Happy 30th Birthday to my nephew John Brenneman

Bitterweet trip to Vegas

During my chemo treatments last summer, Nancy and I decided we would take a short vacation after I recovered from surgery. We had visited Las Vegas last January and had a great time, so we decided Vegas would be a good place to see a couple of shows, to eat at interesting restaurants, and to get our minds off of the events of the past eight months. Why the word bittersweet in the title of this blog? My 45 year-old cousin, Rick Whitmer, died Monday after a short battle with cancer. It just doesn’t seem right that I am in Vegas celebrating my outcome from cancer and Rick lost his life from it. I know it is something that can not be understood or explained, I just have to live the life that I am given.

Rick was a wonderful, wonderful man who had a soft heart and a gentle spirit. He greeted people with his infectious smile and always made others feel good about themselves. Rick TRULY was one of the good ones in life - that is why it is so difficult to understand his death.

Rick is survived by his wife Jennifer; his children John, Ben, Joseph, Richard, Rebecca, and Samantha; his parents Rosa Lee and Richard; and his siblings Mike, Mark, Dennis and Denise. My heart goes out to Rick’s family because I know how much they loved him and gave to Rick during his short illness. And, I know they will miss him dearly.

Vacationing in Las Vegas

This picture was taken at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas. We ate at Wolfgang Puck's restaurant, Pistorio, for lunch today - it was delicious. This picture was taken in an indoor shopping and eating area that has gondola rides and lots of 'street' entertainers.

We enjoyed spending a little time with friends from Illinois, Drusilla and John, who just happened to schedule their Vegas vacation at the same time as ours.

Ice photos from Dorrance

This is a backyard view of Joey and Kelly's house in Dorrance. Anyone in need of firewood?

Another backyard view - notice the limbs still on the roof of the garage.

This is their front deck.

This is the view from Susan's front yard. It was interesting to watch the airplane that made several circles and/or figure 8's Thursday morning.

The 4430 John Deere tractor powered the generator (at the back of the tractor) which powered Susan's house and farm for three days. The electricity was restored Thursday evening.

Sam loved having his dad Joey give him a bath in the kitchen sink.

Happy Belated Birthday to Anna and a little Ice

Anna is two!!


Normally, I can't even reach these branches.

We were without electricity for about 20 hours. Others are still out as of Wednesday evening. I think we were the first neighborhood to lose power on Monday night. The temperature in our house dropped to 54 degrees, which is the perfect sleeping temperature for me.

We usually walk under these branches. So far, we have only lost a few branches, but many of our neighbors lost limbs and whole trees.

An Update

Friends,
It has been a long time since I have written on my blog. Yes, I have posted photos, but I have not felt the motivation to write. After an icy weekend of staying in the house and taking care of loose ends (some since May), I am finally motivated to write.

Update on my health - I am doing FINE! As you know, I finished chemotherapy on September 13 and had a bilateral mastectomy on October 2. Most of my range of motion has returned in my arms. I do have a little tightness in my chest, but nothing that causes me too much concern. I am not ready to lift heavy items, I will give my body a little more time to heal before I do that. Most of the lymph fluid that accumulated under my arms and in my chest area has reabsorbed. The only side effect of chemotherapy and surgery that is interfering with daily life is fatigue. My energy has improved since surgery, but it is taking a little longer than I had hoped it would take.

I started the third phase of treatment on November 1. Femara is an aromatase inhibitor that I will take daily for five years if all goes well. An aromatase inhibitor interferes with the conversion of androgen to estrogen. My tumor was estrogen positive, it used estrogen as a growth signal. So the idea is to reduce or eliminate estrogen in my body so that it is not available to enable cancer growth. I have not noticed any significant side effects from Femara (knock on wood). Ok, so maybe there is a little fatigue and some sore joints, but it is not interfering in my daily life.

My next appointment with Dr Sharma is January 9. I do have a bone density test scheduled for that visit. Femara can cause a decrease in bone density, so I will have this test as a baseline for future measurements. I will see Dr Conner (the surgeon) in April for a follow-up appointment and to talk about cosmetic surgery for my extra 'side' skin under my arms.

Many people have asked me if I have any tests (pet or ct scan) scheduled to check for cancer. The answer is no, none are scheduled at this point in time and I don't know when those might be scheduled. And I have not been thinking about those tests. I am at a point in my journey that I want to enjoy my current status and not have to deal with the anxiety that goes with waiting for results.

That is about it for an update on my physical body, now for the mental, emotional, and spiritual self. Cancer has NOT consumed my mind since the first part of November. Prior to that, I thought about it frequently because my body was 'feeling' it every moment. Of course, the 'feeling it' was from the chemotherapy and surgery. Every time I moved, looked in the mirror, or talked with someone, it was always about my health and cancer. Now that I feel better and I am 'out and about' more often, I don't think of cancer as much. You don't know how much better it feels to NOT think about cancer and my body several times a day.

It overwhelms me to think about the last seven months and all that has happened. I am aware of the toll this cancer journey has taken on my body, but I am still learning about the toll it is taking on other parts of my life. It is probably naive to think that my emotional self and mental self have not been scarred by this cancer journey just like my body has been scarred from the journey. I know I am gaining small bits of information about my emotional wounds each day. Now, don't let these words worry you, I am just being honest about my journey.

The thinking that I have done since May 11 (the day I found the lump) has given me a different perspective on my life. I have a better vision of what I want from life. I do not think it is a new vision, it is just more clear to me now. I almost feel as though I am leaving a little of the pre-cancer Mary Kay behind me. I don't see myself as new and improved, I just see myself with a different perspective on what I want to do with my life. I want to spend more time with the people that I love!! Wait a minute, that isn't anything different from the pre-cancer Mary Kay. Some things never change!!

Love to all,
Mary Kay

Special Shout Out to all the graduates!

Candi and her son Myles and husband Bernard

Kathy is proof that persistence pays off.

Sharon is proud of that K-State diploma!

Nancy is so proud of Monica!