You're not going to believe what I'm going through!!

[Guest guest]

Hi All!!

Sorry I've been a lurker recently, but you're not going to believe this...

First, the good news. I just had a f/u at Mayo and I'm doing great! Down to

14mg pred, BP under control, Diabetes under control, Liver enzymes looking

good, and I've dropped 18 pounds in 3 months. So...I just keep tapering and

doing what I've been doing!

But...Terri found a lump on a breast self exam. She had a mammogram that

came back negative. Needle biopsy was also negative. Then a second mammogram

that was negative. A sonogram indicated that the lump was not a cyst. Terri

insisted on a biopsy of the lump. It was positive. The lump was small, so

the opted for a lumpectomy with a sentinel node biopsy. The sentinel nodes

were negative. A second lump was negative. But, the margins were not clean

around the original lump. So she had a mastectomy with an immediate

reconstruction. Everything looked good and is healing nicely. With the

seninel nodes negative, she wouldn't need chemo or radiation. And on top of

it, she was able to augment her remaining breast so both would match in

size! But...the pathology report showed an aditional cancer site near her

chest wall. So, her oncologist recommended chemo to up the odds of

preventing any spread from the breast area. So now she gets to sport the

bald look and puke her guts out for several months.

But wait...it gets worse!

Saturday I got a call from my sister that our dad sounded funny on the

phone. Turns out that he had another stroke, and two more in the hospital.

He's been living alone in a senior housing complex, and I have been helping

with groceries, setting out his weeks meds, etc.. They are transfering him

from the hospital to a transitional care facility. They are hoping to help

him regain the skills he needs to care for himself.

So, if I don't post much, it's 'cause I'm paddling like crazy just to keep

my head above water. Some days I feel like I'm on a runnaway train...

Don