Catch-Up Time: Chop and Donate

It's been nearly two and a half years since I last cut and donated my hair.  It's been WAY annoying lately:  too long, too hot, too hard to contain in hair ties.

Time to chop and donate!

I figured this was as good a time as any.  Even though Rituxan won't cause hair loss, I didn't want to be the one in the infusion room with this hugely long hair when others may not have any.  RUDE!

So I made an appointment with my sweet girl Carmel.  She and I met when we did Team In Training together last fall in preparation for our respective half-marathons in January.  She is a glowing bundle of fabulous energy that I'm so blessed to know and love.  She's also an amazing stylist in Little Italy.

 

Carmel and I at the Inspiration Dinner the night before
the Carlsbad Half Marathon last January.



Carmel did the Tinkerbell Half-Marathon at Disneyland the
weekend before, so she came out to show her support for those of us
who did Carlsbad.  Here I am running into her on the course.



Luv this girl!

So down to Carmel's salon I went.



OVERDUE for a haircut!

 

Step 1:  Contain it all.



Step 2:  SNIP!



15" later and I feel 10 pounds lighter!

 

THANK YOU, Carmel! XOXO

 

I must say, though, it is a little disconcerting to drive along
with your ponytail in the passenger seat next to you!

Tucked into a padded envelope, I mailed the pony off to Pantene's Beautiful Lengths program.  So far, they've received over 400,000 ponytails and have donated over 24,000 real hair wigs to the American Cancer Society's wig banks, which distributes wigs to cancer patients all over the country.  RIGHT ON!

Bye-bye 15"! See you again in two and a half years! 

Catch-Up Time: July 19 Oncology Visit

NOT at all what I was expecting to hear.

Since I was continuing to feel great and still had no symptoms, I anticipated another round of watch-and-wait from Dr. Hampshire.



Oncology wardrobe FAIL:  I'm wearing the same
shirt I wore to my appointment in January.  Geez. 

Wrong.

Seems that one of my iliac lymph nodes had ballooned to the size of a golf ball.  That in itself would have been a worry, but its location is what concerned Dr. Hampshire:  it lies adjacent to my left iliac artery, which could cause a blood clot in my left leg, or left kidney renal problems.

 

My naughty lymph node.

Time for a journey to Rituxanville.

Back in the May 25, 2015 blog entry, I had mentioned doing some research on Rituximab (aka Rituxan), a monoclonal antibody that works with the body's immune system to fight stinky-ass cancer cells.  When Dr. Hampshire advised starting a course of Rituxan, I was relieved that it was something I was familiar with, but immediately wanted to postpone it until October.  Um, WHY???  Because, as a Federal government employee who works with budget, August and September are crucial fiscal year-end closing months for me.  He said that would be fine, but we wouldn't want to delay it any longer than that.  

Great!  Temporarily dodged a bullet!

Wrong again!

Annoying little phrases like "blood clot" and "renal problems" began their relentless swirl around in my brain until I finally snapped out of it and said, "What am I thinking???!!!  Let's get this done NOW!!!"

So, rather than starting in October, we set August 2 as my start date.

A course of Rituxan is given once a week for four weeks; we established Fridays as my infusion days, to allow for recovery over the weekends so I could be back to work on Mondays.  Rituxan is administered through IV over several hours per session, so for four Fridays in August, I'll be planting my butt in a recliner and enjoying my new favorite cocktail.

And what do I think about that misbehaving iliac lymph node?

  

  

Catch-Up Time: July Scan

July marked six months since my last CT scan and oncology visit, so it was time to make the rounds again.



Boy, she looks tired!  Early morning CT scans
are just, well, too early!



Into the donut hole she goes.

Scans are probably the easiest part of this whole cancer thing; even the IV for the contrast dye isn't bad at all. 

The worst part, however, is the "scanxiety" that rears its ugly head in the days prior to the actual scan, and then the wait time between the scan and the oncology appointment.  It's illogical and a waste of brain power, but is very real:  you can't help but worry about what the scan will reveal.

Catch-Up Time: Alaska!

Wow - yes, it's really been over two months since this blog was updated!  

During that time, I had an amazing trip of a lifetime to Alaska in June with my daughter Amanda and three other wonderful women, to cheer Amanda on in the Mayor's Marathon in Anchorage! 



She did it!  26.2 miles of Alaska beauty!
SO proud of my beautiful Baby Gazelle!

While Amanda raced in her first marathon, I power-walked the concurrent 4-Miler race and enjoyed some beautiful Anchorage scenery as well.

 

It was so much fun to be part of the race!
But the best part was being at the finish line to see
Amanda cross!

The day after the race, it was time for our vanful of five fabulous females to hit the road for some serious vacay!




Denali National Park.  It's hard to make out in this photo,
but Mt. McKinley is looming large in the background amongst the clouds!



Portage Glacier.

What a wonderful thing, to be in the midst of such awe-inspiring Alaskan grandeur, surrounded by a circle of loving, supportive women.  I've said it before:  there's an incredible power in a circle of women, a dynamism that  strengthens, encourages, emboldens, and inspires.

Alaska itself exudes an undefinable force, too.  If you've read some of my older blog posts, you know I'm a desert gal:  give me those magnificent wide open spaces, immense sky, and wild beauty and I'm a happy camper.  I've never felt that affinity anywhere except while in the desert.

Until Alaska.

Walking along the Savage River trail in Denali National Park, I was struck by that same connection to place:  the huge open spaces were there, that enormous sky was above, and the desolate, primal beauty was comforting and familiar, even though I'd never been to that part of Alaska before.

In that moment, in the company of four strong women, it was easy to allow myself to absorb the energy and strength that they and Alaska were gifting me with.

Turns out I'd need it in the near future.