News Segment, King 5 Healthlink

Am pretty sure most of you know about this, but Dr West and I did a segment for the news last week, orchestrated by the lovely folk at Colehour+Cohen. Initially, we thought it might air Wednesday, but now it looks like it will hit closer to the November 19 Lung Cancer Awareness Event, co-sponsored by Swedish, Fred Hutch and Virginia Mason. They will let us know, and I will post it here in plenty of time (I hope!).

Go Obama........

What's Next?

Whew! The big gun treatment is done for now, and today we're doing baseline scans to see what the troops accomplished. No one (meaning me, Matt and Dr West) is particularly worried about what we will find, so please don't read this and start fretting, if you are the fretting type.

Then, tomorrow, I start my first "maintenance drug", Alimta. I have been told by several of the lovely chemo nurses (remember Dawn? Lucie is marrying Sam, her son, when they are old enough. I want her as an inlaw!) as well as Dr. West that Alimta is a piece of cake. Mild to no side effects, a short (like half hour) infusion once every three weeks, and the best thing -- a B-12 Shot every three weeks! (They are GREAT.)

Which just goes along with my assessment of cancer treatment at Swedish. You are treated like a rock star. Good drugs, shots in the stomach and rear (which Dawn also handles painlessly and quickly), catered lunch, warm blankets, lavender-scented eyepillows, personal knitters, and in my and my rock star doctor's case, film crews that follow us around and ask us to talk to them.

So then it's just Alimta until it doesn't work anymore -- and we'll be checking that with periodic scans (nope, don't know how often - haven't asked yet).

So that's it for now -- hoping to see all you lovely faithful readers next Saturday -- doors open , food arrayed, bar open at 6pm, and the band (we have a band! we have a band!) around 8:30.

The Party Details

Matt and I are so excited to see you all for the Matt Peterson Birthday/Melissa Peterson Done with Chemo Extravaganza!

Dress is very casual --remember, I'm BALD for goodness sake!

Doors open at 6pm, and we will have nibblies, wine and beer (and liquor for purchase). My fantastic friend Bryan Cohen's band will be playing at approximately 8:30. They are called SweetLou -- they are kind of Americana/Alt Country/Pop, and if you haven't heard them before, here's a link:

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=78570469

DIRECTIONS:
Sole Repair (aka 'the Shop') can be found just off of East Pike 1 block past Broadway on Seattle's Capitol Hill. Located right next door to Quinn's, and directly across the street from Neumos.

SOLE REPAIR - the shop
(206) 979-SHOP
1001 East Pike
Seattle, Wa 98122

PARKING
Parking is located in the following locations:
- 10th & East Pike - Located directly south of the Sole Repair building - $7.00 pay parking
- Pike & Broadway - Under and directly next to QFC - $0.00
- Broadway & East Madison - $5 pay parking
- Street Parking - Available where you can find it $0.00 after 7pm (all day sunday)

"The most incredibly lifelike baby money EVER!"

So my friend Bex in Portland is also going through chemo. She just posted on her blog about what surprisingly good reading material her oncologist's office offered. So I looked around at Dr West's office, and he has some good stuff too. Then I went down to the treatment center...and all I could find to read was a Ladies Home Journal and a Palm Desert Living. So I picked the LHJ. And I found this ad.

WHO BUYS THIS KIND OF STUFF?!? Especially for $150!!

My next treatment I am stealing something from Dr West's office to read.

Save the Date!

November 8 for a combo Matt-turns-39 and Melissa-is-done-with-chemo party....details to come, but think evening, think Capitol Hill area-ish. All are invited, so let us know if you are planning on coming so we can make sure there is enough wine, beer and comestibles!

Caveat on the post below

I want you to understand that I have only lost (and it goes back and forth) 5-8 lbs. Nothing scary.

Some Say...

That I remind them of Jean Tripplehorn. Some have said (really only in NZ where they worship her) there's a touch of Elle MacPherson. Some say Kyra Sedgwick. And currently, there's a lot of Sigourney Weaver in Alien, Sinead O'Connor...you get it.

But. There's someone new. Karen Carpenter.

WHAT?!?

Okay, let me explain. Yesterday, visiting with Dr. West, discussing my weight loss/weight gain (which is fine, by the way), I told him that it wasn't that food tasted funny, metallic, or otherwise, it is simply that I am just not interested in food at all. Nothing intrigues me or entices me (except on the odd occasion, like with the queso or fondue). And he told me that the strict medical term for me right now (like what would go in my charts) is ANOREXIC.

Who knew?!?