But yes, there are scientific studies done on the cognitive effects of chemotherapy, and the side effects include "impaired decision-making" and "increased forgetfulness" (as in: mid-sentence). So yeah, other patients have come up with wryly descriptive terms such as "chemo fog" or "chemo brain" -- you get the idea.
Oh well. Here's hoping I don't do anything similarly stupid for the remaining portion of my treatment.
Speaking of the joys of breast cancer -- yes, I say that facetiously, but really, I am always being amazed by the kindness and generosity of my friends, from going with me to the hospital trip after trip, to offering to feed or grocery shop for me, or just checking in to see how I'm doing, I'm frequently left feeling, "Aaawww... you guys rock. *sniffle* Really."
Today for example I was stunned when my friend Helen, who now lives overseas, quietly donated $250 to my AvonWalk account! I mean, I hadn't even asked her yet for money! Jeez. Thank you, Helen!
Yes, we now bring you to the pledge drive portion of my year, since I signed up to participate in the NYC Avon Walk for Breast Cancer this October, and must therefore raise $1,800 in order to fulfill my requirements to participate. (This is in addition to the $65 registration fee I paid in order to legitimately ask you all for moolah.) I will be walking 26 - 39 miles over the course of 2 days in October., with the course covering all of NYC, just like the marathon, except without the traffic lanes being blocked off.
So yes, you're all about to get (or have just received) a panhandling e-mail from me explaining how the money goes not just for research, but also to help the uninsured afford breast cancer treatment (I never knew that part). Consider: my surgery + chemo + radiation = somewhere around US$100K (!!!)
Of course, if you want to bypass all of the semi-shameless begging, you can just go directly to my Avon Walk donation page. ;-)
And the fact that the next knitting project I want to do is modeled in pink is purely coincidental! Honest! It's called "pleat-neck top" (see left) from the spring/summer 2009 issue of KnitSimple. Since the gauge is 20, I could conceivably finish it, perhaps even using the Tahki Willow I frogged from a previous tank top. Since that one was in garter stitch, I'm sure I'll have enough for this one. And although the stated gauge for Tahki Willow is 18, I knit tightly, so I'll have to sctually swatch (!) and see if I knit 20.
In the meantime, I am trundling along on my Lion Micro-Spun baby sweater. The back and fronts are knit all in one piece, and the instructions for "comfy color cardi" are practically incomprehensible, due to all of their corrections, so I'm just working off of their schematic.
Also, I'm planning on changing the collar from V-neck to "regular" or Peter Pan or whatchamacallit, so the schematic diagram is really just a jumping off point, especially since I'll be making it with 4 colors instead of 3, since the pattern calls for their organic cotton, which is thicker than Micro-Spun.
Please note my clever/embarrassed disguise for the Modern Bride bag I received from the Project Bridesmaid people. The bag is made of nice, heavy card stock (or whatever you call it -- oh yeah, did I mention chemo sometimes also interferes with verbal skills?) but there was NO WAY that I'd walk around with a bag screaming "Modern Bride"... Now it just looks like it's some random magazine/store named "Modern" eh?
I don't know the medical research into chemo brain (or pregnancy brain!), but I, at least, have decided it stems from having more important things to think about.
ReplyDelete--Margaret