Eye Exams are Important!

I am sharing my story publicly because I want to bring awareness to this silent killer. If you are like me, you never even heard of ocular melanoma before. 

My tumor was first detected as part of a routine eye exam, at Visionworks in Bel Mar, where I have gone for a few years.  Dr. Katie Sider used a non-dilating camera system called Optomap. The ultra-wide digital retinal imaging system captures more than 80% of your retina in one panoramic image. This image enhances your eye doctor's ability to detect even the earliest sign of disease that appears on your retina. She compared the image with one I had taken two years ago, and immediately referred me to a retina specialist.

I urge every person of every age to get an annual eye exam with dilation and/or Optomap from an ophthalmologist or optometrist to see deep inside the eye. Even if you don't need glasses, you need a thorough eye exam by an ophthamologist. Make an annual eye exam a regular habit, just like a dental visit, a mammogram, or a physical. It could save your life.

Six in A Million

Six in a million people per year. I am now one of these, diagnosed with ocular melanoma (OM). This is a very rare, aggressive cancer. 

I am in the care of a highly regarded specialist, an ocular oncologist at Porter Hospital, Dr. Peter Hovland. There are only two specialists in Colorado. His diagnosis is that I have a medium-sized choroidal melanoma in my left eye. 

We agreed that the best treatment is to have radiation in my eye, called plaque brachytherapy. It requires two surgeries. The first to sew a small gold disc containing radioactive seeds into my eye, will be done on Friday, November 2. I will come home, with a lead shield over my eye.  On November 7, I will go back to have it removed. I don't expect I will lose vision right away, but there are often long-term complications from exposure to radiation. 

At the time of insertion, they will do a biopsy. This will be used for genetic testing. They will tell me if the cancer is Class 1 or Class 2. Class 1 has a low risk of metastases (spreading to other organs) and Class 2 - high risk. There will be different schedules of surveillance depending on the results. I won't know the genetic results until mid-December. 

I had a PET/ CT scan of my entire body, and it shows no detectable tumors that have metastasized. There is about a 50% chance of it spreading in the next 10 years. The cancer most commonly metastasizes to the liver or lungs first.

I will be monitored by CT scans, MRI's, blood tests and X-rays for the rest of my life. They will begin measurements to see if the tumor has shrunk about 3 months after the surgery. 

Skin melanoma and ocular melanoma are distinct conditions which share the same name but are biologically and genetically very different diseases. Although there have been advances in skin melanoma treatments, there are no recent developments that have shown any significant improvement for ocular (or uveal) melanoma. There is more detailed information in this link----> OM

I am at peace that I am getting the best care available, and I have a great support network of family and friends. Thank you all.

A Few of My Favorite Things

Sure, kittens and hugs ARE a few of my favorite things. But this post is about our possessions and what they say about who we are. In the March issue of O magazine, Nate Berkus talks about his design for living. He says he likes beautiful things in his home, but more than that "...I like things that remind me of where I've been. Who I've loved. Who I love. And where I want to go". As I look around my eclectic collection of objects I look at every day, I feel the meanings I've associated with each of them. They tell me stories about the past, a certain place and time that makes up the patchwork of my life.

This original oil painting is by Ruth Browning, matriarch of the most amazing, loving family I was blessed to marry into. She created this scene to remind me of the years early in our marriage when we lived in France. When she presented it to me at the Christmas gathering, I knew I was loved like another daughter. I miss you every day, Aunt Ruth.

Blue objects. The small Japanese teapot is a gift from Louise, a friend now living in Alaska and California. We spent many wonderful days travelling to quilting club meetings all over Colorado in the 80's.
The blue glass teapot with artisan's metalwork was brought from a market in Turkey by my daughter Becca. She was on a Semester at Sea voyage to nine countries, learning about the vast world.

The small heart shaped dish belonged to my mother-in-law, Virginia Browning. She intrepidly travelled alone to France and toured with our young family several times. The dish is from Quimper in Brittany. We collected many pieces of this faience and treasure it still. The small round box is by Villeroy and Boch. Gin was with us when we vacationed in Luxembourg and visited where the china is made. We filled the trunk. Jim expertly packed it with all our luggage - three adults and two children in a Citroen. How did he do that?

The marble-topped washstand is an heirloom from my grandmother Elizabeth Long. I see it in my mind's eye in her 1920's craftman house in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. My earliest memories are of her strong yet gentle example of a life well-lived.

An antique Hendryx birdcage that has been with me since my early 20's, brought from Deposit, New York, where my parents lived once. It is a pagoda style made in 1930, and is complete with the original glass feeder and water dish.

There is a sign over the window that says "The most important things in life aren't things". It seems so obvious that we shouldn't need a sign to remind us. My Best Book Club Ever had a discussion about what things are essential, what we would have to rescue from a blazing house. Most of us thought we could fit it all into a small box. As I look around my living spaces, I'm not so sure I could.

What about you? Tell me in comments - what are your favorite things and why?

Cranberry-Crab Apple Chutney

The hint of color in the trees, the noticeable crispness in the air, the promise of snowfall....and one of the best things about fall, crab apples!

 Some people call me thrifty, or economical, or cheap even.  I can't stand to waste anything, so when the apple tree at Darling Daughter's house is laden with lovely rosy little apples, I have to use them! Lily helped gather the apples.

This chutney is great with fish, or roast pork. If you want to be fancy, you could hollow out mini-pumpkins and fill them.

CRANBERRY - CRAB APPLE CHUTNEY
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 cup red onions, medium dice
1 cup green bell peppers, med. dice
1 Tablespoon ginger, peeled and diced
1 cup dried cranberries
4 cups crab apples, unpeeled, finely chopped
½ cup brown sugar
1 cup apple juice
½ cup rice wine vinegar
1 chipotle chili, toast and dice very small
1 Tablespoon fresh sage, chopped
To taste salt and pepper

In a heavy bottom pan, sauté onions and peppers in the oil until tender. Add ginger and cook for one minute. Add cranberries and crab apples and cook for another minute. Add brown sugar, apple juice, vinegar, chili, sage, salt and pepper and cook until fruit is tender and the sauce thickens. Cool before serving.

Dutch Baby (the best recipe my mother-in-law ever taught me)

A Dutch Baby—basically a cross between a pancake and a popover - is a magical alchemy of a few simple ingredients. This is the naked one I made for breakfast yesterday in all its puffy, buttery glory. This is the small one in the recipe below. I used a deep-dish 10-inch ceramic pie pan.

Serve it with fresh berries and other fruit, preserves or jam, syrup, a dusting of powdered sugar, or just a lavish sprinkling of lemon sugar. (1/3 cup sugar, 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest  -  stir together in a small bowl).

PAN SIZE                      BUTTER           EGGS            MILK & FLOUR
2-3 qts. (small)                ¼ cup                    3                     ¾ cup each

3-4 qts. (medium)            1/3 cup                  4                      1 cup each

4-4 ½ qts. (large)             ½ cup                   5                    1 ¼ cup each

Directions: Put butter in pan and set into a 425 degree oven. Mix batter quickly while butter melts.
Beat eggs in blender at high speed for 1 minute. With motor running, gradually pour in milk, then slowly add flour. Mix 30 seconds.  (A hand-held mixer works just as well).
Swirl butter around when melted. Add batter all at once to hot pan.
Bake 20-25 minutes.

Here is Martha Stewart's version, which has an apple filling:
Dutch Baby Pancake