Ramblings of Jo Mama

So hey there all you sugar bears. So first, I am down in the Chemo zone where all the good fun happens!! You see, even though I am done with the tough chemo, I am still privileged to spend many many hours down here in this bright cheerful white clean as a whistle room with my nurses, whom we all adore. You see, I have had three kinds of chemo, two super mean ones, (not mean to me, they love me, they don't love my cancer cells). And one kind of Chemo that is going to keep me visiting the zone till, ohh, about February.  It is called Herceptin. it is a fascinating drug. I have a type of breast cancer that is called HER2 positive. (not the BRCA gene Angelina had, which really sucks if you have that one)!! Sooo I just bop in every three weeks and get me some Herceptin which costs my insurance co about a million bucks and I am grateful. Chemotherapy is EXTREMELY TO THE EXTREME expensive. Just so you know.
Someone took my seat today. I usually sit in the same chair in the corner of windows then I can turn my head when I want to forget where I am and look out at the landscaping which is very green and see all the cars go by on 5th west.  I also see lots of really interesting sorts walking the sidewalk. It's fun! But since my seat is gone and this place is hopping I sit in the middle where I can spy on the nurses. They kill me, they are doing a job that would make the average person cry and run away fast and they do it so wel an they do it fast and they also can just look at you and say "Hey doc, we think this one has a Pulmonary Embolism" and the docs, who are every bit as delightful and smarter than Hell say "OK." and guess what, they are right and then they let me cry and then they hug me and sneak over to buy flowers at the gift shop for me and hug me some more. My bad days in this white clean place are rare. There is not much chitchat between patients and that's ok.  I mean, we recognize each other and say hi maybe but before I started chemo I read up on 'Chemotherapy etiquette"  Who knew there was such a thing? But it says to use your brain and read body language and if they have headphones on then they would rather you leave them alone. Or if they are in the middle of a double issue of People Mag then for sure don't bug! We all just sort of ride this out in a routine that feels good to us.  I bring my favorite "Fight like a Girl!" bag that my friend Tiffany gave me and in it I usually keep my kindle, a real book, my crocheting, and a bunch of other dumb stuff I don't need. I kind of go back and forth and do this, then that blah, blah, but I have a tough time reading which I love to do. It is common to loose all means of concentration cause its sort of like your brain is like swiss cheese. Not gonna lie. It's frustrating as crap. I am spending three or four hours down here every other day because chemo really screws up my electrolytes and so I slide in, they hook me up, give me lots of magnesium which takes sometimes 5 hours.  Oh well. I am grateful for my garden variety of cancer. Who wouldn't wanna be ME!!
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