Medical/Life Update
Fresh when it gets here from
Julie Barrett
Friday, October 31, 2025
I've not spent a lot of time on social media lately, and that's by design. I've put together a list of things to do, and doing them I am! So if I don't see your good or bad news, apologies.
On the chemo front, the neuropathy is starting in. The change in the weather hasn't helped. I always get cold hands/feet at this time of year, but nothing like this! I'm wearing fingerless gloves during the day and fuzzy socks to bed at night. Other than that, I'm doing pretty well. My next infusion is Tuesday, so we shall see.
My USB-powered hand warmers arrived today. Generally speaking, they're going to very useful as the weather cools. I'm going to take them with me to bowling on Wednesday and see if they help. I may not need them as the forecast is calling for a warm day, so the temp inside may be okay. I totally get that it's ea
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Filed under: Life
10/31/2025 10:02:00 PM
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Chemo Day Medical Update
Fresh when it gets here from
Julie Barrett
Tuesday, October 21, 2025
It's mostly good. I say mostly, because the nausea really hit me this past week. The main issue is keeping track of which nausea pills I can take and when. I've mentioned the schizophrenia drug, which is prescribed off-label for chemo-induced nausea. I take that for four days of chemo week. Just took one. I have two other nausea drugs, one of which I can take on chemo days if I really need it. The other I can't take on chemo days.
So how do I keep track? Well, there's a chart on a piece of paper, but you know me. If there's a complicated technology to do it, I'm doin' it!
Enter Home Assistant, an open-source home automation server. It connects to a truckload of devices, and found all of ours on the first scan. That's cool, because potentially it's a one-stop shop for controlling everything rather than using a ton of apps.
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Filed under: Cancer Sucks
10/21/2025 9:18:42 PM
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So Long, Arya
Fresh when it gets here from
Julie Barrett
Friday, October 17, 2025
Arya took her final visit to the vet today. This was fast and has hit us hard.
She was a very sweet kitty and will be greatly missed.
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Filed under: Cats
10/17/2025 9:27:21 AM
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More Medical and Life Updatery
Fresh when it gets here from
Julie Barrett
Monday, October 13, 2025
Hey, it's time for an update!
I'm here to tell you that chemo brain is real. Between that and the anemia, I'm having quite the adventure. The good news is that my hemoglobin levels are right on the edge of being in normal range. Oh, and I'm also blonde, so there's THAT. ;-)
The nausea has also been a thing, but I'm getting that under control. I thought I'd use up the previous round of nausea meds from my PCP, and those were sorta kinda working. Turns out the oncologist prescribed the same med, but double the strength. That works! (For the curious, it's ondansetron.) As noted before, I have other nausea meds, and I get the heavy artillery during chemo week.
The meds schedule during chemo week is wild, and I'm working on something that will help me keep track. I n
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Filed under: Life
10/13/2025 9:03:39 PM
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Bowling With Chemo Brain
Fresh when it gets here from
Julie Barrett
Wednesday, October 8, 2025
The oncologist said I could go ahead and bowl as long as I wore a mask.
So I did both.
On a 146 average: 151-160-150=461
I'll take that! I'm celebrating with a zero proof G&T. It ain't bad, and I do tire of all water, all the time.
My kilt bag worked really well to hold the chemo ball. I hardly knew it was there. I did have to do a little MacGyver strain relief. No, that's the wrong term as he wouldn't wear a bra. Yep, we're going into that territory. There's a lot of tubing to give me room to hang my bag up while I take a shower, and the tube includes a connector or two and two cutoff clamps. It's just enough weight to tug on the port, and I don't need that. So (sorry, guys) I was able to pull the t
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Filed under: Cancer Sucks Bowling
10/8/2025 9:20:53 PM
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The Chemo Has Begun
Fresh when it gets here from
Julie Barrett
Tuesday, October 7, 2025
Today was my first day of chemo. There was a massive delay as someone forgot to put my name in the queue for lab work, which come first. They've always been fast on the lab work, so I was concerned. I finally flagged down a phlebotomist and told her how long I'd been waiting. She did everything but impale herself on the dinner knife to get me in next and get my blood work done.
But this meant a longer wait to talk to the doctor, and another wait to get chemo started. The doctor went over everything and also set up my appointments for the next six weeks. He said the slots fill up fast (I believe it! Every chair in the chemo room was occupied. There were at least 20.)
They finally got me in about an hour and a half later than my appointment time. That did give me time to go to their pharmacy and get some pills that I'll be t
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Filed under: Life Cancer Sucks
10/7/2025 9:30:05 PM
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Getting Crafty
Fresh when it gets here from
Julie Barrett
Friday, October 3, 2025
Feeling better tonight. I might just be able to pop a Tylenol and be good with it.
I think I've found a craft that I can take with me to chemo. My problem: The crafts that I do require space. Or electricity. And/or heat. I don't think it would be a good idea to take my USB-powered soldering iron in. Or a laptop and prototype boards.
Most yarn crafts are out, because most of what I do requires lots of colors. Otherwise, I'd knit up another Fourth Doctor scarf.
I'll be confined to one chair, however comfy it may be, and (I think) a small side table. Not gonna carry in a large bag of yarn.
What to do?
I'm taking up hand embroidery again. It's been
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Filed under: Life Cancer Sucks
10/3/2025 8:10:30 PM
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Bring Back Telehealth!
Fresh when it gets here from
Julie Barrett
Friday, October 3, 2025
Had a bad(ish) night and I am in some pain this morning. It's to be expected. I was given instructions on how to deal with the pain (stay ahead of it), and I intend to follow them. I was told to take a Tylenol when I got out of bed, and the pain is now down to a dull roar. This is all to be expected with this sort of procedure.
I will be taking it very easy today as I'm still a bit unsteady. I was also told that was to be expected. Yeah, make me sit at my desk and fool around with small projects all day. ;-)
I do want to take a moment to talk about something that happened with the shutdown, and this really shouldn't be partisan. It's about Medicare paying for telehealth visits. This was instituted during COVID in 2000, and Congress has continued to extend it.
Te
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Filed under: Life
10/3/2025 9:02:19 AM
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Port Day, and Good News!
Fresh when it gets here from
Julie Barrett
Thursday, October 2, 2025
Medical update: It's been a busy, crazy day, but I shall not bury the lede.
I just got my PET scan results, and there is no cancer to be found! This is one time I'll take "unremarkable" a compliment.
Today was implant day. I was up early to get a light breakfast, which was allowed because the appointment was in the afternoon.
Got a call from my colon navigator this morning. She's going to hand me off to a chemo navigator.
It seems like we were forever at the hospital, but we were out shortly after 7. I now have a shiny (assumed, since I can't see it) PowerPort, along with a brochure, an ID card, and a rubber bracelet. It seems these things can set off some alarms. It's not a though I'm flying anywhere,
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Filed under: Life
10/2/2025 9:05:51 PM
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Scheduling Mayhem!
Fresh when it gets here from
Julie Barrett
Tuesday, September 30, 2025
Time for another episode of Medical Mayhem!
Actually, things are calming down. Not that my blood pressure agrees, but maybe after I get some sleep.
Let's cut to the chase, shall we? I have a port implantation scheduled. Sorta. First it was one day, then it was another, due to ever-shifting surgery schedules. It's not just the surgeon. It's scheduling the facility and making sure there's enough staff. Lots of moving pieces.
Anyway, we're set. I thanked the surgeon's scheduler profusely as I know she worked hard to find an open slot so I didn't have to change my chemo start date again.
Actually, this schedule is pretty convenient as I'll not be having infusions Thanksgiving and Christmas weeks, and FenCon
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Filed under: Life
9/30/2025 9:03:02 PM
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