Ann’s Update, 10/11/09
Thanks all for your concern, prayers, well-wishes. I’m feeling your support.

*Called my brother, Bob, who checked with Aunt Jane no first level family breast cancer incidences in our family. Auntie Yoshiko had it in her 70’s and didn’t have it removed.

*Called my brother, Harry, who suggested that my pace of life may have contributed and may continue to do so. While I appreciate those comments made in love, it does sound a bit like I caused my own demise. Similar advice from others to be more positive and pray harder was addressed in a book I read yesterday as energy draining and along the lines of the response I think about when I might think why me (which I haven’t at all), and think, “Why Not me?”

*Continuing to tell people as it comes up.
The New Member Team at church, good support for me, cried with and for me during our meeting this morning. We talked about the best time for the Leadership Meal to be held around my needs and the timing of our head cook’s knee replacement. One of the single friends hung around afterward and we talked about so many of life’s decision made somewhat fearfully w/o someone close to bounce it off of.

*Talked to my brother, Larry, and his wife, Judy. Larry is a Dr. of Oriental Medicine, retired but for me is willing to come out of retirement and draw on his knowledge and his network to get info on breast cancer and eastern protocols with herbs and acupuncture. He also will come out to spend some time with me helping me with practical applications of them. It will be after we get back from the Mayan Rivera trip which is the 2nd week of November.

*Checking in on emails, it’s my turn to get the travelling friendship bracelet which my high school classmates started back in Feb. of 2007. Good timing. At this time, I just wanted 3 of them to know so the group could focus on Jane whose prognosis of cancer back in May of 2008 was for a few months and here she is in October 2009 back in chemo again, but ever so much alive. None of us get out of this life alive, but we’d all like it to be long and as pain free as possible.

*Faxed 20 pages of lab report results requested back in May from Dr. B. and just completed last week with my GP hoping that might jog some response from Dr. B.

*In preparing that, realized that Dr. Duven is a general surgeon. Googled, I couldn’t find a breast care specialist– kept directing me to breast augmentation and cosmetic surgery.
Will do some more study on who to have the surgery done by. I know a couple of nurses, so will see if there would be any recommendations from them. Things will be clearer after the Tue MRI./Thurs.results as to what we’re dealing with.
Teresa’s Dr. for her breast surgeries was Dr. Gerralds, Dr. Geralt? Again having trouble finding much of anything on the internet. Maybe another day.

*Talked to my piano student’s parents, she is an anethesiologist, and he is a surgeon specializing in prostate. They wanted to know what the findings were and she allayed my worries about my compromised lung situation with surgery and he suggested strongly that I talk with Dr. Waid just to hear from another Dr. before decisions are made. He said that I wouldn’t have to make an appointment, just talk to him on the phone. He said Dr. Duven is an excellent surgeon specializing now in only breast surgery. I told them both what I was thinking about and they each felt it was very smart.

*Also one hospital has a 1-2 day stay, the other 3 day with quite a bit of cost difference. One hospital has a 45 day scheduling window, the other sooner, and in either case there’s a 7 day requirement for a pre-op physical from the regular doc. Teresa recommended to me to listen to Dr. B.’s CD on preparing for surgery. She didn’t stay with her first breast surgery; stayed one night with her 2nd.

*I talked with Teresa about what I’m seeing as best for me, and etalked to Kristi, and it’s nice that we’re all pretty much in agreement. I must not be foggy-brained yet.

*While I was faxing and copying materials at the church, Dave, church leader came in and asked me how I am. I told him and I could tell he hears so many stories in his day. Then he and I discussed having the Leadership Meal on the 9th and he said he’d talk to Pastor Ed about it being the best thing for the team. It would be a special meeting because they normally meet on the lst Monday.

*It’s funny that at times like this, I do think of long time friendships who were there for me and I for them in the past, and no longer in my life. I wrote to one of them today so that if she does hear about it through the grapevine, she’s heard it from me first with no expectation that she respond. That was good thing.
Marc and I talked about people in our lives, and how good it feels to have longtime friends be there during fun times. And how we wonder how it will be during times that are more difficult. Either way, it’s a time to be grateful.

*Said goodbye to Marc as he headed back to Texas, and he’s thinking logically about making my load easier and will support me on getting automatic bill pay set up.

I’d say it’s been a very productive decision-making day. (Val, that’s an acknowledgement!)

Ann