December seventh, 2015 – a day that will live in infamy (for me at least).
With a great big wink at the irony at play, that was the day I got my cancer diagnosis. I met with my kidney doctor to hear the results of a biopsy I had undergone. I was not surprised: I knew it was going to be cancer.
It’s hard for me to recount all the ways my life has changed in three years: chemo drugs to take, foods to avoid, foods to focus on, weight loss (not a bad thing, in my case), avoiding retaining water, making sure I keep my health insurance active, the care I have to take to not fall and break any bones (my cancer can make them brittle), the importance of excellent dental care (ibid), the need to avoid sick people, the need to schedule work days of no more than four-hours (after which I’m too tired to continue). These things, and others, are now part of my life as if they had always been. I’ve managed to establish a routine with the understanding that my life can no longer be considered “routine.”
On the plus side (every cloud has a silver lining): my cancer is under control and my chemo side effects have been minimal, I stopped craving/eating most sweets, and I found a balance between how much salt I can eat and water I should drink in a day to avoid retaining water (that was a real challenge).
On the minus side (every silver lining has a cloud): my kidneys continue to fail (damage from the cancer before diagnosis), I’ll need to take chemo the remainder of my life, my cancer will never be in remission, and I’ll never be able to wear a T-shirt that proclaims proudly: “I am a cancer survivor.”
One last “plus”: we just bought a new (used) car. We paid for a special add-on to the loan that will pay off the full amount if either I or my husband dies in the next six years. This is a great deal, considering how the average life expectancy of my type of cancer is five years from date of diagnosis. :-)
07 December 2018
24 November 2018
11 November 2018
20 October 2018
03 October 2018
23 September 2018
11 September 2018
Spend Some Time with “A Cat in Time”
In 10th-century Japan there was a cat named Myobu. She really lived. My new novel tells the story of this special cat – a cat who lived a very special life.
It all starts out on one dark and stormy night – really. A creature struggles against the storm to find some safe haven; for the time is drawing near when she will bring new life into this world. She has eaten nothing in such a long time, and has had little to quench her unending thirst. And then, to her great surprise and immense relief, she sees a light, and a door and maybe, just maybe, the safety she seeks.
Come along with me on a journey I call A Cat in Time. In it, we follow the adventures of Myobu, the very first cat in Japan whose name has come down through the ages to us.
But, be warned: some say the story you are about to read cannot be true, that no such events happened; but I assure you they are true, they are real and that Myobu really lived. After all, her name is still known, to this day, in the land of the setting sun, the great land of Japan, where the name Myobu is spoken with a hushed reverence befitting one of such greatness.
I had so much fun writing this fantasy story, but I can’t tell you why because that would be what is conventionally known as a “spoiler.” But I can say this novel contains action, adventure, drama and comedy – and yes, kittens. Lots of kittens.
Read more about A Cat in Time by clicking on the link to your right under "My Books."
It all starts out on one dark and stormy night – really. A creature struggles against the storm to find some safe haven; for the time is drawing near when she will bring new life into this world. She has eaten nothing in such a long time, and has had little to quench her unending thirst. And then, to her great surprise and immense relief, she sees a light, and a door and maybe, just maybe, the safety she seeks.
Come along with me on a journey I call A Cat in Time. In it, we follow the adventures of Myobu, the very first cat in Japan whose name has come down through the ages to us.
But, be warned: some say the story you are about to read cannot be true, that no such events happened; but I assure you they are true, they are real and that Myobu really lived. After all, her name is still known, to this day, in the land of the setting sun, the great land of Japan, where the name Myobu is spoken with a hushed reverence befitting one of such greatness.
I had so much fun writing this fantasy story, but I can’t tell you why because that would be what is conventionally known as a “spoiler.” But I can say this novel contains action, adventure, drama and comedy – and yes, kittens. Lots of kittens.
Read more about A Cat in Time by clicking on the link to your right under "My Books."
04 September 2018
17 August 2018
07 August 2018
Like Diamonds, Chemo is Forever
When I tell people I have cancer and am undergoing chemo, they always ask the same follow-up question: “How long do you have to do chemo?”
It’s a natural question, made even more understandable because of the number of cancers that can be cured. You often hear people talk about finishing chemo, celebrating being cancer free, or having survived cancer.
For me, though, it’s a reminder that not all cancers are curable, that some chemo is forever, that not all patients can look forward to celebrating a life free of cancer. My cancer (myeloma), while manageable, is not curable. At all. I will take drugs the rest of my life to keep it in check with my fingers crossed that they will never stop working, or that the cancer will not somehow mutate into something resistant to them (or that I will not lose my health insurance). My cancer will always get worse, never better. The rate of progress might be slowed by drugs, but the movement will always be forward. Inexorably, inevitably, irreversibly forward.
I don’t think of this as a problem – well, not a huge problem. A lot of cancers are much more virulent than mine, many people are diagnosed too late to even take advantage of chemo and, for some, their cancers require multiple, painful, often-unsuccessful surgeries. I am lucky to be able to avoid that – for now, at least.
What does my cancer future hold for me? Well, lots of chemo for one thing, a possible bone-marrow transplant down the line, and maybe even a kidney transplant at some point. But, right now, I’m managing my cancer, like (as one doctor put it) a chronic disease, akin to diabetes. Not fabulous, but not horrible. At least I don’t have to inject myself with insulin all the time.
It’s a natural question, made even more understandable because of the number of cancers that can be cured. You often hear people talk about finishing chemo, celebrating being cancer free, or having survived cancer.
For me, though, it’s a reminder that not all cancers are curable, that some chemo is forever, that not all patients can look forward to celebrating a life free of cancer. My cancer (myeloma), while manageable, is not curable. At all. I will take drugs the rest of my life to keep it in check with my fingers crossed that they will never stop working, or that the cancer will not somehow mutate into something resistant to them (or that I will not lose my health insurance). My cancer will always get worse, never better. The rate of progress might be slowed by drugs, but the movement will always be forward. Inexorably, inevitably, irreversibly forward.
I don’t think of this as a problem – well, not a huge problem. A lot of cancers are much more virulent than mine, many people are diagnosed too late to even take advantage of chemo and, for some, their cancers require multiple, painful, often-unsuccessful surgeries. I am lucky to be able to avoid that – for now, at least.
What does my cancer future hold for me? Well, lots of chemo for one thing, a possible bone-marrow transplant down the line, and maybe even a kidney transplant at some point. But, right now, I’m managing my cancer, like (as one doctor put it) a chronic disease, akin to diabetes. Not fabulous, but not horrible. At least I don’t have to inject myself with insulin all the time.
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