View Single Post
Old 05-19-2012, 12:06 PM   #13
CoolBreeze
Senior Member
 
CoolBreeze's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 562
Re: Stopping Working

Thanks for all the great ideas. I'm taking them all to heart. And, focusing on my health is something that I am going to take literally. I eat pretty much cupcakes and candy now - I'm quite underweight which worries my doctor. I never had a sweet tooth before either. So my first order of business will be to get back to healthful eating the way I used to and try to bring my calorie count up.

Then I will try to get out once a day. Take my dog for a walk maybe although she is so routine oriented that if I do it twice at the same time, she'll start to beg at the same time every day. (She's a greyhound). On days I don't feel well, I can't have her jumping around me!

I plan to volunteer with the school and do their webpages still so maybe I can go in a few afternoons a week and just do that or anything else they need. There is plenty of work to go around, I know. I will have to be careful not to step on my replacement's toes.

I can finish my scrapbooks that I started. I must not like scrapbooking as much as I think I do since I have finished only one book in ten years. Maybe I'll look into digital scrapbooking.

So many people have told me to turn my blog into a book. That seems an impossible tasks - a blog is a blog and a book is something very different. But, maybe I'll take a look at it although everybody who has suggested it has to promise to buy a copy.

And, I will expand my webpresence. i started by adding a little forum (PM me if you want to know) and I am going to try to maybe make a little money somehow.

I think the important thing will be not to get up, get on the computer and stay there. I have to get showed and dressed daily, make myself a breakfast and plan to do something every day. Maybe if I write a schedule out it would help.

I appreciate all of your ideas and your advice. It's funny, before I had this job, at any time in the past, I would have said, "Bye-bye" with no problems. But, this job was special and it was my home and after 45 years of working to have found the place you know you belong and have that taken away from you - it's hard. But, I have agonized about it enough, I made my decision and I have told everybody.

So, hopefully I will find my post-work life rewarding as well and also healthy!
__________________
http://butdoctorihatepink.com

08/17/09 Dx'd.
Multifocal/multicentric IDC, largest 3.4 cm, associated ADH, LCIS, DCIS
HER2+ ER+/PR- Grade 3, Node Negative

10/20/2009: Right mastectomy, reconstruction with TE
12/02/2009: Six rounds TCH, switched to Taxol halfway through due to neuropathy
03/31/2010: Finished chemo
05/01/2010: Began tamoxifen, the worst drug ever
11/18/2010: Reconstruction completed
12/02/2010: Finished herceptin
05/21/2011: Liver Mets. Quit Tamoxifen
06/22/2011: Navelbine/Zometa/Herceptin
10/03/2011: Liver Resection, left lobe. Microwave ablation, right lobe - going for cure!
11/26/2011: C-Diff Superbug Infection, "worst case doctor had seen in 20 years"
03/28/2012: Progression in ablated section of the liver - no more cure. Started Abraxane, continue herceptin/zometa
10/10/2012: Progression continues, started Halaven, along with herceptin and zometa.
01/15/2013: Progression continues, started Gemzar and Perjeta, an unusual combo, continuing with herceptin and zometa
03/13/2013: Quit Gemzar, body just won't handle it. Staying on herceptin, zometa and perjeta.
04/03/2013: CT shows 50% regression in tumor, so am starting back on Gemzar with dose reduction, staying with perjeta/herceptin/zometa. Can't argue with success!
05/09/2013: Discussing SBRT with Radiology due to inability of bone marrow to recover from chemo.
06/07/2013: Fiducial placement for SBRT
07/03/2013: Chemo discontinued, on Perjeta, Herceptin and Zometa alone
07/25/2013: SBRT (gamma knife) begins
08/01/2013: SBRT completed
08/15/2013: STABLE! continuing with Perjeta, Herceptin, Zometa
06/18/2014: ***** NED!!!!***** continuing with Perjeta, Herceptin, Zometa
01/29/2014: Still NED. continuing with Perjeta, Herceptin. Zometa lowered to every 3 months instead of monthly.
11/08/2015: Progression throughout abdomen and lungs. Started TDM-1, aka Kadcyla. Other meds discontinued. Remission was nice while it lasted.

5/27/18: Stable. Kadcyla put me right back in the barn. I have two teeny spots on my lungs that are metabolically inactive, and liver is clean.

I’m beating this MFer. I was 51 when this started and had two kids, 22 and 12. Now I’m 60. My oldest got married and trying to start s family. My youngesg graduates from Caltech this June. My stepdaughter gave me grandkids. Life is fantastic.
CoolBreeze is offline   Reply With Quote