Super Toe update

Super toe, so named from the cape during the biopsy procedure, needs to make a reappearance.  

I downgraded the "fingertip" bandaid to a regular bandaid.  . . but I ordered more of the fingertip ones from Amazon to get just those (since I dislike the knuckle ones with the four tabs of adhesive). 

I even managed to get toe socks on with the regular bandaid:  

WOOT! toe socks return to the foot

I was feeling pretty good. The toe area still is sensitive to pulling on the skin. I haven't run on it yet. I had the biopsy on Monday and on Thursday I did yoga. The doc said I'd be able to go on Tuesday morning, but I kept waking up in the night and bumping it, so that was a no-go.  I have worked up to 7 miles walking on the treadmill and it tingles/throbs after about an hour.  

The white area is the biopsy section. I've kept it covered with Neosporin and bandaids.  

Wednesday --fifteen days after the procedure--we decided it was healed enough I could go without bandaids. This is what it looks like now.   That little spot of color at about the 1o'clock position? Yeah, it needs to come off, as well as more skin. 

A week after the biopsy I called the doc's office expecting to have had the results the Thursday or Friday before.  No results.  I called again last Thursday, the 5th, and they said the results were sent to Mayo. Hmmm. Didn't tell me why though. 

My doctor called me on Saturday --thought it was about the biopsy. Nope, it was to tell me my measles tiger test was showing the vaccine was still working.  --yeah, my doctor herself called to tell me that--on a weekend to boot! 

Tuesday of this week, the 10th, I had a message from my doctor to call her back.  EEEK!  That's never good news.  

I called back. said I was returning a call to her. She came on the line quickly, so I hope she was at the nurse's station and not in with a patient.  

The long and short. I have Melanoma. Probably from my immune-suppression medication for my colitis which can cause it--as I referenced in my earlier post about Super Toe.    

Wow. (gulp) I have skin cancer. 

Superficial Malignant Melanoma 

Apparently it was only 1/2 millimeter deep, considered small, and just "removing it should be the cure" for this, per my doc.  

The bad:   I have to get a "wide margin" of skin removed to ensure that all the melanoma cells are removed. Doc said they'll go in at least once, and probably twice more, to remove skin. 

My response:  Glad I haven't registered for any races this year (laughed). 

Dr. reply:  Oh, you can run. (cheerleader doctor). You can do this. Your race is in May?  

LOL.  I want to do a race at the end of March, plus one in May, plus one in June, and every month, but I have to be able to run without too much pain to do the training! 

So much information is available at skincancer.org

The most dangerous form of skin cancer, these cancerous growths develop when unrepaired DNA damage to skin cells (most often caused by ultraviolet radiation from sunshine or tanning beds) triggers mutations (genetic defects) that lead the skin cells to multiply rapidly and form malignant tumors.

From the American Academy of Dermatology:  

Melanoma is a type of skin cancer. Anyone can get melanoma. When found early and treated, the cure rate is nearly 100%. 

Family/medical history:  

• Melanoma runs in the family (parent, child, sibling, cousin, aunt, uncle had melanoma).

• You had another skin cancer, but most especially another melanoma.

• A weakened immune system.

Now, my "saturn" shaped spot just appeared, as far as I know. I last had a pedicure in June and nothing was said then. I've painted my nails since then and don't remember seeing any spot there. I probably hadn't done a nail job since October.

My symptom:  an itch of the toe which felt like a hangnail rubbing the other toe.  I scratched and scratched then yanked the foot up to inspect--saw the spot and was quite happy that I already had an appt with the doctor three days later for my sinus infection.  

From my dermatologist's office: "While melanoma is the least common type of skin cancer, it is by far the most dangerous."   

The Mike and I were already trying to figure out which dermatologist to head to for full body checks based on our age and what we've always heard for that.  We picked the doctor and will have our full body exams the morning of my toe excision.  

Source

More to come in March on the Super Toe saga.

Chicken stir fry

In terms of workout today, I had a hard day at yoga bootcamp this morning!   Our regular instructor was out with a broken arm ---the hazards of ice biking!--and we had a sub, whom we've had before. However, today every third move was a Chaturanga.  Mix that in with the biopsy toe that is still hurting and moving from downdog to chaturanga to mountain pose to chaturanga. . . . okay, there were some other moves in there as well!   While I knock it, it was a fabulous workout today. I just had to stop at one point and put my Fox River sock back on so my bandaid would rub off where it was on the sole of my foot. 

Earlier this week I planned out some meals. By that I mean, I took a post it note and said, "Tonight is Pizza, Wednesday is stir fry, Thursday is Mexican Lasagna, and  Friday is soup".  Of that, the stir fry happened Thursday instead of Wednesday and the soup isn't happening tomorrow.  

While I wanted to make a stir fry, I didn't really have a recipe. I had a few things purchased in mind for it, and tonight I used google to find a couple recipes I used for inspiration. This one and that one. 

Obviously I couldn't use both completely, since I can't do fermented black beans (found out they're actually soybeans), nor did I have the specific noodles or napa cabbage for the other. 

Ah well, that's where inspiration comes into play!  We had left over rice from Monday night, which makes having stir fry perfect this week! 

Food prep

I love my food processor, but don't often use all the attachment blades, finding it easier to just cut up an onion by hand if that's the only thing that needs cut.  Tonight, I played with my Kitchenaid toy. I used the Julienne blade for the carrots, doing up a lot figuring they'd be used in a soup or salads later on. Then I sliced the shrooms in it, and watched as the last one just jumped and whirled over the blade---it was too much fun to watch, so I didn't use the push down tool.. After the 'shrooms came the onion--- 1 1/2 medium sized ones, though I didn't put all of it in the cooked mixture. Then a bell pepper as well.  A can of diced chestnuts (I don't like the sliced ones--too much at once), sliced bamboo, coconut aminos instead of soy sauce, and the Just Bare chicken breasts.  

I was soooo proud of myself, then I looked again at the inspiration recipes and saw that I'm suppose to marinate the meat in the soy oil. UGH.    Okay then---quick--thin slice the chicken!   Add to a mixing bowl with about 1/4 cup of soy sauce and, hey let's add about a tablespoon of garlic to that and 1 tsp of corn starch. Stir and let sit. Phew. That's accomplished!  

I cooked the mushrooms in a separate pan, not knowing if The Mike would want some added in his stirfry. I love the fungi, he sometimes feel like a fungi and sometime he doesn't, although I think he's a fun-guy all the time. 

I started with heating up the pan with a splash of olive oil and cooked the onions for a few minutes, then added in a half tablespoon of minced garlic--the more the merrier!   After the onion was cooked a bit longer I added in the red bell peppers and carrots, as well as 1/2 tsp of dried ginger and a small pinch--sort of--of red pepper flakes. I have a shaker on those and I just shook some into the pan.  As that was cooking and I was stirring, I decided that it didn't smell spicy enough, so I added another 1/2 tsp of dried ginger and another few shakes of the red pepper flake canister.  When it was all melded together, I put into a microwave heated bowl, so it wouldn't cool down.  While I was prepping to cook the other items, The Mike had some and said, 'WHOA That's SPICY'.  So then I had to try some. Eyes water, throat on fire. Yes, spicy, but I was hopeful that adding in the other items (rice, chicken, sauce, bamboo, chestnuts) would calm down and share the spices. 

Rice and veggie mixture

Once the pan was again empty, I turned up the heat and added another splash of olive oil and added in all the chicken and broth.  Afterwards, I noticed that I probably should have cooked it in two batches, but what was done was done. The pan wasn't too crowded, it was just not wasn't all that loose either.  Chicken was cooked and I added about 1/2 cup of chicken broth in order to create a bit of gravy---is it called gravy in stir fry? 

Then it was time to finish plating and serve. Well, we used a bowl. 

Finished meal, tossed with forks to blend

Once the items were all placed together, the spices weren't too much at all.  The Mike went back for seconds and said, "This is like HuHot!".  LOL.   His second bowl was rice, raw onion, cooked veggies, and chicken mixture. 

Recipe: 

1 package of Just Bare chicken

1 tsp corn starch 

1/4 cup Coconut Aminos (and more for serving if you'd like)

1 T of minced garlic---if using fresh, use half--for marinade

1 sliced onion

1/2 T minced garlic for the veggies 

1 tsp of ground ginger

1 to 2 julienne cut carrots

1 bell pepper (color of your choice) 

Pinch of red pepper flakes

1/2 cup chicken broth 

As many mushrooms as you love

1 can diced water chestnuts

1 can sliced bamboo 

2 scallions/green onions diced for topping

Slice everything to start, so you are all ready to go with the quick cooking when it's time. 

Marinate thinly sliced chicken in coconut aminos (or soy sauce), garlic and corn starch. Stir well. Let marinate for 15 minutes. 

In hot skillet with a quick splash (half tablespoon) of olive oil, add onions, stir for a few minutes, add garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes, and stir for just a couple minutes. Then add the carrots and bell pepper and allow to cook until they just soften. Then move the veggies to a bowl for holding.  

Heat up the skillet again, and add a bit more olive oil. When hot, add in the chicken mixture.   You'll want to do this in two batches.  Cook half the chicken, put it in with the veggies. Then cook the other half of the chicken. Once cooked, add half a cup of chicken broth. Skootch--that's a technical word--the chicken to the side and add in the chestnuts and bamboo in order to heat them in the broth/juices. 

Add all to the mixing/serving bowl and serve on top of rice or rice noodles and top with the diced scallions.  

Official test? Do you or don't you?

Do you or don't you?     I'm talking about THIS article regarding whether or not one needs to be tested for celiac disease.

It takes--on average--a decade to get checked for celiac in the United States. Source cited

After my sibling was diagnosed, I asked my GI to test me in 2006.  I've known since 1993 that I could/would get another autoimmune disease. When I was discharged from the hospital, my sibling who was with me took me to the college library a few days later and brought me any books that referenced my type of colitis.  GASP, I thought, I have a 33% change of having another autoimmune disease ---and there are literally hundreds of them.  Have I looked up that stat since 1993?  No. But it's always stuck in my mind.   Since I have another autoimmune disease, plus strong family history of celiac disease (sibling, paternal family), I wanted to find out if I had celiac. Instead, when I asked to be checked,  I was told "you have colitis, you don't have celiac".  They didn't like my response of "I could have both".

My PCP ended up doing the blood test, which was negative.   I wasn't surprised.  First off, a negative blood test for celiac doesn't mean you don't have it. It just means that the blood --for whatever reason--isn't showing you have celiac.  If you have a positive blood sample for celiac, then you have celiac, but a negative sample doesn't matter much, though most doctors look at it and say, "You don't have it".   Since I'm on an immunosuppressant, my blood doesn't work well with tests like this. I didn't show a reaction to anything on a food allergy panel, not even to the control to which "everyone" reacts.

The Mike suggested I go gluten free. OMG I felt sooo much better, and I haven't  look back.   Some people say I'm not celiac then, because I didn't have the biopsy. Well, it's not known if I'm celiac, but I believe I am.  I am at least gluten intolerant, but with the strong family history, I'd say I'm celiac.  I do not knowingly 'cheat' on the gluten free lifestyle plan. I eat gluten free 100% :-)   In order to be tested for celiac now, I either have to have the DNA test, which only shows if I carry the gene, not if it's been activated, or I have to eat gluten for at least three months (according to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics).

Most people who have celiac, have been gluten free, can't go a few days eating gluten, let alone three months, and still function in society.  This is because once you eliminate your intolerant food, then you've also eliminated any--for lack of a better word--tolerance to the intolerant.  Your body completely sees this food as the enemy and attacks because of it.

Gluten free and proud of it.  

Introducing "Super Foot", toe biopsy is complete

For about ten days now I've known about the small brown 'not normal' spot on my left ring toe. Today, Monday, is 'biopsy day'. Woot!

I had to prep for this. I tried to get a pedicure on Saturday and had no luck.  Alas, I did my own toes last night.

This morning I got in a 5k on the treadmill. Mostly walking, and listening to Good Morning America. I don't wish blizzards on anyone, but hope that the weathermen are right with the east coast hype. Two feet of snow, at once, never sounds fun to me. 

*Disclosure:  The following pictures show Betadine only, they do not show any bodily fluids where they shouldn't be located.* 

I tried to find a pair of those ugly 'big toe' socks and struck out, which was okay. It's not like I'd wear *those* things in public unless absolutely necessary!  [Those socks with the big toe slot and then the rest of it is like a mitten for the other toes.] 

I got to the doc's office and was ushered into the "procedure room" and told to strip. . .my foot and pull up the pant leg. Then I got to pretend to slide off the chair/bench/table as the nurse put the back up into a sitting position :-)  

Step 1. Bare the skin 

Step 2. Remember what it looks like:  the planet Saturn 

This is not what it looks like:  It's Betadine, a/k/a  "cleaner".  

It's clean, now it gets numbed. 

The Prep table.  

Next up, a cape for the foot. I am SuperFoot. Able to jump high and do round kicks in order to save humanity from the evils of athlete's foot.  

Super Foot

Checking numbness: 

The tweezers were used next, to pinch my skin and make sure I couldn't feel anything.  It was weird having the foot feel like the gums/jaw when the dentist is doing big work. 

The Super Foot's cape is still only tinged by Betadine!   

The green instrument is what will take a "core sample" of my Saturn friend. It basically cuts into the skin and then the doc can push on the instrument to release the sample into the solution to preserve it for transporting to the lab. 

After taking the core sample, the doc put gauze in between the toes to help stop the bleeding.When it had calmed, she put Silver Nitrate on to seal/heal the wound. Doc didn't want to put a suture in, thinking that would be worse when I moved my foot in activities. 

I held the toe space open for this since the pinky toe would otherwise wipe off the Silver Nitrate and obviously it wouldn't work well if that occurred. 

All done!   Super Foot has now gone into hiding (hopefully for good). 

While I did take in a pair of open toe sandals to wear, if needed, I was able to put on my sock and get my foot into the boots just fine.  The toes have always been a little loose in this pair of boots, which is why I chose them for today's journey. 

I had only a couple stops to make after the doc's office, two stores and the gas station. Now I'm home, it's about two hours later and my foot is starting to throb.  Glad I vacuumed before the appointment today!

The instructions are to take it easy, don't submerge in a bath or a swimming pool (not sure why anyone would go to the second with an open wound), and I specifically asked about yoga tomorrow morning and was told it'd be okay. 

Treadmill, linner, and nails

It snowed overnight,  enough to be annoying since yesterday was about 50 in the state cap, and it cooled overnight, It was 24 today.  The Mike was supposed to do a LONG ride today which turned into roller time in the basement.  I got on the treadmill and put in a 5k...although I did just fast walk today.

The beautiful state cap building on a gorgeous January day.

Also, filed under #WhatWasIThinking, Friday after my treadmill walk/run I decided to be "so brilliant" and head over to the gym for weight lifting.  I had a blast doing it. So proud of my body and then yesterday I was a little sore and this morning my body didn't want to move. Lol.  Epsom Salt bath later on to ease the muscles.

After the treadmill time I made Linner for The Mike and myself.   Linner--the lunch/dinner timeframe :-) . Tuna fish salad on top of mixed greens with a side of apples.

Tonight, I'm making the nails "sittin' pretty" with Essie gluten free nail polish.  Almost all my nail colors are purple for pancreatic cancer awareness!  I tried to get in for a pedicure at several salons yesterday in the cap city, but it was not to be.  

Painted toenails in preparation of skin biopsy tomorrow.

Tuna Fish Salad: 

1 can tuna, drained (juice =cat treat)   

                  I use Trader Joe's since it's tuna, salt, water and no soy/vegetable broth  

1 diced green onion (or a small amount of regular onion)

2 small stalks of celery, sliced and diced   (or 1 large stalk)

1 ounce of cheese, diced into small pieces/cubes

1 T of mustard 

about 1/2 c  of mayo (I use Hellman's Canola Oil as it's free of soy and gluten)

1/2 T to 1 T of dill pickle juice 

Pepper to taste 

Place all ingredients in mixing bowl and blend and blend. 

I always chop/slice the mixed greens for a bit.  Place on plate. Place tuna fish salad atop and garnish as desired. 

What do you put in your tuna fish salad? 

First run of the year. . . and yes it's the 23rd. . . and look at your body!

I had my first run of 2015.  Sad to say that it's taken 23 days into the month/year to get it done.

January 1st I was horribly cold. Went to the gym with hubby on the 2nd (I wipe down machines before and after my use with antibiotic wipes that the gym has on hand for same purpose). I was feeling a little slugglish, but kind of threw it off.  I did weights and a bit of the rowing machine. Saturday the 3rd I woke up with a horrid chest congestion and cough, which moved to the sinuses and basically kept me down for two weeks. I missed the first week of yoga due to the crud.

Then the 'ta da' feeling and I was feeling awesome last week. Woke up the 11th and I could breath and not cough every couple of minutes.  I got out of the house, ran some errands and then Friday I hacked again and thought. oh no.  I made an appointment with my doc for this past Monday, the 19th, and glad I did. I had to see her for that and something else we discovered Friday night.   Doc fixed me up with an RX for a sinus infection!  . . . and I go back on Monday for something unrelated to that.  Tuesday, the second day of the RX I was feeling SOOOO much better. It was like awakening for the first time in weeks. It was like knowing recovery after a gluten attack. It was like sunshine, and daisies, and butterflies. (cue the trumpets and harps).

Like a big sunny, happy, sunflower. 

I didn't abstain from exercise *completely*.  Well, most of the time I did when I was sick, but I had shoveled snow several days (even though The Mike told me not to).  I did walk a few times on the treadmill.

Needless to say, I was wanting to get back to running, but decided I should still be taking it a little easy and easing into the program again.  Yoga two days last week in class, two days this week in class and I thought "I think I'm ready".  I was actually planning to run yesterday after yoga, but then we did the pigeon pose and I've been told not to run after doing those hip opening/flexing positions.

Today I got dudded up in my purple pancreatic cancer fighting clothes. Purple Athleta pants, purple (ahen) Lululemon tank and got on the treadmill during The Price Is Right.  I walked during the show and ran during the commercials.  Sounds simple. Sounds easy. WHOA.  Hard stuff and I wasn't even running fast.  Definitely going to take time to come back from the days off of the feet and hopefully it won't take too long.

All red in the face after just a few running moments.

But wait, there's another snafu.  Remember where I said I talked to the doctor about another issue?  Friday night hanging on the couch, under the electric blanket-- which I got out on 1/1 when I was freezing and now think, "why don't I have this out every winter?!"--- when my left pinkie toe started itching my ring finger toe.  It felt like a hang nail type of thing. Couldn't shake the feeling and finally hoisted the foot up, and inspected and found the "chocolate" mark below.

ARGH.  What is THAT??!!!

No, not a smudge of sock lint. No, not anything that's coming off, and EEEK, it looks like Saturn, sort of round at the top and bottom and spreading around the middle like rings.  Saturday I had lunch with a friend and she said, 'it's probably fungus. There are lots of toe fungi".  Um, good? But I had no clue where I'd have picked up something like that.

Showed it to the doctor (you know, they just *adore* when patients go in for one thing and ask them about a gazillion other things while we're there and their appointment goes from five minutes to thirty minutes!), and she said, "it's not fungus, come back next week and I'll remove it for you and send it out (to see what it is).

Here's the thing I just learned at the beginning of 2014 thanks to a Facebook page for my #1 illness, Colitis, that thanks to the medication I'm on, the infusion I get every eight weeks, that I am more likely to get weird skin things.  Hmmm, in the eight years I'd been on Remicade, my GI never mentioned that to me. Sure, my PCP always says to stay out of the sun, stay out of tanning beds, not to sunburn, but hey, she's a PCP, she's *suppose* to say those things. I was shocked when I saw this tidbit of information on the CCFA FB page.  I asked my GI's office about it and was given the 'eh, it's just something to be aware of'.  I guess it's just something that is abstract in people's minds? not really important to tell a person?  Kind of like the whole part they didn't tell me that I'd be on Remicade for life.   I was on another immunosuppressant before that time and none of the three GIs I'd seen for that had ever mentioned anything about skin issues.  I mean, I *know* I'm at increased risk for colon cancer, hence the colonoscopies every two years, but another thing I didn't even know about!  

From the CCFA page of 2014

"Today is  #WorldCancerDay.  [explanation of UC and Crohns]. . . Also, the rate of non-melanoma skin cancer and melanoma are increased compared to the general population among patients with IBD taking immunosuppressive medications such as azathiprine [Imuran]. 6-mercaptopurine [Purinethol], methotrexate, and anti-TNF agents [Remicade, Enbrel, Humira,Cimzia, and Simponi] . . . ."  

What?  I've been on Imuran from 1994 to 2006 and Remicade since 2006.

I will be putting this out of my mind until I know what is what and if there's anything to worry about, but it's going to be hard.

Anyway, I ran today. Maybe I'll run tomorrow. I'll run Sunday and Monday and then who knows? And I'll be excited by any progress I make on running. . . running more than  a two minute commercial break will be exciting!  One short day I'll be running  more and walking less and then I'll be all running again.

I'm not sure how the biopsy will go or how my toe/foot will feel and I doubt I'll be able to wear my Injinji toe socks for a while.

. . . must remember to wear a slip on sandal on Monday. ..in Iowa. .. in January.  Maybe I'll go buy those weird socks that have the four toes together and then a separate toe slot for the big toe. . .then I can wear those with my toe catching Born sandals?  lol.  That'll look swell.


Since pancreatic cancer is close to my heart, and the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths in the USA, I'll leave you with this. If you know anyone who is fighting pancreatic cancer, have them contact PALS at the below information. Patient And Liaison Services can help those who are fighting cancer by being there for them and talking about treatment options.

January is National Pancreatic Cancer Clinical Trials Awareness Month!

Contact pals@pancan.org or at 877-272-6226 for information and free trial searches. You may also visit: http://bit.ly/1xhpOEO

‪#‎NPCCTAM‬ ‪#‎PancreaticCancerAwareness‬ ‪#‎ClinicalTrials‬ 

Bean soup, requested.

Sunday night, The Mike made a request for Bean Soup for Monday. He decided the coming cold weather was just begging for a rich, hearty soup.  Plus, we'd had baked ham, so he knew what to do with leftovers---er, what I could do with the leftovers!  Luckily, I still had some of Bob's bean mix on hand from last winter. I don't make bean soup very often, I'm not a seasoned cook at it like my mom was, so I decided to add the two cups of beans to a quart bottle and top it off with water to soak the beans. 

After just an hour, I knew that wasn't going to work very well---the beans had already absorbed all that water-- and moved the beans to a small plastic container, about 4x7x4, and filled it with water to about three fourth's full, beans included. This worked well overnight to soak the beans. Some beans started to split open, others just swelled a bit. About two in the afternoon I rinsed the beans well in a colander and then put them in my large AllClad pasta pot.  To this I added a diced onion, about a cup of chopped celery, and three diced/chopped carrots. Seasoned with two bay leaves.  I added a quart of Kitchen Basics Vegetable Stock, plus a quart of water. (Bob's recipe says to use 2 1/2 quarts, but I wanted a thicker soup).  For the meat, I added Beeler's Ham, which I had on hand. Some of it was baked Saturday with cloves, allspice and pineapple, and I also added the end of the ham---no bone, just the 'wrapped' end of the ham for some awesome tastiness :-)  

Bring to a boil, stir, cover and reduce to simmer for three hours minimum.   

At this point, I decided to test the theory of adding baking soda to reduce the magical toots of beans.  I added about two teaspoons and it fizzed like crazy chemistry fun. 

It didn't eliminate the issue, but has seemed to diminish the quantity.  

After three hours, this is what the soup looked like. Pretty thick, with only about a inch or less of liquid on top, making it a hearty soup. 

 
I removed the end ham piece and soooo easily shredded it in the bowl.  This is what winter is all about: fall apart meat candy goodness. 

To go with the bean soup, I also made Bob Red Mill's cornbread.  I followed the recipe on the package, except I used tapioca, teff, buckwheat flours, and I had to bake it for about 45 minutes instead of 30 minutes. 

For future, I'd add more celery and carrots to the soup.

As the night turned colder, and the snow fell harder, it was a perfect dinner to spoon a soup.  

There's a driveway between the cornflowers and bridal wreaths!

 About five new inches of snow, and -16ºF at 7am this morning.

Bean soup

2 cups Bibs Red Mill mixed beans Soak over night

Next day (12-24 hours later):

Rinse beans, put in large stockpot.

Add: 2 quarts of water 1 diced onion Celery to taste (I added a cup rough chopped) 3 carrots, diced (or more or less for your taste) 2 bay leaves Ham. I added the leftover baked ham which I diced, plus also the end of a ham, added whole.

Bring to boil, then cover & reduce to simmer for 3 to 3.5 hours.

Before serving, remove ham and shred, then return to pan.