Let me start off by letting all of you know that we made it into New York City this past weekend.  We left our house a little bit later than anticipated mostly because Sal and I are dragging!  The trip in was pretty easy until we were sitting in traffic just before the Lincoln Tunnel.  Jameson fell asleep on our way which almost never happens.  Jameson and Chase usually fall asleep in the car on the way home from our destination, but not usually on the way to our destination.  I thought that this was a little odd.  I should preface this with Jameson’s tendency to get car sick on long trips.  She’s usually ok as long as she’s playing with her Leap Pad or watching a DVD.  Another preface – the DVD player in Sal’s car is broken.

Ok, so we’re sitting in traffic heading towards the Lincoln Tunnel.  Jameson had “the look”.  I knew it was coming so I had a tupperware container ready.  As we started driving through the tunnel, she told Sal that he was going too fast.  This is how poor Jameson feels right before she gets sick.  She said that she had a headache, was tired, and then it happened just as we drove out of the tunnel.  Welcome to New York!

All in all, it was a great day.  Jameson perked up as soon as the show started.  She couldn’t take her eyes off of the stage.  Chase loved the show, too, and took a little cat nap (so did Sal!!!).  After the show, Chase told Sal that he was going to ask Santa for a Rockette for Christmas.  God help us!  We’re going to have our hands full with Chase, I think!!  We had a nice dinner at a place called Pasta Lovers that we just happened to run into and then we hit the road.  We made it home by 9pm.  The kids (and parents!) were exhausted!

Here are a few pics of The Sciandras in the city.  Sugar was rockin’ it in The Big Apple!! 

The following video of Chase is one of my all-time favorites!

Click on this to check it out!  Chase Robot

P.S.  I threw the lollipop out!  We don’t eat candy from random street performers!

Cameron had an awesome day with her Grandma and Papa.  She’s cutting her second tooth, is rolling over from front to back and back to front, is trying to sit on her own, and really wants to start creeping.  She’s so pleasant and is just a joy to be around.

On Sunday, we had brunch with Santa at the Fox Hill courtesy of my Aunt Tina and Uncle Pat.  They were kind enough to take the “big kids” after brunch so that I could rest for an hour while Sal got some work done.  My Uncle Pat is working on a train in his basement that is bound to keep the kids occupied for days!

Sal and I traveled to the University of Pennsylvania yesterday to meet with one of my oncologists, Dr. DeMichele, and well as a radiation oncologist, Dr. Freedman.  Dr. DeMichele is extremely happy with the way that my therapy is progressing.  She’s able to see improvement in the skin of my left breast, she can feel as though the tumor has shrunk in one area, and can almost feel as though the tumor is breaking apart in another area.  She believes as though this is due to the Herceptin treatment, in particular.  I was approached by one of Dr. DeMichele’s students who asked me if I would be interested in donating some of the tissue that is taken during my mastectomy for research.  That was a no-brainer.  Absolutely!  I really don’t understand why anyone would say no to this.  Without modern medicine, clinical trials, and various studies that are and have been done, many of us would be dead by now – no penicillin, no cancer medication, no HIV drugs, no studies on cholesterol or diabetes, no vaccines, etc.  I told Sal that I would seriously consider donating my body to science.  The ground doesn’t benefit from any of us being buried down there.  Ok, I’m getting off track!

We met with Dr. Freedman for a few hours.  He and his staff were also very nice and extremely knowledgeable.  At this point, he recommends 5 and 1/2 weeks (28 treatments) of radiation on my left side only, depending on the pathology that will be taken at the time of surgery.  We learned so much from speaking with him.  These physicians really are brilliant.  I’m so thankful that there are people out there who have decided to dedicate their lives to finding a cure for cancer.  Dr. Freedman recommended a facility closer to home with locations in both Scranton and Dunmore.  We need to research the physicians (school, residency, how many breast cancers they’ve treated, etc.) and pick one that we’d like to meet with.  Because radiation treatments are every day, Monday through Friday, it would be too much for me to drive to Penn every day.  Although there are free housing opportunities available if I’d like to stay in Philadelphia, I don’t think that I would do very well being away from Sal and my kids for a week at a time.

So, like I was told in August, this is a long haul.  It’s difficult for me, but I’m learning that all of this is completely out of my hands, out of my control.  Whatever will be, will be, as much as that stinks.  The physicians can do all that they can, but no one really knows the ultimate answer.  All we can really do is pray…..and poison and nuke this cancer with as much modern medicine that is available!  Hey cancer, how does it feel to eat sh*t?!!

My Lessons in Humility:

1.  I can’t believe how non-chalantly numbers and statistics are discussed.  10% to a physician means much less than 10% to a patient.  I, personally, don’t want to play the odds at being one out of ten.  That seems like a lot to me, considering I could be that one person.

2.  I am shocked by the poor attitudes that most people have, especially of those in roles of customer service.  Holy crap!  No one loves to work, but be happy that you have a job.  Each one of us has a choice to make every day.  You can decide to be happy or miserable.  No one likes a Debbie Downer!

3.  I miss being able to take care of my family’s prescription needs.  I’m not currently on a lot of medications, but I’ve had to have a few prescriptions filled.  Unfortunately, Kmart is too out of the way in a pinch, so my friends haven’t been able to fill my prescriptions either.  Out of convenience, we were using a pharmacy next to Sal’s office.  They’re pretty awful!  If I wasn’t a pharmacist and didn’t know better……OMG!  The mistakes were unbelievable and we’ve only gone there for the past 2 months.  It’s scary, really.  Luckily, our friend, Joe Albert, owns his own independent pharmacy, so he’ll be taking care of us until I get back to work.

There is a lesson in all of this for me.  Going through this “exercise” is teaching me to be a kinder, more compassionate person.  When I finally return to work, I will make much more of an effort to go above and beyond my job requirements and to ensure that every patient is treated as a human being.  I think that I did this before, but I’m so much more aware and in tune with how people should be treated because of what I’m going through.  I wrote about the Platinum Rule before – we should all follow this one.  By looking at me, you would never know that I have cancer.  Therefore, it’s safe to assume that everyone out there has their baggage – something pretty tough that they’re faced with everyday – the death of a loved one, illness, unemployment.  A person’s interaction with you can make or break their day, so try to be happy.  I’ll try to do better in every aspect of my life.  I’ll be a better wife, mother, daughter, sister, niece, sister-in-law, aunt, cousin, pharmacist, colleague, friend, and neighbor.

“You don’t get to choose how you’re going to die.  Or when.  You can only decide how you’re going to live.  Now.”  – Joan Baez

LIVESTRONG and God Bless!