On Tuesday, I had my weekly appointment with the Oncologist. She was very pleased that we waited an additional week before my chemo treatment. I had to inform and show her that I had developed a redness around the incision again. I was concerned what she would think about it. Because I am on antibiotics she believes I should still have my chemo treatment. I agreed, but am very concerned with the outcome. The next days will tell us. She was very nice to me during the appointment which helped me be more reassured. My WBC was excellent at 9.1. I'm planning on only having one injection of Neupogen this weekend and then they will check my count on Tuesday.
Tuesday I was able to run some errands. It felt so great being out feeling back to normal. My new favorite store is Trader Joe's. We have found a few new family favorites. They also have Sweet Potato Chips which are yummy - I'm hooked. After my errands, Deena picked me up for lunch. I told her I was craving Subway. We sat outside and imagined the ocean was in front of us instead of the parking lot. When a car honked, I asked her if she heard the Seagull? It was too funny. Afterwards we stopped in the new Holistic treatment center. Very interesting. It might be something to pursue once my treatments are completed to build up my cells and lymphatic movement. I need to focus on healthy eating, exercise (want to lose 20 lbs) and treatments to repair my body. I know it can take months to get back to feeling well - I'm just so glad I have those months to do it.
Wednesday, I cleaned the house using my left arm as much as possible. I'm trying very hard to baby this port in my chest. Matt and Katie had half day of school, so Matt was busy with his football physical and Katie and her friends walked from school to Juice It Up. It was great being a mom, feeling good and being able to pick them up, drive them to their friends house or football practice. I don't dread these things now - I treasure them. I just wanted to stay as busy as I could because I know the coming days I'll be down and out. Of course we had to watch the finale of American Idol as I was so excited that the singer I picked from the beginning won. It was really cool.
I didn't sleep too much. I watched the second Hillsong DVD that the Sinis' gave me (thank you - I'll get them back to you soon). It allowed me to at least rest and be inspired at the same time. I think I fell asleep around 1:00 am and then our house alarm went off at 3:00 am due to a malfunction. Only Matt slept through it. At least it didn't take me too long to go back to sleep.
I woke up feeling very nervous knowing I would be going for my chemo treatment this morning. With an 8 week break I felt as if I was starting all over. I think having the redness on my chest hasn't given me any comfort. My past record has not been the best. It was really hard getting ready this morning. The funny thing that has been happening is that I have almost lost all of eyebrows and eyelashes. It seems strange because I have hair growing on my head and legs. You would have thought I would have been safe from losing them. I went and purchased fake eyelashes and thought I would try them this morning but I thought, "Who really cares if I have eyelashes in the chemo room?" I will try them after I have recovered from this chemo treatment.
Both Kellie and Jim were able to take me to my treatment today. It worked out really well, because my heart beat was racing my chemo nurse gave me something to relax. It worked. My eyes were so heavy. Also, my doctor decreased my chemo strength by 20% to help promote the healing of the incision. With the medications, I didn't fall asleep but I couldn't play cards with Kellie - my eyes wouldn't focus. She played her DS by herself and Jim used my iTouch to play other games. They had each other to talk to. Kellie made Chinese Chicken Salad for the nurses for lunch. She amazes me and they were so thankful. Because my count was high I was able to have a few bites of lettuce. It was so good. I think this is one of my favorite meals. It was a nice and quiet treatment. It took a little longer because if I moved certain ways my port was getting clogged. The nurse finally had to hook a pump to the IV to help it flow better. It was a confirmation that I need to be more careful with using my right arm. The port is so important for the remainder of my treatments.
Afterwards. Kellie and I stopped at Barnes & Noble to pick up a book. I haven't written about what Kellie has been going through as she has been walking alongside this journey with me. Through the encouragement of my Oncologist, Kellie was given a BRCA kit, to test her to see if she had the breast cancer gene. Her mom, my Aunt Katie, tested positive, and wanted Kellie to be tested also. A couple of weeks ago, Kellie's result also came back positive that she is caring the BRCA breast cancer gene. I told her I had seen a book on how a young women handled dealing with her decision of treatments, so we picked it up. I'm going to read it first and see if I can offer any insights. My Oncologist is requesting that Kellie get an MRI first before deciding on how to proceed with this information. Most women are encouraged to automatically have a mastectomy. We feel the more information we can gain will help what Kellie needs to do. Please keep her in your prayers and she must proceed through this difficult process.
Since getting home, I've been able to make dinner and now I am writing. I know it is only a matter of time before the fog settles in. I will do my best to try and blog each day so you know what is going on and will not be worried. It might just be a few lines here and there, but I know you will understand.
I can't tell you how much all of your encouragement and support continues to mean to me.
No comments:
Post a Comment