Scan Results

Once again, I've been blessed! The scan showed no cancer. Dr.Prakash told me to keep doing whatever it is I've been doing. Don't really know what that might be, nothing special, but I'm gonna keep it up. I've been spending more time at the shop. I plan on being there all day tomorrow, so if you're out and about stop by to say hi! Thank you so very much for your continued prayers.

It's scan time again! PET scan will be tomorrow morning, here in Mt. Pleasant. This will be the 4th Pet I've had since June '07. I'm prepping today. No carbs, no food after midnight. Only one cup of coffee allowed today, now that's the tough one. I don't remember all of these rules from before. I just know that a PET is a LOT easier on me than a CT, none of that barium smoothie stuff-yay!
I'm not nervous about the results this time. That's a big first. I'm feeling great, and I've finally decided that it is what it is. I just hope I'm not jinxing the results by being too confident. I've started reading "The Human Side of Cancer, Living with Hope, Coping with Uncertainty". It was written by Dr. Jimmie Holland, a psycologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering. I've always been a control freak, surprize, surprize, and I'm trying figure out how to let alot of this stuff go and just enjoy the here and now.
Since last I posted, we've been to Enid for Joe's assignment night. The baby boy will be going to Elmdorff AFB in Alaska. This will be a 4 year assignment. He'll be flying c17s, which by the way was what he was hoping for. We are all so excited for him! He won't actually leave until Sept-Oct., he has to do some special training before he can go.
Bryan will be in town this weekend. We're planning a belated birthday celebration. We postponed the festivities while we were in OK.
I'll get the results of the scan on Tuesday. Will keep you posted. Please remember Judy, Worthie, Amanda, Carol, and the Craig family in your prayers.

So far my only new year's resolution is working out well. I'm no longer a "sack-hound"! I've set my alarm for 6:20 A.M., and am sticking to it. It feels good to have all of the errands done by 10:00, and the rest of the day free. I'm much more productive, which I'm sure Don appreciates.

I've toyed with the thought of suspending the blog for a while. I never seem to have any real news. My life is pretty boring. Just about the time I decided for sure I would take a break, I had to go in for a follow up mammogram. After the longest wait for results I've ever had to endure, the Dr.s office called and told Connie (not me) the film was all clear. I dodged another bullet- yay!

I won't have another scan until Feb. I still don't know when, but it will be a PET. I'll have it done here in MP. We are just in a "wait and see" cycle. I'll have another mammo. in March, then probably a CT in May. And so it goes......

An update on Miss Kitty: I dropped her off for a little female surgery this morning. She has gained over 3 lbs. since Jan. 16. Pretty good indication that she was expecting. I'll be bringing her back home on Wednesday. Her back leg is doing much better. She can now stand up in the car and hang her head out the window like a real dog. She really has been good company even though she does have a bit of the velcro syndrome.

We have a busy week coming up. I won't be able to volunteer at all. We'll be going to Enid on Thursday (weather permitting) for Joe's assignment night. He's pretty nervous about learning where he'll be for the next 4 years. I have my fingers crossed it's somewhere warm and beachy so I can visit.

Hope everyone has a good week, I'll update when I have some real news.

Update on "The Dog"

I think I've got a dog! We haven't heard a peep from any possible owners. I've added before and after pics. Scruffy, Sugar, Sweetie Pie, Miss Kitty, Darlin, went to the groomer today, and is now without a doubt a Schnauzer. As you can tell, I still don't know what to call her. She's just happy that I do call her, and answers to anything. She seems to prefer Kitty. Please keep the suggestions coming.

I had decided that I didn't want a dog after keeping Oscar for a week. The decision was final, and made carefully. I'm a selfish person, who doesn't (didn't) want to be bothered with the constant needs of a house dog. Right. About face.

As I was leaving Don's store this afternoon, I saw this little dog cross FM 1734. It's a bad, busy place for a dog to be. I picked the puppy up. I am now officialy one of those crazy people who pick up strays.

We visited 3 vets today, and the pound. She has no chip, no collar, no one looking for her that we can identify. She is probably about 4 years old, mostly Schnauzer, heart worm positive, and not spayed. I had the last vet give her a bath, and check her over to make sure she wouldn't give the "big" dogs any nasties.

She is very well mannered. Seldom barks, seems to get along with other dogs, and was nice to the kitty-boys at the flower shop. She rode all the way to New Boston with me this afternoon, and never made a peep. Tomorrow I plan to drive down to Southeast Texas. We'll see how she does on road trips.

I'm giving her owners a week to get in touch with me. If I don't hear from them by then, then I guess I have a dog. Got any good names?

Christmas with the Boggses

The tree is down now, and the house is quiet, but what a time we had!

No Christmas Cards This Year

Well, I couldn't let Christmas slip by without including the dogs. Once again they were good sports, but as you can tell I wasn't as inspired this year with their costumes. I'll try to do better next year.

Bryan will be in Monday, Sarah, Frederick, Carmella, and Joe will be here Tuesday. It's gonna be a full house!

Merry Christmas all!

Elvis puts up with me and my crazy ideas again.

Priscilla doing what she does best, and yes she loves to have her picture taken.

But I don't want my picture taken. That's Tubby, also known as "The Moron".

Tubby took a break from digging for gophers long enough to have his picture taken. That's mud on his nose, as usual.

Tubby, what a goof!

In memory of Miss Loretta July 2001-Nov. 2008

Done! (Medium Rare)

Vicki and Oscar hosted the finishing up party.

Oscar came dressed for the occasion.

The mold. I wanted to keep it for a souvenir, but was told it's bio-hazardous.

Well, I'm finally done with radiation. Last year at this time I was still doing chemo. What a crazy year it's been! Here's hoping 2009 will be better.

I started Christmas shopping on Tuesday. Thank goodness we can now do a lot of it online. I did a marathon shopping trip Thursday, and got most of it wrapped by Friday night. I'm really ahead this year. I'm usually just beginning to wrap everything on Christmas Eve, but I'm trying to listen to the doctors, and not "over-do".

Don was sworn in, or at depending on who you're talking to, on Friday. He won't take office officially until January 1. He's looking forward to being able to take Priscilla with him a lot. I never thought of coonhounds as truck dogs, but whatever.

I got all the lights up on the house last weekend, but of course the back ones keep blowing fuses. I never do have good luck with Christmas lights. I only got on the roof once, I was a good girl this year. One of the guys that work for Don did most of the heavy lifting, but I couldn't resist getting involved. It's just not Christmas til I spend some roof time.

Almost Done!

A constant reminder on the door to the treatment room.

"The Team" Nick, myself, and Chad

Well, I've almost made it. Last treatment is scheduled for tomorrow at 1:00.

I won't lie, it's been rough, but I haven't had to miss a treatment, and I'm finishing on schedule.

I can't help but wonder what exactly all this radiation has done to my body. I mean other than wipe out any stray cancer that might have been floating around, which is why I willingly allowed myself to go through this treatment. Since diagnoses I've had 3 pet scans, and I've lost count of the ct scans and x-rays. I figure by now I've probably been exposed to as much radiation as a human can safely be. Who knows?

The first day I realized that this was serious stuff was the day they couldn't start the machine because there were workers on the roof. They didn't want to cook some poor unsuspecting maintenance guy, so we waited until the roof repairs were done, then proceeded as usual. I then noticed that after I was "set up" everyone would run, and I'd hear that huge door close. I was left in the room with all that "stuff" buzzing around and through me. If the radiation can float up through the ceiling and roof, and do a number on someone up there, there's no telling what it's done to me.

Wouldn't it be ironic to survive chemo, radiation, and all the emotional crap that goes with it all, just to find out years later that "sorry, you have radiation induced cancer." There probably isn't really a cancer called radiation induced, but it sounds about right.

Anyway, I just have 1 more to go-yeah! I asked the guys if I could keep my block and have it framed. A block is kind of like a stencil, made out of some serious metal, that focuses the radiation where you want it to go. Nope. Seems my block is bio-hazardous. Figures.

I've been spending some time lately surfing you-tube. The kids are mortified, but thought I'd share this oldy with everyone. I think it's funny, and it's kind of fitting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Aq5cqjUFOo

Thanksgiving with the Boggses

New for me this year was pie baking, but it wouldn't be a Boggs holiday without a fancy cake!

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. Ours was fast!! It seems like I cooked, cooked, baked, and baked some more, we sat down and it was over! Sarah wasn't able to come in this year. She spent the holiday in Atlanta, GA, with Frederick's family. The boys came in Wednesday. They were kind enough to help me pull the Christmas tree, and all the decorations out of storage. I finally finished the tree last night, but I still have boxes and newspapers scattered everywhere.

Radiation is still happening. I have 8 more treatments! I look like a boiled lobster! They are starting what they call "the boost" with today's treatment. It is a concentrated blast of radiation directed at the area where I had the lumpectomy. The good thing is that the part of me that is burned won't be getting anymore radiation. I've had 4 days off with the holiday, and I'm ready to get it over with!

I had an appointment with Dr. Prakash last Monday. Looks like I'm still on the 3 month scan schedule. I'll be having a Pet scan in February. Seems I have a cyst on the liver, and it needs to be monitored. It's probably nothing, but we can't be sure. The genetic testing is off for now. My insurance won't cover it, and I'm not willing to add yet another medical bill to the list. The good news I carried out of the meeting is that if or when I do have a recurrence, I will be able to use the same chemo I did the first time. I had really good response to it. The bag of tricks is still full.