- I'm Loopy

Yes, you read that right - I'm loopy. Loop de loop. Loopy-doopy. That's me. I went in to the Jewish General this past Monday to get my Herceptin treatment as I normally do every 3 weeks. It's a pleasant way to pass the time, and my calendar tells me it's what I'm supposed to do that day, so what the heck.

The nice thing about getting the Herceptin is that it only takes around half an hour of my time, as opposed to the three or four hours I was used to when I was on chemo. Herceptin is not a chemo; it's an antibody, and it is designed to fight the HER2 receptor that was found in one of my two breast tumours back in August 2009. 

Even though I had a bilateral mastectomy and the tumours are long gone, all this treatment is still necessary just in case a wandering cancer cell or two has decided to take a trip around my body when nobody was looking. 

So the drugs & radiation are kinda like Star Trek crew - they boldly go where no drug has gone before, seeking out cells to destroy. How very William Shatner, eh?

So where was I? Oh, yeah, so as I was saying, I'm loopy. That is, my Port-A-Cath is loopy. Or rather, it's looped. It's wacko. It's not doing its job. Ecchh. 

See, the nurses tried to give me the Herceptin in my Port-A-Cath, as they usually do. Does everyone remember what a Port-A-Cath is? There's going to be a test on this, you know. Have you not been paying attention all these months? 

Oh, if you're new to this blog, you won't have been in the loop - so you're not loopy like I am. Okay, for you, I'll explain it. Or better yet, I'll show it to you. Look carefully at the following picture. See if you notice anything protruding out of my skin:

Okay, so the druggy-drug is supposed to go in there, eh? I got it inserted under local anesthesia back in December, I think it was. Some other "breast friends" had suggested I get it because if you have small veins, like I do, which quickly shrink & harden with the first dose of chemo, it makes it really tough for the nurses to find veins the next time, and the next time, and you can end up really bruised & sore.

So I asked for the Port-A-Cath to be installed & it's just great. Everybody should get one. Great for getting chocolate milk intravenously. Just kidding.

Anyways, the nurse pops the needle into the center of this thing, and voila! The IV stuff flows freely. Well, that is, it's supposed to flow freely. Except the last 3 times I've gone in for my treatment, the Port-A-Cath wasn't behaving very well, and this past Monday, it simply refused to work at all. So they had to find a vein on the back of my hand, which was pretty painful, actually, and that's how I got my treatment this time. Eww.

I went for an x-ray when my treatment was finished and guess what?!? It turns out the line of the Port-A-Cath is looped inside! Now, how did THAT happen?!?!?! Have I been doing somersaults? Working with Cirque de Soleil? Secretly operating on myself at night & twisting my tubing?? Arrggghh!

So this Thursday (as if I didn't have enough doctors' appointments already!), off I go to see the surgeon who installed this thing, to find out what's up. How did it loop? Why did it loop? How much has it looped? How can she unloop it? 

For the conclusion of this fascinating story, you'll just have to tune in again next time! Hope the suspense of it all doesn't give you heart palpitations! 

Which reminds me...I've been getting heart palpitations lately. 10 episodes in the last 3 or 4 weeks. It's not so good. Chemotherapies are cardio-toxic & so is Herceptin, so I'll have to go get fitted with a Holter soon.

A Holter is a kind of portable recording device that they strap to you for a day or two. You walk around & it records your heart activity. Hopefully, an episode occurs while you're hooked up to the Holter & then they can analyze what's up with your heart. So that's another appointment on my To Do list.

Have you figured out yet that having cancer & treatment for cancer is a full-time job? It can be! Lots of things to follow up on & check out. But it keeps me out of trouble, at least.

Well, before I close, here's the latest picture of me with my ever-growing hair, which is now blonde so that I can have more fun. And I am! Having more fun, that is. 

I'm SO BUSY with gigs these days! It's soooo cool! Singing & speaking in lots & lots of different places! This past weekend, I was in Champlain, NY on Saturday, speaking to a neat bunch of ladies. 

Sunday morning, I was in Greenfield Park, a suburb of Montreal, singing, doing comedy & speaking for a fun bunch of Baptists.

And this weekend, I'm off to Sherbrooke, Quebec to do a workshop with some ladies Saturday on "Finding Your Place" in life - how to put your gifts to work & help others, etc. And in the evening...a Concert Of Hope, with some of the proceeds going towards a local center for women. So it should be fun!!

Anyways, ta ta for now, my Blogger Buddies, and may you have a wonderful rest-of-the-week...

Be blessed & be a blessing!

xoxox Wendy

Here I am, teaching some kids & grown-ups my Ten Lepers song. "There were 10 men who were very sick, but Jesus healed them all..." These people all pretended to be lepers. They were very convincing, I think, because everyone seemed to feel sorry for them (not sure if it was because they were acting as though they had leprosy, though, or because they were looking kinda silly...heheheh!!!)