A Little Night Cream

I may have already posted my 'plug' for my favorite post-radiation moisturizer. I am far too lazy to look back through my previous posts so I may be saying this again. But, good things are worth saying twice.

Mary Kay Extra Emollient Night Cream is the best! The Radiation Therapy department at Sinai recommended Aquaphor. Aquaphor is nice but the Mary Kay stuff is a bit nicer because it smells nice and it's a pretty rosy-orange color when it comes out of the tube. It also works much better than your average department store moisturizer.

The MK cream made my skin very soft and supple again. That's really saying something because they gave me a large dose of radiation. My skin looked like an oak leaf in winter! I'm sure that there is a more expensive product that works just as well as the Mary Kay. But why spend $100.00 when the MK Extra Emollient Night Cream is $13.00? Pretty much a no-brainer...

I'm not a Mary Kay consultant, just a fan of the good stuff. (My niece used to sell Mary Kay, but not anymore.) So, if you know someone getting Radiation Therapy, you could pass along my tip. Or not.

Lighten Up!

It's so easy to become a little down. Plenty of sleep, good food and plenty of exercise really go a long way in helping keep my mood up. I try not to think about cancer now. My battle is, for the most part, done. I continue to take my vitamin D and try to be aware of any changes in my body. My new medical oncologist, Dr Mukhtar Hassan, said that he wants to keep an extra eye on me because of the advanced stage in which I presented.

Speaking of Dr Hassan, I want to take a little detour and say something about him. First of all, he is great! I really like him and get a good 'vibe' from him. Very smart, very on top of things. I tried to Google Image him but Dr. Mukhtar Hassan must be a common name in West Africa because there were dozens and dozens of them and I couldn't find my Dr Hassan. (A friend suggested that I include more pictures on my blog.) My previous medical oncologist, Dr Cristina Truica, above, was one of my heroes. She guided me through all the tough treatment. But, she left Sinai for another opportunity and so I was given Dr Hassan. He made quite an initial impression when he walked into the exam room. He is very tall and very black - beautiful color - with an African accent. He was wearing a pale buttery-yellow suit with a pale yellow shirt. He had on shiny leather shoes with a point at the toe. I was delighted! I will see him often over the next few years and feel I'm in good hands.

Anyhoo, my job unfortunately offers me plenty of opportunities to see women with breast cancer who are not doing so well. Some have had treatment but still present with disease. Some are going back into the fray, having had breast cancer a few years ago and are now having a recurrence. So, I try to give them some love and also to separate their battle from my own.

A little humor now and then helps, too. Like the photo below of my new breasts, found on sale at Michael's the other day:

Shiny Coconuts, complete with port-removal scar at upper left