11 Taxol's down, ONE TO GO!!!

I actually started this a couple of days ago but decided that shopping with Aruna was more important. Sorry.

Friday, the 19th of June I had my 11th treatment of Taxol. It was not so bad of a day - Left the house at 6:45 am and got home at 3:15. The Taxol treatment was usual. The Herceptin treatment left me with involuntary muscle spasms during the infusion. I mentioned it to the nurse but once again, she didn't really say much.

This week's side effects have been different than last week. This week I can eat. On Tuesday, I just ate and ate. I couldn't get full. Today, Thursday, I am not quite so hungry.

The neuropathy is getting worse. My left arm, hand and fingers all ache and my fingers also are tingly. The feeling has migrated to the right side of my body but so far it is not as noticeable. My right foot will occasionally feel like it is going to sleep so I just stomp it. I don't think it works but it helps to relieve the frustration.

The hot flashes are still there. Sometimes they are really bad and other times not so bad. Because of the 95 degree weather and 78 percent humidity we are having, sometimes it is hard to tell if I am hot flashing or having a good old fashion sweat :)At night I have been experiencing chills. Really cold for a long time (like an hour or more) then really hot. If I could figure out a way to combine the two temperatures, life would be good!


Today I have been fighting headaches. They are tolerable enough to not have to take any meds. Besides, I didn't want to get sleepy and loopy. (There's a combination!)

We are 2 weeks into Summer Vacation and Andrei's commitments with football and basketball have kept both Scott and I busy. Aruna is all ready on the verge of getting bored. Next week Scott took off work and after Andrei is done with weightlifting on Thursday, we are headed for the lake house. This is the first Friday in a long time (12 weeks to be exact) that I haven't had to spend my day at the hospital!!! My goal this year is to get to the lake every major holiday!!! More than that would be nice. It is still a long summer with 2 more months to go before school starts (though as I was running errands today the stores are already stocking Back to School and Autumn merchandise!!!)

Tomorrow is the 12th and final treatment of Taxol. YEAH! I am not sure if I want to celebrate or catch up on my sleep. After that, I start every three weeks. If I haven't mentioned it already, I meet with Dr. Richardson the week of July 13 to discuss the Radiation portion of my treatment.

Thanks to those who continue to send me cards. Yes my positive attitude can be annoying and yes, there is still that one doctor that thinks we have money left over!!!

Has it been two treatments already?

Wow. How times flies. Let's see where I am in the continuing saga. I document everything in my iphone (you really should get one) because I truly have a very bad case of chemo brain. My thoughts leave my head before I get a chance to think them through! It is very frustrating and I hate it. So.. let's see what the iphone tells us. I feel like I am about to look into a crystal ball!
Treatment #9 of Taxol, Friday, June 5th I met a new prisoner friend. He was from Oshkosh and has colon cancer. He is doing well. Treatment was uneventful and after 7 hours I was home. I didn't want to sleep so I worked in garden for and hour or so then got cleaned up for the big night. Andrei has his 8th grade Farewell Dance at school and there was a party before hand that the parents were invited to. Andrei's best friend Mike Vernio was here and the boys got all cleaned up and dressed. I was so proud of them both! They looked so grown-up (can you tell I am a mom who is wondering where the years went?) and handsome!!! WOW! Like little men who want to impress the ladies, we all piled into the fun car and off to the festivities we went. The weather was gorgeous and a perfect night to have the top down on the car.

After this treatment and for the next treatment (Taxol #10 on June 12), I am really, really tired. I didn't think I would get treatment #10. My white blood count was lower than when I was red flagged last time. Because I basically went a week where I didn't eat much and slept most of it, I thought I would get bounced. Much to my surprise, my WBC more than doubled! Go figure. Maybe it is sleep and not hershey candy bars that increase your count. I think I should start a clinical study. I'll email Hershey and see if they will sponsor it : )

Though I am really tired and should sleep, I hate to nap because I always think I should be doing something else, but sometimes I just have to close my eyes. I haven't been eating a lot since I now have stomach issues. I drink a lot of water to make the hunger feeling go away. When I do eat, I end up in the bathroom within the hour. Eating isn't much fun and not worth the after effects. Besides my stomach not liking the food, my taste buds are just about shot. Even water is starting to taste icky. Thank God I can taste ice cream!!! (Thank you Spook and family for the DQ ice cream sandwiches!!!) I'm not losing weight - must be all that water intake. I have been dealing with headaches again that don't seem to want to go away. The hot flashes have been brutal. They come in clusters. Sometimes every 30 minutes and they can last for 5 minutes. Though they are an "inconvenience" they are a sign that my estrogen is dropping. This is good since it is that hormone that has made the cancer so aggressive. No estrogen, no cancer. Works for me. Besides, I think I look pretty good with that 'glow'! even if it is sweat. I have been feeling the sensations of neuropathy more and more. But the tingling feelings are never where I was told they would be. It can be a wierd feeling to have the tinglies migrating around your legs and arms.

Two more treatments of Taxol to go then I start every three weeks for the next 8 or 9 months. Somewhere in there is radiation too. It's hard to believe that I have been in chemo since February and fighting cancer since January. Time flies when you sleep your day away.

Taxol #8 down - 4 to go!!

It's Monday! I'm two days early this week! Going into treatment this past Friday, I was sure my white blood count was going to get me booted. But, low and behold, my levels actually increased! Go figure. I am attributing this miracle to the Hershey candy bars I have been eating. It is in my opinion that chocolate not only tastes yummy (it is one the the few foods I can taste), it clearly has its health benefits!

So...I passed my blood tests again. My WBC and my liver enzymes were all good. Life was good.

This treatment I finally got a room with a view. As I gaze outside the window, finding shapes in the clouds, Nurse Dawn takes my vitals. Then the blood pressure machine starts beeping incessantly. This happened last week too. Only last week no one paid attention to it. What's up you ask? Seems my heart is not beating fast enough. Now, if you all remember, several tests ago it was determined that I did have a heart - it just beat to a different drummer. Friday it decided to beat much slower than it should. Nurse Dawn decides to check with Dr. W since the pre-chemo meds also slow down your heart. I suppose Nurse Dawn didn't want to mess up her day by having me collapse on her! Fear not! Dr. W. orders an EKG so off to Cardiology I go. If someone (and I am not sure who was responsible for this one) would have placed the order for the EKG, I wouldn't have sat there waiting for an hour! Luckily, I block out my entire day on the calendar so I had no place I needed to be:)

The girl who administered the test was able to see my Bigemini on paper. Finally my heart cooperates and does its weird stuff while I am hooked up to the machine. An hour wait, less than 5 minutes on the table, and I can go back to chemo. There I make myself comfortable (in my chair with a view) and wait for Dr. W. to give the go ahead to Nurse Dawn.

Dr. W. wasn't as concerned as Nurse Dawn so I was good to go for treatment. However, the blood pressure machine cuff stayed on my arm for the entire treatment and took my pressure every 10 minutes. Maybe Dr. W was a little concerned. No need to be. My heart eventually started beating faster. Either way, I received my treatment and was home by 1:30.

By now I am pooped and though I had tons of things to accomplish around the house, I laid down and 3 hours or so later, woke up.

Fatigue has definitely become an issue right after treatment and for the weekend. But I guess I deserve to be tired since I don't slow down to take the naps that I should. But I am proud to say my garden is planted and my flower beds all around the house are beautiful. The mulch is spread and the bushes trimmed. And.....yes, I have cut the grass and weed wacked. I am amazing if I do say so myself :) And on that note, I am going to take a nap before I start dinner!