Mom and her cuties, originally uploaded by applesandcheeses. (Djuna, left; Dinah, right) We went to a beach in Ventura today so Dinah and Djuna could dig in the sand — it’s too cold to swim just yet. Then we went to the main part of the town and had lunch. We had a great time!…

I just felt compelled to post something or other, though I can’t say that there is anything specific to report. Last weekend it was great to have Sandy in town, and my sister Jane is coming out next week. We are all really looking forward to having her here. I don’t have any idea of…

This is a picture that Djuna made for me the last time I had chemotherapy. They are sunflowers. And Dinah likes to use her play food and dishes to make me soup. Dwayne, besides keeping the entire household running in addition to managing his ever-growing workload, keeps me well-hydrated with Orangina and root beer when…

Thanks to everybody for phoning and messaging to see how we’re doing in the fire. In case you don’t know, there is a wildfire here in Sierra Madre, up in our foothills. I am on the city’s media list and receive all their official updates, so I’ve been posting them on my site inSierraMadre.com. I’ve…

I just spoke with the doctor, and he said that my white blood cell count has gone back up to normal. He also gave me a little break and said that if I want to, it’s OK to wait one more week to have the Adriamycin that I missed last week. Dwayne and I are…

Yesterday’s chemo treatment was a bit of a disappointment, sort of. I only received one of my two medications because my white blood cell count dropped a little. But, I have done really well up to now, and it’s expected that your white blood cell count will drop at some point during chemotherapy. I was…

My surgeon confirmed the radiologist’s assessment yesterday. I’ll continue with chemotherapy on Thursday, and I’ll have the rest of the treatments as originally planned. Then, I’ll have surgery this summer, about a month after my last round of chemo. The chemotherapy, as unpleasant as it is, is working. Thank goodness for that. ~Diana

Dwayne and I just got back from my ultrasound appointment. The radiologist said that the tumor is shrinking as she expects for this point in my chemotherapy treatment. She said that while it’s not her call to make, she expects that I’ll be asked to continue with chemotherapy since my tumor appears to be responding.…

A couple of people have advised me to “walk through” this experience with cancer. The image of walking through is very powerful to me and has brought comfort in recent days. The idea of walking calmly is so gentle and, well, calm. The third round of chemo took me longer to overcome than the other…

We’re about to leave for my third round of chemotherapy. The second round went all right. I even managed to make it to our town’s annual egg hunt. My friend Lisa brought us an Easter feast on Easter, and all in all it was a very nice holiday, complete with plenty to be thankful for.…