Cancer, Chemo and What I Wore Part 4

Thank you, Charles M. Schulz

Stick a fork in me, I'm DONE!!!!!!

Yes, today was my fourth and final chemo session. I never thought I would be excited to go to chemo, which tells you how surreal this whole experience has been. Get yourself a cup of coffee or a glass of wine (Raise one for me, will you? I'm still off booze for 3 weeks), this is going to be a long one...

First thing, of course, is what I wore. I finished hemming my Vogue 1089 at 8:00 this morning (my appointment was at 9:15). Here I am in it, avec pink wig and a pair of pink stiletto mules by Andrea Pfister. I wasn't able to find any new shoes I liked before my last session, so I went with these. They are nice shoes, but they are several years old, and they have been my go-to date night shoes in the spring and summer since I bought them. Date night around here usually means going into Boston. Going into Boston means walking on (and frequently falling in between) cobblestones, so the heels are more beat than I like, hence no closeups. For jewelry, I wore a necklace my husband gave me for our 15th anniversary.

Full makeup, and leg makeup (no stockings today).

I'll do a review on it later, but let me just say, this fabric was an absolute JOY to sew. It has a wonderful hand and it's just beautiful. It has a lot of stretch too, so you may want to go down in size a bit when working with this or its sister fabric. Like I say, more later.

Of course, for the first time ever, traffic was terrible, so I was late, but I called to let them know. When I got there, my doctor took me right in, did the usual workup and then brought me into the chemo room. Everyone was running in to see my wig and outfit, and all the patients were asking me where I got the wig. It really does bring a smile to everyone's face, including mine. Hookup and drip per usual, no problems. DH took a picture of me working entering orders.

 Have you ever seen anyone look so happy at chemotherapy?

I brought my Hermes scarf and hung it on the IV pole like a knight's battle standard. The staff was laughing every time they walked by. I also brought a huge box of Godiva chocolates for the staff. I think I got fave rave patient of the day. Everything was uneventful. In fact, I was finished about an hour before I expected. YAY!!!! Big shout out to Winchester Hospital's staff and the Medical Oncology staff at Montvale in Stoneham. As I said to them, "You guys made a sucky experience a whole lot less sucky." We were all giving each other hugs and kisses and high fives as I left. Here's hoping we blasted the little bastard into oblivion.

Some Thoughts and Helpful Hints (I hope)
It is my most fervent hope that none of my readers ever have to go through this, but if the unthinkable happens to you, there are a few things to keep in mind. I'll keep it on the light side:

The bad things about Chemotherapy
Well, the whole Cancer thing kind of really sucks
Your hair falls out. Adding insult to injury, in my case, only the non-gray fell out!
You keep asking, WTF? Like when they tell you
"You need to use barrier contraception while you're on chemo." (uh, what???)
"No salads, berries or raw food that can't be thoroughly washed and peeled"
"You shouldn't have manicures or pedicures" (that's a no-go in my world, sorry)

The good things about Chemotherapy - Believe it or not, there are some
Showers/morning prep take a lot less time.
You save a lot of money on razor blades.
You don't need to worry about bikini waxing.
Makeup application becomes easier - no worries about blending to the hairline.
You can change your hairstyle/color every day if you want.

A couple of things to keep in mind also to help you out if you do have to go through this. First, never feel like you're being a bother if you have questions. The doctors and nurses are there to help you. They want you to get better.  They want you to have the information you need to make an informed decision.

Second, try to find the humor and joy in these situations. It's there, and it will get you through the tough time. Silly things like pink wigs, "giving the big fangou to the big C", adopting songs like "It Sucks to be Me" as your theme song... things like that take the edge off, both for you and for those around you.

Third, allow yourself some self-pity. My friend Marilyn, who is coming up on her 6th anniversary, told me, "Give yourself 20 minutes a day or when you feel you need it. Then dust yourself off and get back to living." I found that spin class is a great time to indulge in a self-pity party. The lights are down low, and everyone is sweating so if you're crying it just looks like you're sweating heavily. Don't sob though. That's a dead giveaway.

Finally, lean on those around you. Larry, my husband, has been my rock and a godsend through this whole thing. My kids, family, neighbors and friends have all rallied around. Even getting little notes and emails from folks has been so helpful keeping my spirits up.  I couldn't do it without them (and you!). Take the help and support they offer. Of course, every time someone says, "Let me know what I can do to help." I say, "Well, my basement needs cleaning." The basement still needs cleaning. Sigh...

About Those Damned Pink Ribbons
I think if you ask any breast cancer patient, the vast majority will tell you the same thing. Forget the Pink Ribbon. Wear one if it makes you feel better, but buying something that has a pink ribbon on it? Don't bother. The amount of funds those things actually send to charities that need it is minuscule. And if you read the fine print, most of them say that they are sending a percentage to the charity after expenses, overhead, royalties and whatever are taken out. People slap pink ribbons on items for marketing purposes. I'm all for marketing services and products. But if you really want to make a difference, don't buy something because it has a pink ribbon on it. Write a check, large or small, to the breast cancer charity of your choice. They'll put that money directly to good use. All of it. And they won't have to wait the better part of a year, if ever, to get the moneys from the company. And besides, by sending a check directly to the charity, YOU get to take the tax deduction, not some fatcat.

Parting Shot: Freedom!!!!!
How I really feel today

Happy sewing!

Work is Progressing on the Dress

I heard back from the Etsy vendor. She's been having health issues (what the hell is going on these days?) so she's behind on getting things out. I decided to use another pattern that I have in my stash, Vogue 1089 by Badgley Mischka Platinum:

 It's not exactly what I wanted, but I think it's cute. I did my usual FBA and started with a 12 at the shoulders tapering out to a 14 at the bottom of the bodice. I made a muslin of the bodice and it fits really well, so I started cutting. So far there are a couple of changes that I'm making. First - I'm not putting on any of the crafty shit embellishments they show on the pattern. I like the fabric plain. Next, if you take a look at the tech drawing here:

You can see that the midriff is made of two bands. When I made the muslin I found that there is no shaping done in the seaming. I figure it is there to make placement of the crafty shit embellishment easier. I decided that I'd rather have the full amount of real estate to showcase the fabric, rather than break it up by unnecessary seaming. So here's the resulting muslin pattern:

I spent much of the afternoon going cross eyed trying to match the florals across the seamlines. I also decided to self-line the bodice and just use the skirt and midriff pieces for the lining, rather than using the facings and princess-line lining that Vogue provides. The fabric is light enough to do that and I like the idea of attaching the lining at the waistline rather than letting it hang loose. I'm going to line the skirt with a stretch silk charmeuse I have in my stash. I'm hoping to get the vast majority of it sewn up tomorrow, let it hang on Tuesday and then hem it on Wednesday. Fingers crossed. I still have to find some fabulous shoes.

Parting Words: I debated long and hard about whether I want to weigh in on this subject, and the answer is yes and no. Many readers are discussing, rather animatedly, a certain web site. I think it's time to give it a rest, friends. Love the place or no, it's just getting old at this point. Let's all get back to sewing. I'm going to moderate any comments about said site into oblivion. So let's all go make some gorgeous outfits with Gorgeous Fabrics, then blog all about them!

More later. Meanwhile, happy sewing!

Hmmmmmm...

I may have to drop back and punt on the fabulous vintage dress. I ordered the pattern over a week ago but there has been no sign of it, and I haven't been able to get a response from the Etsy seller. I was hoping to fit the muslin this weekend and hopefully have it done well in time for my final session (YAY!!!!!) next Thursday. As it is I may head up to JoAnn tonight while DH and the boys are swimming and see what I like.

Pfooey - I hate it when things like this happen.

Not Like I Have a Choice

Yesterday I called Emmett to wish him a Happy Easter. On a side note - I think he's having a big sale at the store this weekend. So if you're in NoLiTa, stop by his store at 240 Elizabeth Street, between Houston and Prince. Tell him I sent you!

Anyway, back to the navel-gazing subject at hand. We were talking and at one point he said to me, "Ann, you have the most amazing attitude. I mean, really!" Many people have said similar to me, and I thank each and everyone for the supportive words.

But the plain fact is, what choice do I have?

I'm not saying that in any self pitying way. On December 6, 2009, my own day that will live in infamy, I received a diagnosis of early stage breast cancer. On that day, I joined a reluctant sisterhood. I'm hopeful that I'm one of the luckier members.

From the moment I got the call from my surgeon, my mind kicked into fight and survive mode. I'm Irish, as you all know. I never back down from a fight (as some have found out), and this is no exception. I have a lot to fight for: my husband, two sons and my friends and family - near, far and Internet. I hope to be around for a very long time to bounce my sons' kids on my knee. I'm certainly not going to let some bastardized cells stop me.

The way I face big scary things like this is to set my spine, get as much information as I can, consult with people who know a lot about these things and then make decisions. I also hit the gym. A lot. I've found that keeping up my level of physical activity helps me keep my spirits up and keep things in perspective. After my surgery, no one told me I wasn't supposed to start lifting weights again, so I did. It's helped quite a lot. Just knowing that I can lift the same amount of weight that I did pre-surgery helps me feel like there's still something a little normal in my life. Same with spin and aerobics class. And the Hoovinator has been getting lots of regular walks.

I also take every opportunity to laugh in the face of this thing. The wigs (it's all about the accessories!) are one example. Today's a Pink Wig Day. I can't wait to put it on. It makes everyone smile, which is a good thing. Same with dressing up for my chemotherapy treatments. I could go to chemo in sweats and sneakers, but screw that. As Nikki observed, it's my way of flipping the bird at cancer. One of my friends said, "I may have cancer but it doesn't have me." There you go.

Another outlet for me is singing. I haven't done as much of that as I would like lately, but I've started working again with Bill, my vocal coach. One of the adverse effects of chemotherapy is that it tends to dry you out, which affects the quality of your voice. That's temporary, though, and I hope to be back to the full sing swing this fall. Right now I've been working mostly on Messrs. Mozart and Handel. I'd like to get a recital together for this fall or winter. And I want to find a group to sing with.

And of course, there's sewing. I'm waiting to receive the pattern I ordered. While I wait, I think I'll make a little skirt today. Something preppy, springy and fun. I think I'm going to make it from this Patchwork Madras Cotton:

I think I'll just make a little A-line type mini. Hopefully I'll have it done today and wear it tomorrow, since it's supposed to be up in the 70s.

I'll share one final story with you. 20 years ago my dad was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. Nasty stuff, really bad. The disease took two years to kill him, but the fact is, he died that day at Mass General when the doctor told him it was cancer. The rest of the time was just him waiting, in fear. I promised myself that I would not be like that under similar circumstances. And I'm not going to go quietly. Hopefully I'm not going anywhere for a very long time. Except out to the kitchen to get more coffee.

Happy sewing!

Rethinking that Decision

I pulled the Tracy Reese pattern out and started analyzing it. I may rethink it now. There are 16 pattern pieces for the main dress. That's not a problem in itself, but after looking at them, I'm afraid the floral would be so distorted/chopped up by the lines of the dress that it won't really look good. It's a bold floral, but it still is a discernible floral. I still really like the Tracy Reese, but I think it would benefit from either a REALLY BIG floral or a more abstract design, like they show on the pattern envelope cover.

Now to figure out what to use...

What Next, What Next?

Now, of course, I start to stress about what to wear to the final chemo session in 3 weeks. Whatever it is, I want it to be springy and I want to wear it with my pink wig. I have 4 yards of this gorgeous Stretch Silk/Cotton blend from (natch) Gorgeous Fabrics:

My next (last!) session is April 15. Tax day and chemo day, how fun ... not. But both will be over by the end of the day, so that's all good! I want to make a dress, so I need to make some decisions on patterns. I haven't gone through my back issues of Burda, though I think there are some possibilities there. Let's take a look at a couple of commercial patterns.
Vogue:
I'm kinda loving this Kay Unger pattern

I already have this Tracy Reese in my stash

Since I have 4 yards, I can go with something fuller skirted, which is always nice for spring. So this Vogue Options is a possibility

I am thinking the sleeveless version. It's usually pretty warm in the chemo room.

Burda:
I could always go for the popular Wilma look

I'd go for the version with the shoulder strap.

This one get's more interesting when you look at the technical drawing..

McCalls:
I already own This Pattern

But I'm afraid the print will get too disrupted by the lines of the design.

I'm leaning toward the Tracy Reese. I can muslin it up pretty quickly and maybe (maybe) even have something ready in time for Easter.

Oh, but I need to get a fabulous pair of heels to wear with it. I LOVE the ones Gertie is wearing in this post.

These Paul Smiths from Zappos are really cute. I just wish I could find them in a lower price category.

Maybe I'll scour the mall (shudder!) this weekend and see what Nordstroms has.

Oh, and whatever I decide to wear? The Pink Wig is topping it all off!

Happy sewing!

Cancer, Chemo and What I Wore Part 3

Three of Four!!! I only have one session left. So today, I decided to once again go in full warpaint and body armor. Today's dress is from my BFAM Emmett. I wore his "Farrah" dress, fishnets and my Stuart Weitzman sand suede pumps. Fierce!. To top it off, I wore a necklace I inherited from my MIL and my Sonya bracelets from St. Croix. Emmett says I look like "That Girl". Kewl!

Oh yes, and the long red wig made an appearance. It was a close race between the short blonde wig and the long red, but the short blonde scuttled off, yelping, into a corner at one glance from the long red wig. I think I need a long blonde or brown wig so we can have a Divas vs Dames style cage match.

Today wasn't too bad. I'm wiped out, but I managed to get a lot of work done. All swatch orders that came in today and yesterday will go out tomorrow. Also I'm behind on shipping updates, but aside from the swatches and two international orders, everything has shipped out.

Back to today. I arrived early and went right in for my hookup. One funny story is that Lenora, the nurse, looked at my veins and said, "Wow, nice veins!" My response was, "After 20 plus years of at least 4 workouts per week, I'd hope so!" Seriously, phlebotomists love me. Whenever I hear someone complaining about celebrities' veiny hands, I want to say, "For crying out loud! They probably work out 8 days a week. You're would look like that too!"

Chemo Buddies! I had two companions with me today, too

When in doubt, fall back on logic and make it work! Tim came from Emmett - there are still talking bobble heads available! Mr. Spock has a fun story too. I had to get my blood labs done yesterday in prep for today. The lab tech who did it was a really nice guy, and he had a huge collage on his wall of pictures of his family, house, Marvel comic characters, Heros characters, and lots of other neat stuff. On the windowsill next to the chair, he had these little Star Trek characters. I was talking to him about them and how much I liked them. Then we got talking about Star Trek and he and I shared out inner Trek geeks. Did you know that R2D2 makes a cameo appearance in the new Star Trek Movie? He goes flying across the screen during the first battle between Enterprise and the Romulan ship. It's true! You can see it on the DVD or on YouTube. Anyway, once we finished, he asked me, "Who's your favorite character?" I responded, "Spock, of course." So he handed me Spock and said, "He's yours." I was so touched, I gave him a big hug!

Like I say, I'm wiped. I hope you had a great day. I'm signing off for a while.

This Week's Color is.....

Long red!

Larry says I look like I should have a couple of stakes in my hand and go vampire huntin'. Now the debate is which to wear Thursday - blonde or long red?

On a totally different subject, last night was opening night for the high school's production of "Titanic, the Musical" (yeah, it's a real laugh fest). DS the Elder plays Fleet, the lookout who spots the iceberg. He has a solo, and if I may be a proud mama for a moment, he nailed it! His intonation was dead on and his acting was great. DS the younger plays a first class child passenger. He didn't leave a dry eye in the house in the scene where he has to get in the lifeboat and leave his "dad" behind. Here are links to the pictures of each of them, taken by Photoherald.com

DS the Elder in the crow's nest


DS the Younger leaving his "dad"

The shirt is all done but the buttons. Yeah - I know - it's been a week, but I've been flat out running kids to rehearsals and stuff. Today. Today...

Happy sewing!

Pink!

I got my Weekend Wig today! There's something about pink bobbed wigs that I have always loved. Now I have a reason to have one, so I jumped on it! I got this from Wigs.com. NAYY, I'm just really happy with them and it. I could see getting a whole wardrobe! It's all about the accessories. Dolly Parton and Racquel Welch may be on to something.

The only problem of course, is that all my makeup is geared towards being a redhead. So I need to head to MAC to buy some lipstick (I'm thinking the Lady Gaga Viva Glam) and blush. Fabulosity must be served, n'est-ce pas?

Happy sewing! I'll be heading back into the sewing room this weekend myself.

3/7/10 - I did go and get my makeup done to match better. You would not believe the surreptitious looks and out and out stares people give you when you walk through the mall with pink hair. I had the big sunglasses and full strut on as I did, so I'm sure people were wondering who the hell I was. :) I told the folks at MAC about the wig and its whyfors and they were all totally into it! They told me to come back with the blond wig and they'd show me how to tweak what I got with the pink to make it more neutral.

I had dinner at BFF Barb's last night and she snapped a pic with the phone.

Cancer, Chemo and What I Wore Part 2

 Fabulosity abounds, even during tough times...

Today was my second treatment. The leadup to it was nowhere near as excruciating as the first one. I knew what to expect. I still slept pretty poorly last night and I'm paying the price, but it'll be okay.

But before I tell you about that, let me tell you about the wig buying experience I had this week! My hair started falling out two weeks to the day after my first treatment. That's pretty much the norm. It wasn't so bad the first day, it got a little more the second day, and by Saturday, the night of DH's gig at Foxwoods, it was really bad. I had to be very careful styling it to make sure I didn't pull it out. I had told DH that I would be happy to shave it off after Saturday, but I wanted to still have it that night. It lasted, no problem.

By Monday, I felt like Charlie Brown's Christmas Tree

Thank you, Charles Shulz!

Everywhere I went, I left a trail. You wouldn't lose me in a forest. By Tuesday I had had enough. The hospital recommended someone who works closely with them. I scoped out wig styles online with Phyllis' help and picked out a few styles to show her. My friend Lisa, who is a hair stylist, came with me for support and advice. When the lady came out, I watched her size me up, in a couple of different ways, and I got a bad impression. She had me sit down in the chair. My hair was wrapped in a scarf, so she said, "Let's see what we've got to work with." I took off the scarf, dropping needles, er, hair all over as I did. She did a quick look.

"Okay, you've got your hair still so we'll match the color to it."

"No - I want to change it up. This is too dark. I want lighter. I was even thinking strawberry blonde."

"Oh no. You're not going strawberry blonde."

I looked at Lisa; Lisa looked at me and the communication was obvious. This was going to be trouble. The wig lady pulled out a wig and put it on me.

"This is perfect for you. The color, the cut, everything."

Now, I was not about to just say yes to the first wig I saw. I wanted to try on every style and every color and see what suited me. I'll just say, she wasn't really wild about that. And I had Lisa take pictures with my phone so we could send them to Emmett for his BFAM approval. Here are the rejects first:

Ann tries out for Bravo's new show "Real Housewives of Lexington, MA"

Wig lady was all, "That looks great on you."
I was all, "No, it just isn't fabulous enough."
Lisa was laughing

This was the next one she put on me:

Clearly the look on my face is "You have GOT to be kidding." Emmett called me immediately and said, "Ann, you look like you just got f*cked in a hayloft. NO."
I couldn't get it off fast enough.

I tried on wig after wig after wig. Nothing suited. Wig lady was getting agitated and I was getting snarkier by the moment at her. Not a good combination. Finally she pulled out the first wig I tried on:

Much better, and close to my pre-cancerous hair.

Then she pulled out this one, which I think could be totally fun!

Wigs.com has it in stock, so I think I'll order it from them. Keep DH guessing who he's coming home to, you know?

Okay, so back to What I Wore
As I mentioned, today was round 2 of 4. I'm halfway done, babies!!!! Once again it wasn't bad, but this one really wore me out. I was exhausted when I got home.

Barbara, my hairstylist, trimmed and styled my wig so it's much much better. I wore full-on makeup, which, as a silver lining, is much easier to apply when you are bald. Do a perfect job, pop on the wig, style with your fingers and you are ready to go! I wore my Orange Vogue Dress. Note that the bracelet length sleeves are the perfect length for IV sticks. I put a lot of thought into that, babies! And check this out. I bought myself an absolutely fabulous pair of Giuseppe Zanotti shoes from Rue La La.

Fierce times call for Fierce Shoes. And these are surprisingly comfortable. There's lots of room in the toe box, and the heels, while 3 1/2 inches, are mitigated by a hidden 1/2 inch platform. Love. Them! Here's a picture of the whole schmeer, taken by DH when he came to join me for lunch.

Yep, I sit at chemo and enter orders and fabrics. How mundane, eh? But at least I looked good! All the nurses and staff were coming in to see what I was wearing and they all wanted to steal my shoes. My oncologist wants me to make her my dress, but in black. Even the patients were saying nice things about the way I was dressed! If you have to go through something sucky like this, at least do it with style.

Parting Shot: One Last Pic of the Ladies

The ladies sent Larry a picture of all of them together in the Green Room before the show. I think they all look fab!

Cancer, Chemo, and What I Wore

With all due apologies to Ilene Beckerman.

Yesterday I had my first chemo treatment. This all came as a bit of a surprise. The results from the surgery and pathology were great, but just as I was getting ready to set up for radiation, my oncologist called. It turns out there was a genetic marker that raised a red flag for her, so she wanted to send a sample out for more testing. The test took two weeks to get back. Thank god for my husband and his healthcare, which covered the test.  The test came back indicating that there is a double digit chance of distant recurrence in 10 years. Frankly, even small single digit percentages give me hives when you attach them to the words "distant recurrence", so I told her "Let's do it. I bought myself an Hermes scarf in case it came back that way." So there you are. I specifically asked to have the chemo late in the week so any feeling yucky would happen over the weekend. But that meant that I had to wait one more week.

Now, One More Week in cancer-land is one more week of worrying and sleepless nights. I watched my father die of cancer, and I saw my mother-in-law go through hell with chemotherapy for her metastatic breast cancer. I'm normally a very happy person (yes, with an undercurrent of smug snarkiness, but I rein in most of my nasty tendencies). But let me tell you - a total of three weeks waiting to get hooked up to an IV dripping poison into my veins? Hmmm, that sucked, big time. It also sapped my sewing mojo, thus helping to explain my woeful lack of progress on the Chanel Jacket. For Wednesday, the weather people were forecasting the second coming of Snowmaggedon, which threatened to postpone it further. I'll tell you, I have never had so many sleepless nights in my life.

Fortunately, the snowstorm failed to materialize in Boston and life went along as usual. I slept terribly the night before, and to say that I was a panic sandwich is a gross understatement. Heart racing, blood pressure about 20 points above normal (seriously), I walked into the room and got hooked up. And...
Nothing. No bad feeling, no pain, no nasty side effects. Just 6 hours of me working online, entering fabrics, answering customer emails and catching up on paperwork. That's it? My god, how far we've come from my childhood "Movie of the Week" horror show about how sick people are, and how far we've come since my father (18 years ago) and my mother-in-law (10 years ago) were going through this.

I realize that things may change. I have three more sessions to go. Hopefully that will be enough to blast the little bugger out of me for good. Hopefully I'll feel this way after each session. They warned me that I would probably not sleep well thanks to the steroids, but last night I slept like a log. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and keeping my spirits up.

So, What did I wear?
No pictures on me, sorry. I thought about it, but decided not to. I've found that the best way to face something Big and Scary is with utter fabulosity of dress. So I dug through my closet and came up with this:

 

What is better at battling Big and Scary things than Scooby Doo and Thelma (IMO the unsung heroine of the Scooby Gang), so I picked out my "We've Got Some Work to Do Now" tee (available from Threadless - NAYY, I just LOVE my shirt). With that I wore a belt I got last summer and my Rich and Skinny Jeans (a girl can dream, right?). Last, but not least, I wore my ponyskin mules. I'll tell you, I was the fashion hit at the clinic. All the nurses were coming over to see the shirt and mules. I think I set the bar. Forget about cancer, now I'll be stressing out for the next three weeks over my wardrobe choice for the next session.

While I was sitting there entering orders, DH came in with a package that had arrived at home. It was a beautiful present from my dear friend Bill! He and his partner own the Farmhouse Store in Westfield, NJ, a beautiful little boite with all sorts of treasures. If you are in the area, you must stop in! Anyway, Bill sent me this wonderful ring to cheer me up:

Is that fabulous or what? Thank you Bill! The timing was impeccable and it was a huge hit with all the nurses! And yes, every girl needs bling when she's feeling scared.

For makeup, I went full-on warpaint. All of it: foundation, blush, full eye makeup with liner (inner and outer lids), tons of mascara and lipstick. If I'm going to kick this thing's ass I'm going to look good doing it. I took extra time styling my hair too. Might as well while I still have a full head of it, right?

So why am I telling you all this? I assure you, I'm not looking for sympathy. Far from it. I'm telling you this in case someone who reads this is, or ends up, going through what I have been for the last two months. Getting a diagnosis of breast cancer will scare the crap out of anyone. They tell you, and then you wait, and while you wait your imagination, if it's like mine, starts dreaming up all sorts of unpleasant scenarios. That leads to sleepless nights, anxiety and lots of tears. But the reality is nowhere near as bad as anything I could come up with. The only side effects I've noticed are the occasional warm flush (not hot flash, warm flush) feeling, and when I had a cup of coffee this morning I ended up running around like a chipmunk on speed. Other than that, knock on wood, it hasn't been that bad. I was tempted to go to the gym today but I took Hoover on a nice walk instead. Tomorrow I'll hit the gym. While it is my most fervent prayer that you never go through this yourself, if I can do it, anyone can.

So please, stay well, be healthy, if you are a woman over 40, get your annual mammogram. It could save your life. 

Oh, and I got my sewing mojo back! I'm going to do a muslin of the bodice of my Vogue dress tomorrow and hopefully get the dress sewn up to wear to my next chemo session. I'm thinking I'll wear it with my Stuart Weitzman Sand Suede pumps. That will truly be an outfit to kick cancerous ass!

Happy sewing!