And Now For Something Different ...

... such as the back of my head! Scary, isn't it?!! I've only ever shown you front shots. It didn't occur to me that the back was THIS much thinner. I could tell by feel that it was a little thinner and some people had commented that it was a bit thinner at the back. But I didn't realize I was still practically BALD back there. Not until yesterday that is, when I thought to hold up a mirror in order to see the back. CRAP!! It really is VERY thin there compared to the perimeters. I am now especially self concious of people being behind me. So much for my "Nobody puts Baby in the Corner" philosophy. Please DO put me in the corner and with my back against the wall.

After seeing this, I wore a hat to the Farmer's market. I slept in yesterday and I knew what I wanted to get at the Farmer's market so I planned a quick trip there around lunch time. But I ran into Patio and her favourite niece who is visiting from BC so I sat with them for a while for a bit of a chin wag. Then I had a chat with Gail who I went to library tech with oh so many moons ago. We had worked together at the University Library as well a very long time ago. She had breast cancer 13 years ago. She would have been 40 or 41 when she was diagnosed. Hers was stage II ... an estrogen fed, aggressive tumour ... much like mine. She took a radically different approach, though, and I commend her courage. She decided that she was NOT going to go through the ravages of chemo and radiation and all the drugs that followed. She opted for a mastectomy and had her uterus and ovaries removed as well. She also changed her diet and de-stressed her life, which she felt was critically important. Even though these weren't options presented to her, she did her own research and followed her gut and was insistant with the oncologists who discouraged her chosen course of action. She has never regretted her choice. Hats off to her. It takes great courage and strength of will to reject the recommendations of "the professionals". Talking with her was good for me even though my course of treatment has been different. I wonder how I would have responded to a full hysterectomy. It was never offered as an option. Maybe my being closer to menopause than Gail would have been had something to do with that. Taking Tamoxifen increases one's odds of getting uterine cancer. Some women choose hysterectomies to avoid taking Tamoxifen. I'm not sure why, then, if you're already in menopause, why one still takes Tamoxifen. I find it all very complex and hard to follow. I need to read again so I might better understand.

My stomach was a little off in the afternoon. I think maybe I did have a bit of a bug but I think this medication upsets my stomach as well. My stomach is less troubled than it was during the week ... only occasionally and slightly bothered. I think this medication is making me retain fluids as well. My shoes are all a little snug ... and not just on my sprained ankle foot. My legs also feel a bit tight. Confirmation of that comes from the scale which shows I've suddenly gained 3 pounds while I've been eating less (because of my upset stomach). Perhaps this is because the drug I'm taking has some of the same ingredients as Advil and this ... but on a much greater scale ... is what happens to me when I take Advil (or other Ibuprofen drugs). My joints are improving any so I already feel certain this drug is not for me. I'll talk to my Doctor about it next week and then, I imagine, we'll try something else.

Luke had two lacrosse games this weekend. They won yesterday's and tied today's. It was nice to finally get to watch him play again. Next week his games are here again, too. Yeah!!