I continue to work with students doing research at UD and working at the running store. Things research-wise move slowly when having to order and set things up but I think for the most part all are having a good experience and slowly but surely, progress is being made.
The running store continues to be a nice break and a bit of extra cash. Working guilted me into signing up for a half marathon. Ugh. When I finished Insanity, I knew I needed something to motivate the working out/losing weight plan, and a race will do that. I have low expectations, no real time goals. I'm not sure I'll even run the whole thing. I have to remind myself that it'll be a year after my 2nd-ish chemo treatment so yeah, finishing is probably 'good enough' (shoutout to my sister who thought this would make a good theme song for her circus arts rope performance... (how cool is that by the way!) it may become my new theme song. It also comes from a great movie that like me turns 30 this year).
In other physical pursuits, I started doing a 100 Burpee Challenge. 1 on Day 1, 2 on Day 2 etc, up to 100, the catch being if you skip a day, you make it up. I got through Day 35 and then while with Karyn in Montana (more on that in a min) we did 100 one day (she had like 240 to make up...) and so I might quit. Anyone who feels like guilting me into keeping my word (I made a Facebook group and everything!) feel free :).
Health wise, June wasn't super exciting, which at this point it good. The peeling/burning from radiation slowly began to heal. Another monthly shot to shut the ovaries down. I visited Indiana hoping to start the clinical trial, only to find out my bilirubin was slightly elevated and I'd have to retest before I could pick my drug up. It came down a little (and was taken by a different lab with different limit...got to love that) so I was able to return, pick up my drug, drive through a monsoon back and start it. It's been going well (as a reminder, it simply adds on top of my 'normal' medication to hopefully help prevent/delay recurrences). I got blood work drawn yesterday (do at the midpoint and end of monthly cycles) and while my white cell counts are slightly low, I can continue to take it. I just need to be aware of any signs of infection, wash hands, not share drinks, etc....the normal things that people who think about germs do.
I see my surgeon in a few weeks so she ordered a mammogram of the remaining (right) breast, which came back clean. I was surprisingly not anxious at all for this test...perhaps because I know that the chance of reoccurrence is actually greater NOT in the remaining breast tissue but in a metastasized spot elsewhere in the body (if some pesky cancer cells managed to survive and thrive despite the chemo, radiation, hormone therapy).
The radiation oncologist signed off on my skin healing at my follow-up so I go to knock one provider off the list! A few more to go... I followup with plastics in the coming weeks as well where I'll discuss some possible additional work to help with some asymmetry and other aesthetic outcomes (see how professional I can talk about boobs!).
July brought about visitors and vacation! Two of my best friends visited for the fourth...
We saw Kentucky, survived rain at a Reds/Twins game with great seats and jumbo tron time...
We rocked our USA gear for Runners Plus's Brooks Party...
We had an awesome adult day at the great amusement park King's Island...
Enjoyed camping and hiking in the beauty of Hocking Hills...
And cooked out for the fourth, took naps, and had a bonfire.
All in all, we hit most of the things I had on the pre-trip Google doc itinerary I made (yes, I'm a dork). So if anyone is thinking of visiting (hint, hint), you can be guaranteed to be shown a good time! As you can see by the genuine smiles of happiness, it was a really great few days.
I didn't have too much time to settle back into the normal routine before I was headed for the much-anticipated nuptials of my sister Sarah! I'm so happy to say that it was a most wonderful ceremony for these two...
Mr. and Mrs. James LeFort!
The location (Glacier National Park) was perfect!
The rental house has grand view from the front porch...
Pre-ceremony, we spent some time having fun rafting...
and walking through the woods...
Sarah and James found the most beautiful ceremony spot on Lake McDonald...
and wrote a great ceremony that everyone enjoyed.
Sarah looked gorgeous and was so happy...
and James was a stud, looking good and managing photography!
though we had to convince him at times that it was good to see people's faces and not just the beautiful setting!
'Tucci made the trip and even had to deal with a a cancelled flight on the way home!
And this lovely lady with me was definitely a proud mama!
After enjoying Going to the Sun Road (thankfully in advance of the current wildfire), most unfortunately had to return home.
More unfortunately, Mom was hit with a severe case of vertigo (her first ever) that detoured some of us to the Kalispell ER, leaving the men to pack up the house and get Grandma to what would be her cancelled flight (got out the next day). Some powerful drugs provided some relief, we settled into a hotel for a couple of nights (think the girls didn't mind swimming in the pool and the proximity to Coldstone!) while she recovered and then got her back home to Phoenix. Happy to say she's feeling like herself again.
The Bechtels were nice enough to let me crash their camper van trip through Glacier and back to California. Despite it being cut short, it was still a great time! Despite rainy/windy conditions, a few of us managed a short hike to a beautiful waterfall in the park...
and visited Crater Lake on the drive home.
So blue! Such wonderful time with family!
I got to knock Oregon off the list of states to see, driving through most of it. I hadn't been through the northern part of the "Republic of California" as my brother-in-law calls it (they do check you for produce upon entering...so much for free travel between states!) either. The volcanic mountains are so different than the Rocky Mountain range of Colorado that I'm used to! Mt. Shasta is quite the sight, arising from seemingly nowhere, and with so much snow despite the drought and time of year.
It was tough coming back home and the time in nature (and good nearby find with the girls) made me anxious to explore my surroundings here for that same kind of serenity. I may have already added to my camping equipment supply (thanks to coworker Jen for the SteepandCheap suggestion that facilitated this...) to help with this.
While gone, I really tried hard to disconnect from technology and was really quite successful (had to text/call a bit with Mom's issues). I could do it since others had their phones for things like directions, and did have to basically let mine die and not charge it to help resist the urge (I'm encouraging Adam to suggest to the folks at Apple a 'vacation mode' than essentially turns a smart phone into an old school flip phone with time/call/camera so you're not tempted by apps) to check in on social media and with the world.
I'll have another opportunity to go device-free in September at an "adult summer camp" I sign up for. The invitation to go from a professional colleague intrigued me, and if there's anything I've learned from all this (i.e. cancer) it's to take advantage of opportunities for fun! Because really, why not?
Summer is all too quickly coming to and end, but I'm hoping to continue making the most of this time to refresh and recharge. I'll begin to prep for classes and the upcoming semester soon (still probably after I really should...) and have lots of letters of recommendation to write (the downside to trying to really get to know kids).
I'm approaching the time where I'll start to be doing the whole "a year ago I was....". It still sort of bewilders me. Last year at this time I was still a week or so away from the first diagnostic tests that started all of this craziness, though was probably beginning to Google search and wonder "hmmm...what could this actually be?". It's much more fun to search the internet for places to camp, birthday presents for the family, and flights for a California wedding celebration. Lesson learned alert: be grateful in the little things Anne.
On a more somber note, despite my continued recovery and good tolerance of treatment, more and more people have to deal with cancer and other health maladies. Support does matter, as you have all shown me in such wonderful ways over this past year. Continue to send good thoughts, someone out there always needs them, and I have a few people in mind right now that I'm happy to deflect them to.
Look for an update post all these follow-ups in the coming weeks. Don't take a lack of posts as a sign anything is wrong, but more likely, things are good! Always feel free to reach out by email, text, or phone. Enjoy the day!
