Being Jeanne...

Whew!  My chest x-ray where unremarkable.  My kidney levels are stable. The doctor talked about possibly doing some genetic testing, but at this point, it isn't required.  Apparently, new research has shown clusters of genetic mutations for different kinds of cancer.  My parent's cancer and mine don't seem to be in a cluster group, but the research is still new, so, at this point in time, no testing is recommended. In six months, we will do another chest x-ray and a sonogram on my right kidney to make sure there isn't anything "going on" there. I'm glad I moved my appointment before spring break, so I can just relax next week.

Today I went to get my chest x-ray to see if my kidney cancer metastasized and traveled to my lungs. Whee? No. I have been pretty glum about this all weekend. Crying. Yelling, “I’m afraid” and just generally mopey. I know, rationally, I should be fine. But cancer if fucking scary. It looms like a monster under the bed, ready to grab your ankle as you wake up. Ok...maybe not that scary, but it does loom. Today’s appointment was just annoying. President’s Day is one of those Mondays that I’m off from school. I tried to get a different time, but I was too lazy to call earlier. Maybe it was because I didn’t really want to have my x-ray. So...appointment set from 8:20am. I get there around 8:05, so I can do all the check-in paperwork, etc. 8:20 comes and goes... 8:40 comes and goes... Finally, at 8:58, I asked how much longer, and they checked with the tech and told me a few minutes longer. Another 15 minutes and finally they take me back.  The room is freezing. Tha...

Today is the anniversary of the day my cancer was removed.  Weird sentence to type out.  Still seems surreal that I had cancer. I lost so much weight and was feeling good about that and "BAM" it was cancer.  I am one of the lucky ones. My tumor was contained inside my kidney so they took my whole left kidney. Since then, I have several scans to make sure it didn't spread and so far my luck is still flowing. I will do probably do those scans for the rest of my life. The new normal is okay though. I didn't die. I survived after a hellish experience in the hospital and months of recovery. The weight has come back, and that has me pissed off. It doesn't matter if I restrict calories, give up dairy, sugar, or eating all together the scales aren't budging. I know my thyroid messes with my body but it has been fairly stable. It's bumming me out! Speaking of the thyroid, my doctor for more than a decade has retired so I start a new endocrinologist in mi...