No matter the genre of music you listen to, I'm hoping you know the group in which my blog title comes from today. The rap/hip hop all female group 'Salt N Pepa' was formed in the 80's & was playing strong on music stations and most of our Walkmans in the 90s. I can still hear that song in my head as if my SONY earplugs never left my ears with my Walkman clipped on to my Big Star Jeans (brand of choice back then).
I've been doing a lot of thinking these last couple days and I really need to start pushing myself. As much as I feel like laying in bed until my thyroid balances out and my energy comes back, I can't...I need to push and that means hitting up my gym. It doesn't seem a hard task to walk the 300 yards to the gym but it's so darn easy to lay on the couch or in my case yesterday, mop the floors. Like who would chose moping over the gym. To my credit though the floors needed to be cleaned and I bought a nice new wood floor cleaning product I really wanted to try out. Yes I know my joy of cleaning is odd, and even more odd is the mess of piles of clothes in my room getting neglected. They need to be hung...common now Carly push yourself to do it. Don't just close the door 🚪 ha ha
After my 11 hour work day Friday which in itself is pushing it, I have 3 days off to go to the gym, clean my room and maybe even throw out a lamp I've hidden on my patio for some time now. Can I put it in the bin...that really might be pushing it, maybe I'll just leave it along side it hoping for the best come Monday pick up!
I've got a cute day planner which is feeling left out so I'm going to push myself to use it every day and assign a simple task that's pushing me in some way. Pushing it could mean golfing with my brother, wait no that's just unrealistic, although I'd like to ride on a turf chopper. Feel free to check out his Instagram turf_chopper. He's definitely been pushing himself of late & I'm super proud of him. He's following his passion making it into a dream so keep riding bro, or as he says channeling his Tim the tool Man Taylor "Shane here for Turf chopper...". My parents definitely have some outgoing push forward children. But I swear I can be shy. Believe it! Don't push me tho lol
Totally non related to this blog post, my cat is trained to sleep on a towel. I have towels placed on my couch and bed. He's frickin amazing and smart. End scene & high five to me for being an awesome furrmommy who started pushing that at a young age.
I'd love to hear your stories of how you're pushing yourselves. Could be anything small to big. But if you do create a push list don't forget to download Salt N Pepa and blast that sound. You know it's already on my playlist. You must also know it's currently stuck in my head more than ever and I'm about to go to sleep. Might be pushing it tonight and need a sleeping pill to counter attack!
XOXO
C
#carly2conquercancer
Friday, June 16, 2017
Wednesday, June 14, 2017
This just in...
At 2:20pm my mobile phone rang. Usually my ringer is off, but with the expected results call from the Cancer Agency it was on. Caller ID shows it's them and I answer the call, no doubt looking a little worried. I made it clear they were fine to call me vs me having to come in to hear the results. This isn't my first rodeo, let's lasso this bull and carry on already.
Great to hear NONE of the biopsies showed cancer, but not great to hear that my thyroid biopsy bruise will continue to look like a hickey for a while yet! 💋 The thyroid tissue tested showed no evidence of cancer but does shows uncertainty which means another biopsy to follow in 3 months. I'm now on thyroid medication to get my TSH levels in check, metabolism moving and energy on the upswing.
The biopsies from the colonoscopy (colon & ileum) also show no evidence of cancer but do show my Crohn's has become more aggressive. I'm now taking a steroid 3x daily with food, so meal prep is super important for me moving forward. Sounds easy but it's tough when you have limits of what you can eat. A salad would be one of the worst things I could eat but steamed or cooked veggies are fine. I laughed when I saw the "take with food" instructions on the pill bottle, but it'll force me to get more creative and not starve or store food which is how I've been coping for quite some time. Chef Crohnie Carly was born tonight as I made Crohn's friendly food, it ready to go in my fridge for work tomorrow. Day 1 ✔️ Day 2 TBD! 😳
Recovery road post cancer and living with Crohn's is interesting really. Being a single woman in her 40s (gulp) my life updates are on a different level than others. Most people post on Facebook about their kids or significant others and I bitch about a salad! Everyone has their version of life & this is mine. Doesn't stop me from good hair styles though, nothing can do that, but interesting how we all have our thing. I chose to write about it because let's be honest my cat just isn't a good enough conversation holder, and honestly it's a part of who I am and who I've become. I'd rather complain about raw veggies than a raw ex-husband!
So long story short folks, you're stuck with me yet again. This just in...
XOXO
C
#carly2conquercancer
Wednesday, June 7, 2017
Say what??
Well.... it's been a while since I last wrote and that's for many reasons. I was doing well health wise, was happily working and wasn't sure how to continue my passion for writing when the original cause was pretty much gone. I had some conversations with relatives and friends about how much I loved writing and some ideas did come up but along with those ideas a few health bumps have come forward as well.
Up until Feb/March I was riding high feeling really good. I was thriving in pretty much all aspects but started to feel Crohn's side effects, severe fatigue and even discomfort. Often I'd just shrug it off as I've been told my new normal is something I have to learn to push through, so I did, but it was harder than before. Not wanting to complain and be considered the "sick girl" I struggled mostly silent except sharing with those closest to me or when necessary at work.
Jump to May and my routine PET scan came about. Previous scans have been good so off I go in a matching sweatsuit (Canucks hoodie matched my Mavi sweats) and get through the scan as per usual. I wasn't able to connect with my oncologist until month end and having not recieved a phone call, thought no news is good news. Good news is my cancer HAS NOT returned to its original spot and Dr Lee is confident if it was to, it would have by now. Awesome I said. But then she explained a couple more things.
Remember that alien I spoke of throughout my battle? Well apparently it's grown in size and the PET scan image showed activity. It's now 6cm x 3cm. Say what??? OK I said, what's the plan of attack? Well wait there's another area that lit up too, your thyroid. Say what?? Imaging shows it to be approximately 14mm in size. My cool collected inner voice is now freaking out although I remain calm with my doc so I can collect all information to properly understand. So basically you're still cancer free, but 2 areas are of concern and need to be checked out. Off I went to the 3rd floor for blood work.
Another memory lane moment as I handed my slip to the check-in for blood work. I tend to faint and even had the crash cart called on me once during treatment, so asked they lay me down just in case! So we did and she got the sample without complication. The next day Dr Lee calls me and advised normal TSH readings vary from 0.3 to 4.8. Mine was an astounding 31.6! This is a hypo thyroid which means my metabolism is totally out of whack & slow and my energy levels way down. Seems some of my symptoms I was trying to push through were now making sense. An ultrasound has been ordered and pending ultrasound results a possible biopsy.
While all this is developing I already had a scheduled colonoscopy for the following Tuesday. Tuesday comes and my gastro dr doesn't seem to really know where this alien is! I told them all about it pre-op but I'm still confused as to what happened. When I was coming out of sedation mode I could hardly tell you my middle names let alone what he was saying. I did hear 2 biopsies were done. I'm calling his office tomorrow to hopefully get a better idea as I'm a tad confused. He has prescribed me a sterioid to help with my Crohn's and also a treatment regime to rid the fistula I unfortunately have and can feel. But let's move on from that ok lol
I'm trying to be humorous Carly with a funny pain in the ass joke, but for real I'm struggling. My energy is so low lifting my arm is a chore. I can hardly get out of bed and I share it with a skinny old cat! My hope and prayer is that these complications are just that and with proper medication are easily manageable. I won't tell you my mind hasn't wandered down the cancer road today, it has numerous times and will again tomorrow. Until my results are back I have to try to push through these thoughts but man it's not easy. I had a mini cry with dad as he drove me in today and a bigger cry mixed with anger with mom as she drove me home. Try to find foods that will help my energy but not activate my Crohn's. Try - try - try will become do - do - do, it's just a matter of time. Right? Right.
It's now 130 as I wrap up this blog typing in bed in my dark room. My fan always on as I find the old 1980s beaten up fan quite relaxing as background noise. The garden sprinklers just came on. Say what? It's time for bed.
Missed writing...I'll be back!
XOXO
C
#carly2conquercancer
Up until Feb/March I was riding high feeling really good. I was thriving in pretty much all aspects but started to feel Crohn's side effects, severe fatigue and even discomfort. Often I'd just shrug it off as I've been told my new normal is something I have to learn to push through, so I did, but it was harder than before. Not wanting to complain and be considered the "sick girl" I struggled mostly silent except sharing with those closest to me or when necessary at work.
Jump to May and my routine PET scan came about. Previous scans have been good so off I go in a matching sweatsuit (Canucks hoodie matched my Mavi sweats) and get through the scan as per usual. I wasn't able to connect with my oncologist until month end and having not recieved a phone call, thought no news is good news. Good news is my cancer HAS NOT returned to its original spot and Dr Lee is confident if it was to, it would have by now. Awesome I said. But then she explained a couple more things.
Remember that alien I spoke of throughout my battle? Well apparently it's grown in size and the PET scan image showed activity. It's now 6cm x 3cm. Say what??? OK I said, what's the plan of attack? Well wait there's another area that lit up too, your thyroid. Say what?? Imaging shows it to be approximately 14mm in size. My cool collected inner voice is now freaking out although I remain calm with my doc so I can collect all information to properly understand. So basically you're still cancer free, but 2 areas are of concern and need to be checked out. Off I went to the 3rd floor for blood work.
Another memory lane moment as I handed my slip to the check-in for blood work. I tend to faint and even had the crash cart called on me once during treatment, so asked they lay me down just in case! So we did and she got the sample without complication. The next day Dr Lee calls me and advised normal TSH readings vary from 0.3 to 4.8. Mine was an astounding 31.6! This is a hypo thyroid which means my metabolism is totally out of whack & slow and my energy levels way down. Seems some of my symptoms I was trying to push through were now making sense. An ultrasound has been ordered and pending ultrasound results a possible biopsy.
While all this is developing I already had a scheduled colonoscopy for the following Tuesday. Tuesday comes and my gastro dr doesn't seem to really know where this alien is! I told them all about it pre-op but I'm still confused as to what happened. When I was coming out of sedation mode I could hardly tell you my middle names let alone what he was saying. I did hear 2 biopsies were done. I'm calling his office tomorrow to hopefully get a better idea as I'm a tad confused. He has prescribed me a sterioid to help with my Crohn's and also a treatment regime to rid the fistula I unfortunately have and can feel. But let's move on from that ok lol
I'm trying to be humorous Carly with a funny pain in the ass joke, but for real I'm struggling. My energy is so low lifting my arm is a chore. I can hardly get out of bed and I share it with a skinny old cat! My hope and prayer is that these complications are just that and with proper medication are easily manageable. I won't tell you my mind hasn't wandered down the cancer road today, it has numerous times and will again tomorrow. Until my results are back I have to try to push through these thoughts but man it's not easy. I had a mini cry with dad as he drove me in today and a bigger cry mixed with anger with mom as she drove me home. Try to find foods that will help my energy but not activate my Crohn's. Try - try - try will become do - do - do, it's just a matter of time. Right? Right.
It's now 130 as I wrap up this blog typing in bed in my dark room. My fan always on as I find the old 1980s beaten up fan quite relaxing as background noise. The garden sprinklers just came on. Say what? It's time for bed.
Missed writing...I'll be back!
XOXO
C
#carly2conquercancer
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