I'm feeling better this afternoon. Mom and I made a great dinner. She sauteed some thin slices of tilapa in grass-fed butter and tarragon, steamed some cabbage with dill and I roasted a small butternut squash in the convective oven.
I had my second appointment with my physical therapist, Nancy R.from Rex Outpatient Care whom I have been seeing since the big surgery in September 2009.The lymphedema from the surgery was well controlled by spring and other than wearing a compression sleeve every day I didn't worry about it until New Years eve when it suddenly swelled up.
The on-call radiation oncologist made the arrangements for me to go to the to the emergency room of Western Wake Medical Center to rule out the possibility of a blood clot. Thankfully, Mark Smith drove Mom and I to the center on the other side of Raleigh's downtown in the snow! The technician who was going to do the test was leaving at 7 pm so it was a race against the clock as well. Fortunately the results showed that there wasn't a clot.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Monday, January 3, 2011
Monday
Managed to get a walk in appointment this morning with my oncologist Dr. Zeitler. I've had a rattly cough all weekend. He gave me a seven day prescription of Levaquin, an antiboitic used to treat pneumonia, and a prescription form of Mucinex. Both are working well and I'm feeling much better already.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
New Year's Day
Well the dinner last night was absolutely fabulous! Another classic recipe of Mom's Deviled Crab Shells, O'Brien Potatoes and Asparagus. Mark and Polly brought their outdoor gas boiling pot over and steamed King Crab Legs on the back porch that Mom got from Costco. There was a carrot cake and I even managed to get a small plate of Marzipan done that Grant and Sloan were happy to take home with them. Photos and recipes soon to follow.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Last Treatment, Last Day of 2010!
At 9:15 this morning I had my 12th and last whole brain radiation treatment to my head. I'm done!
Yesterday Mom, unbeknownt to me began preparations for an impromptu New Year's Eve dinner with Polly, Mark, Grant and Sloan Smith from across the street. There was an early morning trip, right after my treatment, to Costco in Raleigh to pick up King Crab Legs and then, in the afternoon, while I rested, multiple trips for ingredients to make her Deviled Crab recipe, another of her great classics.
Yesterday Mom, unbeknownt to me began preparations for an impromptu New Year's Eve dinner with Polly, Mark, Grant and Sloan Smith from across the street. There was an early morning trip, right after my treatment, to Costco in Raleigh to pick up King Crab Legs and then, in the afternoon, while I rested, multiple trips for ingredients to make her Deviled Crab recipe, another of her great classics.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Today's The Penultimate Day
What a weekend we have had in North Carolina! A white Christmas with seven, eight or nine inches of snow blanketed the region. The Rex Cancer Center was closed on Monday because of it, which then delays the fourteen whole brain radiation treatments on my head by one day.
So, today is the eleventh treatment on my brain. I have finished the treatment on my rib and have just one more whole brain treatment left.
Yesterday after my treatment, my team of three radiation technicians, Lynn, Matt and Martha surprised me by saying that they were going to come in on Friday morning - New Year's Eve day, while the Radiation Oncology Center is closed to give me my one last treatment be.
I had been excited about the fact that I would be finished before the end of the 2010, but with Monday's adverse weather closing my last treatment day would now be in January 2011.
My three radiation technicians, Lynn, Martha and Matt surprised me yesterday saying that they were going come in on New Years Day morning, while the center is closed, to give me my last treatment!
I am so touched!
I know for a fact that The Vartan, the radiation machine that I come to know and love over the years, takes a half an hour to boot up and that Matt comes in early every morning to do it. Lynn and Martha are leaving their children on a holiday morning to drive to work just for me.
I feel so blessed, the universe is surely smiling down on me!
Mom is cooking up my special pre-treatment meal, it smell great!
So, today is the eleventh treatment on my brain. I have finished the treatment on my rib and have just one more whole brain treatment left.
Yesterday after my treatment, my team of three radiation technicians, Lynn, Matt and Martha surprised me by saying that they were going to come in on Friday morning - New Year's Eve day, while the Radiation Oncology Center is closed to give me my one last treatment be.
I had been excited about the fact that I would be finished before the end of the 2010, but with Monday's adverse weather closing my last treatment day would now be in January 2011.
My three radiation technicians, Lynn, Martha and Matt surprised me yesterday saying that they were going come in on New Years Day morning, while the center is closed, to give me my last treatment!
I am so touched!
I know for a fact that The Vartan, the radiation machine that I come to know and love over the years, takes a half an hour to boot up and that Matt comes in early every morning to do it. Lynn and Martha are leaving their children on a holiday morning to drive to work just for me.
I feel so blessed, the universe is surely smiling down on me!
Mom is cooking up my special pre-treatment meal, it smell great!
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Mom's Classic Cheesecake
Mom has been making this cheesecake recipe since she clipped it out the September 1977 Southern Living magazine. It's light and airy without the usual heavy butter or cream. She's added her comments on the cooking times, cooling techniques, alternative toppings and corrections to the original recipe. I've added the changes to the recipe below. This year she is using a jar of lemon curd from Trader Joe's instead of the topping in the recipe. I remember how the recipe's topping tastes from years past and it is delicious too.
Favorite Cheesecake
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
3/4 cups sugar
4 eggs, separated
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Topping (recipe follows)
Spread graham cracker crumbs in bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. Combine cream cheese and sugar, beating until smooth; add egg yolks, mixing thoroughly. Add lemon juice and vanilla, blending well.
Beat egg whites until stiff; add to cheese mixture, folding for a total of 8 minutes. Spread filling over crumbs.
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Do not open the oven. Turn the heat down to 325 and bake for another 20-30 minutes until the top is nicely browned but not dark. Still, without opening the oven, let it rest in the oven for one hour. If after all these precautions the top crack it means that it was over baked.
Spread topping over cheesecake; bake 5 minutes longer. Refrigerate overnight.
Yield: 8 to 10 servings
Topping:
1 cup commercial sour cream
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Combine all ingredients, and blend well. Yield: 1 cup
Mrs. Glenda Beamon,
Burlington, North Carolina
Favorite Cheesecake
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
3/4 cups sugar
4 eggs, separated
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Topping (recipe follows)
Spread graham cracker crumbs in bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. Combine cream cheese and sugar, beating until smooth; add egg yolks, mixing thoroughly. Add lemon juice and vanilla, blending well.
Beat egg whites until stiff; add to cheese mixture, folding for a total of 8 minutes. Spread filling over crumbs.
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Do not open the oven. Turn the heat down to 325 and bake for another 20-30 minutes until the top is nicely browned but not dark. Still, without opening the oven, let it rest in the oven for one hour. If after all these precautions the top crack it means that it was over baked.
Spread topping over cheesecake; bake 5 minutes longer. Refrigerate overnight.
Yield: 8 to 10 servings
Topping:
1 cup commercial sour cream
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Combine all ingredients, and blend well. Yield: 1 cup
Mrs. Glenda Beamon,
Burlington, North Carolina
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Treatment Day Ten
Today is treatment day ten and because of Christmas I'll have four this week instead of the usual five. Yeah!
My friend Sallie Ricks is driving me so Mom can meet with the installers for her wrought iron wall hanging that she received from Cindie and Tom. As usual there is a loop of errands to do in Raleigh before we make it back to Mom's place for lunch.
Our first stop was go by Sallie's house to let Sheldon out. I hadn't seen him since last summer when he was a kitten. I took some pictures which I'll post. Then it was to Kerr Drugs for a prescription refill, by my house to pick up lenses, tripods and clothes, and then to the farmers market to get some baby collards. We decided to splurge on three quarts of hot house raspberries that were grown locally and the last of the season. I also got a fresh bag of North Carolina pecan.
Mom had lunch ready to go when we got home and we had a feast which included roasted salmon with garlic, green beans with almonds, tiny roasted potatoes and cheesecake for dessert.
My friend Sallie Ricks is driving me so Mom can meet with the installers for her wrought iron wall hanging that she received from Cindie and Tom. As usual there is a loop of errands to do in Raleigh before we make it back to Mom's place for lunch.
Our first stop was go by Sallie's house to let Sheldon out. I hadn't seen him since last summer when he was a kitten. I took some pictures which I'll post. Then it was to Kerr Drugs for a prescription refill, by my house to pick up lenses, tripods and clothes, and then to the farmers market to get some baby collards. We decided to splurge on three quarts of hot house raspberries that were grown locally and the last of the season. I also got a fresh bag of North Carolina pecan.
Mom had lunch ready to go when we got home and we had a feast which included roasted salmon with garlic, green beans with almonds, tiny roasted potatoes and cheesecake for dessert.
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