Deb H.

Are you still "on" for 10/8? It's 2 weeks away! YeeeeeeHAAA! I am so ready. Well.. not really ready, but mentally I can't wait to get on to the next part of my life.

I feel very fortunate to have caught the cancer as early as we did. It's been tough to deal with, but not like your daughter-in-laws's. Either way, we must be thankful for all achievements and look at the positive side of things. I get my radiation catheter out today and I am hoping this will help reduce the painful swelling. Either way, radiation is finished TODAY! I'll see you in TJ on the 8th!

My banding date is October 8 and I can't wait. I've been thinking about this for years and planning this trip for months. I must say though that the closer it gets, the more concerned I am about my ability to work with the process. Pre op diets, post op diets, will I have this band when I'm 80....all kinds of things going through my head. However, I've had even more scary things to deal with lately. I was diagnosed with stage 0 breast cancer on July 10th. The good news is that it is virtually 100% curable, but the bad news is that it IS cancer and is treated pretty agressively. I've had two surgeries to remove the tumor and am in the middle of a high dose radiation treatment this week. Through it all, I keep my eye on the prize - MEXICO! I'm ready for that change - the one that will positively affect my life for the long term. Cancer is the bump in the road. Lap-Band surgery is the life altering surgery on my horizon. BTW, I'm in eastern PA, and haven't completely worked out where I'll go for fills, but the FillCenter site in NJ is most likely.

My insurance specifically excludes the procedure too, but I've decided not to wait out the beauracracy (sp?). My company touts all kinds of health and wellness activities, even has a gym on campus (who wants to exercise with the CEO?), but this they refuse to consider. I'm ready to make this change and will do whatever I have to do to cope with the long term care. My family Dr. is supportive, so hopefully, I'll be side-effect free or at least minimized. Onward and upward, I say! Deb =D>