So far, so good

I made my way to the station in buckets of rain as this season's typhoon number four passed near Japan. The 6:30 train was not as crowded with commuters as usual and the trip to Shinjuku was not so packed. I took the looooooooooong escalators down from the Keio Line platforms (which are already underground) to the Oedo Line tracks near the center of the earth and was surprised to see that these trains were less crowded than usual too. I even got to sit down for most of my ride to Tsukiji. By 7:30, when I arrived at Tsukiji, the rain was not so heavy but the wind was whistling strongly through the city buildings. The number of people at the automated reception machines was less than half of the typical crowd. The TV on the lobby informed me that the morning trains for a number of train lines were running 20 to 30 minutes late because of the heavy rain and one train line had stopped completely. My morning train must have been one of the last trains before the delays began.

Dr. F called me in promptly at 8:30 and I told him that I'd decided to start with the Xeloda option. He confirmed a few things and explained again about what to expect and then gave me a prescription for a week's worth of pills to be taken after breakfast and dinner every day. He'll come up to the chemo room next Tuesday while I'm getting my Herceptin drip to give me the results of next week's blood work and ask how I'm faring on the Xeloda before prescribing another two weeks' worth. If I tolerate it well and the blood work looks good, I'll be on a three weeks on / one week off schedule of this oral chemotherapy and continue with the weekly Herceptin IVs for now.

The rain had stopped by the time I finished my IV and headed out the door around lunchtime but the trains were still running a little late. The sun was shining brightly by the time I got home.

I started on Tuesday evening and haven't noticed any trouble so far (knocking on wood).

Translation of Tuesday's Talk

Dr. F showed me my CT scan results and input a summary of our discussion onto the hospital computer file, printing out a copy of the summary for me. Here it is:

Results of the April 22 CT scan show the appearance of a new 1.8cm tumor in the lower part of the right lung. We determined that the effectiveness of Herceptin + Taxol has decreased. Recommend changing treatment to Herceptin + Navelbine or Herceptin + Capecitabine (Xeloda). The chance that either of these will be effective is about 20% and main side effects are decreased white blood cell count and inflamed veins for the former and decreased white blood cell count, diarrhea and hand-foot syndrome for the latter. After these drugs, using Lapatinib (Tykerb) which is due to be approved in Japan within the year, is in range.

As there has been a recent tendency for ejection factor to decrease, we're concerned that some heart damage is beginning to show due to the long term use of Herceptin. We'll re-check in a heart ultrasound in early June.

So, I didn't get any Taxol on Tuesday but I did get my weekly dose of Herceptin as my heart ejection fraction level from the last ultrasound, although lower than previous scans, was still within an average range. I asked for a week to think about the options as I thought I'd better read up a little more on the effectiveness and side effects of each before jumping in to anything. I'm leaning toward the twice a day oral Xeloda even if I still go every week for my Herceptin IVs. I have to make a list of pros and cons though.

The tumors that we were zapping away at with the Taxol have virtually disappeared, so I'm glad that it did work so well while it worked. The new tumor appeared after my January scans though, while I was still on Taxol, so I guess it's farewell Taxol, hello feeling in my fingers and toes (already returning after the three week break I had). The CT scan did confirm that there are no metastases to other organs or bones too. Costs will remain 44,000 yen a month max. after refunds so I won't have to worry about cost limiting my decision anyway.

Velcro Wall Jump

The kids and I (except M who had previously arranged plans) went to the annual Family Fun Festival otherwise known as Oyako Matsuri near the station. The kids were encouraged to make the usual fabric craft flowers to celebrate Mothers' Day and play various games with volunteers. This year the local youth center organization had a stamp rally where kids could get cards stamped for measuring their grip, flexibility and vertical jumping prowess at their booth. Completed cards could then be shown to receive a small prize like a pencil or a figurine or a ticket to try the Velcro wall jump http://www.metroinflatables.com/showgame.html?id=36 which was set up in the large room on the 12th floor where I emceed the kindergarten graduation party a few years ago.

Naturally, the kids wanted to try the ultimate stage of this physical fitness test so we went to get them some stamp cards to record their performance and were told that the parents should also participate. "Fine by me." I thought, and had fun gripping, stretching and jumping up with a string attached to a belt around my waist and a measuring device. Results: I have a much stronger grip than the kids do and I'm more limber than the kids are in spite of my stomach getting in the way but they can all jump about 10 inches high than I can.

Off we head to the elevator for the final stage. N and L were already in Velcro jump suits with Velcro mittens and feet by the time J and I arrived. The wall and a ten yard long "runway" were basically fancy variations of the age old inflated moonwalk with a similar inflated target shaped trampoline between them. This set filled the entire room.

L had trouble picking up any sort of speed on the huge air filled tubes and didn't bounce very high. N's performance was not any more inspiring. J and I were called over to get our Velcro suits. I had to wait until J finished her jump as they only had one large sized suit and the medium large one was just to small for big old me to squeeze into. I watched her struggle down the runway and throw herself at the wall to be peeled off by two volunteers and hoped that the suit would be too small so I could bow out of the potentially embarrassing situation. I couldn't decide which would more embarrassing, being too fat for the suit or to clumsy to even make it to the trampoline, and decided that injuring myself on a huge cushion of air was probably more inconvenient for all involved.

No such luck; the suit fit fine so I bravely made my way to the starting point. I managed to run in slow motion down the runway, jump (more like fall...) on to the trampoline and reach for the wall as I ascended only to find that I'd stuck to the wall before my feet ever left the trampoline. I guess it's made for shorter people. At least I didn't twist or break anything. I did wonder though, on the way out the door, where all the other moms were at this stage. They were probably downstairs getting pencils or cheesy figurines.

Good Pickin's

The ladies of our local chapter of foreign wives of Japanese men held a baby shower for a friend today. It was a potluck lunch and from the lovely assortment of dishes, it was easy to deduce that most of us were ready for a break from Japanese cuisine. We had spinach quiche, a Mexican salad with layers of lettuce, onions, avocado, salsa, olives, sour cream and cheese to be spooned over tortilla chips, cheese and crackers, tomato stewed chicken, a black bean dip with pita bread, a summery pasta salad, a healthy green salad, chocolate chip muffins, a chilled blender borscht with sour cream (yes, I finally found canned beets near Tsukiji!), a friendship cake (the starter was smuggled into Japan in a suitcase), chocolate mousse, a yellow cake topped with chocolate, strawberries and grapes - nothing Japanese on the table at all. We did have a little iced green tea on the drink table, with hazelnut coffee, raspberry leaf iced tea...I was nervous about offering my pitcher of violently purple soup but it sold well, not as well as the chocolate mousse, but that can't be helped. The kids had sushi with S as the lunch was a ladies only event.

A Break

I finished my IV early on Tuesday and had a few hours before my quarterly CT scan so I traipsed over to Shinbashi a few blocks away to shop at Hanamasa, a wholesale grocer, and save a little on the monthly food expenses. The CT scan technicians managed to fit me in a little earlier than my 2:30 appointment so I dragged my sacks of groceries into the changing cubicle with me and was finished by 1:30. The next two Tuesdays are national holidays so I won't have treatment or hear about the results until then unless Dr. F. finds anything he doesn't like, in which case he'll call and have me come in earlier. It's nice to have a break.

Tomorrow I plan to take the kids to the other side of Tokyo to watch M run 800 meters in a track meet if the coach deigns to accept her application to continue in the track team. The students have to sign up every year and he was giving M and two of her friends a hard time yesterday about appropriate attitudes, discouraging them from ever doing track and field again. The traditional thought, according to S, is that degrading students and telling them to quit is supposed to encourage them to try harder. Silly me, and I thought he was telling them to go home when he shouted "Go home!" to them. Sigh. The coach called last night to apologize for misjudging a situation and overreacting and asked if M and the other two girls could come in at 7:30 to discuss and resolve the situation. Hopefully peer pressure won't keep them all from throwing in the towel just yet; they're all pretty good at the sport.

More on the unexploded bomb

It seems that the bomb was never actually dropped, but that the number 1 engine of B29 T-42 (also known as Mrs. Tittymouse) of Squadron 875 was hit by flak and the plane lost its left wing, last seen going down in a spin on 04/07/1945. The bomb must have been part of the debris from that crash. An account written by a Japanese man who was a child in the neighborhood at the time describes the strong smell of gasoline and the shock of seeing the picture of a topless girl on the nose of the craft surprise that the plane was equppied with beverage dispensers offering coffee, tea or milk at a time when the Japanese military did not take indvidual soldiers' preferences into consideration even if it had been possible to offer such luxuries. He was also saddened to see how young the crew members who did not survive seemed when laid out in a row before being buried in the local temple, Empukiji, graveyard. The eleventh crew member surviced and was taken prisoner and sent to Omori POW camp and returned to the States after the war where he struggled much with PTSD.

This Week's Big News

On March 27, 2008, an unexploded 1-ton bomb thought to have been dropped in an April 7, 1945 U.S. B29 air raid was discovered buried in a neighborhood yard along the train tracks. Japan Self Defense Force experts have assured the city that there is no danger of explosion without strong impact so the yard has been cordoned off and security personnel have been dispatched to keep watch while the city informs the neighbors of disposal procedures and precautions. The city has announced plans to regulate traffic and clear a 500 meter radius of neighborhood around the bomb on May 18 for disposal of the unexploded ordnance. We're about 700 meters away but there are two stations and quite a few residences and businesses, including a 32 floor high rise apartment and two large supermarkets within the evacuation area. Apparently the Keio Line's underground train line pre-construction magnetic exploration and stories of the April 7th air raid led to the discovery. Maybe the entire neighborhood can come watch this year's city-wide kiddy sumo that day at the American School in Japan on the very far side of Chofu from anything (well outside of the 500 meter radius).

Rainy Tuesday

I left breakfast and lunch (well protected from the cat) for the kids and headed off to Tsukiji for blood work, an exam and discussion with Dr. F. and my usual full course of Herceptin, anti-nausea and anti-allergy pre-meds and Taxol with a saline chaser. We decided that as the neuropathy (numbing of my feet and hands) is not progressing and I'm not getting any rashes or other cumulative side effects, I should continue with the Taxol every three out of four treatments for the time being. Last night I spread out the CT scan images of approximately the same slice of my lungs from Oct2006, Feb2007, May2007, Oct2007 and then Jan2008 to visualize the journey so far and try to imagine how much smaller I can zap the lung tumors away with a little more Taxol. I still expect that I'll stop the Taxol sometime this spring as I don't like the side effects of the pre-meds (mainly the weight gain and sleepiness) and see that the tumors are back to their Oct2006 size (when I wouldn't have noticed them without a CT scan) and weren't taking up precious breathing space like they were from Feb2007.

The Herceptin has been effective in halting any tumor growth and I expect it will continue to do so even if I stop the Taxol. With the weekly Herceptin treatments, I could enter a stable status even if the no-evidence-of-disease NED stage is unreachable. I've been very blessed to receive support from a number of ladies in an on-line group to help me continue with the weekly treatments for the next year. Their encouragement and financial assistance has lightened my burden. I'm so relieved to know that I don't have choose between getting treatments and feeding the family.

I managed to get back in time to take L to the dentist as the dentist found two small cavities on Friday morning when I took all of the children in for a check-up and maintenance before the new school year. J's cap on her front tooth needed repair but she and her sisters had no cavities. L had one of his treated on Friday and the other today so they're done for a while. I asked my oncologist about precautions before dental work because one of my 25 year old crowns came off. I'm scheduled for next Friday morning now.

Time to tackle some of the new school year paperwork that each of the kids has brought home for me. I think we need an IN box and OUT box for each child...

New School Year

We managed to keep everyone entertained during spring break and are clearing out the desks and closets this weekend to make room for all the stuff each child will need in the new school year. I thought I was making good progress sorting clothes and putting winter things away but all of the room I made has just been filled with a big load of hand-me-downs from a German friend in the neighborhood. Her youngest son is J's age so L now has a wardrobe that will last through at least 6th grade.

We had a lot of picnic lunches to make the most of the wonderful spring weather we've been having so the kids are all looking forward to school lunches as a reprieve from onigiri (lightly salted rice balls wrapped in nori seaweed).

I traded my crossing guard duties on Tuesday with the mom who had Wednesday morning and wrote in all the class PTA meeting schedules on the calendar and I'm very ready for everybody to go back to school.

Why I never got a job with CBS

End of School Year

For most schools in Japan, the school year is from April to March with a few intervals off between each of the three trimesters (spring, fall and winter). We're looking forward to about two weeks off before L,N,M&J begin 3rd, 5th, 8th and 9th grades respectively. Ninth grade is the final year of mandatory education here and J will need to study for and take examinations to qualify to enter a high school. Both public and private high schools require some sort of tuition but the public schools cost much less.

The schools are rated on the level of competition to enter and the difficult to enter places seem to have more rigorous academic levels. There is a large variety of schools, some more academic, some offering practical occupational training. Most of the kids from our junior high school tend to go to the academically oriented schools in hopes of continuing on to university or occupational training schools later. We visited a few schools last year to get a feeling for where she might like to attend but have made no choices regarding goals as of yet.

I imagine that as M has different interests and strengths, we'll have to do the same school touring and searching next year to find an appropriate school for her. I'm thinking that I won't possibly be able to attend all the PTA meetings in a few years when we have children in four different schools, two of them probably a train ride and/or a bus ride away. I already have a hard time making it to all of the class meetings with two children each in two neighborhood schools.

I missed N's last class meeting last week because my IV took longer than expected and I decided to meet Mrs. Y for a late lunch instead of rushing back to apologize for missing the meeting. I made it to L's mini concert and last class meeting of the school year after pumping furiously back to the elementary school on my one-speed bicycle from a short afternoon of M and J's presentations in the jr. high gym. This Friday I'll attend half of a class meeting each for J and M as they've been scheduled for the same time after a general meeting in the gym for the 7th and 8th grade parents. Then in April, we do it all again to meet the new teachers...

I enjoyed the company of my neighborhood British friend on my trip to the cancer center today. She met me on the way to the station at 6:30 this morning and brought along crossword puzzles and a book to entertain me. She was even pleasant when the steroids made me all sleepy and I couldn't help out with the clues too much. I hope she had time for a nap this afternoon after the early morning and long trip. I slept for about an hour after I got home while L and two friends played Nintendo games in another room. Not much of a hostess...but L was glad to be able to have his friends over as he usually goes off to play at their places and we need to reciprocate once in a while.

Twins?

The mother of one of L's playmates who lives near the junior high school asked if L had two elder sisters there. She wanted to know if they were twins and was surprised when I said that they were in 7th and 8th grade. She went on to comment on how much they look alike and how wonderful it was that they were both in the track and field club. She'd seen them running laps around the school, one always a few minutes after the other. She was flabbergasted to learn that it was only M running lap after lap and that J is in the brass band. M was pleased to hear that her speedy laps had confused someone into thinking she was twins.

March is the end of the school year and M and J have three days of final exams next week so I'm taking L and N off for a sports event tomorrow and a friend's birthday on Sunday to cut down on the commotion factor so the girls can study a little.

Not much happening

I've had a cold three weekends in a row and spoke with my oncologist about it between the second and third times. My white blood cell count is still plenty high, which is good in terms of treatment. I just come into contact with too many people I suppose. We did speak about taking a break from the Taxol (chemotherapy) part of the regime from March or April and staying on the cancer supressing Herceptin as a QOL decision (quality of life).

I'm looking forward to seeing Mrs. Y, my former host mother, on Tuesday after treatment and then will going in a little later than usual the next Tuesday as my downstairs neighbor has her quarterly appointment and would like to travel there with me. The trains are less crowded after 9 a.m. but the wait for a chair or bed for the I.V. may be a little longer. This shouldn't be a problem though, as it is my "Herceptin only" day this month and the I.V. itself will only take an hour or ninety minutes instead of three hours. We can chat if she finishes before I do and then come home together.

Sorrow

I haven't posted much lately. A week ago today a seven year old little boy from down the hall was hit and killed by a kindergarten bus and we've all been quite sad. Today his little brother started taking his own kindergarten bus again but already he seems a little more grown up after losing his big brother and the week of mourning, wakes and funerals disrupting and changing his life forever.

HATS HATS HATS! Free Shipping!

I just updated my links on this blog to include a link to CJ Hats, a company founded by an Inflammatory Breast Cancer survivor who really understands about comfortable head wear and full coverage. I have about an inch of hair in some places now (this time around I have a very receding hairline and look like Phil Collins), in spite of the continuing chemotherapy and I am very glad to have nice hats to keep my head warm and comfy so I don't have to wear wigs everyday. Some of my hats are from friends here in Japan who have knitted, crocheted or sewn them and others are from CJ Hats. Mary Ann, the owner, offers advice and encouragement in addition to a very large variety of hats at very reasonable prices.

Right now, CJ Hats has a FREE SHIPPING OFFER and it's WORLDWIDE! (Friends here in Japan are often frustrated by the lack of international shipping services when shopping on-line). The site http://www.cjhats.com/ explains that shipping within the U.S. is free for orders over $50 and internationally for orders over $75.

Smells Goooood!

The funny and nice old woman from downstairs came by last night to ask for a loan of some rice until her pension arrives in mid February. She is very tiny and any shopping at all involves a long trip to the store and back with her day pack. She uses the day pack to keep both hands free to find her way there and back and it takes her about an hour to navigate the journey downstairs, out to the street and slightly more than a hundred yards down the street to the nearest convenience store and back and she tells me that the two or three items (a sweet red bean paste filled roll, instant noodles and a chocolate bar usually) that she buys are very heavy to carry. I can't imagine her lugging a few pounds of rice home from other farther away stores (she is specific about where each type of product should be acquired and very loyal to each store she visits). Although she is very reluctant to make use of the various delivery services, not wanting to be seen as anything but totally self sufficient, she has relaxed a little and will let me help out with the rice and a few other things, always insisting on giving me money later, when her bimonthly pension payments arrive. She always insists in paying me more than necessary so I stop by with treats like the sushi egg omelets that I "have too much of" or brownies, which I know she likes. Yesterday she stopped by to chat for a couple of hours while I cleaned the kitchen and she decided to give us her toaster that she never uses. Now I'm baking bread so we have something to toast this morning.

Forgot to say thanks for the s'mores....

We had an early Christmas dinner on Dec. 22 followed by S'mores made with ingredients in the big box Mom and Dad mailed us full of Christmas presents. It smelled like a summer evening with all the marshmallows roasting over individual candles. Roasting time was greatly increased due to lower calories of tea candles versus the heat of post BBQ coals. It made for an entire evening of fun.

Happy New Year!

Winter break is winding down. School and treatments both begin on Tuesday.

Warmest wishes to everyone for a happy and healthy 2008.

Dragging a bit, but hanging in here

I've had a busy week consulting people about jobs and about planning for the future as it looks like I need to contribute more financially. No specific plans have been made as I am still in the information gathering stage. Frugal yet nutritious recipes would be welcome.

My Cancer Center guardian angel fellow survivor brought me some delicious inari sushi she'd made so I enjoyed lunch during my IV yesterday and came home after a quick trip to the market to pick up some sushi egg omelets paid for and requested by a downstairs neighbor. Oysters, with which I've had some bad gastrointestinal reactions a long time ago, were being marketed nearby and I had a sudden revelation "Hey! I bet I could eat oysters on Tuesdays with all the anti-nausea and steroids I get for the chemo..." I didn't try it out though. Just a weird idea that came to mind.

I did find a cheap turkey at the poultry wholesaler so we'll have a turkey dinner on Saturday and turkey fajitas and turkey noodle soup later in the week. Something to look forward to.

OK, who was the last person out of the bath?

Our family follows the Japanese custom of using one big, deep tub of hot water for all of our baths each night. The actual washing is done outside of the bathtub and we soak up to our necks in relaxing hot water. A little hot water is added along the way if it cools down too much and each person lats the next person know that the bath is free when they emerge in their pajamas. When the kids were all small, it was easy to toss them all in at one time and do sort of a factory automation version of shampoo, shampoo, shampoo, shampoo, rinse, rinse, rinse, rinse, soap, soap, soap, soap, scrub, scrub, scrub, scrub, splash, splash... but now they're all big enough to enjoy relaxing on their own in the tub. The last person is expected to replace a roll-over cover we have to keep the water warm in case S wants to take a bath after he comes home or to keep condensation down. I can use the water for laundry the next day if it is still fresh enough.

This morning I heard a big splash and some sneezes from the bathroom as I was getting breakfast ready. I rushed over to see what it could be to find Koro swimming around in circles in last night's bathwater. She'd jumped up to where she must have expected the hard cover only to dive in to the bathtub. What a surprised but not angry look she had on her face. She seemed quite happy to be scooped out and wrapped in a towel. I should have checked that the top was on last night but I got tired of waiting for everyone to finish up and I went to bed earlier than the last couple of bathers. Once the toddlers are big, it's easy to let one's guard down. Wet cat!

Another Good Day

I figured out the mystery of the woman who gave me lunch last week. Her name isn't Chiyoko after all but Mariko. I'd planned to bring her some persimmon bars that I'd baked without sugar but the kids liked them so much that there weren't enough left. Also, I made them with butter instead of oil and Mariko is avoiding dairy products. Today she brought me more genmai rice balls and a tangerine for lunch, some pretty pickled onions and peppers in a jar, some more rice for dinner and a tupperware box with potato salad and broccoli for dinner. We chatted and her children are my age, but in Kyushuu, one married with a child and the other a nun in a Trappist order, busy baking Christmas goodies this month.

It looks like the Tuesday crowd is getting to know me; a man and his wife waiting their turn (his probably) for a blood draw smiled and told me to keep up the positive attitude and enjoy all those children of mine. The wife had been talking with my new friend Mariko. It seems like a lot of people smile in my direction there and I wonder if my wig might be askew sometimes. I usually smile back anyway. I'm getting used to seeing some of the same faces and I'm sure they remember me.

My monthly exam with Dr. F. was as thorough as ever and things are well. He scheduled me for the next season's round of scans and tests all the way through April so I could get into the system before it gets all crowded. I asked about changing the Christmas I.V. to the 28th as it is a waste to not keep blasting away and I'll have January 1st off, giving me a 2 week break from Taxol anyway.

Yay! Grr! Ack! and Beyond

Monday was the annual foreign wives cookie exchange and the large container full of lemon bars I baked on Sunday night evolved into two containers of a delightful variety homemade cookies from a dozen or so other wives and moms. The kids were quite impressed with the beautiful creations but didn't hesitate to enjoy munching away at the delicious treats.

Tuesday I made sure that two out of four were awake and sitting at the breakfast table before I headed off to Tsukiji. I got a seat on the train (yay!) and arrived in time to check in at the machines which accept our plastic Cancer Center cards and print out our itinerary for the day (yay!). Then I discovered I'd brought the wrong bag with me and that I didn't have my plastic card (Grrr!) so I had to wait until the manned reception desk opened at 8:30 a.m. to check in. I expected this to delay treatment a bit as I couldn't go for the blood tests until after that and I'd end up having to wait a little longer to check in at the chemo room. Oh well, what's a few extra hours of reading time before treatment starts...

The nice lady at the reception counter was able to re-issue a card, print out my schedule and send me on my way upstairs very efficiently. As I read my schedule on the escalator, I saw that I didn't have a blood test scheduled after all (Yay!, I get enough of them and they're always well within the safe limits to get treatment anyway.) I was able to advance directly to the oncology nurse station right when my doctor was walking by to his office. He looked around to see that the usual nurse was busy out back and asked me and another of his patients to hand him our files so he could send us on our way upstairs to the chemo room. (Yay! Back on schedule again!).

The other woman was dressed flowingly in muted oranges and bright pink and stood out as much as I did in the sea of grey, brown and black. She announced to me "Chiyoko went to the mission school." I assumed she meant herself, as sometimes people refer to themselves using their first names (but not much after elementary school). Her husband is/was and artist and she gave me a copy of a painting he had done of Mary. She said the original was currently on tour. We registered upstairs and headed back to the lobby to pay our bills before the late morning / early afternoon congestion at the cashier's counter. A gentleman of 70 or so was headed to the escalator too and he made a nice gesture and told us "After you" in English with a pleasant smile. My new friend Chiyoko was quite excited as in her 76 years she'd never received such treatment or so she said as she gave the man a huge smile and thanked him. I think is was our brighter colors and my blond wig that gave him a few smiles.

I went to the ATM so get some cash to pay at the counter only to find that the credit card bill for last months groceries had been deducted from the account yesterday and I had to shuffle funds from several accounts to get enough cash for the payment. (Ack!) This took a little more time than expected but I was able to hand in my paperwork and pay before heading back upstairs.

We sat together and talked while we waited for the bills and Chiyoko-san said she's on the same treatment as mine now but that she'd had full brain radiation (gamma knife) recently for the metastases to her brain. She seemed to be doing very well. She disappeared somewhere as I was paying my bill only to reappear back upstairs, outside the chemo room with some rice balls she'd taken from her lunch box to wrap in paper towels and offer to me for my lunch. We were each called by the nurses then so I thanked her for lunch and went to my reclining chair for my full course. She was on her Herceptin only day so she finished and left before I did although I was done by 12 (yay! so early!). I expect I'll see her next Tuesday too.

I walked to Ginza again to get a little exercise, catch a different train back to Shinjuku and save a few yen and I was home before 2 p.m. Today I'll go update the bank books and see why I haven't heard from city hall about September's reimbursement.

Slumbering Angels

My downstairs neighbor had her quarterly check-up at the Cancer Center today and I took a later train than usual so we could go downtown together. I made sure to put breakfast on the table and leave the Tupperware and chopsticks that J and M needed to take with them for their post final exam rice cake pounding event before waking J up with instructions to wake everybody up in time for school. My neighbor and I managed to arrive at the hospital a little after 8 a.m. and go our various ways for check ups and treatments. Her survivor friends also scheduled their appointments today so they could get together. They kindly invited me to lunch with them when I met them after my treatment just as they were finishing up with Dr. F.

Thinking that the kids were already home as both schools got out a little early today, I decided I'd go ahead and join the ladies for lunch as it was already too late to rush home and be here before they got home anyway. We had a pleasant time and my neighbor and I got home around 4 p.m. to an empty house as the older girls were at club or team practice and the elementary kids were out in the park with friends. I noticed the answering machine light flashing so I pressed the button to hear "This is Mr. H. from junior high school. Neither J nor M have arrived at school this morning..."

That's when I found the uneaten breakfast on the table and deposit of pyjamas, discarded school uniforms, dirty socks etc. scattered over the yet to be folded and put away futons. Guess I should have called the kids from the hospital instead of assuming they were all already in school. Oops.

I called the school to make sure that the girls had arrived in time to take their exams and was told that they had arrived with a few minutes to spare, just after the teacher had called. Whew!

S went to help out at the rice pounding event, kindly taking the necessary Tupperware and chopsticks that had escaped notice in the apparent rush to get out the door. J said that there was one 7th grade boy running a few hundred feet behind her as she ran in the front gate so she was glad that she wasn't the latest kid.

Wishy Washy Day

I gave a sample for my blood work this morning and was promptly called in for my check-up. My oncologist had printed out results from my Ct scans of July and of last week to show me how much the Taxol (the ultimate head lice control drug) had shrunk the tumors in my lungs. This was encouraging. He asked about all the possible side effects and examined my hands, checked for lumps, listened to my breathing, looked carefully for any swelling and asked about the general quality of my life to determine if the treatments have been affecting my quality of life. We discussed extending the Taxol treatments until I notice more side effects and he typed in a schedule for up to 26 treatments in the computer. So far, the only side effect that is worrisome is the gradual numbing of my feet. For some reason, my hands haven't been affected yet (knock on wood) but my feet feel like I've been skiing all day and my old (not very warm) ski boots were buckled too tightly. This isn't really a problem as I've always been a little clumsy and as long as I wear my SAS shoes or other well cushioned sports shoes, I'm OK. If this neuropathy advances to a point where it changes my gait, I will probably stop the Taxol and, per the original plan, keep up with the Herceptin. There goes the 20 time countdown goal.

I asked to see the bone scan results from a few weeks ago and he showed my that my skeleton had a little illumination on a spot on my upper left rib cage and another spot on my right hip that weren't there last November. As I have no symptoms (pain) the current course of action is to stay on the Taxol/Herceptin menu and keep an eye on the spots. These scans detect trauma (breakdown and regeneration) to bones and it might not necessarily be metastases to my bones and could be a number of things (I am a little clumsy and could have bumped my hip and the rib cage spot was radiated two years ago...). I need to research a little more. I tend to think that it is cancer spread, but feel that the Taxol is probably working on this too. Not shattering news, but still a little dismaying.

I walked around Shinjuku Station and Yoyogi today to get my exercise and look at the hundreds of men setting up billions of Christmas lights the Takashimaya Times Square area. What a lot of electricity and manual labor for a generally Shinto/Buddhist metropolis.

Sunday Fun

J and I left breakfast and lunch on the table with a note for the younger siblings and S who were sleeping when we tiptoed out the door at 8 a.m. to go to a musical instrument fair in Yokohama. Getting everyone out the door in time and dragging them to Yokohama would have detracted from fun for the day all around (J would have had to rush through the exhibit so we could get out before the other three broke anything and they would have been grumpy about tagging along when they could have slept in) and increased our total round trip time ("Where's L? OK, now where's N?...."). Our student/sometimes helper and his sister came over in the afternoon to play with the younger kids and the kitten, so they weren't at all unhappy about being excluded from the day trip.

We checked out Xaphoons (handmade bamboo saxophones from Maui), ouds (guitar-like Middle Eastern instrument with beautiful mother-of-pearl inlay and 11 strings), saz lutes and all sorts of unique instruments as well as a plethora of mainstream instruments and accessories. J was most impressed with the contra bass saxophone in this photo. There are apparently only four of them in Japan and this is the only privately owned one. The other three belong to various symphonies of bands. She was ecstatic when the people at the booth kindly encouraged her to play the monster sized sax. She actually managed to play a song from her brass band fall concert program, but it was hard to get the sound on the video of my cell phone as the very large conference center was filled with booths of other visitors sampling instruments and the low frequency output of the huge instrument couldn't compete with the din of clarinets, trumpets, alto saxophones etc. She had a great time.

We arrive home to sit down and play with Koro and her guests who were kind enough to bring Baskin Robbins ice cream.

An Early Day

Today was a Herceptin only day so I finished fairly early and had time to walk to Ginza and back before my early afternoon CT scan. On the main street, it is much closer than I thought from my previous foray via round-about back streets.

Nice Nap / Neighbor in Distress

The pre-Taxol antihistamine really hit me hard today so I took a nice long nap after I got home and L complained about my loud snoring. I woke up very refreshed and started getting batter and vegetables ready for tonight's OKONOMIYAKI.

Around 5:30 the little older lady from the third floor came up with a cane today, a first for her. She'd fallen down on Sunday and can't go shopping but is extremely reluctant to call for the government provided care services which she is eligible for or to go see a doctor. She asked if I'd be shopping tomorrow and if I could pick up a few things for her, giving me some money. I've decided to keep a record of the money as she tends to hand out more than necessary and I now she'll run out of cash before her next pension payment arrives in December at this rate. She stayed, talking while the kids and I cooked our dinner at the table, declining any because she had already eaten, but carefully watching how we cooked it all at the table. She'd never seen an electric griddle (hot plate) before and was very curious. After I finished cleaning up, I escorted her downstairs with some rice, tangerines, crunchy KARINTO sweet snacks and moleskin type medicated pads to put on her injury.

Next time I'm at city hall, I'm thinking of asking at the advisory desk about available assistance for solo geriatric citizens who really need assistance but are so reluctant that they would rather sit at home and drink tea for three days in a row before asking anyone for help shopping for food. It seems a little "Big Brotherish" but I've seen posters encouraging neighbors to feel free to consult. I know that ultimately it will be up to my neighbor to accept the assistance and I hope that the city hall personel will be professional and well equipped to convince her that she shouldn't feel shy about accepting the subsidized assistance she is eligible to receive and is actually already paying for with her health insurance payments.