HER2 Support Group Forums - View Single Post - Me & the Chemo Kitty Wrigley at Best Friends Sanctuary

v-ness · 02-24-2010, 06:43 PM

hi -

a couple weeks ago i went to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in kanab, UT for a week of R&R as a gift to myself after chemo and before radiation. i've worked as a volunteer 2x a year for a week at a time for many years in a building called Kitty Motel for special needs cats. my favorites are the incontinents and the FIV+ boys. one of 'my' boys, Wrigley, was diagnosed with lymphoma around the same time i was diagnosed with breast cancer. he and i went through the same 4 months of chemo, right down to thursdays - the same day of the week. he was declared in remission within one week of me being told i am considered 'disease free'. he had a big mane of fur that he lost (plus most of his whiskers) and i had a long mane of hair. now he faces a year of less frequent chemo as i face a year of herceptin every 3 weeks. i like to think we walk 'hand in paw' through this cancer fight.

they interviewed me for an article for their magazine and a professional photographer came to my cabin the evening i had wrigs for a sleepover. wrigs has a Guardian Angel progress journal on their website and here is the journal entry this week by the woman who works in the clinic he lives in. my journal entry will come next week with the photos i took. i am not sure when the magazine comes out next but will post when it does.

after a really lousy night last night full of uncertainty and anger and fear about cancer, it did my heart good to see this today. the cats of Kitty Motel face all kinds of huge challenges and they adapt and live their lives never obsessing about what they have to face, which is why they've always been an inspiration to me. here's to living like a Kitty Motel cat.

here is the URL to see me and Wrigs in all our post-chemo 'glory', glad to have a night out and together!

http://www.bestfriends.org/guardiana...73D6DBE27E4969

valerie

02-24-2010, 06:43 PM	#1
v-ness Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: western ma Posts: 280	Me & the Chemo Kitty Wrigley at Best Friends Sanctuary hi - a couple weeks ago i went to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in kanab, UT for a week of R&R as a gift to myself after chemo and before radiation. i've worked as a volunteer 2x a year for a week at a time for many years in a building called Kitty Motel for special needs cats. my favorites are the incontinents and the FIV+ boys. one of 'my' boys, Wrigley, was diagnosed with lymphoma around the same time i was diagnosed with breast cancer. he and i went through the same 4 months of chemo, right down to thursdays - the same day of the week. he was declared in remission within one week of me being told i am considered 'disease free'. he had a big mane of fur that he lost (plus most of his whiskers) and i had a long mane of hair. now he faces a year of less frequent chemo as i face a year of herceptin every 3 weeks. i like to think we walk 'hand in paw' through this cancer fight. they interviewed me for an article for their magazine and a professional photographer came to my cabin the evening i had wrigs for a sleepover. wrigs has a Guardian Angel progress journal on their website and here is the journal entry this week by the woman who works in the clinic he lives in. my journal entry will come next week with the photos i took. i am not sure when the magazine comes out next but will post when it does. after a really lousy night last night full of uncertainty and anger and fear about cancer, it did my heart good to see this today. the cats of Kitty Motel face all kinds of huge challenges and they adapt and live their lives never obsessing about what they have to face, which is why they've always been an inspiration to me. here's to living like a Kitty Motel cat. here is the URL to see me and Wrigs in all our post-chemo 'glory', glad to have a night out and together! http://www.bestfriends.org/guardiana...73D6DBE27E4969 valerie __________________ 8/09 - IDC 1.8 cm triple positive, lumpectomy left breast 10/09 began chemo (taxotere & carboplatin) and weekly herceptin. 1/21/10 finished chemo, continued on herceptin every 3 weeks until 10/2010. 2/10 began 7 wks of radiation 6/10 mom dies of primary peritoneal ovarian cancer 8/10 got my last remaining ovary out 10/10 mammogram all clear 3/11 MRI shows 5 'spots' in right breast, largest 1 cm unidentifiable on US needle biopsy proved the largest to be old inflamed cyst -phew! 7/10 switched to Arimidex 8/9 switched to Femara - allergic to arimidex Femara made me lose hair quickly so switched to Aromasin Aromasin made my hair fall out too and the bone pain was too much. back on Tamoxifen 1/2013. blood clot from trains and planes 5/2014 so on coumadin per onco for as long as i am on tamoxifen tamoxifen was supposed to be up with my 5 yrs in may but my boyfriend was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer so i am staying on tamoxifen indefinitely because i want some ammo against BC, given the stress. lost my husband in only 10 wks in 2007 to stage 4 esophageal cancer. cancer's screwing with another man i love 2/2016 - 6yrs in remission, off tamoxifen and off coumadin - yay!