Medical Leave

-
Getting my infusion. #livingwithcancer

 I've been on medical leave for a couple of weeks now and I've been sick for half that time. When I get sick now, it just lasts longer thanks to my compromised immune system. I guess it could be worse. I'll take a cough/cold any day as long as it doesn't progress to pneumonia. It's actually been kind of boring being home because since I've been sick I haven't had much time to go hiking or run my errands.

 I've just been feeling so tired lately and my bones ache so much especially my stupid shoulder. I wish I could say that it will get better and I know that it will, temporarily anyway. At least my liver pain has decreased so I guess that's good. I think the stress from work was just really aggravating all of my symptoms so it's nice to have this break to just focus on feeling better. The highlight of my leave so far is getting my cancer treatments. And thankfully Cruz's dad has stepped up to the plate and has really been helping me out a lot with my appointments. 

 I spent my day at UCSF yesterday getting my Herceptin/Perjeta infusion. I actually really like my infusion days. I got to talk to all the nurses who are awesome and I got to spread the word on my new 3D Fiber Lash Mascara venture. If you want to check it out go to my website www.youniqueproducts.com/CatalinaTamayo. I am now an independent presenter. It's nice because I can do it from home and since I've been feeling like crap it's nice to be able to do something from home and still spend time with Cruz. And I can also have awesome lashes. LOL. Even if I feel like crap I can still look good, right?

 So much to do and so little time, it seems. These next 3 months are going to fly by and then I'll return to work. Hopefully someplace new though. I've been looking like crazy. I just really need a change and I want to work for someone who understands my situation and doesn't try to drag me down. I would actually love to make the change and become an oncology nurse. After everything I've been through and working with cancer patients in rehab I know that I could relate to people in that situation and provide that support that only cancer patients understand. I just need someone to give me the chance to make the change. There's so many things I want to do in this lifetime and I hope I have the opportunity to do them.
Sitting in my heated, massage chair getting my infusion.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My Adventures with Blood Thinners

-
Image
About a year ago on September 12, 2012 I was diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism (PE) which is a blood clot in the lung. I had absolutely none of the classic symptoms of a PE. Instead my blood clot was found during one of my routine PET-CT scans to check on the progress of my cancer. For some reason people with cancer have a tendency to develop blood clots and I just happened to be one of the lucky ones that got one. I remember getting off the shuttle at the UCSF Parnassus campus and starting to walk to my sister’s flat when I noticed I had a voicemail. It was my nurse practitioner asking me to call her back because “it was kind of an emergency, but kind of not”. At this point I was really nervous thinking that maybe the cancer had spread instead of getting smaller so I called her back. She then told me that I had to go to the Emergency Room to start a regimen of blood thinners because I had a PE. My Lovenox Syringe So, I went to the ER where they gave me my first shot of Lo
Read more

Sticks and Stones

-
Image
Recently I’ve learned a lot of things about people in my life and I am trying to make an effort to keep away from negativity. Negativity stresses me out and stress is the last thing I need. Someone recently tried to say that karma is the reason I have cancer which left me kind of in shock. I’ll admit I’m not perfect but I definitely don’t think I or anyone deserves cancer. If that’s the way karma worked then why do so many great people get sick and die young, while many evil ones get to live well into old age? The comment made me very upset at the time but now I realize that I have to make an effort not to let negativity like that get me down. Life is too short to worry about what other people think. Maybe they didn’t mean for it to sound the way it did or at least that’s what I’m hoping, but the lesson here is to really think about your words before they come out of your mouth. Another example is talking about how you know someone that died of cancer to someone that has cancer. Altho
Read more

Hair Stylings

-
Image
Hair is important to many women and when you don’t have it; it can be pretty traumatic. I really miss having my long hair. I used to have long, curly hair. I could wear it curly or I could straighten it for a different look. People complimented me on my hair and it felt good. Unfortunately my hair fell out while I was on chemo. It fell out slowly. Every time I took a shower and combed my hair it would come out. It wasn’t noticeable but I didn’t want it to get to the point where I had bald spots and it was getting ridiculous trying to keep the shower from getting clogged so I decided to cut my hair short. I got a lovely short haircut from a friend but soon that wasn’t enough. Chemo was starting to make my head break out in a painful pimple-like rash and it hurt to wash my head. I then just had it shaved instead. I hated watching my hair fall out. Eventually I was bald without having to shave my head. The worst was when my eyebrows and eyelashes fell out. That really made me cry.
Read more