told him to come over and see the
yellow lines.
I told him he has to learn to park only where there are yellow
lines and
under my breath I said he should lay off the sauce. He was
clueless.
The End.
Today
we celebrate my birthday, thank goodness. Adam and a few old
friends met us at the beautiful tea room for quiet and relaxation.
The
dr. at Hahneman told me to get an inhaler [he thought you could get them
over the counter], but when I went to CVS last week, you need an RX.
SO they called his office but he was in a meeting. By
But I coughed so hard, that now my back hurts. Can't win.
For
our special days this week, we are giving ourselves a special treat tomorrow. There
is a charity luncheon in
The
woman in charge gave so much thought to our table. She is
seating us with a producer from The View and the producer from the Matt
Lauer show. This will be one of our first normal Sundays in such a
long time and are glad to have reached this point. We'll try to 'place'
Alan's novel with someone who could do it some good.
When I had my surgery in March, Alan arranged for nurses to come in for 12 hour shifts but of course the first day got messed up and they didn't show. So he stayed over with me in the room. Just for those blessed pieces of chipped ice, closing the door the floor nurse left open, and a 1000 other details were invaluable.
One of the things that helped the most when I was sprung from the hospital, was watching re-runs of many of the funny sitcoms on TV these days. Alan made tape after tape of shows we never caught -like Raymond, Will and Grace, etc. It diverted a lot of the pain during those times we were watching.
Probably
I didn't explain my breathing problem too well; it isn't that I can't
breath thru my nose, like an ordinary cold. My problem is further
down due to the burnt trachea, esophagus, and pharynx. When I take
in air thru my nose or my mouth, it doesn't go down past the back of my
throat at all and I am near passing out. The tissue back there
swells so much, it closes up. The inhaler will only work so long
until I get immune to it. The cold put the problem way over the edge.
I
forgot to tell you to look on the newsstand this week at the "ABC's
SOAPS IN DEPTH" magazine and there is a section with questions and
answers. Alan is in there this time. It is a good letter and
answer.
Wed., was our anniversary. People wished us many, many more which I hope for, also. 36 is not enough. Alan is just so special and the love of my life.
Finally
we just heard from the IRS and they declared our Foundation a charitable
institution so now we have to do the forms to get NJ state approval.
What a process. Then we can plan our brochure, website, and a
fundraiser. Our personal trainer [and kickboxing teacher]
suggested something on the order of an aerobic class where people can
attend and the fee goes to the charity; she has done these before.
I like the idea a lot. The organization is dedicated to
providing support for patients with thymic-related carcinomas in
particular, but also to patients treated for neck cancers in
general. We hope to develop a database of physicians,
pathologists, and other medical personal with experience in thymic-related
cancers.
We
are calling it the Foundation for Thymic Cancer Research. One
of our ultimate goals is to find scientists that can look into a
treatment like a monoclonal antibody or gene therapy.
see
www.thymic.org
We started volunteering for MANNA at the synagogue in
It
was an unbelievable experience. We felt so good when we left that
we are going to go every month. We said it was a blessing when our
neighbor brought us food each week when I was burnt so now we can help
other sick or old people the same way. They make a month's worth
of meals for about 120. It was so organized, assembly-line-like,
and the chef is a master. Those 120 don't get slop. The chef
made us all lunch [a delicious salad, blintzes, orzo, dessert].
And we met lovely people from our own neighborhoods. The woman in
charge lost a son to aids about 9 years ago. At one point a
volunteer putting meals in a car asked only for a bag of soup
containers. I just knew! And I was right. It was for
an oncology patient that couldn't swallow.
New
story. The neighbor is a piece o'work. She is going around
and telling people she has breast cancer now. I think she is a
pathological liar. It is all so despicable. Last week it was
her son needed an operation but he was outside screaming and jumping
each day?????? She has been following around one neighbor with breast
cancer and copying all her 'moves' [same dr., etc.].
At
the charity auction, we set a limit that we don't go above.
Like they were auctioning off 2 tickets to see a taping of Saturday
Night Live AND THEN GO TO THE CAST PARTY AFTERWARDS. We saw that
as our 1st choice but it got too dear to keep on bidding. Any
of the auction items would have been wonderful. They also had 4
tickets to Beauty and The Beast with a TOUR backstage included. That was
pretty high also. How this woman [Irene] gets these items is a
miracle.
It was
on the job training for us. How to organize a tax free
fundraiser...we can only hope to do a fraction of what she did. Irene
is as sweet as can be and she told us she would help. Some of the
stars told us that day that they would come to ours and all we have to
do is get in touch with them thru Irene.
You
can see in the photos who we talked to -
Kristen and Eddie Alderson [the 2 little children, my favorites - she
plays Starr Manning and he plays Matthew]. They live in Bryn Athen
, less than a mile from our old house from hell. Alan also took my
picture with Vincent Irizarry [Dr. David Hayward], Ilene Kristin [she
plays Roxy on One Life to Live and formally Delia on Ryan's Hope], Thom
Christopher [the old Carlo Hesser on One Life to Live and formally in
Buck Rogers, Alan said], and Kim Zimmer [she has won best actress many
times on the daytime Emmys]. It makes TV come alive.
http://www.belayne.com/MakeWish/album1.html
Since this malignancy is so rare, they have to watch every symptom carefully. any problem I develop now, they consider to be serious since I am so debilitated from the radiation. In fact, they told me that for the first year after radiation, just about any syndrome has to be looked into.Like my hair falling out is a sign of the thyroid not working.
But
they said, as all the other drs. have told me, that the scar tissue from
my surgery can actually get worse. The radiation does that when it is done
in addition to a surgery. If the radiation is strong enough
to kill cancer cells, then it is strong enough to fry your good layers
of tissue too. What I have to learn is what feels 'normal' for me
now and what is not a good sign. It is all so new right now.
One
evening my sister took a casino bus from Phila. to the shore [a group of
teachers from her school do this twice a year]. I haven't seen her
in months. They came into the Showboat so we met her up there for dinner
with her friends. Then we saw the I Love Lucy Exhibit
which was clever.Had you seen it. Totally free.
They
had a few visitor participation games, like the conveyor belt in the
candy factory - do you remember that episode.
Adam wrote a poetry book [did we tell you] and Alan is going to get it published for him for his holiday present. We gave, Adam a copy of the ISBN number [like a UPC code ---it is always on books these days] in an envelop. We reserved it for him and a Library of Congress number, which you need to publish a book.
For
the study of cancer incidence, I made my first round of calls to
HHS [hard to find the number] and now have my next set of numbers to
call., as I predicted would happen. Next week maybe I can get more
answers when people are back from the holiday. The only
affirmation someone told me about any kind of high incidence was that
they thought a study was done in the
Probably
my mental outlook won't be affected by doing the cancer survey.
If I see that it does, I'll stop. I probably would chastise myself
worse if I didn't do anything. Someone has to - it is ridiculous
around here.
we
bumped into a Longport neighbor from
I
suddenly developed a backache yesterday and today realized it is the
same type I had when I was on the statins. It was so bad, I
couldn't stand up straight. SO today I didn't take the zetia and
by tonight the ache was decreasing. Now tomorrow, I will try the
pill again and if the ache comes back......well, you guessed it. I
have a sensitivity to the damn pill.
No
blood tests results yet. Alan called this time [I make all the
initial calls but when I hit roadblocks, I hate to say this, then I
think sometimes a man's voice does more good]. The nurse said
she'd fax them. Nothing came over. stay tuned...
Germs abound, as if we didn't know. We stopped for breakfast today
after my therapy session and I could see the waitress counting her tips
from a little wicker basket. Then she proceeded to go to where the
chef put up the meals for her to take to the tables. First she
buttered the toast on each plate, keeping one hand flat on the other
piece of toast [I was livid]. Then with her hands dirty from
touching dozens of bills, she held the one piece of the toast
and buttered with the other hand. This is how
epidemics start, like the cruise ships.
We are still amazed at the luncheon we went to and how organized and successful it was. Last year the NJ chapter of Make A Wish granted over 300 wishes to sick children. It made me feel so sad to think kids get what we get and suffer like this; they shouldn't - they should enjoy their childhood. I felt like I was a kid getting my wish granted just being there and enjoying the lunch [being able to swallow it and talk again] and then when we won the auction, that was the icing on the cake.
Before we left I said to Alan maybe we shouldn't bid on anything since NY is so far for us to go to. So famous last words! They were auctioning off a 3 hour cruise in NY harbor on Forbes' yacht. It sounded so neat - dinner and all, the photos of the yacht were just so posh. So we bid and we got and we go in May or June, when it is mutually agreeable with the captain. It just seemed so different and an experience we'd never probably have the chance to do again.
People
are being incredible in volunteering to help. We were talking to
our new neighbors today and telling them about all of the above and her
cousin drove up. He said he'd help too. BOBBY RYDELL!
He'd do anything to help a cancer benefit because his wife has cancer.
She was with him and is very brave. Maybe we'll auction off dinner
with him or something like that. It is all in its infancy right
now. My mind races and my body can't keep up.
Then
I went to a James Kaufman, an endocrinologist. He wants me on a
new cholesterol rx [zetia], since it is 456. He wants me also
to get my vocal cords looked at with a fiberoptic camera to see why the
hoarseness has returned [remember last summer with the tube down my
nose]. It is frightening because I don't want them to
see anything new.
And
he wants to wean me off estrogen. Lots of tall orders.. And he
wants to monitor my thyroid [he was kind enough to tell me how strong
radiation is and it can cause cancer of the thyroid and a lot of other
merde]. He didn't exactly put a smile on my face but was
very honest. He said the radiation oncologists never tell the
patients the entire truth about what could happen. He said he gets
the patients after the treatments [like me] and the radiation can work
in your body for years. First it was 4-8 weeks till I felt
improvement, then 'they' said a few months, then a year, and now we have
years of the unexpected to watch for. He said my area can result
in thyroid cancer. So I have to be watched carefully and often. He said
the esophagitis can re-occur so to watch for that.
As far as the weaning away from the estrogen, I am in a
catch 22. The majority of my drs. want me to stay on it because it
is protecting my heart. So here we are damned if we do and damned if we
don't. What the hell do I do. Many women in my situation get
off the essy-estrogen and promptly have a heart attack.
But
we finally got Alan's blood tests back today and 2 were abnormal ---the
sgot and sgpt were very abnormally high and we are nervous. He
never has abnormal results. But we are trying to stay calm. They
are both liver study tests and the Merck manual and internet do not give
us good vibes. There are only a few things it could be. He made
an appointment at the primary on Monday. And wouldn't you know it,
but the g.i. guy who ordered the tests never called to say a word
about it. Very lax. We will request a call back from him tomorrow.
We requested a call back from him and his nurse called and said the results were circled?????? They WERE going to tell us when Alan went for his colonoscopy in 2 weeks. I am not at all happy with these guys. But it is too far to use our friend Rich, unfortunately. We wish we could use Rich - he is a much much better dr. - but you really can't have this test and drive so long to get there [the prep makes you uncomfortable] and then again to go home feeling so punky.
We
learned a little more local health information today. About 8
years ago, a lady in Longport tried to do a study like I am starting.
She was discouraged by the town officials [---seems that if word got out
that there is a high incidence of cancer, then people won't want to live
here and then the property values will go down].
Alan got lyme disease around 1994 and we looked at all his old blood tests and these same 2 tests were normal, even up to a year ago, when he had the last one. We will see if the medicine he is on for his lyme symptoms affect the liver. He has no symptoms except a few months ago, he had some pain on his left side [he has had that since tae kwon do days, where he was kicked]. The dr. had him scanned and nothing showed up at all. He thought maybe it would be a hairline fracture of the ribs but nothing came up.
The
ONLY thing that matters is health. Without that there can be
nothing else. Because if you don't feel good, then you can't do a
thing, as I found out. But health includes mental and physical.
Adam
is pretty excited about his book. For his cover, he had
a choice of photographing his own tree [the title is Perfect Crooked
thing]
or choosing one from clip art that Alan sent over and Alan put in a scan
of
a water color that I painted. You know that Adam picked my water
color; I
couldn't be more honored by anything else. His book will be on Amazon
and
Barnes and noble too.
If the neighbor had shown any compassion for me at all during my ordeal, I'd surely do your suggestion. In fact now that I am 'coming out of it' somewhat, a little at a time, I do send flowers or bake bread or take cakes to the people that showed support over the last year. With her across the street, she is playing nasty games now, even tonight she allowed the dog to bark over an hour, she was out there, and did nothing. Having her upset us both like this, and causing us to spend a fortune for a lawyer, is something which doesn't allow me to be as forgiving as others might be. I have to save my compassion and sympathy for those who really deserve it. And there is a long list to tend to. Actually she is the one who should be sending me flowers and thanking us for allowing community mediation and not taking her to court with the judge.
Physically I am better than the summer; except for the neck pain and discomfort, the sore areas in my esophagus and trachea, and the voice problem [the hair loss is the least important at this point; the only thing we care about is malignancies anymore - the rest is chicken merde].
In other situations, we have been reporting a $30.00 phone call appearing on our phone bill. Did I tell you about that. Alan was deleting an obscene spam mail and it connected our phone to the phone company. Now the bill shows we were connected to Gui Bissau [wherever the hell that is] for 3 minutes for 21.54 dollars plus tax. The number called is 0245290101. So we wrote to the fcc and the governor's office and each day we will send a few more emails out. If enough people report these scams then maybe something can be done about those criminals.
Well
we made a decision today; Alan will not go to that Dr. Kaufman for his
colonoscopy. Too many negatives at this point. We will start
over with another recommended dr. We just despise the fact that he
didn't tell us about the abnormal numbers and he was too content to wait
several weeks. I think that is horrible medicine. You really
have to WATCH OUT FOR YOURSELF in the medical community.
Alan
isn't on anything new but he did have that bad cold for 2-3 weeks, along
with me. He was on a lot of stuff for the symptoms.
Let's pray it is something like that.
And
we made another decision. I had made an appointment with a dr.
about 10 minutes from here to have my vocal cords looked at with a
fiberoptic camera to see why the hoarseness has returned and all he
had was Jan.22 which I think is too long to wait when they are
monitoring me for any recurrences. It is frightening enough
because I don't want them to see anything new.
Alan went to the dr. today and they felt and listened to his abdomen and said that it seemed fine [no enlarged liver, etc.]. The next step is a whole battery of blood tests - liver panel, hepatitis A B & C, and re-do the enzymes he had. They said it may have been the cold he had since he took acetaminophen. So we have to trust them till the blood tests come back. They said there wasn't any call yet to do imaging studies. They do want him to see a g.i. guy so we will make those appointments tomorrow, with a different dr.
We
have all learned just to take one minute at a time. That's all you
can do sometimes.
We spent $100 for a special shampoo with - get this [hate the word] - thymus extract and a conditioner. From Penn Herb Co. in center city. Both Alan and I are using them. The dermatologist said not to waste our money; I don't see any difference. The synthroid may be stopping the Grande exit of hairs but it is very thin. And fine. The mop is thin. Didn't know that would be your side affect too. STOP FOLLOWING ME!
We usually use Howard Gross but Alan is not happy with his glasses from his optical. He had a pair made about 7 months ago and everytime he puts them on he gets severely dizzy and doesn't feel good. So he wears his previous pair which for some odd reason are getting scratched - like no other pair of glasses he ever had.
So he is going to Uretsky in Linwood. They also were very nice and said they'd see him Thursday which is pretty quickly. Another good sign. All these decisions with drs. appointments. Well as long as we have freedom of choice and there are enough drs. to keep choosing from.
We
got our appointments with Ljubich so that is fine [Jan. 10th] and I was
impressed because they can see both of us the same afternoon [which the
other guy wouldn't do]. So we are off to a better start.
The
other dr's. hand was on the door itching to get on to the next room; we
never asked all our questions so that was the final straw.
So
now I am recovering from the tube being inserted up my nose and down my
throat. They sprayed first but it is still something you feel. Since
then I have had no appetite at all today. I
looked like a porcupine, Alan said. It is so much pressure and
then it hits that sensitive spot in the back of your throat.
When
he removed the tube, I thought he was done but then he did the other
nostril. Poor Alan's hand - I must have squeezed him so hard.
You can't eat for a while afterwards because of the anesthetic - if
you swallow wrong and gag, they say you could get pneumonia or worse
because you won't feel it.
He
said my vocal cords look like they are moving properly but on the left
side there is extreme edema [swelling]. Like I could have told
them that without the torture. That is the horrible pressure I
constantly feel. ]. Something
on the other side of where he scoped is pressing in. The
radiation oncologists will tell me this is scar tissue pressing in -
let's hope. He prescribed some medications to reduce
swelling and acid in my stomach since the scans show I have a hiatal
hernia. Alan can not believe I have another
medication. We have a typed list we take to each new dr.
It is one page long.
But
I stored up the other night. Never thought I'd eat normally
again. There was a Manna fundraiser. It was awesome. Such
food as you wouldn't believe. Every restaurant donated their
offering and the restaurants were the best of the best from
My
friend kept emailing me encouragement everyday last summer, with
the old Chinese phrase 'a journey of a 1000 miles begins with the
first step. Hope you start to feel better soon. So sorry to hear
you are under the weather. You should try to stay home and let
your body repair the damage. If you force yourself up and out,
maybe that is why you are worse each day. Whether it is big damage
[like a radiation bolt] or viral attacks, you have to let the cells
repair. The stress of forcing yourself up is bad on the immune
system.
I
am learning this the hard way, too. When I couldn't eat and my
nutrition was poor, it took a toll on me but it didn't show till now.
It catches up to you - now my hair is falling out. For starters,
it is a direct result of not enough of the right building blocks. Who
would have thought.
There has been too many instances of illnesses lately, stemming from molds. It is frightening how severe they can be.
Because
of all my normal allergies [like cats, dogs, cigarette smoke and 88
weeds, etc. ], now with my permanently burnt esophagus and trachea, they
are worse. My airway is much smaller now due to the scar
tissue causing edema. We had a bad experience the other night when
we were in Steve and Cookie's restaurant [in a NO SMOKING room] and
people lit up and I had a difficult time breathing. What complicates my
situation is they took out one of my jugulars so when I lay down,
everything has been redirected, edema occurs, and presses on the
trachea. Nights where I have been exposed to something like smoke,
I wake up wheezing.
When
we walked into Steve and Cookie's and the bar was near the door;
the cigarette smoke nearly asphyxiated me. My throat is so narrow
now and sore anyway, that I couldn't tolerate it on a good day. So
we walked upstairs and I was optimistic about dinner since I made
reservations some time ago and REQUESTED THE NON-SMOKING ROOM. The
waiter was going to seat us at a table in front of a wall with a big
cut-out [the size of a window].
We were so disappointed. Of course the bar was on the other side.
Smoke was pouring into the non-smoking room. What a sham! And this
is called a no-smoking room. We made a fuss and said we were ready
to leave but they put us at a table at the other end. At first
they refused since another group was scheduled for THAT table of 4 at
We all agreed that the food was exquisite and the service was
flawless but the smoke kept infiltrating our air space all throughout
dinner and it ruined it. As it turned out, the seats we
chose were no better ---we were amid toxic air the entire time.
The way the salads, entrees, and desserts are prepared are beautiful.
Our waitress was perfect. But we won't go back unless drastic
changes are made. We only stayed because we had a gift
certificate. For the amount of money that meal cost [$90.00], we
should have been able to breathe smoke-free air while we ate.
Near the end of dinner, people went over and lit up at the small counter
- bar next to us. Not one staff member had the courage to tell
them they were in a non-smoking dining area. Now I had to hold a
napkin in front of my nose. Isn't that a bit ridiculous that a
patron has to do this to be able to sit in a non-smoking section..
We all were livid and had to cut short our dinner, pay and leave; we
complained but the manager said they really can't do anything about it -
EVEN THOUGH IT WAS A NO-SMOKING ROOM.
So therefore, Steve and Cookies does NOT have a no smoking room and to
advertise such is fraudulent. I have a mind to write to the
restaurant critics and inform them of this discrepancy. Many
people have cardiovascular and respiratory disorders and this is a
handicap and they need a smoke-free environment. It is medically
necessary and for them not to provide it is against the
All I know is we came out the losers last night.
Maybe we actually will be able to pull off a similar affair. People are being incredible in volunteering to help.
DOUBLE
GOOD NEWS! Alan's 2nd set of liver tests were
Here
is a coinkydink [a nice one]. The other day when I woke up, I
uncharacteristically remembered part of a dream I had. I had been
in a car dealership, purchasing a car - you know, the haggling and the
details. Alan freaked out because he said he dreamed that I went
to a car dealership in his dream.
Today
I finally made some progress with my cancer incidence project. I
told
you about it, didn't I - the incidence here in Longport seems very high.
After months of getting an electronic tour of the health department, I
FINALLY reached the correct person [in
about taking a survey here in town and that they would welcome our
results.
And she put my mind at ease - we don't have to do the whole town.
We can
pick as many streets as we want, as a representative sample. So
tonight we
started making calls to try to enlist some neighbors to each do their
street. Alan made up a survey form.
Well
here we are in the middle of my cancer incidence survey and we heard
today that Betsy, a lovely young lady [in her 40's maybe] that lives
here in Longport died of breast cancer today. Just awful - Gina
knew her from fundraising efforts for breast cancer.
Double
isch. I spoke to a lady who lives on Oberon in the summer and she
did a study of her 2 blocks and every house had an incidence of cancer.
Is this just awful
Alan
came in last night from his planning / zoning board meeting and he was
carrying the largest jug of chocolate covered pretzels. He said
Santa Claus
came into the meeting, walked up to the stage and gave each board member
a
wrapped present. Mmmmm. My favorite.
Tonight we went to the Catholic church on Jerome, where our friend
Patty's 8 year old gave his first piano recital [he goes to school
there]. I didn't know till we arrived that the
children were all
singing or playing on the piano.
We were thrilled to be there; it was so old-fashioned. We didn't
teach kids
like that - because the parents didn't care or motivate. But some
of the
kids looked so scared and you could hear it in their voices or see it in
their faces. I couldn't do it. They are very brave little
souls. Or are
too young to know better. So it was so special to see the whole
scene...photos, so many guests, kids all dressed up, etc. And the
church
looked lovely with the SIX trees and white poinsettias. SO classy.
Oh,
Patty brought her 98 year old neighbor to hear it.
I
told you that dog lady SAID she
has breast cancer. We all highly doubt it, from what we've
observed [if I am wrong, then so be it, but I just am having one of my
intuition 'moments']. There was just a story on the news that said
a woman faked cancer for her daughter to collect money. There
isn't much lower. Did you see it. She shaved the 7 year old's head and
gave her drugs so she'd act ill. We won't put anything past chien
femme.
We did get Alan's money [most of it - I am working on the rest] back. The glasses were made with a prism in it, we found out; that is only for people with double vision. NOT HIM! We told the optometrist we went for a 2nd opinion and do not want the glasses remade. He took one look at HIS error and gave us a credit immediately. He rightfully should have been worried.
We
got our brochures finally for our Foundation and the photo on the
front came out so nice, that Alan put it on the website [take a look - www.thymic.org
he did it all on the computer]. I will send you our literature if
you send your address. We are trying to get a celebrity auction in
place for a year, year and a half from now. We got a call from
Paul Moriarity [he does Phila.'s channel 3's 'can you believe it'] and
he said he'd help with our fundraiser ---maybe auction off a spot on his
segment with him or similar. We once did a show with him and have
remained friends ever since. He is a doll but unfortunately
his father is battling cancer.
Did you ever see Grover Silcox on Fox's news. He usually does a
funny segment. He is also a friend and we will enlist him as an
auction item too. Maybe he'll give the winner a spot in one of his
segments. His uncle was principal of
It
doesn't help me to have a spare moment these days because I'd think too
much. So we are over-delving in projects.
I started this scene of
This morning we met our fellow committee members at Resorts and each person brought papers to hand out; I love when people act like adults. A lot of people are outraged. There are too many dogs off leashes [which is illegal], they are on the beach and boardwalk off leashes jumping at kids and people [also illegal], and the waste is not being scooped up by the owners [also illegal].
No one said to bring handouts but they did. We decided on a name and one more meeting [before then, we have assignments to do ---you never get out of school]. Then we will plan an agenda and invite 3 towns to the meeting. We have tons to do. We want to get the insurance companies behind us. Because we are all paying .
From
there we had to go to our pal Patty's house in Ventnor; she ordered a
dozen of Alan's books to give out for mass presents and wanted each
signed. Her one sister teaches college calculus and
the other night was giving a final; while the students were
writing, she read Type Oh, Alan's 3rd novel. Patty said that her
sister was actually laughing out loud at parts of the book so much that
the class asked her to read something else because they couldn't
concentrate I am beginning to love this holiday.
But
I do remember quite well your description of the days at your school.
The sad thing is NOTHING has changed since I left. It should get
better, over time, like wine, but not in Phila. It sucks the life
out of everything.
We
have so many thanks to send to you all. Mainly for being there
this year for us. You are the most compassionate people.
Since this is the season of miracles, we can say your sister
and I are the miracle the health care professionals made this year - we
are here. I hope we get closer each day, to the time little
children will ask, "what was cancer?'
Your
letter was not morbid - it is just life. You are very
compassionate and I feel bad for all the problems you have and have had
to go thru.
The letters that bother me are from people that say stupid things like,
"Are you satisfied with your drs. DOWN THERE?" Kind of
insinuating that we haven't done our homework. Or someone who
emails me from FL. and says negative comments each time about our
weather, "I know the weather is gloomy up there but I hope you are
feeling ok." We are NOT FL. people and we love all weather
anymore. Just to wake up and be here is enough. The weather is
insignificant at this point. But he insists on starting each
letter that way ["I saw on the internet that it is turning cold;
here it is beach weather]. Like we are supposed to be jealous?
We would not want to go to the beach 12 months a year. Our other friends
in FL. are so burnt out by the beach that they don't go at all, in
either home. It is nothing special anymore for them.
What
a tremendous surprise you gave us yesterday. Alan and I were
very touched and to say it is so nice is an understatement.
We are starting to get emails from people around the world that have
been routed to the website and some of them have such sad stories... we
have a lot of work ahead of us.
We
went to Patty's house tonight. It is a heart-warming experience to
be part of her family's celebration. Patty has a twin Pam [ a
nutritionist], 3 other sisters [Joan, Judy, and Suzy], and a brother.
They come with their spouses and each has at least 2 children [ALL WELL
BEHAVED]. Almost everyone wears red and the little girls have on
velvet and ruby red glittery shoes. Before we got there, half of
them opened their multitudes of presents but you couldn't tell - the
house is just wall to wall gifts.
As
you walk up the front steps, you see, hear, and smell the ocean since
they are one house from the beach.
The
decorations are classy ---there are 40 boxes of them that have to come
up from the basement each year. 'Santa' comes in and gives
each child a gift and the fellow who plays him has the best sense of
humor. He sits there making jokes and says, "Santa cracks
himself up." It is such a happy time [and there is no music
playing]. The food is incredible, since Patty's mother, Pat, makes
it all. She made a huge filet and sliced it for sandwiches, a ham,
the best mashed potatoes, salads, chicken hoagies, hors d'oerves, and
the desserts are endless.
We
took Patty and her children's gifts in this huge 4 foot stocking we
found. She gave us what appeared to be a gourmet food basket
[wrapped in blue and white - they are very thoughtful]. Which it
was and by itself,it has incredible items in it. But what rendered
us speechless, like you did yesterday, is in the card she made out a TOO
TOO generous check to the Foundation.
We
don't know what to say. This has been a great Christmas for
someone who doesn't usually groove on holidays. I am here.
So
having lived here your entire life, did you ever visit the beaches by
the
We
went across the Longport bridge, we knew the Christmas day's storm
was a big one. It was full tide and the marsh was covered with
water [I took photos with a disposable camera - because no one will
believe it was so rough]. Usually you see reeds poking up all over
but the road was the only thing not under water.
When
we got to the DE. Bay, we couldn't believe AGAIN, how wild the
water was - foam was blowing across the road, spray from crashing waves
was 8-10 feet in the area, and many roads were covered with water.
It will always be one of our favorite treks and it was both an awesome
and relaxing ride.
Yes, the drive in the storm was very inspiring. It may be corny but after all that happened this year, I kept thinking how wonderful it is that I am here to witness the beauty of it. It wasn't raining - maybe a mist. But the bay was so churned up and awesome to see. We felt snug in our car [we took the new one] and were very careful. The one place where the bay was spilling into the street, we sat and ate cheese and crackers [from our new gift basket]. But Alan parked on dry land and we took off when more water was running down the street in waves. To me, that is the best entertainment. Thank goodness Alan likes the same things. Very simple pleasures.
Today
we went up for our semi-annual check to the dentist today [in
Jenkintown]. We got good reports -whew! We had no snow here
but as we got closer and closer to Phila. on the Atlantic City
Expressway, we saw more and more coverage. By the time we got to
Elkin's Park, the sidewalks were still covered with slush. We were
more than happy to get home right away so we didn't visit a soul or stop
to shop anywhere.
Like
you, this year the holidays were so special and touching [like your
gift]. I could say this is the best Christmas we ever had. I
am here! We killed lots of 'al quaeda' cells in my body this
year and I now can eat and talk.
our friend Dolores [remember she was engaged 35 years to Arthur] called us from FL. Yesterday on a speaker phone. She was in their lawyers office, making new wills. The lawyer wanted the spelling of our Foundation's name because Dolores and Arthur are leaving a bequest to it in their will.
You
can always expect there to be something happening here; for days my back
has hurt. I thought it was the usual reasons [tried another
cholesterol medication, Zetia, and thought it was that]. But this
morning I had a covering of red soars all over my mid-section,
especially the back. We called our 2 drs. -the primary and
dermatologist - while looking on the internet and I have Shingles.
We were very impressed that they returned our call immediately.
The one was funny because as I was describing it, I said we were looking
at the internet and it looked exactly like that. He said,
"See you don't even need me anymore."
What
do you think - did I catch this herpes from a computer virus
He
said to stay away from kids from now on. Like with all the
precautions we've taken...but what we use only kills bacteria.
Everything I catch is a virus. Because, they say, I am
immunosuppressed and the virus took over so I am on tons of medicine.
Steroids [again - remember last summer with the burns ] and an
anti-viral.
But now my nerves are starting to frazzle. Monday is the scary freakin' -out PET scan [long story - it was moved up due to insurance changes as of the new year; we spent days on the phone trying to get it pre-certified. ] When a test, like this, costs $6000.00, the insurance company needs to talk to the dr. and give you an approval number first and everything is changing the 1st of the year they say.
I spoke to a Helen at Jeanes but then AMI called and they managed to complete all the pre-cert forms and get a number. SO the bad thing is Monday I am scheduled for the PET scan where I lay on my back an hour and that is where the pain and sores mostly are. The medications are not symptom-free either. I hate reading about that on the included literature.
They
told us this could take weeks to go away and I am very uncomfortable
sitting. Standing is better; I am fed up. We have a
dr.s' appointment up there in town, the 23rd, and I am even wondering
about that. Maybe we could meet for lunch that day. We have
a morning appointment. I didn't do well before this and this puts
me over the edge of my comfort level.
I knew that the virus hangs around the body and just waits for an opportunity to manifest itself. The radiation really did a number on me, that's for sure, but I hope it did its number on the al quaeda too. Alan, like your Uncle had zostrix too, when he had shingles about 15 years ago.
Today the sores actually looked worse. I am diligently taking all the medicines. Tomorrow morning I will down some Tylenol with benedryl with the hopes it will help the pain and sedate me somewhat for laying an hour on my back, where the sores are. That is going to be a big problem; it is generally difficult laying on it anyway for that long because I have some disk problems. I always get up with a back ache after the hour.
Like with all the precautions we've taken...I still get something. We use alcohol on everything, even the shopping handle cart. But what we use only kills bacteria. Everything I catch is a virus. I think we'd need to bleach everything which is hard to do.
Did you find any Reiki to help me thru this. I need an arsenal this time.
I
did the entire prep last week for the PET scan and got there
early, when they said. Alan and I sat and sat some more. I
asked to speak to the dr.. because I had many concerns about all the
medications I am on, laying on the sores from the shingles, plus the
radioactive injection. He was very nice and said they could put
cushioning under my back. But then, finally the technician came out and
told us the PET scanner wasn't working right. A rod that clarifies
your pictures wouldn't go into the instrument. They had a call in
for help but my injection was losing potency by the hour so it wouldn't
make the scan as accurate so it had to be re-ordered for the day after,
if we could get it re-certified. What an aggravating morning.
I
had taken benedryl [so I'd be in twilight for the hour] and was falling
off my feet and hadn't eaten plus my back hurt and the sores were
very painful as my shirt touched them when I moved. But Alan is a
blessing. He got me some breakfast, got us home, and then called
to get it arranged. I called to be sure the Scanner was
working. You just can't imagine how the anxiety is - I thought it
would be over by then.