Goodbye Kaiser, Hello Sutter Health...

I haven't blogged in weeks and I apologize for that. I've been depressed over a few things and haven't been in the mood to share. Now that things have smoothed over a bit, I'm ready to let you all in. A couple weeks ago I received a phone call from Kaiser informing me that I haven't had insurance since January 1st. WTF?! I couldn't believe my ears. I was under the impression that since I was on a Medical Leave of Absence, DMV was paying for my insurance. Well, apparently they only pay 26 weeks and that was up a long time ago. It was news to me. I would like to have been informed when the insurance ran out! They did, however, offer to let me continue on with coverage for the entire family at a low cost of $1358.71 a month. Again...WTF?! I'm on state disability for heaven's sake, that's not gonna work! So, John got on the phone and switched us over to his insurance, however, his company doesn't offer Kaiser. I was crushed. I couldn't imagine having to change health plans in the middle of chemotherapy treatment! How was I going to say goodbye to Dr. Hui? And the wonderful chemo nurses? Well, like I said, things have smoothed over a bit and I have heard fantastic things about Sutter Health, including what awesome Oncologists they have. So, as of May 1st, we'll be a part of Sutter and I will continue on with my treatment through them. My last visit with Dr. Hui is tomorrow and since my white blood cell count was too low for treatment last week, I will have my final chemo this coming Friday. Although it'll be hard (like change usually is), I'm willing to do it because I know that everything will work out. At first it was hard for me to accept, but I know that it'll be okay.

As for this Saturday, if you're in the area, I would LOVE for you to stop by Ettore's European Bakery & Restaurant where we are putting on a fundraiser to help raise money towards fighting breast cancer. I'm a part of team RAC-PAC that walks in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure on May 7th. If you'd like to read about it or see the write-up about ME, then check it out at http://www.ivegotabeefwithcancer.com/ and click on the WHY tab. Jordan and I will be working the door from 3-7 p.m. (or as long as I can handle it considering I'm having treatment the day before). There's a special "pink" menu and if you order from it, 100% of the proceeds go towards fighting the cause!! Special props go out to Sonia for all of her hard work that she puts into it 24/7. You're awesome Sonia, thank you for all you do.

Peace to you all ♥ Love, Genie

Top Ten Reasons You May Want to Go Bald...

First of all...I don't know why I'm having such trouble lately with this layout, but I spend a great deal of time going over it and the blog is just squeezing it all together :( Sorry! If you're considering cutting your hair, you may want to read over the ten top reasons I feel that you should go bald instead... (10.) You never have bad hair days! (9.) Never have to worry about covering up the gray! (8.) Save money by using absolutely no hair care products whatsoever (7.) No more bed head (6.) No more hat head (5.) You can put the top down on the convertible without worrying about your hair (4.) No more tangles (3.) No more brushes or combs (2.) You can look like Demi Moore in G.I. Jane! And the top reason for shaving your head...(drum role please)... (1.) You can leave the house with just a little lipstick and sunscreen! Here's to another beautiful day out there! Don't forget your lipstick and sunscreen :) Peace to you all ♥ Love, Genie

Frustration...

John and I went out to lunch with my sister-in-law Monica today and had a wonderful time. I wish I had "moments" like that all day, instead they're scattered throughout my week. When we got home I guess my stomach thought I'd overdone it and decided to bring my lunch right back up :( What a waste of money! If only we could get refunded whenever that happened! But just spending some quality time with Monica was well worth it and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. The other day I got a notice in the mail from EDD saying that they were giving me my final SDI check because they had been informed that I was no longer disabled. WTF?! Excuse the expression, but are you kidding me? They were kind enough to include a page stating that if this was perhaps not the case, that my doctor would have to fill out this form and turn it back in. As if that's not enough, we're trying to figure out the paperwork for Disability Retirement and if you've ever done that before, you know what a huge headache it is. It's not just a little form to fill out, it's doctor's forms, work forms, tons of questions relating to beneficiaries, etc. and it's SO confusing. We're going to walk into CalPers and hopefully they'll be able to help us with all of our questions. Just because I go and get this horrible disease and cannot work as much as they want me to I have no choice but to be out on a Medical Leave of Absence (MLOA). Well, in order to pay for my benefits (which I obviously need) they're "loaning" me money by setting up an Accounts Receivable at work. When my MLOA is over, then I'll have to pay it all back! Since we're not made of money and there's no way I can just continue on like that, we've decided to go with the Disability Retirement option. Of course they don't make anything easy and now I've got this crap to deal with. I'm sorry, I'm just a little frustrated at this point. I'm not the one who ever wanted to stop working in the first place and now it's as if I'm being punished for having cancer :( Not fair. Okay, I'm finished. No more whining. Together we'll figure it out and get the paperwork filled out and turned in. But in the meantime, if anyone happens to have a magic wand, I would love to borrow it :) Peace to you ♥ Love, Genie

No More Bad Hair Days...

As I was showering yesterday clumps of hair were in piles at my feet. I new that it would be my last day with hair (at least for awhile). Sheryl's hairdresser has offered to shave my head today, which is so much easier than waiting for it to just fall out. Besides, it falls out in bunches, leaving patches all over my scalp...not pretty. After I got dressed I went in to take a comb to my hair and there was a part sticking straight up, so what did I do? Just pulled it out :) that was the solution.

I keep reminding myself that no hair is so much easier than dealing with haircuts, dye jobs, and the cost of haircare products. And besides that, you never have bad hair days!

Peace to you all ~ Love, Genie

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Potomac Pl,Gilroy,United States

The Cather's Inn...

We came down to Gilroy last night to spend a few days with my brother Jeff and his family. It's literally like staying at the "Cather's Inn" when we come to visit, it's purely rest and relaxation :) Besides the comfort of their beautiful home, Sheryl is an amazing cook and they feed us very well.

This morning I was going to accompany Sheryl to her hair appointment and I was supposed to be ready by 8:30, but unfortunately I was in a lot of pain in the early morning and automatically turned off my alarm clock when I got up to take meds. What a bummer, I was really looking forward to some girl time with my sister-in-law. Although my hair is about to fall out, I was going to have a nice shampoo :)

I'm using Jeff's iPad right now and I must say it's pretty damn cool! To be able to sit anywhere and blog without having to use a computer or laptop is amazing...I'm a HUGE fan. And to think of all the other features it has on it (video chat, internet, app store, etc) this is pretty incredible. There you go Jeff, a nice plug for you! My brother happens to work @ Apple :)

Well, that's all for now. Who knows, I may even post again while we're here.

Peace to you all ~ Love, Genie

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Potomac Pl,Gilroy,United States

Another Gloomy Day...

I just wiped the speckles of barf from my glasses, boy what a life. Feeling like crap, been sleeping for over a week. When I'm not sleeping, I'm throwing up. UGH!! Yesterday Luanne asked for Dr. Hui's number because she knows there are more meds out there to help me through this tough time and she's determined to get them for me. Thank you Luanne, I honestly don't know what I'd do without a friend like you.

I haven't lost my hair yet, but I'm expecting it to fall out very soon. The nurse during chemo said it would be 14 days afterwards and it's been 9, so I still have a few days, although I know that was just an estimate. I plan to get started on the video taping this coming week (during which John will be on vacation and can help me) and I should still have hair. It's important for me to capture the "before" so that I look normal in the beginning of the taping. Since I have no idea if my hair will come back or when, I want to get some footage in soon.

Well, off to eat some beef broth for lunch in hopes to keep it down. I doubt it, but there's still hope. I will always have hope, prayers, and a whole lot of love.

Peace to you all ♥ Love, Genie

Here We Go Again...

Today I started on a new chemotherapy (treatment #46) and it'll be one week on, two weeks off. Along with the new schedule, come a list of new side effects, most of which I've already dealt with. I was warned, however, that I'll be losing my hair in about two weeks :( yay. They also warned me that I would be experiencing more nausea and vomiting than ever before. The two new drugs are Adriamycin and Cytoxan. The Adriamycin (also known as AC) is administered as a "push drug", where they actually push the meds into my port by way of a syringe rather than using a "drip" method that I'm used to. The Cytoxan is in the form of a drip. The whole treatment took 2 1/2 hours because they had to give me the Zometa treatment which is administered every 6 weeks for osteoporosis, to keep my bones strong. Without that, my treatment should last about 1 1/2 hours.

As soon as I got home I started to notice that my stomach was a bit uneasy and before I could even find "the bucket" that I usually use, I had projectile vomiting...in the garage! Luckily, the cat box was close by and so I proceeded to stand there and finish up. I'm sure glad there wasn't a cat occupying it at the time! Boy, this is going to be fun!

That's it for now :)

Peace to you all ♥ Love, Genie