Time For a Health Update
Fresh when it gets here from
Julie Barrett
Thursday, August 7, 2025
Y'all, I've been pretty quiet lately, and with good reason. I'm trying to stay upbeat about this, but the fact is that part of the reason I'm in this position is that I've avoided self-care because I'm either caring for other people or doing work for other people so they could go take care of their third side hustle, take a vacation, avoid answering emails, whatever. And yes, I am just a tad resentful.
Okay, so that's out of the way. What's going on?
I started to get sick in May. I thought it was a vaccine reaction, and it probably was - at first. I finally said screw all the people and tasks that people wanted me to do and got myself to the PCP. My hemoglobin level was at 3. Normal for a woman my age is at least 12. People were shocked that I was able to walk into the hospital on my own, much less be coherent - not to mention actually alive.
Cut to the chase: I'm home after a colon resection. And yes, it's what you think it means. All I know know is that it hasn't spread to other organs, so it's anywhere from stage 1-3. We're still waiting on the labs.
That's the worst news. What I'm being told now is that they got it all, and they took away a truckload of lymph nodes as well for testing. They're also telling me this is very treatable. So yep, chemo is very likely in my future.
You ask how tariffs affect people? ::Points at me:: If the TACO-In-Chief decides to move forward with his plan to punitively tax pharmaceutical imports, this could raise the cost of my chemo by as much as $8-10,000. Fortunately (!) at this point it looks like I may not need more than a "let's make sure we got it all" course of chemo. I'll know more in maybe two weeks. And yes, this is adding extra stress at a time when I don't need it. I can't imagine what this is doing to people who need a longer course of treatment.
But don't worry! Our brain worm-infected HHS Secretary has axed cancer research and MRA vaccines, both of which show promise for my type of cancer, among types.
I've said for years that cancer is something I don't wish on anyone. Even Donald Trump. The other thing that's true is that he and his pals can afford all the best treatment. The rest of us are struggling with rising health insurance premiums and decreased coverage - if we can even afford the premiums.
Speaking of money, this is where it gets personal. And hey, it's not where you think it's going. We have the best Medicare supplement plan we could obtain, and we have some savings. Save your crowdfunding dollars for the folks who are uninsured or underinsured.
What else can you do? Food? I'm in the process of transitioning back to a full diet, so please don't bring food. The thought is appreciated, but there's a fair chance I may not be able to eat what you bring. Cooking for myself (who am I kidding? Paul is doing most of that now, and I am so grateful!) gets me the best nutrition at the best price. I am getting better at moving around, so I'll be doing more of my own cooking (and cooking for Paul!) soon. That's part of the physical recovery process.
Flowers? Please, no. We have two cats, one of whom has her own health issues.
Anything you can do for me? Nope. Maybe answer you're damn emails, if you owe me something. That will help immensely with the stress levels. Thoughts and prayers? Sure.
I'll try to share some stories about what I've gone through later on. And trust me, it's not all doom and gloom. There have been some silly things happen, like me and the surgical prep team bowing to the robot surgeon overlord as they were about to put me under. Hey, I wasn't about to take any chances! ;-)
But you know what pisses me off the most about this? I missed the Weird Al concert Saturday. Paul and Ami went and had a grand time. I don't know if either of them shared pictures. I do know they brought back some merch for me. And yes, this is more important. And I can promise you my surgeon wasn't cutting for the very first time, and neither was the robot. And I also seem to be livin' with a hernia. However, the upper GI is for later.
Take care of yourselves. And if someone tries to push their work on you so they can go have fun? You have my permission to do what I should have done and tell them to go fuck off.
I'm closing comments as I don't have enough spoons to deal with it. Thanks in advance for your support.
And fuck cancer.
Filed under: Life Health Fuck Cancer
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