It's been a good news, sad news kind of day.
The first good news: I am coming up on my 5-year anniversary of my breast cancer diagnosis. Since we are leaving for Vietnam, I decided it might be a good idea for me to have an appointment with all my providers just to get clear on what I should/could be doing to maximize my chances of staying NED (no evidence of disease). So, the doc I saw in my Surgical Oncologist office tells me, "You have done everything you can possibly do". I think she meant it in a good news kind of way. She went on to say that, according to the most recent research, I should take 81mg of baby aspirin per day and fit more yoga into my schedule.
The first sad news: I was planning to meet my friend, Lisa, for lunch after my appointment. Of course, I forgot to bring her cell phone number with me and I wasn't able to reach her. I thought that was the sad news. But then she called to tell me that her friend's daughter died last night. I'm pretty sure Jane was seven at the time of her death. It's just plain not right. My heart goes out to Jane's family and all of her friends and family.
The second good news in-that-weird-kind-of-it-could-be-worse-news way: My friend, who has been in treatment for breast cancer off and on (but mostly on) for the last six years, was in Seattle for scans today. The purpose was to discover how her current chemo regime is managing her metastatic cancer. Stable! This is the second set of scans that have been stable. Of course, this means stay-the-course. Not, unfortunately, "Hey - have a chemo break!"
The second sad news, which is actually also good news (and in NO WAY compares with the news about Jane), is that we took our goats to their new home tonight. This is sad news for me. I loved having the goats and I have been looking forward to Mei-Mei's impending delivery (May 6th due date) and my first goat birth. And, the goats are going to such a good home. They have loads of fresh forage and tons of space at their new place. They join Oreo and Ginger in their new home at the Morgan's. There was a little crying when we left (mostly me and Mei-Mei), but it all went really smooth, considering.
All this serves to remind me that life goes on. While we are in Vietnam, people we know and love will get sick and recover. Some may not recover. Some will fall in love, have babies, move, find new homes, have significant birthdays. And we won't be here for any of it. The weight of what we are undertaking is felt today.
No comments:
Post a Comment