To Carve or Not To Carve?

Thanksgiving turned out to be extra special because, at the last minute, Katie and George were able to join us at Allison and James' house. The reason they were is not a good one; with her mother and her sister getting violently ill on Thanksgiving eve. The sister lost so much fluid that she fainted a couple of times and her dad called an ambulance. She spent the night in the hospital. Cause, unknown. They, therefore, opted out of hosting Thanksgiving in their sick ward. So the Mensing's lucked out. What a great day. Anna, Katie, Allison and I discussed the fate of my boobs. Interesting that they all agree that a double mastectomy would be best, eliminating the potential return of breast cancer. That's how I felt 10 or 15 years ago when I did have a biopsy and Andy and I shopped for new boobs that very night. But now I'm closing in on 70 and and not nearly so concerned with my physical appearance as I was a few years ago. Why amputate anything at all if everything looks healthy? Even the breast with the cancer in it. I can be part of a study at Dana-Farber to see if no surgery is any different from surgically removing the formerly cancerous tissues. Some doctors feel that we're getting close to the time when we can rely on the chemo and radiation to kill it off. My big question is whether or not the lymph nodes can return to doing their job. Not losing the lymph nodes would perhaps eliminate the possibility of lymphedema, which is gross swelling of the arm and hand. Some surgeon told me it's not painful, but I bet she's never had some of the different swellings I've had on my body, which hurt like hell. Speaking of hurting like hell, avoiding another 3-D mammogram would almost be worth lopping off both breasts. Now that's Pain. It makes a regular mammogram seem like a walk in the park. Anna and I came down pretty hard on Katie for not pursuing a mammogram when she found a lump in her breast. She's only 24 and her doctor told her they'd "Watch it", words I detest. I had been talking earlier about being the first one to get any foreign mass removed. I've done it many times in the past. Hope she pursues it. Time finally came to carve the turkey. It is Blake's job to remind Allison next year that her oven does not reach the temperature it claims in bright red lights. But the turkey was sublime, an unfrozen stock-item from Stop and Shop. It wouldn't be fair to not mention everyone else's delicious contributions: James' broccoli casserole; Blake's stuffing with sausage and other delectable ingredients I can't recall right now and mashed potatoes with Gouda and bacon; Allison's creamed onions, especially for me; Katie's pumpkin pie made from scratch using a real pumpkin; Anna's Keylime pie, with homemade graham cracker crust; and my doctored chicken stew (which some of us had as a first course to stave off hunger till the turkey was cooked), using Bambi's monster bird and her organic vegetables. I have a couple more months before I have to decide the fate of my breasts