Long Week

Well this first week after chemo has been rather long. The side effects have been many and most of them have been strange. Of course there has been a lot of nausea but so far I have managed to keep food down and eat most days. Mornings tend to be the worst. The worst day by far was the day of the chemo. I was very sick that evening which I did not expect. I thought it would take a few days before I would really feel the effects. My lips peel almost daily and I have sores inside my mouth. My vision has been affected as well as my concentration. It is really aggravating. I have to focus much more intently to read and I feel like I have ADD, I can't stay on task and complete anything! Probably the hardest day was Wednesday when I had my hair cut off. After everything I have been through I can't believe how difficult that was. I know it is just hair and it will grow back but that was a bad day. I did receive my first piece of good news though...the cancer has not spread! After the PET scan there was an area of suspicion so I had some additional scans done. Yesterday I received word that all was well. The cancer is at stage III. A small victory to celebrate! This afternoon I will go in to have some blood work done to see where my white and red blood cell counts are at. I hope my white cell count isn't too low because Noah has developed a cold. James and the kids have been real troupers and have really stepped up to help out this week. I am amazed at how grown up my kids can be!

Chemo

I am done with my first round of chemo. I told James the only way I can describe how I feel is "funky". The gave me 2 anti-nausea medications first via my port after drawing blood for the iron study and a CBC. Then the nurse pushed in the adriamycin. This is blood red and in fact does look like liquid poison. Almost immediately I could taste it. They had me chew ice during this to try to prevent mouth sores. When that was done they began the cytoxin. When they started this drug I got light-headed and my nose got stuffy. The nurse said this was normal. Before leaving they gave me 5 prescriptions for nausea. I told James what does that tell you???? 2 IV infusions and 5 prescriptions all for nausea...I think it may be a long weekend.

After chemo James and I got a bowl of soup. I wanted to eat something right away. The nurse practitioner I saw on Tuesday told me that by Friday night I probably won't feel to great. Thanks for all the prayers!

Pet Scan

OK, yesterday I was the human pin cushion. To complete the PET scan they have to inject radioactive dye into a vein. Sounds easy but my veins are shot. They tried 5 times before any success. A few times they missed the veins but most of the time they hit the vein and then it collapsed. My right hand and arm is black and blue. They even tried on the inside of my wrist...ouch! The Dr. couldn't even get it. Eventually they had a chemotherapy technician come and put it in. She got it on the first try. They put the port in place so they could avoid constantly sticking me however, the port can't be used for this kind of dye. After the PET scan I met with the Nurse Practitioner to go over the side effects I can expect from the chemo and the medications they will prescribe to help combat them. Probably the biggest concern will be the fatigue. I am still anemic and the chemo may make this worse which will trigger greater fatigue. Of course they warned me about the nausea but I will have no less then 5 prescriptions to combat this. I will lose my hair the first week of February but it should begin to come back this summer. Food and drink may have a metallic taste but there is not much they can do about that. I may experience mouth sores and GI upset but not everyone does. The good news in all this is that the first 4 treatments will be the worst. Once I move into the second phase of treatment the side effects should subside.

Friday is the day of my first treatment. Please keep me in your prayers!

Port in place

I am now two steps closer to my first treatment. I had an echo cardiogram this morning and the port went in this afternoon. The weather made things a little tricky today. I was supposed to be at the Cardiologist by 8:30 this morning for an 8:45 procedure. I got stuck on Quivira of all places for 45 minutes! It took me 45 minutes to get from 135th St. & Quivira to I-435. Luckily there were a number of patients that didn't show up so it was not a problem. Debbie came over and she and James took me to the hospital to have the port put in. I arrived at 11:30 and was out of there by 3:00. Things went well. I am pretty sore tonight but surprisingly I am not nearly as tired as the last time they put me under. So long as I limit activity with my right arm I am fine. We spent a nice quiet evening at home which was fine with everyone as we are all tired of this cold!

Treatment set

Today James and I met with the oncologist so I finally have my treatment protocol. My first treatment is scheduled for Friday, January 23rd. I will be receiving Adriamycin and Cytoxan every 3 weeks for 4 treatments. After that I move on to Taxol and Herceptin every week for 12 weeks. Following that I will continue with Herceptin alone for 40 weeks. This will be administered through my port at 3 week interevals. The side effects of these drugs are many so please pray for me. Tomorrow I am having an echo-cardiogram along with the placement of my port. The echo-cardiogram is to make sure my heart is strong enough to handle the drugs. Next week I am scheduled for a PET scan. The PET scan or Positron Emission Tomography provides the doctors with a look inside my body showing "anatomic structures and metabolic activity. " The doctor is looking to see if the cancer has spread to other organs.

Today was a hard day. I knew all of this information before but discussing it in detail makes it much more real. Thank you for your continued prayers!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone! We made it back from Florida safe and sound. It was a very long drive, it took about 25 hours because we took the southern route. The weather was bad and we didn't want to chance it. Monday I saw the plastic surgeon and he finally took my other drain out! The drain was in for one day short of a month and I was very ready to get rid of it. I am swollen today because of the fluid build up but that should resolve quickly. My next appointment is January 15 with the oncologist. The next day, I have a surgical procedure to insert the port in my chest. Chemo should start the following week. :(

Noah turned 9 during our Florida visit! Regan is getting prepared for her competition season to start. Her first meet is January 18 in Des Moines. She is doing very well. Alex decided to try out for soccer this year because she never got the chance to try out last year. She started her conditioning workouts today. "Don't get your hopes up," She told me. She always underestimates herself.

We hope everyone had a Happy New Year!