Save the date: Carnation Nation Appreciation PARTY!!!

Hello everyone!  I am thrilled to announce that we are having a party!  This summer!  And there will be a wonderful band and hours of dancing!!!

What:  Carnation Nation Appreciation PARTY
When:  Sunday, August 12, 2018, 2-10 pm (music from 5-9-->come early to visit, stay late to dance!) 
Where:  Mooselodge (same place as the Huzzah benefit party in 2014)
Misc:  The talented, energetic, and entertaining Final Mix Show Band will be playing!!  We'll serve some sort of food.  This will be a family-friendly event, with activities for the kids. 

Further details will be revealed as we plan them.  Ooo I hope you can come!!!   

Why are we having a party?  Well, during my cancer-free years I've been secretly planning a party, in my head, for the year 2020 (I was hoping to remain cancer-free until at least 2020).  In 2020 I will turn 40 and celebrate my 20th wedding anniversary; those are two big milestones!  Earlier this year I decided that perhaps I needn't wait until 2020--I should have a party NOW, then I can have another party in 2020 if I'm so fortunate to be around to do so.  About the same time that I was deciding not to wait until 2020 to throw myself a party, my dad and I were in a waiting room and he leaned over and said something like, "Hey, kid, I want to have a party for you."  And I was like no WAY, me too!  So now my dad is doing pretty much all of the legwork for my party (he's even talked of forming a party planning committee!).  I told you he's the best (I am SO lucky to be his kid!)!  You know what else is the best?  The Final Mix Show Band is going to play this party!  I want to dance with YOU!!  We have some other party tricks up our sleeves, to be announced once they are more fully fleshed out.  Holy cow, it's going to be such a blast.  I'd be honored if you'd save the date and plan to attend!

In other news, I had a check-up today.  Inputs:  I told Dr. Oncologist that I'm working half days; that's fine.  I told her that I'm headachy; that's less fine.  I told her that I'm down to 1 mg steroid every other day; apparently this is also less fine (I got the impression that she wanted me to be completely off of the 'roid by now, but I'm just listening to my brain pain!).  As a result, I now have an MRI scheduled for Monday morning to check on the status of my brain swelling and Pearl, and if everything looks good I guess she'll tell me to stop taking the steroid.  Cool!  I like using data to inform decisions. At that time I'll ask her what I should use to medicate the headaches, if not the steroid.  I'm unclear how to handle that--I thought that that was an indication that I still needed the steroid.  This is steroid step-down / brain pain is so confusing! 

Another outcome of today's appointment is super frustrating:  I'm going to be taking antibiotics for the next three months!  The horror!  (As you know, I study antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and prophylactic antibiotic use is one of my pet peeves, for good reason--antibiotic use selects for antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and so antibiotics should be used prudently.)  The reason for the antibiotics is because apparently taking high amounts of steroids for a long time puts you at high risk for a certain type of lung infection called Pneumocystis pneumonia. The steroids have weakened my immune system, and apparently it'll take awhile for my immune system to get back up to speed, so Dr. O wants to protect me from this very dangerous lung infection that is very easy to get.  I can get on board with that (I SUPPOSE that I can agree that prophylactic antibiotic use in an immune-compromised patient is prudent use), albeit reluctantly.  Taking antibiotics can also cause diarrhea, as you well know, so it'll be interesting to see how my guts handle the antibiotics along with the neratinib (my daily chemo drug), which also causes diarrhea (in my body, only occasionally so far). 

Long story short, I thought this was going to be an easy peasy appointment, and it was (my heart is in great shape and my blood work is in great shape, huzzah!), but I got some homework!  ;)