I have heard from many friends and family that they'd like
to stay abreast of this whole cancer business, so to speak. I've been such a boob about posting so it's
high time I get a few things off my chest.
(Yes! The breast cancer puns just
keep coming!) I do love the attention
and plan to milk it for all it's worth. (I can't stop!)
Anywhoozle, much has happened over the last few weeks: more
chemo dates, head-shaving, a makeup workshop with my favorite drag queen, my
kiddos' birthdays, a visit to Harborview emergency, London, Paris...you know,
the usual. In Part One of what I imagine
to be a three-part series of posts, we will learn what has been happening on
the chemo front, along with other notable events along the way. Here goes...
As chemo progressed, my hair started getting thinner and
thinner and it was making a mess all over the house. A clump here, a handful there. I couldn't stand to watch the slow death of
my hair and was tired of cleaning out the tub so I had my head shaved. It’s very handy that my mother-in-law does
hair for a living. She was kind enough
to open up her salon for a little shaving party followed by a lovely lunch and
a stop by the Chocolate Man. Eat your heart out, Joan Lunden!
I have a wig that I can wear, which doesn’t look so bad in
this photo, but it drives me crazy and makes me feel very self-conscious so I
usually just wear a hat. I’m not going
to lie, I miss my hair a lot. Probably
more than I should. Darn vanity.
The next day after shaving my head, I joined my amazing
belly dance students for a Making Strides walk in Tacoma to raise money for
breast cancer research. There were about
25 of us, I believe, all in pink jingly coin belts. I think we were the 3rd highest
fundraising group? It was amazing and
randomly, my best buddy from high school, Cedric, happened to be there. It felt so incredible to walk with my kids,
my husband, and so many people I love.
We were a force to contend with! Thank you especially to Michele Loveday for organizing.
The next day after that, I hosted a makeup workshop with the
irrepressible Atasha Manila. Atasha
performs at Inay’s Filipino restaurant among other places and is one of the
most creative, most hilarious, most big-hearted performers I know. The Inay’s show includes about a zillion
costume changes and so much exuberant raunchiness that my jaw usually aches
from laughing by the end of the night.
When not Atasha, he is Louie and he happens to be a professionally
trained, very talented makeup artist. It
was wonderful to share a ridiculously fun afternoon with him and several sweet
women.
Sometimes I feel like the luckiest breast cancer fighter in the world to have Atasha in my life: who better to understand how to use wigs and fake boobs to feel like a woman? Smoke and mirrors, baby. I love you SO MUCH, Louie!
My mother-in-law joined me for Chemo Date #8. She was so kind to bring me gifts including a
box of chocolate from the aforementioned Chocolate Man. (I accuse my mom of being an addict, but I
apparently am no better!) The details of
this chemo date are a bit fuzzy because it was about at this point that I had
not slept well for several weeks, had been fighting a 40-day cold, and was
accidentally overdosing on Ambien. More
on that in the next blog entry (ooooo…foreshadowing!). However, I remember it being a very nice time
and we were also grateful that she came back to Olympia with me and helped us
take care of the kids, along with making a giant casserole. She rocks.
That weekend, we celebrated the kids’ 1st and 4th
birthdays. They were born three years
and 1 day apart and while they are small, we’re getting away with combining
their birthdays (thank goodness!) The
party had a lion theme, complete with homemade tissue paper lion faces and
goodie bags, a lion cake and lion cupcakes.
Carter came down with a little bug so he ended up quarantined in his
room. In a way, that was okay because Lovisa really had a chance to shine. We celebrated more the following week to make
up for it.
So you might be wondering at this point how I am doing so
much while undergoing chemotherapy? Participating
in a breast cancer walk, hosting a makeup workshop, throwing a party for the
kiddos, all while running a consulting business, teaching dance, being a
parent, and suffering from horrible insomnia and other debilitating effects of
chemo. It turns out that was not such a good idea. Again, more on that in the next blog
entry. (The suspense!)
Chemo Date #9 was with my dear friend Gabriele. She started as one of my students but really,
our relationship goes far beyond its roots.
We braved Helene Ericksen’s Anar Dana dance program together and have
also had fun adventures such as seeing the Shen Yun Dance Company. I adore Gabriele. She is the perfect mix of sweetness and
spice. And Gabriele, if you are reading
this, honestly, the henna party was the first time I’ve ever been to Len’s
house! You have nothing to worry about! teehee
Chemo Date #10 was with my little mom again who was cute and
supportive as always. I should also
mention that at this point, it was becoming a regular thing that I was getting
hooked up with my most favorite nurse for my chemo treatments. I originally met her as Michelle (see earlier blog post) and Mitch,
as she is now known, is like family. But even cooler. She’s smart, quick, and chic. Stars aligned and she just happens to get
assigned to me over and over. I love it!
The last two chemo appointments including today’s I have
done on my own. Because I haven’t been
having allergic reactions, they’ve been able to remove Benadryl from my list of
pre-meds. That means, I can drive
myself! And I can use the chemo time to
work, write, read and simply be quiet.
Heaven.
I’m now done with the first 12 rounds of chemo that included
Taxol. Week after next, I start the AC regimen for 4 treatments, every other
week. This one is supposed to be a
little more brutal, but at least it’s not every week. After that, I will be having surgery to
remove my left breast (February) and will start radiation in about late
March. There’s much more to go, but at
least we’re making progress. Next entry:
my visit to Harborview, and then in the entry after that, I’ll take us to
Paris, London and Bath which will be a much cheerier subject. Stay tuned!
Leaving with a parting shot...my dad photobombing me and my sis after we went to dinner with him. He should have had more than sliders with that wine. Just sayin'.
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ReplyDeleteAmira, only you can make a blog post about cancer that is happy, positive, and fun to read! You are such an amazing, strong woman. I am blessed to have such a great role model in my life. Thank you so much for sharing your updates. Please know that my family and I are always here to support you. I know Zeus can't wait to see you again soon! Looking forward to part two and three. Much love, Anastasia
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