Yoga & Oncologists
Last week a friend of mine - a yoga teacher who I created a website for - contacted me and asked if I would pop round and take some photo's of her doing yoga to make into a going away present for one of her students. They are just the beginners stuff she said, "sure" I replied, how hard can taking a few photo's be.
Well 3.5 hours later in her cold 'practice space' and over 300 photos.......we then sat down to discuss what she wanted done with them. They had certain sequences, so these had to be turned into black & white photos (easy), remove radiators and shelf (can be done but a not so easy for me anyway), resized and a nice border added (pretty straightforward), arranged nicely on a page with the headings.
I then spent the next three days doing this, literally from 8am till 10pm stopping only for some lunch and to cook dinner. I was mentally exhausted, especially after she ok'd it all, then popped round to see me and proceeded to want the posture names added to most of the 28 pages of work I had done! Anyway, its gone to the printers now to be made into something akin to those wire bound desktop calenders you flip over. I did get paid for it, but sheesh it was way more work than I had anticipated (not knowing anything about yoga but bloomin' eck I do now LOL). Note to self: LEARN TO SAY NO!
That took from Monday morning till Wednesday night and today I had my three monthly check up at the oncologists. I learned at my first check up after finishing treatment, that they weigh you each time......I told them NOT to tell me how much I weighed, just if it went up or down. The nurse kindly told me I had gained a little weight since I was weighed before RT and chemo (a little weight, Tony later told me it was 5kg's). Now even though I had gained this weight, I had not gone up a dress size, I have bought new jeans and clothes in the last year and still the same size.
BUT, when I tried my nice linen trousers on a couple of weeks back, I could not do them up and I mean I could get the buttons anywhere close to the button holes. This was my wake up call and for the first time in 43 years, I have put myself on a diet. Our scales don't work in the house, so all my suffering for the past 2 and a bit weeks and I had no idea if it was working.
Got called round to the clinic today and sat on the scales, again I said "don't tell me how much I weigh please, just if its up, down or the same". Oh its gone down she says ....... "really" I almost squeal...."yes, 2kgs" wohooooooooooo people! I get called in to see the new registrar, he is a tall bumbling, gangly man (ok at 4ft 11" everyone looks tall to me) but really VERY pleasant. He asks if Tony is my partner or husband and shakes his hand, quite a change for him to even be acknowledged in the room.
He asks how I am and tells me I look good (see its that 2kgs working its magic already LOL). I tell him about the episodes of 3-4 day headaches I've had and he makes a note of it. I explain that my radiologists report wasn't through when I came last time but as I hadn't been contacted since February, I assume all is well. He reads them and says "yes everything is fine, there is still an area of concern" ..........WHAT, thats the first I've heard of it.........."but we are not concerned by this, it could be scar tissue and the 'gunk' thats left behind that causes the area where my tumour was to look abnormal". Hmmmm ok, so when will it look normal, I mean its over a year later now? "Oh probably never" he says.......ok, I can live with that.
He says this area has not just developed, its always been there (the other registrars and my onc have just not mentioned it to me because its nothing to worry about apparently!)...he was just giving us more info than usual. He then very kindly altered my anti-seizure meds to a slow release version because of my 'Dorey' moments - well actually they are more like CRAFT moments but I am being polite (CRAFT stands for Cant Remember A Freakin Thing but not freakin if ya get my drift)........so I remember to take the one in the morning, but evening times are a bit more hectic in my house and before I know it, I am laying in bed wondering if I took it or not - mostly not. So now I don't have to worry.
He has requested an MRI for early August for me and sent me on my way. So what did I do????? Headed straight to Nando's to celebrate with chicken, coleslaw and chips..........probably only 1.5kgs lighter now LOL
Thought for today:
Yesterday I dared to struggle. Today I dare to win.
Bernadette Devlin
