Saying Good-bye to 2015 and other musings

Merry Christmas all! I truly cannot believe that tomorrow is Christmas Eve, where does the time go? Today was my Mother's 84th birthday. I'm so grateful to have both she and my Dad...and even more I'm so grateful and blessed that they're still healthy and happy and surrounded by great friends. Michael and Jenny arrived in MN today. I can't even begin to explain how much I miss Mike...so much some days that it literally hurts. I also very much miss Jenny...I love her so much too! But for anyone that's a Mother out there you can completely understand. Being a Mom is forever wearing your heart on your sleeve. I can't wait to wrap my arms around him! I'm so blessed to have a son like Mike...and I'm equally blessed that he's brought Jenny into our lives! Don feels exactly as I do. The past few months have been challenging to put it mildly. My fatigue and pain both skyrocketed and I was really struggling. After scans, numerous blood tests and seeing both my new onc and my primary Dr we believe we have a handle on things. I'll try to give you the Readers Digest version. As some of you may know, in addition to cancer I also have Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA for short). RA is extremely painful unless treated because in basic terms it eats away your joints. Prior to My Cancer diagnosis I saw a specialist for my RA and took medication for the disease. It kept both the pain & the inflammation down. Once I was diagnosed stage IV I could no longer take that medication, or any others that are prescribed for RA. Why? There's a chance that they cause cancer, and for me it could make my cancer progress very quickly! Additionally, I have three very bad lower discs in my back causing extreme pain as well as residual pain from the Cancer lesions on my spine. I was already prescribed the Fentynal Pain Patch...which delivers a steady dose of pain medication and is changed every 72 hours. But I was still having a lot of breakthrough pain. My oncologist has added Dilaudid to the mix (which is taking some getting used to, but is helping!). We are optimistic that this combination will finally keep the pain at a tolerable level! On to the fatigue...one of the blood tests they ran was my Thyroid, for which I already take medication due to hypothyroidism. Frighteningly my numbers were so out of whack, my body literally wanted to sleep approximately 18 or more hours per day. I still suffer from fatigue and take a nap each day and sleep 10-12 hours at night but the difference is now that they've tweeked that med when I wake up I'm actually awake! Before I'd wake up and go to our couch and fall fast asleep...it was terrifying. So that is what's been going on for the past three months. I'm very grateful to my medical team! As I said earlier I have a new oncologist, my dear Dr Hauge has retired. I must say I was so sad to see him leave and even a bit scared. When your life is in a Drs hands...literally...and you see him every three months, and you've built not only a bond but complete trust it's VERY hard to say good-bye. But I must tell you, he highly recommended my current onc...Dr. Jurgens...and he was spot on! He's really outstanding. So easy to talk to, very compassionate, doesn't make you feel rushed, great sense of humor and very intelligent. Added bonus, he's a friend of my primary physician who I've had for years, and I trust and adore her completely so all is good! So I think that brings everyone up to date. We are fortunate to have six guests for Christmas dinner. Just the right amount in my mind! Enough for great laughter and conversation, but not so many that anyone feels left out! To those of you that have lost a loved one this year...whether it's from cancer Or something else, my thoughts and prayers are always with you...but even more so during this time of year. Jerry, Greg, Kirstin, Linda, Vicki, Aunt Wanda, Tommy, David, the entire Austreng Family, Sue, Wayne, Karen, Ruth I want you to know that you all hold a very special place in my heart...your losses have been great and I truly share your sorrow. With that I will leave you with... "A Merry Christmas to All, and to All a good night!" Love, Kathy xoxoxo