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Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Tuesday June 17th updates...



fat squirrel in front yard bird feeder

It's 9 am and I'm getting ready to go to my annual Oncologist's appointment. It includes blood work and an exam. He will ask me how I'm doing... and most times (if not all) I say "Fine!"... not only because I do feel fine, but also because I tend to believe that all is well until someone tells you otherwise. And thus, I avoid the issue. However, this time I actually have some (possibly serious) concerns.  And I wrote them out to hand to him so I wouldn't be tempted to just not say them. I'm hoping he will tell me that there's nothing to be concerned about and that all the things that are happening... are things that happen normally as we age (Yes! for once I want someone to tell me that it's *just old age*). We'll see.

Beyond this, here's an update on the outside kittens (Shiney's 4 kittens).  She has finally brought them over to the back porch to eat on their own.  I took some pics.  One of our box turtles was eating with them. We have 2 box turtles that stay around on a regular basis.  I think there are more, but these 2 we marked with a tiny red dot on their shells... so we can recognize them. There's a smaller one that we believe is a male. His head is redder and he's a fast little bugger. We see him eating by both the front door and the back door. If he sees us, he makes those little turtle feet move! The other one is larger and not as red. We think this one is female. She is calmer and doesn't run when we get close.  Neither mind eating side by side with the cats and kittens.






Father's Day here was celebrated at my oldest son's place. He grilled outside with his dad and brother while the little ones played soccer (or some form of soccer) in the yard... with the world cup games on all the TV's and iPads, etc. DIL and I stayed inside for the most part where it was cooler...  (was in the 90's Sunday). I made home-made potato salad (one with and one without bacon). DIL is vegetarian. I also made a tomato and basil pasta dish with toasted pecans for her. The rest of us ate grilled chicken and hamburgers as well as beans, corn on the cob, potato salad, Monterrey jack and garlic bread, etc. And we had key lime pie and an assortment of bundt cakes for dessert!







It's now Tuesday afternoon and my Oncologist visit is over.  We had a good discussion of things going on with me as well as my family's cancer history. He decided to do some extra blood testing just to make sure that all is well and also scheduled a abdominal sonogram as well as an appointment with a Gynecological Oncologist. Part of this is due to the fact that I recently found out that my sister died of *Ovarian* Cancer whereas I always thought it was Colon Cancer. It had probably spread to her colon, but originally it was Ovarian (I didn't know this). Since I have/had Breast Cancer, this news caused me some concern as my sister's daughter is a Pediatrician and she mentioned once that if you have 2 close relatives with a either BC or OC (or a combination) then it more than likely that you (or your children) may carry the gene. This is news that my daughter needs to pass on to her doctor.

Anyway, it's been an interesting morning....






16 comments:

  1. I do hope your extra blood work comes up "fine". Sounds like a wonderful cookout!

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  2. I'm glad your doctor is being proactive and trying to discover if there is anything amiss. My mother AND sister both had breast cancer before they turned fifty, which puts me and my sisters at very high risk. It's something you pay attention to, Rian, and I applaud you for facing up to your concerns. Funny, I never thought about what turtles eat, but I sure didn't think it was cat food! :-)

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    1. They will eat fruit... figs, apples, grapes, strawberries... but they just love catfood!

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  3. You yard provide endless entertainment, that is for sure. It is good that you went ahead and expressed your concerns to your doctor. I hope it turns out to be all good news.

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    1. Yes, our yard does provide entertainment and a haven for wildlife. However, I do miss being able to actually use it ourselves. But you know, with the mosquitoes and West Nile virus as well as the Texas heat... it's probably for the best.

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  4. Ditto on your doctor being proactive. I have my fingers crossed your concerns are unfounded, but definitely better to be tested and find out. My first cousin had breast cancer several years ago, when about 48, and had a double mastectomy. (The second breast removed as a precaution, as she was at very high risk even after the first mastectomy.) So I freaked a bit re: my recent mammogram and ultrasound (my third in total, but first in about 7 or 8 years). I've not heard a peep so far from the doctor's office, so hope that's a good sign. I'll have the boys send you purrs and keep their paws crossed. :-)

    The kittens are darling, such sweet ones. In a perfect world, all cats (and dogs) would have wonderful forever homes but with you they have a pretty darned good life, I think. And you do far more to help them than most of us.

    The Father's Day food sounded so yummy. :-)

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    1. I always consider *no news as good news*... as I'd expect if something was wrong with your mammogram, they would contact you ASAP (at least that's always been my hope).
      As for the kittens, we do our best. If we had more finances, we'd do more... but they have a safe place, good food, clean water... and occasionally (if we can catch them... vacs and neutering).

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  5. I'm sending you good thoughts, Rian, on your tests and know that we all want you to be healthy and happy. Your kittens are so cute and I'm not surprised at the turtle's palate. We had a turtle years back that loved cat food and sat on our deck at meal-time to enjoy his portion of the canned food. Funny things.

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    1. Well, they DO like the catfood... and they are out in full force eating this week. We're seeing both of the marked one almost daily.

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  6. Hope your blood tests don't turn up anything worrisome. Also hope that you don't have to wait to long to hear from them----the waiting and wondering is so hard on a person.

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    1. The BRAC1/BRAC2 (genetic testing) will take 2 weeks, I think. Don't know about the others. Sonogram is scheduled for July 1st. If all turn out negative, I'll know that the truth is simply that I'm getting old... (not a bad diagnosis under the circumstances).

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  7. Your little grand eating the corn cob made me giggle as did the turtle eating with the kitty's. I pray all you have is an old age issue...I love your kind heart toward the critters.

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    1. She wants whatever everyone else is eating. As you can see she has corn kernels on her plate, but everyone else was eating the cob, so....

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  8. I love your photos, especially the black cats.

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  9. Love that beautiful cat and her kittens, and the tortoise!

    What a cute little gal you have there!

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