Category: Uncategorized
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Pins and Needles
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This will be a succinct summary of what’s gone on since my last post and what my calendar squares are being filled in with. No, I haven’t stopped taking affirmations out of the bowl and, yes, they are as stupid as ever. This week’s gem: Once you face your fear,…
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Affirmations
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It started the day I checked in for my first chemotherapy infusion. Just past the reception area, I noticed a table on which sat a large basket filled with beanies and caps. After rifling through them and finding one I thought might fit my child-sized head, I saw a bowl…
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What Do I Know?
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Over the past week I’ve been working on a new blog post, but then new information arises, things change, and what I’ve been writing becomes inaccurate or just plain wrong. Color me deleting and starting over so often that it could be humorous if I didn’t find it just plain…
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Looking Up
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3:47 a.m. A few seconds after awakening, I glance out the window and register a skyful of stars plus the faint, familiar glow above the northern horizon. To get out of bed or not? My response aligns squarely with FOMO, so of course I get out of bed and check…
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Truth in Advertising: Side effects of chemotherapy
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Baldness. Puking. Fatigue. These miseries likely come to mind when you think of chemotherapy. At my first oncology consultation in August, I was given a folder full of teaching materials, which I mentally retitled “Welcome to Cancer.” The information inside, however, did not hit with warmth nor welcome. Neither did…
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Barbershops and the Kindness of Strangers
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On Sunday, August 25, we had the extended family over for photographs and Sunday lunch. After the last of the pictures were snapped but before dishing up, we set a patio chair on the lawn and buzzed off my hair. Rationale: hair loss happens quickly with TCHP chemo and would…
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Surgery Consult
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On Thursday, September 5, 2024, we met with breast surgeon Jane Hui to learn of her plans for me. I’m receiving care at Masonic Cancer Clinic at M Health Fairview University-MN. What’s going on: breast cancer. For you healthcare types wanting more detail, I have invasive ductal carcinoma, stage 2a,…
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Navigating the Healthcare System
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I’ve often wondered how persons who don’t work in health care—or don’t know persons who work in health care—manage to find their way past the gatekeepers, the schedulers, the delays, the unacceptable answers. Especially when stakes and emotions are high. I found one, possibly two, breast masses on Friday evening,…