Loose Strife

Hi, all. Laura had a pretty good day today. (A good day means only one prayer at the porcelain alter this morning!) She spent a lot of time up, got outside with the kids, ate fairly normally, etc. The esophagus pain from the radiation treatment seems to be lessening, too. Back pain is still present […]

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There are a few new photos in a September photo album. (No improvement for Laura, yet. She’s having worse trouble throughout the day with vomiting. Will be talking to oncologist tomorrow for coping tips.)

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Just a quick update to say that Laura’s not feeling very well. She’s a heap of compounded side effects. She’s got nausea, throws up like clock work every morning, has no appetite, has acid reflux, is fatigued, her esophagus has been burned up by the radiation so she can’t swallow, and the narcotics — well, […]

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We had a black bear pull down the cherry tree in our front yard recently. But that’s nothing compared to what grizzlies can do. I did put the word “whimsy” in the title of this blog — because, um, I was looking for another short “w” word that wasn’t a downer. So, without further ado.

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One way of tracking the progression of cancer and the efficacy of treatment is the measurement of various quantities in blood samples that are statistically associated with cancer growth. There is some controversy about these, but taken along with other indicators are useful. Laura received the results of her second measurement of “CA 27-29” today […]

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The Greenfield Recorder today had a brief article about a classic post and beam barn raising at Sangha Farm, which is run by folks we know in town.  Their son goes to our little town’s preschool — same as Lily.

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After a week of messing around, I’m sending out a link to this website — yet another excuse for me to obsess about breast cancer and procrastinate.  I figure this is a better way of keeping folks informed about what’s going on up our way.  You can either read this website or put your email […]

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The 2nd chest xray showed no change from the one last week.  That means no evidence of increased pleura effusion. In other news, Natalie and Joe, Laura’s parents, are returning tomorrow to Virginia after almost a month here.  It would have been a tough slog without them!  And Naomi begins daycare in Shelburne Falls tomorrow, which should help Laura focus on good health, rest, […]

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We met with the onc this afternoon for a follow-up because the doctor was concerned about Laura on Friday being so uncomfortable.  But the anti-nausea drug seems to be working OK. The onc noticed that Laura’s cough is back and she detected more fluid in her lungs.  So Laura went back to the hospital this […]

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Our Ashfield farmers market was hopping this morning. I’ve read that, ironically, as the harvest really starts to increase in the late summer and early fall, many shoppers start to get farmers market fatigue, but our town seems to have remained committed. With a 60% chance of rain, I was up early. Joe and I […]

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