Change coming...

It appears that I will be leaving my nursing home and moving into an assisted living facility in August. I wanted to move into an apartment, but Medicaid would not approve that. The only real difference between that place and this one is that the new place has a kitchenette with a fridge and microwave. I still need help with certain things because my left foot does not want to lie flat to allow me to walk. Hopefully I will get some physical therapy at the new place so that I can be more handy with my walker. My biggest disappointment is that I cannot bring my cat back to live with me there.

AFAIK, the cancer is subsiding a bit. I was told my cancer markers have shrunk. I am also eating better and gaining weight since the chemo has finished. I'm on a hormone pill to keep the cancer at bay.

A few weeks ago I went to a Women's Cancer Support group at the hospital in Ottawa. The ladies were very nice and I look forward to going again in August.

That's really all for now. Maybe more to report later.

Late May Update

An update: I have been through chemo and radiation and am now on a hormone pill to keep my cancer at bay. No one has said the word "remission," but it is my understanding that there will be no normal remission for me. What the doctors have said is that my "cancer markers have decreased" since I've been through treatment. My pain in both legs is gone, although I still can't walk correctly (mostly because I haven't had much of a chance to work with the walker). My appetite is getting better. but I still fill up pretty quickly. For a while I was craving soda, specifically Sprite or root beer. That is changing as well, which is good. My hair is also starting to grow back! I now look like a youngish Jerry Lewis instead of Louis B. Mayer!

Another change which is not so good is that the nursing home where I am living has blocked Facebook, and thus my ability to connect with several friends. I am quite pissed about it, as Iam NOT an employee of their company, but a PAYING RESIDENT! I told them this, but they play dumb and blame their parent company for the wifi block. Just so much BS...

Other news may be coming soon, but I don't want to say as I don't want to jinx it. For now, here is a new pic of me looking fab, out and about at Luigi's, an Italian restaurant in Ottawa, KS.

What is the Atomic Gooch? "Gooch" refers to Agnes Gooch, Mame Dennis' secretary. She's a sweet girl, but kind of a nebbish, In any case, I consider myself to be an Agnes Gooch type. This rather long clip from Auntie Mame features a very pregnant Agnes at about 1:30.

"Atomic" refers to the fact that I have cancer. Stage 4 breast cancer to be exact. No, I did not contract it from hanging around nuclear power plants or mushroom clouds. I just thought "Atomic Gooch" was a cool name for a blog. I bet poor Agnes felt lots more Atomic as an unwed mother in the '50s than I do with cancer in 2015.