LIVE ~ Chaotically! A love letter, 9 years and 2 days overdue.

Nine years and 2 days ago, this happened...

On April 22, 2010 my dear PC Peeps had a party - for ME!!!  Given that I was facing radiation of my brain met on the 27th with removal of the melanoma tumor in my right bronchus on the 30th, we didn't know what would happen and I certainly didn't have the presence of mind, strength or focus to post these then!  However, as a long over due love letter of appreciation...  Thank you.  Joyce, you were more than a rock for me and mine during that time.  I have not forgotten that and never will.  Though some of us have drifted apart, I still know the love from each of you.  The occasional moments we continue to share (Robinetta, Melinda, Maria, Allison, Linda Lou Who, Deb, Sherri B, and Sweet Jay) are precious.  Then, there are my ROCKS!!!  My Ride or DIE home girls!!!  (I think some who use this phrase don't REALLY know what it can entail!!!!!  But, WE do!)  My Lloyd, Ashia, Tam Bo, dear sweet Danita, and sister from another mother Leserly - who re-posted these pics - and my amazing Roo!!!!  You have stood by me through all the nasty and crazy and wonderful that life has continued to dish out over the past 9 years.  There are no words to sufficiently express what you mean to me.  I love you. ~ les

Sew Chaotically! ~ ANOTHER Morris Blazer...I know, I know!

Grainline Studio's Morris Blazer is a perfect way to stay cozy and comfy while still pulling an outfit together!  I made these Morris blazers for my wardrobe a bit ago.  More recently Rosie was the recipient of a super bright version along with a cozy sweater knit Morris.

        I'm telling you, this pattern works with almost any fabric or style!

I had long planned this Morris as part of my "travel wardrobe" that includes these Bruges and this travel dress.  SEW!  In my determination to move forward no matter what, I stitched her up.  The fit is super easy in this fairly substantial stretch cotton, touted to be a stretch denim from JoAnn's, though it is more in keeping with a cheap version of a stretch cotton sateen.  Not sure how long the fabric will hold up but it is really comfy, matching recent makes as well as those already in my closet and my head...

...including this little scrap busting top, Nikko of the same fabric, and these pleated, funky pants! 

The Morris always works for me!

Moving forward!  No. Matter. WHAT!!! Sew chaotically!!! ~ les

Ditzels!!! Ancillary findings on routine melanoma scans!

Yep.  Ditzels are a thing!!  Incidentals found during routine radiologic studies.  I've found gall stones, sparkly doo dads in my thyroid, and uterine fibroids...all of which were doing me NO HARM...in the process of years of scans and surveys to follow my melanoma.  Alternatively, a routine chest x-ray in 2010 (of all simple things) revealed a lesion within the right main bronchus of my lung that no one could believe was melanoma for months - until it was finally biopsied via a bronchoscopy.  Then there's the funny looking, "probably mucoid", appendix that showed up on my final melanoma scans in August that turned out to be ex-goblet cell carcinoma (GCC)!!!!  And I am not alone...

False-Positive Results and Incidental Findings with Annual CT or PET/CT Surveillance in Asymptomatic Patients with Resected Stage III Melanoma.  Nijhuis, Dieng, Khanna, et al.  Ann Surg Oncol. 2019 Mar 25. 

The aim of this study was to quantify false-positive and incidental findings from annual surveillance imaging in asymptomatic, American Joint Committee on Cancer stage III melanoma patients.

This was a cohort study of patients treated at Melanoma Institute Australia (2000-2015) with baseline computed tomography (CT) or positron emission tomography (PET)/CT imaging and at least two annual surveillance scans. False-positives were defined as findings suspicious for melanoma recurrence that were not melanoma, confirmed by histopathology, subsequent imaging, or clinical follow-up, while incidental findings were defined as non-melanoma-related findings requiring further action. Outcomes of incidental findings were classified as 'benign' if they resolved spontaneously or were not seriously harmful; 'malignant' if a second malignancy was identified; or 'other' if potentially harmful.

Among 154 patients, 1022 scans were performed (154 baseline staging, 868 surveillance) during a median follow-up of 85 months; 57 patients (37%) developed a recurrence. For baseline and surveillance imaging, 124 false-positive results and incidental findings were identified in 81 patients (53%). The frequency of these findings was 5-14% per year, and an additional 181 tests, procedures, and referrals were initiated to investigate these findings. The diagnosis was benign in 109 findings of 124 findings (88%). Fifteen patients with a benign finding underwent an unnecessary invasive procedure. Surveillance imaging identified distant metastases in 20 patients (13%).

False-positive results and incidental findings occur in at least half of all patients undergoing annual surveillance imaging, and the additional healthcare use is substantial. These findings persist over time. Clinicians need to be aware of these risks and discuss them with patients, alongside the expected benefits of surveillance imaging.

So, yeah.  Right now, with imaging being the preferred method of follow-up for melanoma peeps, at least half of us will experience findings that will have to be investigated (to some extent) that will NOT be melanoma!  DO NOT FREAK OUT!!!  Unfortunately, this is to be expected.  Still, we must be diligent and pursue needed answers when weird things show up.  All the more reason for putting blood assays that test for melanoma specifically and tangentially into practice sooner rather than later!!!  Here's the latest on that front (with a zillion links within) posted just last month:  Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA)  

Hang tough melanoma peeps!  Ours is not an easy path.  But, it is one that we can not only walk down, but run through!!! - c

Cades Cove restores my soul...

"What is sour in the house, a bracing walk in the woods makes sweet."  ~ Henry David Thoreau

Indeed it has ~ for many years, in many places, but none more lovely than walks with my bestie through Cades Cove, in the Smoky Mountains, Townsend, TN.

April 2015

June 2015

June 2015 - Gregory Bald

September 2015

November 2015

April 2016

October 2017

Our recent walk was no less lovely and refreshing...

The Middle Prong

Star Chickweed

Cut-leaved Toothwort 

Early Yellow Violet

Northern White Violet

Squirrel Corn

Sweet White Trillium

Ferns unfurling

"I took a walk in the woods and came out taller than the trees." ~ Henry David Thoreau

Wild Ginger

Sneaky Snake!!!!

Toothwort

Blue Phlox (Purple Phacelia was also beautiful in great swaths, especially along the roadways!)

Handsome Photog chasing a strutting Tom Turkey!!

Squawroot

Catesby's Trillium

Little Brown Jug

Toothwort

Rue-anemone

Trout Lily

Such a lovely surprise to come to a large field of these special lilies, along Lead Cove Trail where on previous walks we'd seen only one or two blooms.  We were  not the only appreciative fans!!!

Rue-Anemone and Spring Beauties

Bloodroot

Spring Beauty

Crested Dwarf Iris

Bishop's Cap

Large Flowered Bellwort

Catesby's Trillium and THAT guy!!!

Beaked Violet

So pleased to have been able to hike our favorite loop in Cades Cove!!  Here, we are 1.8 miles up Lead Cove Trail where it intersects with Bote Mountain.  Take a left for 2.5 miles up and down along the ridge, then another left onto Finley Cane Trail for a gentle 2.6 miles back down to Laurel Creek Road.   I knew this little scrap buster would be a great hiking shirt!!! 

From the tiniest flowers to the great mountain peaks, this visit provided a much needed elixir for my soul.  While there were no bear sightings, it was a joy to share the woods with turkey, deer, song birds, various reptiles, a lone coyote, and my Bentie.  May the beauty of nature bring you peace this Sunday, wherever you may be. ~ les