It’s jeff: Just wanted to provide an update for anyone following the blog. I’ve gotten several texts from UCSF medical center saying “procedure is going well”. There’s not much else to say. It may still be several hours before she is out of the operation. Sheryl’s sister Laura is with me at the hospital.
Ready for surgery!
Jeff, Sven and I are at the hospital. It’s 5:30am so we are tired. But I’m so glad the day is finally here. Jeff will post an update but it may not be until late afternoon California time.
Surgery is at 7:30. It’s going to be about 5 hours and then recovery time.
Surgery is tomorrow!
I’m super ready and happy surgery is tomorrow. Yesterday I had to go to UCSF for a pre-surgery blood test. They gave me this “patient locator.”
It’s a big place and I did get a bit lost, but not so bad they needed this pager thing. After, we met up with my sister Laura which was so great.
Today was a liquid diet and some meds which I am not a fan of.
Tomorrow we have to be at the hospital at 5:30am. Without coffee Jeff may need to carry me into the hospital.
Surgery is at 7:30am. Jeff will update the blog tomorrow. It will be a long day so it may be later in the afternoon before there are updates.
Thank you all for reading and supporting us. By this time tomorrow I should be recovering and cancer – free!
Surgery countdown with Sven
We are flying to San Francisco today (Monday). Packing took longer than expected when I told Sven he had to go in my suitcase.
He was expecting to walk on the plane.
When I told him he had to go in my suitcase he said he had anxiety. Luckily I had just the thing.
This calmed him down as did some sloth yoga.
He calls this pose Downward Facing Sloth.
Finally he agreed and we were able to go to the airport.
Cancer 2.0 Countdown to Surgery
So good news/bad new. The bad news is that my cancer came back in February of this year 2024.
But, the good news is that I can have surgery to remove it. The surgery will be Sept 26, so a week away. It will be in San Francisco as UCSF. I was treated there three years ago when this all started and feel really good about the care I will get there.
We are currently in Panama but Jeff and I will fly to San Fran next week. I’ll be in the hospital for a few days and then in an Air BnB to recover. My sister Laura lives there and my parents and my other sister Jenny will come up. And of course Jeff will be with me.
Here is the other good news. I know this doesn’t sound like good news, but in the cancer world it it is.
- I was cancer free for one year and nine months. That means (according to the doctors) the first chemo worked. This still sounds weird to me. If it worked why did it coome back? But anything over six months is considered working.
- I had more chemo this last year and it also worked. Again how did it work if the tumor is still there? The chemo did shrunk it, so that is good news.
- They can do surgery. When I was rediagnosed in February, the tumor was too close to the ureter (tube connecting the kidney to the bladder). But, thanks to chemo it can be safely removed now.
- Chemo wasn’t that bad. I decided not to blog about it this time because it was pretty similar to last time and frankly, I was lazy. But it was about the same, maybe even a little easier this time.
- After surgery I can go on a maitenance drug that should keep it away. The drug Avastin is something they can only give you if you reoccur which is why I didn’t get it the first time. But, it’s supposed to help keep it from coming back. I have been on it waiting for this surgery. It’s not bad, I don’t have any side effects.
- Sven is still my support sloth so he will be there to help with recovery.
- I know all of you reading this will be there virually with me cheering me on.
One Year Cancer Free!
It’s been one year since I had the hysterectomy. Not only was the surgery where they found cancer, it was also where they removed it which means I’m a year cancer free!! I still have a year of close monitoring to make sure it’s gone forever, but I’m feeling good and getting back to normal.
As I took this picture, Sven noticed I was wearing my sloth tank top and socks. He said he should be the sloth with the most pictures on this blog and asked me to post his vacation photos from our trip to Colombia.
Sven had a great vacation but is happy to be back in Panama.
In Colombia!
We made it to Colombia. So far we love it. Our Airbnb has this bamboo which Sven is enjoying.
I’m going to update my other blog with Colombia posts. Here is the link to my other blog.
Heading to Colombia
Jeff and I are flying to Colombia for a two week vacation.
Sven helped us pack which was good since we’re out of practice.
We had to say no when Sven tried to pack his favorite leaf casserole. He doesn’t believe us that there are leaves in Colombia.
Once he got settled in my suitcase he fell asleep and didn’t see us take out his leaves.
Getting back to normal
We’ve spent the last two weeks settling back into normal life. It feels great to not be thinking about Wasabi or upcoming medical stuff.
My hair is back to its normal color thanks to Jeff’s hair coloring expertise. I’ve also learned to embrace my waves vs fighting them thanks to curl coaching from my friend Julie.
I finally wore one of my wigs when Rolf and Samuel hosted a murder mystery party.
This is the last week at my job and then we take off for a two week vacation in Colombia.
Excited to have more things to blog about soon.
Sloth friends forever
Sven had his friend Stanley visiting this week. They are friends from way back in the rain forest.
Due to covid it’s been a few years since they saw each other so they had a lot to catch up on.
But, being sloths. They talked for awhile but then took naps.
They have spent the last few days hanging out, watching movies and enjoying the view.
They did some yoga.
Their form needs work.
Sven spent time cooking Stanley’s favorite leaf casserole.
We weren’t crazy about him using our stove because we feared he would fall asleep.
He offered us some but we declined.
We weren’t sure where Stanley would sleep since our apartment is small, but they made bunk beds.
Stanley had such a good time he’s decided to look for work in the city, so hopefully he will visit again soon.