Journey with Cancer

I found this great article about what a cancer patient would really like from her friends. It puts things in perspective and reinforces the notion that we, as Shauna’s friends, need to be pro-active in helping her.

Just telling her to call if she needs something isn’t enough. She may not have the energy to figure out what she needs, much less call and ask for it.

Phone calls to check in, visits, groceries … all are helpful. Most of all, she needs to know we are still here praying for her, ready to help with anything and everything.

Shauna was re-admitted to the hospital last night. They chose to do a CT scan instead of an MRI, which confirmed it was a hairline fracture on the thigh bone at approximately the same place she fractured her right leg. She will have surgery tonight and they will do another biopsy.

More as I know it.

Shauna got her diagnosis this morning. Her breast cancer metastisized (sp) to her thigh bone. So far the only hot spot in the place where her thigh bone fractured.

Well … Shauna has fractured the other leg now. She got as far as the hospital parking lot and was trying to get into her car when the other leg went. She is back/still in the hospital awaiting more surgery, tests and diagnoses.

This morning, while trying to get more comfortable in her chair, Shauna fractured her thigh bone. After all day in the ER, they are going to operate tonight. There is a possibility that this happened because the cancer is in her bone. While they are in there taking care of her bone, they will take scrapings for a biopsy.

She’s in Kaiser Santa Teresa, you can call the switchboard at (408) 972-3000. Visiting hours are 8AM to 8PM. Driving directions and maps.

Wow. Its been like forever since I blogged. Not a lot happening. I have enjoyed the Stress Managment for Cancer Survivors class on Wednesdays at Kaiser. Unfortunately one of the participants died between week 4 and week 5. Great guy. He and his wife came to class. He has been Stage 4 for quite a while so it wasn’t totally unexpected but he seemed pretty healthy to me. Cancer is strange that way.

I can almost make a fist with my right hand. Not as good on the left but I am getting better. Feet not much different. Walking still hard.

At the end of September my family and I went to the LA area to go to the First Annual NCIS Fanfest. We all just love that tv show. We got to meet some of the actors on the show. There were raffle prizes, auctions of memorabilia, and best of all … a tour of the set of NCIS! We were not allowed to bring cameras on the set with us, no phones either, but they did have an official photographer with us. As soon as the pictures get clearence from the show I will put a few of them up here. The only down side is that there was a lot of walking, including walking up and down stairs. It was hard on me but I did it anyways. I just couldn’t miss it. I got to sit in Abby’s chair in her lab, got to check out Gibbs desk and sit at Tony’s desk. I got to see the dress that Abby is going to wear on the episode to air on Halloween. Its a very special dress, one worn by Marilyn Monroe in the famous photo of the airvent pushing up the dress. NCIS paid $10,000 to the Marilyn Monroe estate for permission to use it and Marilyn’s image on the show. We got to see the gag reel from the last 3 seasons. Man was that funny! Amazing weekend! BTW, if you don’t know NCIS its on CBS on Tuesdays at 8 pm. Its from the same guy who did JAG, Quantum Leap and Magnum, P.I. You gotta check it out. Mark Harmon is a hottie (OK fan girl talking here) but then I definately have a thing for good looking guys in uniforms with a military haircut (isn’t that right Craig?)

So all that walking and stairs caused some real problems with me. I even had to be wheelchaired in LAX and SJ Internation airports for the trip back. I just could not walk. Here it is 3 weeks later and I still have problems. I pulled my groin muscles and did something to both knees. I can move, but I limp and I am real slow. I am out of rx strength Ibuprophen and will see the doctor on Thursday to get more. It will just take time, staying off my feet and more Ibuprophen.

The slowness caused a problem last week. My beloved Sharks started the new hockey season last week. I went with my daughter on Thursday for Opening Night and had a terrible experience with a couple of female fans. I was in the upper deck in section 216 (not my normal seats) and it was very hard for me to make it up to row 8 before the play started again. Even after apologizing and saying “I’m sorry. Please let me get to my seat, I am recovering from cancer” the 2 ‘ladies’ on the aisle refused to let me in! They yelled at me and made me sit on the stairs until the whistle blew again. One of them even had the nerve to say if I had cancer that I didn’t belong there!!! I know the rules about not getting in the way while play is going on, but come on! In the 12 months that I have been fighting this cancer I have never been treated so poorly, by anyone, anywhere. The only thing that kept me from just exploding (and Tricia wanting to go postal on them) is that I believe in kharma. They will have kharma bite them in the ass so I don’t have to kick theirs later. Several friends have suggested that the next time I go that I get a usher to help me to my seat so that no one causes me any problems.