Zometa - Round 2

Zometa Infusion 7-9-09
Just returned from a trip to NYC where I received my 2nd round of Zometa. (Not a huge fan of the attached photo but you can see I am back in the chemo suite - not quite so freaky this time around.) Met with Dr. Oratz who reviewed my last round of labs and said everything looks good. Just need to have my bi-annual mammo/sonogram and I should be "cancer related" doctor free for the remainder of 2009! Woo hoo!

Feel okay right now - was extremely tired after the infusion, probably more from stress than anything else but a quick nap fixed that.

Came home to learn that the photos I had taken for a local photographer's breast cancer project will be in a show at the Morristown Museum opening September 30th! More details to follow!

Was looking back at my posts from 2008 to see where I was a year ago - boy that wasn't very much fun was it?

July Already

Family
Maia and Jess
Hair June 2009
Amazing how fast time is flying by this year. It could be due in part to the fact that summer did not seem to quite fully arrive until this past weekend. Greg and I were fortunate enough to spend the holiday weekend on the Cape where the weather was simply perfect and we did a whole bunch of nothing! (by nothing I mean I usual - long walks on the beach, browsing at the flea market, visiting family, eating and drinking, and I did manage to do my "rave run" - a 5 mile loop that starts at the National Seashore Visitor Center, and passes both Coast Guard and Nauset Light Beaches.

It was our second trip up to the Cape in two weeks - our last visit was a quick overnight to be part of my sister's nuptials; we have been quite lucky as the weather that night was spectacular as well! The ride home is never fun and this July 5th was no exception: 8 hours in the car. Need to get to work on that transporter...

I face my 2nd Zometa infusion later this week. I remain positive that the experience will not leave me as unsettled as the last, however returning to the chemo suite is not all that much fun. I am prepared this time and will work from home in case I suffer the same side effects. Good thing I know what to expect or I might think I was coming down with swine flu!

Summer Arrives!!!

Summer arrived today along with Father's Day. However the summer solstice has been trumped this year by gray skies, cold temps, and so much rain that the waterfall behind my house as gone from a steady drone to mighty roar. We have not had a "HOT" day yet, everything is damp, and running outside is not all that much fun soaking wet.(Someone remind me of that when I am doing my 18 mile morning training runs in 90 degree weather and complaining about it!)

But - enough with the whining, there is much to be happy about these days. I am feeling great, my next mammogram is in July along with my next Zometa infusion. (Not looking forward to that so much). Based on my last round of bloodwork I am confident my mammo will be clear. I have Greg joining me in the chemo suite while I get my Zometa so at least I will be distracted and this time I know what to expect.

My garden is flourishing in this weather - you can see photos above. My cousin Kristen graduated as co-valedictorian of her high school, Pequannock Township High Class of 2009. She will be off to BU in September, another reason to visit Boston! We have three weddings this summer - all of which should be a lot of fun plus we will be spending time with my brother and his family at their vacation home along with making a few visits to my Dad's. With my dragonboat racing and running it looks to be a busy summer indeed; I tell everyone I am making up for the time I lost last year!

Paddle for Pink

I think I may have mentioned that I have joined "Team SOS (Save our Sisters)", a dragonboat team comprised of breast cancer survivors. I attended my first race and we brought home a bronze medal. The day was beautiful and the event quite amazing. It was inspiring to see and meet so many powerful women, so many who are living with breast cancer in their lives; who refuse to give up, who are fighting back and proving that a breast cancer diagnosis may only by a speed bump in the road of life. I look forward to our next race in July!

I"M IN!!!

I learned yesterday that I was accepted via lottery into the 2009 ING NYC Marathon being held November 1st. (A mere 148 days away!) I will need to start "official training" on July 13th.

I found myself musing yesterday about training for this event in such a way that made me laugh to myself - "You can do this", I said to myself - "You made it through being bald, six months of chemo, daily early morning trips to NYC for radiation...what is 26.2 miles through the greatest city in the world?" Here is where I laughed for a realized that as I underwent treatment last year I used the marathon as my point of comparison; my guide to mile posts achieved. Funny how things can radically shift.

My next Zometa infusion is a few weeks away and already I am dreading it. I figure this time I know what I am up against and will hopefully feel more at home returning to the recliners of the treatment room where I went through chemo. On the bright side, it is my last one for 2009 - woo hoo!

Last weekend was so beautiful here in NJ. Greg and I spent Sunday in the Poconos, checking out the new Mount Airy Lodge, taking in the views at Camelback and enjoying drinks at the LHYC along with our friend Greg followed by dinner at a great find - Alice's Restaurant - which could be no further than the establishment I imagine everytime I hear the song of the same title! Photos above from our day!

The Difference One Year Can Make

2009 Ridgewood Run 5/25/09
2009 Spring Lake 5 5/23/09
I did not sleep all that much last night. It wasn't my hot flashes or too much caffeine keeping me awake. It wasn't thinking about the upcoming Brooklyn 1/2 marathon on Saturday or making dinner for my girlfriends tonight either. No, it was more than that.

Last night I had the honor of attending the 2009 Gala for the Northside Children's Center at Cipriani's in NYC where they honored the CEO, Dave Snow, of my employer: Medco. Dave graciously accepted the award presented to him in honor of another - Victoria Rubino. Victoria was the 21 year old daughter of Medco's CFO, Rich Rubino. Victoria passed away recently in her sleep due to an undetected heart defect. She was a senior at my alma mater, Boston University.

It was this event that kept me awake. It was thinking about the loss the Rubino family had endured. It was realizing that 20 years ago, I too was a senior at BU. 20 years ago!!! Had you told me then that I would one day face cancer I would have laughed at you. As I drove into the event I thought about how I had been driving into the city a year earlier but for a much different reason - I was heading to NYU Medical Center to get my chemo port. As I tried to sleep last night, I wondered about how weird the world is and why we are given the path to follow that we do. I contemplated this past year and the fact that today marks one year since I started chemotherapy to combat the cancer detected in me. My mind raced all night as I tried to remember that chemical taste and lethargy that the drugs pumped into to caused. I thought about the fact that here I was one year later, attending a grand event looking a bit different but feeling wonderful. Amazing what can transpire in 365 days.

Yesterday I also heard from my oncologist's office that lab work I had done last week came back and my results were "perfect". In the big scheme of things, it really doesn't get any better than that.

Ragnar Relay - New York

The Missing Winks
The Start


Twelve people. Two vans. 181.9 mile route from Kingston to the Bronx. Bright orange everywhere...that would be the Ragnar Relay!!!

Quite the experience! My team, "The Missing Winks" was comprised of myself, Jess, Denise and her husband Joel, my cousin Lisa, some Medco co-workers: Jim C., Jim S. and Sam as well as My neighbor Hank his friend Pat and Sam's friend Jessica. Special shout out to my husband Greg for being the designated rive of Van #1.

We started at Dietz Stadium in Kingston and ran our way down to Van Cortland Park in the Bronx. It took us about 26 hours. It was sunny and hot when we started and cool and overcast when we ended. I've a very patient bunch of friends. Me, I get pretty crabby when running in the hot sun without water. (poor planning on my part) I get even crabbier when I have to run in the pre-dawn darkness after sleeping for about two hours in a tent... I do admit I felt much better after running even if it was mostly uphill!

So why Ragnar? Why not? Had you said to me one year ago as I sat facing the start of chemotherapy, baldness, weakness, etc. that I would be running the streets of New Paltz at 10pm wearing a headlamp of all things as part of a relay that was 181.9 miles long, I would have told you that you were crazy. Now I am wondering just who is crazy enough to want to do the Reach the Beach relay in NH with me...