BLOOD WORK

Hi Everybody,
I wanted to report that I had blood drawn today to test my thyroid, cholesterol, and various other things. The little pea on my wrist grew a bit overnight. You can really see it now, so much so that it casts a shadow. Where on EARTH do these things come from for heaven's sake? I am very eager to talk to the Hand Guy on Monday to get his impressions. I'm starting to feel worried that I've been off the Femara for so long with no other substitute. For those of you just tuning in, the cancer was estrogen-receptive, which means it fed off estrogen, so the point is to rid my body of estrogen to prevent recurrence. I had my ovaries out on October 8, 2009, after trying Tamoxifen, which led me down suicidal lane. My mom died of ovarian cancer anyway, so it was actually a relief to have the oophorectomy. Then I tried the post-menopausal estrogen suppressors (for lack of a better word) Armidex -- got swollen hands and feet -- then Femara -- got trigger thumb, and now this other bundle of joy, DeQuervain's .... So, I stopped the Femara, the trigger thumb got markedly better, but the DQ (not to be mistaken for Dairy Queen) got worse. Hopefully, the Hand Guy will shed some light on the whole situation. I've already seen a hand specialist who made splints for my thumbs and gave me ultrasound. I've tried using a mixture of lemongrass and lavendar oils on the skin; I've been drinking tumeric in tea in the morning; I even wore an amber necklace wrapped around my thumb. I've prayed about it, I've asked you to pray about it. What a conundrum.

Hey, I just found out that my book is being used with inpatients at a state hospital and the staffer wants me to come and speak there. Thrilling. I'm glad my life is being put to good use.I'm in the midst of planning my new tour throughout the United States, so this is gratifying news.

I dropped 25 more Nepalese hats off at the local oncology unit. I manage a store that sells stuff from Tibet, Nepal, and India. Earlier this winter I brought over 50 and they only wanted 25. Now they're out, so I brought over another 25. Just before I arrived with the colorful hats, the secretary said one of the patients had just arrived, wearing one of the hats from the first batch. So cool. I would like to start a non-profit called HEADS UP! which would pay Nepali women/men to make the hats, ship them to the states, and donate them to oncology units. If any of you readers out there have some connections to help this move along, please let me know. Thanks.

Love,
Sue