Fingers And Food
I took the bandages off my hand after the 24 hours were up ... on the dot.
By then the wrapping was looking pretty trashed.
The fingers looked alot better from just wearing the bandages. 70% better.
The hand itself only looked about 40% better.
But I felt better just looking at my fingers.
Then after work ... I really did not feel like grocery shopping.
But if I wait any longer, it will be crazy due to the Christmas shoppers.
so off I went to Whole Foods .
I mainly wanted the ingredients for a totally organic chili.
Onions, Garlic, stewed tomatoes, corn, zucchini, bell peppers, kidney and pinto beans... and ground turkey.
All organic.
I still came out of there with a bill close to $200.
For one person.
Yes, I ought alot of organic pantry items.
Organic Black Pepper for one.
And, oh, yeah ... organic chicken and steak.
Well, now I am stocked up for about a week.
Physical Therapy
I had to drive back to Glendale today. This time for the Physical Therapist.
She is a lymphedema specialist.
Even she said that the selling in my hand and fingers is very mild.
First, she measured my left fingers, hand and arm. And the measured the same places on my right side.
She said there really wasn't any swelling in the arm. The only swelling was in the hand and fingers.
First she told me about how to take care of my left arm and hand.
And the exercise I need to do ... raise my left arm up, and open and close my fist slowly.
Do this only 10 times. But every hour.
Next she bandaged up my hand. The bandages were on my hand, very lightly. Not tight at all.
I can still open and close the hand.
So its not as bad as it looks.
I get to remove the bandages in 24 hours. And report back to the Physical Therapist if it helped or not.
Then, I get on the elevator.
With a little old ethnic woman.
"Oh, no ! Did you burn your hand ?" She says.
"No...um, physical therapy" I reply.
"Oh...." says the lady.
I hate it when strangers ask personal questions.
Then when people at the office see the bandage, they flip out.
"Oh, no! What happened to you now ?"
So I kept a long sleeved sweater on most of the day. And pulled the sleeve down so only my finger-tips were sticking out.
It eliminated the necessity of dealing with worried people.
Too Many Potlucks !!
First, we had a potluck lunch at my office. There was so much food you would not believe it.
I over-induldged - first, because of all the good food in front of me - and second because I was so happy to be done with the radiation. I felt like celebrating.
In the evening, I went to a party for the Egyptian Theatre volunteers.
I did only stay about an hour - I am still pretty tired from the radiation treatments.
And, I was so full from lunch, I really didn't feel like dinner.
We took a group volunteer picture. Then one of my friends said "Today is Donna's Birthday!"
And I stood up in front of everyone, and they all sang "Happy Birthday" to me.
So that was really special.
The Last Radiation Treatment !!!!
Yeah !!! Its over and done with.
Not only is today my official Birthday - it is my last Radiation Treatment.
Allelluia !!!
I got the radiation treatment just like any other day.
Then I had an appointment with the Radiation Doctor - who looked at my "Fried Tomato" of a breast to examine it.
First thing, he saw my left hand.
"Oh, no, your knuckles" He said.
"What knuckles? " I replied.
You probably would not notice it unless I pointed it out to you. But my left hand and fingers are a little swollen from the radiation. This is the same doctor who did not want me to see the physical therapist at first.
But the main problem is the area underneath my breast. Where the breast lays on the chest area. (No, I'm not going to take a picture for you.)
The skin has a hard time drying out, and moisture develops and its just gross.
The skin is all grey and other weird colors.
So at night, I have been tucking my t-shirt, under my breast. Which has really been helping dry it out.
The doctor gave me a bag of Gauze and said to place the gauze under the breast because the gauze is softer.
Ok.
The only other suggestion was to lay around the house topless - trying to get the area under my breast some Air.
And since, I don't have time to lay around the house in funny positions, the gauze will have to do.
I asked the doctor some questions.
#1. I need to get my teeth done. When can I get X-rays of my mouth ?
Doctor "Oh, anytime. Since its not radiation to the same area, it won't make a difference."
Okay, well, forget that answer - I am going to wait 4 to 6 months just to be on the safe side.
#2. When can I start taking my antioxidants again ?
At first he said right away, then he changed his mind. Since Vitamin E can make the radiation burn you more - it is best to wait one week. That way for sure there is no reaction between the Vitamin E and the Radiation.
#3. What follow-ups do I need to do ?
Well, now that my sister has Colon Cancer, I need to be checked for that. And the CT Scan I had before my surgery would not count, because they did not give me toxic junk to clean out my colon. So I need to definitely plan to get my colon checked in a few months.
Other than that, he just wanted to make sure that someone checked my skin in a couple of weeks.
I have an appointment with the Breast Surgeon after the holidays. And I could either have her check my skin, or come back there for him to check my skin. Either way he was fine with it. Since I already had an appointment with the Surgeon, he did not schedule another appointment with him. Just if I have a problem, call and he will see me.
Other than that, he seems towards the end of the appointment, he just wanted me to know him as a "nice guy". He asked me about my Birthday party, and my celebrity things, and talked about the fact that he likes to go mountain biking.
He gave me his email address, and said I could email him the info on the holistic doctors I was thinking of seeing, and he would let me know what he thought - and that I could also email him any questions.
It must be tough to give people a treatment that is (somewhat) good for them - I mean it kills cancer cells - while at the same time, it causes all sorts of problems like swollen fingers and burned skin and fatigue, and brittle rib bones and who knows what else.
I can just image that you really believe you are doing something good - And you just don't want to end up being the "bad guy."
All in all, I am glad I got the Radiation Treatments.
I feel it is one less thing that I have to worry about.
Now, I have to make myself stay healthy enough, so I won't ever need any chemotherapy.
Back to all my holistic stuff.
Time to get back to 100% organic, since I have been to tired lately to make the trip to Whole Foods.
And I can't wait to go back to doing Flaxseed, Co Vitamin Q10 and Grape Seed Extract, and whatever else I can come up with.
Okay ... no more medical things for a while - Please God !
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
After lunch, a friend and I planned to go see a movie.
As we called numerous movie theatres from our cell phones, we realized we had missed the current times.
Of the movies we wanted to see, they weren't going to start for another 2 hours.
Just then, we drove passed the Los Angeles Museum of Art.
"Hey, do you want to go to the Museum?" I asked.
"Mmmmm, its been a while since I've been to a museum." Said my friend.
"Yeah me too." I said.
"Well, its something I don't normally do. So yeah, lets go." He replied.
So we turned around, down by the La Brea Tar Pits, and headed back to LACMA.
My friend, who normally doesn't go to museums, decided to buy a membership.
I told him he'd get invited to alot of cool member stuff.
We started out walking around Cezanne and Pissarro exhibit.
Its so strange when you compare this to today.
Now we have digital photography, and everything is crisp and clear.
You look at the paintings of these great artists, and its all gloppy and squished - just giving you the Impression of the scene or item they were painting.
With the photography of today - everyone wants everything is perfect focus.
I needed a break because I was getting tired out. (Those dern Radiation Treatments again.)
So we sat in the cafeteria for about 30 minutes.
We headed out to see some more of the museum. And we tried to find the photography collection, which turned out to be only a few pictures. We were both disappointed that there weren't more photos on display.
But it was still a good afternoon. The Museum - something I will have to do more often.
I placed the photos in my California Set . They are at the bottom of the page.
Tomorrow is My Birthday
Tomorrow is my Birthday - so we had a luncheon today.
I met up with some friends at Kate Mantilini Restaurant in Beverly Hills.
It was a really fun place - Yes, Celebrities do eat there.
While we were there, Marion Ross from Happy Days was having lunch. She looked fantastic.
And William Shatner was in a group in the private dining room in back. He walked passed us as he left.
One of my friends was mentioning a lesser known actor who was there.
"Oh, I know him. I met him at such-and-such a place, and we had a great conversation." My friend said.
"Yes, but would he know you?" I asked.
"No" My friend replied.
Well, there ya go ...............
I had the Chicken Pot Pie, which was delicious. I loved it.
Some of my friends had breakfast, some had lunch.
And the prices on the menu were pretty reasonable.
Here are a few pictures.
To see more pictures, click on over to my Flickr Birthday Set .
