after spending sunday acclimating to the correct time zone, it was back into regular life. monday afternoon was an appointment with a physical therapist to take measurements of my arm. after the removal of axillary (near the armpit) lymph nodes, there is the danger of developing lymphedema in that arm. basically, your lymphatic system is a sort of drainage system that helps your body fight infection and disease, and lymph nodes are little filters that play a large role in keeping things clean and moving along. when these nodes are removed (in my case, due to the presence of cancer in at least two of them), it damages the system and increases the risk of lymphatic fluid building up. this results in the possible swelling of the arm and hand, and can be irreversible if not caught and managed immediately. so, the circumference of my arms was measured every 4cm, as well as the range of motion in my left arm, as baselines to compare to in the future. hopefully i will never have to deal with lymphedema in any way, because it sounds like a giant pain (literally and figuratively).

after the appointment, i went shopping for.. well, i wasn't exactly sure what. mostly shirts that open/close in the front, and comfy pants, for post-surgery attire. i won't be able to lift my left arm above my head, and likely will not want to do much with it at all, so button-front shirts are recommended. thankfully, i still don't have any hair to speak of, so not being able to shampoo with my left arm is not going to be an issue at all. anyway, i channeled my inner 90's kid and got a few large flannel shirts, some flannel pajama pants, and a couple of not-at-all characteristic short-sleeve button-front shirts; one is a little more frilly than i would prefer, and the other one is just fugly but hey, they were cheap and they'll help get the job done.

wednesday was some kind of pre-surgery pre-admittance appointment. i was under the impression this was going to involve a physical, but i either don't remember what is involved in a physical, or i was mistaken. mostly just had the usual vitals taken, got asked a zillion medical history questions, and the doctor (who i had never met and is one of those types who fancies himself a comedian) listened to my lungs. then another nurse came in with pre-surgery instructions regarding eating, drinking, medications, etc., and that was it. i felt like this could have been done over the phone, but whatever.

yet another appointment on thursday, this time with the medical oncologist (she has been in charge of my chemo). this was a weird visit, mostly due to the fact that they seemed busy and a little behind. the blood draw went fine, and then andy and i sat in the waiting room for about half an hour. then we were taken back by a nurse who was not dr. m's usual nurse, though the usual nurse appeared just in time to usher us into a room. after that, a nurse practitioner whom we had never seen came in, who did most of the things i expected dr. m to do, so i was a little confused as to what else needed to be done. after another fifteen minutes or so of waiting for dr. m, with the NP in the room (which felt super awkward), dr. m showed up and basically said my labs looked great and i was ready to go for surgery. good news, but it was a little bit of a crazy train to get to the end of this appointment. afterwards, andy departed for work and i attempted more shopping. i couldn't for the life of me find any camisoles or comfy pants with pockets that suited my needs, but i did find a new hat... after being in the desert, i realized that other than baseball caps, i only have winter hats. so i now have a lighter weight hat, and my hot flashes are thanking me already. OH i almost forgot, before shopping, i stopped by the bing cancer center at riverside. i picked up some free knitted knockers (i'll just let you google that if you're interested), and stopped by the over my head boutique. i went partly to browse (though i found it is a small store -- there is not much to browse, it seems primarily to exist for wig and prosthesis fittings), and partly to ask about what i would be sent home with on thursday. the woman was super helpful, and went to the back and grabbed a sample of items so she could actually show me the mastectomy bra and drain holders that i would be given after my surgery. it was helpful to have an idea of what was in store for me.

later that evening we met up with josh for some greek food. the last time i went to this restaurant, my dinner seemed bland, but i couldn't tell if it was from chemo, or if the quality was slipping. i am happy to report that my meal was delicious, and it made me realize that i think my taste buds are almost completely back to normal. great news!

friday and saturday were social evenings: friday with andy's brother and wife, and saturday with the wolfes. in no particular order, among other things, the following were enjoyed: pizza, forbidden island, lots of cheese, tiramisu, raiders of the north sea, hard cider, cards against humanity, and good company.

today was church, lunch with andy's family, and soon after, a walk in the sunny (though windy) day. and, of course, blogging about Week 27 in Cancer Land. surgery is this thursday, march 5th, at grant, at an undetermined time. to be honest, i am not looking forward to it, at all, and in fact, it still seems a bit like a dream. i suppose i am mostly ready for it, though there are still plenty of things to do and pick up and clean and prepare. it might be that the Week 28 blog is late due to ALL THE REASONS, so be patient. i'll hope to at least give a quick non-bloggy update on facebook as time allows. this coming week is just another week in this stupid, terrible journey... let's do this.