Chemo Treatment #4

Jana makes cancer and chemotherapy look like fun. More than one person has said that, including me. I try to occasionally include one of the few pictures of her grimacing, but for the most part her response to the camera is a smile. Rarely a complaint, she plans our visits, which are centered around her chemo treatments, as though we’re taking one of our Santa Fe family vacations. And, surprisingly, they feel like a family vacation...a bit of travel (which is becoming very familiar), a beautiful setting (I take back every nasty thing I’ve ever said about SoCal – West LA, that is), non-stop talking and laughter, and good eats.

Sadly, duty called and Lauren wasn’t able to attend Jana's fourth chemo treatment this past week (see my earlier reprint of her blog post, "The Worst Effing Day," Thoughts of a Bookworm at Home), but Raelin spent the day and evening with us. Jana's previous chemo treatment was met with a cranky nurse, who refused to begin her treatment until we all (but one) left the room. This time, we decided to try a different tactic and quietly slipped in unnoticed. It turned out that wasn’t necessary as the room with a view was not busy and we lucked out with a sweet and agreeable nurse. She had no problem with us squeezing into Jana’s space and seemed to enjoy our lively chatter and laughter, which is quite a contrast to her typical day treating cancer patients.

In some respects, the treatments and week that follows have gotten easier for Jana as she's worked closely with her “Side Effects Nurse” to control the symptoms. They have tweaked the meds and seem to have achieved a balance that is about as good as it’s going to get. This time she forwent the Benadryl, which is used to minimize allergic reactions to the other drugs, and she remained alert and well throughout the process (about six hours). She felt so well after the treatment that she suggested we spend some time exploring Santa Monica.

We walked 3^rd Street Promenade with its shops, street vendors and musicians and then walked a few blocks further to the Pier, where we sat in the shade and enjoyed a perfect day. The four of us went to dinner at Wurstkuche (a favorite from our last trip) and then returned to her cute little cottage for more talking (the Mosers never seem to run out of things to say), and cake. Raelin surprised me with my own personal-sized birthday cake (carrot) and a small chocolate cake for the three chocolate-lovers. It was after 9 p.m. before we called it an evening and Rae left for home and we went to the Doubletree where we were staying.

I know I’m biased, but we have an amazing family and a day doesn’t go by that I don’t feel appreciative of each of our children. The SoCal girls have cooked and filled Jana’s freezer with good eats for those days she’s too sick or too tired to cook, Scott flew down from Seattle to spend a weekend with Jana, Jeff has used his Hilton points to pay for our stays at the Doubletree in Culver City, and Maria has paid for Lauren’s trips from Portland to LA to be with her sissy through chemo and finally her surgery in May. With the exception of this recent trip, Lauren has attended the other treatments and stayed through the weekends to take care of Jana, do her laundry, and clean her house and she will be spending a week caring for her after surgery. It's been so heartwarming for us to experience their generosity and support over the past few months. What great kids! What a great family!

Did I mention it was my birthday? Thursday after chemo was actually our second celebration. When we arrived on Wednesday night, I was met with an enormous bouquet of flowers and dinner at Bucato (my choice), where we enjoyed a delicious meal and one of their signature desserts, Tiramisu (complete with a candle). It was almost perfect. The only thing missing was our little Lauren, but she assures me we'll have another wonderful celebration when we make our next trip to Portland. Until then, she's holding my birthday gift hostage. Sneaky girl!