Coming out of the haze of the last treatment, and it is dawning on me that there is only ONE MORE ROUND TO GO! So, another month and I should be feeling better with all this behind me. Well, except for the abdominal port removal, not exactly sure when that happens. And more blood tests. And lots of finger crossing for no reoccurrences. But I guess I don't need to get ahead of myself.
Right now I'm just happy to have a week off.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Friday, November 7, 2008
Out of it...
My days thankfully are going by very quickly lately. I've got my line up of things I can take to get rid of the nausea, and some of them make me sleepy. I am all for dozing off and waking up with 4 hours already gone by. Then pretty soon it's time for bed and the next day is already here. Luckily Sarah has a second parent, as I'm not good for much around here except drooling.
3 more infusions left. 1 more bad one, and 2 more medium ones. That seems like a fairly doable amount. Now I'm just hoping that my numbers have time to go back down to those single digits again, this last blood test showed them at 12, up from 8... There is an error margin of + or - 20, which helps make it just about as vague as everything else that's been thrown at me. grrr.
ps. Making me happy lately- my new hats from Louse Bialik. A big box of them! They're made by a survivor of 111b breast cancer, so they are soft and comfy. Here's the contact info:
CJ Hats
Mary Ann Weiss
mare@cjhats.com
www.cjhats.com
I have so many hats (and a pink wig) now, I'm thinking of starting a hat bank after my hair grows back. Take one when you need one, add a few that you don't need any more. Maybe stationed at a local hospital unless they have rules against used clothes. I'll have to look into this.
3 more infusions left. 1 more bad one, and 2 more medium ones. That seems like a fairly doable amount. Now I'm just hoping that my numbers have time to go back down to those single digits again, this last blood test showed them at 12, up from 8... There is an error margin of + or - 20, which helps make it just about as vague as everything else that's been thrown at me. grrr.
ps. Making me happy lately- my new hats from Louse Bialik. A big box of them! They're made by a survivor of 111b breast cancer, so they are soft and comfy. Here's the contact info:
CJ Hats
Mary Ann Weiss
mare@cjhats.com
www.cjhats.com
I have so many hats (and a pink wig) now, I'm thinking of starting a hat bank after my hair grows back. Take one when you need one, add a few that you don't need any more. Maybe stationed at a local hospital unless they have rules against used clothes. I'll have to look into this.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Round 5, Part 1
I am dreading tomorrow and the next 2 weeks. I am literally sick to my stomach. I did have a few high points today- Sarah running into the living room shouting, "GUESS WHO'S OUR NEXT PRESIDENT?!!!". Also, my free scoop of Ben & Jerry's (Don't tell my MD...)
Sunday, November 2, 2008
I have become comfortably numb
Well, maybe not comfortably, but I couldn't resist the reference! My latest joy is chemotherapy induced peripheral neuropathy. So the tips of my fingers and toes have partially lost their feeling. Not completely, but I'm sure it will get worse during the next two rounds. I was warned that this would probably happen around the 4th round, so I'm right on schedule. I'm taking vitamin B, which should help, and when chemo is done I'll eventually get back to normal, so I'm not too worried about it.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Bog Person
I thought I'd share my "bog person" shot from Larnie's birthday party the other night, where we imitated ancient mummified people found in peat bogs. You can see the rest of the shots on flickr.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Lots of no fun with some fun intermixed
Thanks to a comment left by a certain special somebody on my last post which was about 20 years ago, or so it seems, I'm finally posting. So thanks for that little kick I needed...
Went in today for Round 4, part 2, and it went fine. I took an ativan in the morning, so didn't barf, but still had a small crying meltdown with the nurse. She totally understood. Then they gave me more ativan in the IV and I pretty much slept the entire time. Jewelz came to visit and got a lot done on the scarf she is knitting!
I've been dealing with this nausea which fluctuates between lurking in the background and actually barfing. I now carry a big plastic bag in my backpack just in case. Thankfully, I've been home for the times I would have needed it so far. Oh, except once in the chemo room, waiting for the nurse to start the IV and premeds. I think part of what I'm experiencing is what they call "anticipatory" nausea, more of a mental experience, but the end result is as physical as it gets. I've gotten a few more meds in my anti-nausea arsenal, and I can already tell things are getting better. And the bottom line is that chemo is harsh and no one, no matter what they do can eliminate the side effects completely.
Numbers- I know I said I wouldn't obsess over my tumor marker #s, but since they're still moving in the right direction, I feel this is a cause for at least a minor celebration! Last round my numbers went from 14 down to 9, and this round they went down from 9 to 8 !!! You may all do a small, but rowdy round of tap dancing for me at this point! Ok, you can stop now!! My MD said the goal at the end of chemo was to be in single digits. This puts me in the best possible position moving forward. So now I'm focusing on keeping the numbers from going back up and even better, to keep them creeping downwards.
After a few days dealing with Round 4, part 2, I'm so happy to have a good week coming up! My last good week I did a lot of fun things including going to a live butterfly exhibit with Will and Dot and Sarah, followed by my first time to an icecream shop I've been wanting to go to for 10 years. Also had a great appt. with an MD at an integrated medicine center. He had tons of advice for me, including giving up dairy, sugar and soy COMPLETELY. Not really what I wanted to hear, and now I'm figuring out how I can learn more about this, and try to incorporate it into my life without going totally overboard.
Oh, and I got a new vacuum! You can tell how exiting my life has gotten...
Went in today for Round 4, part 2, and it went fine. I took an ativan in the morning, so didn't barf, but still had a small crying meltdown with the nurse. She totally understood. Then they gave me more ativan in the IV and I pretty much slept the entire time. Jewelz came to visit and got a lot done on the scarf she is knitting!
I've been dealing with this nausea which fluctuates between lurking in the background and actually barfing. I now carry a big plastic bag in my backpack just in case. Thankfully, I've been home for the times I would have needed it so far. Oh, except once in the chemo room, waiting for the nurse to start the IV and premeds. I think part of what I'm experiencing is what they call "anticipatory" nausea, more of a mental experience, but the end result is as physical as it gets. I've gotten a few more meds in my anti-nausea arsenal, and I can already tell things are getting better. And the bottom line is that chemo is harsh and no one, no matter what they do can eliminate the side effects completely.
Numbers- I know I said I wouldn't obsess over my tumor marker #s, but since they're still moving in the right direction, I feel this is a cause for at least a minor celebration! Last round my numbers went from 14 down to 9, and this round they went down from 9 to 8 !!! You may all do a small, but rowdy round of tap dancing for me at this point! Ok, you can stop now!! My MD said the goal at the end of chemo was to be in single digits. This puts me in the best possible position moving forward. So now I'm focusing on keeping the numbers from going back up and even better, to keep them creeping downwards.
After a few days dealing with Round 4, part 2, I'm so happy to have a good week coming up! My last good week I did a lot of fun things including going to a live butterfly exhibit with Will and Dot and Sarah, followed by my first time to an icecream shop I've been wanting to go to for 10 years. Also had a great appt. with an MD at an integrated medicine center. He had tons of advice for me, including giving up dairy, sugar and soy COMPLETELY. Not really what I wanted to hear, and now I'm figuring out how I can learn more about this, and try to incorporate it into my life without going totally overboard.
Oh, and I got a new vacuum! You can tell how exiting my life has gotten...
Monday, October 6, 2008
This made my day- opening the mailbox, finding a package inside (addressed to me!), containing a book with the hilarious title, "Any Day with Hair is a Good Hair Day." Now, last time I got some books in the mail from an unknown sender they turned out to be from Michelle... How are my detective skills, Michelle?
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