Tuesday November10

Today was a good day. I woke up feeling much better. My blood work this week is on Thursday and since I'm a bit concerned the WBC will be down again, I thought I should get some of my running around done today before I get stuck at home in quarantine.

I picked up some pansies and got them planted in my planter boxes. I returned the pair of earrings Steve got me for my birthday and picked up 2 other pairs. Steve said he liked these new ones better than the one he had originally chosen. YEAH!! I stopped at the knitting shop and picked up some yarn for another quick and easy project. I also got the house dusted and the laundry done. This afternoon I took it easy and rested.

I did a lot of grazing and munching all day today. Seems like I need to keep food in my stomach. Not terribly uncomfortable but a bit annoying. Carbs seem to hit the spot but it's not the protein that I'm supposed to be concentrating on. Peanut butter is getting to be quite old. It's a good thing that I really like it. This should pass in another few days.

Oh, hair update: I cut all of the long strands of hair off this morning. Couldn't stand it any longer. So now all of the hair, that I could reach, is about 1/2 inch long. I still need to get someone to trim the back. It's much more comfortable under scarves but my head was pretty cold in the shower this morning. I was surprised at the difference. Should be interesting in the middle of winter.

Monday November 9

On the upswing again. Feeling better today than the weekend. I actually got some things done today.

The furnace guy was here to do the 6 month check up.

Over the weekend the ice maker in the basement quit working. I was supposed to call the repairman but I thought I'd try to clean it first. It was totally frozen over and it was a GROSS mess. I hadn't planned on doing a thorough cleaning of the thing. Was just going to add the chemical and let it do it's thing. Needless to say it took awhile to clean all of the mildew (Yes, mildew) off. It's a wonder we haven't been sick from eating the ice out of that thing. YUCK!! But it's clean now AND making ice.

If must have been the day for gross jobs because I also ended up cleaning the kitchen garbage can and the cabinet that it sits in. I must have had the "eagle eye" for gross things that needed to be cleaned.

Had chili and cornbread for dinner. Trouble is I ate 2 pieces of cornbread WITH butter and now my stomach feels like it has a concrete block sitting on it. Wonder if I will be hungry by breakfast.

It was a beautiful day so Paxton and I spent a large part of the day sitting on the deck in the sun. He was sleeping, I was knitting. We also went for 3 long walks today. Need to take advantage of the good weather while it is here.

Happy Birthday to Me

Yesterday was my birthday AND the Saturday after treatment #2. Saturday's not a great day as was discovered after Treatment #1. I actually ended up sleeping pretty much the entire day away. Ross called in the morning and a couple of friends stopped over in the afternoon. It was nice to take a break from the sleeping to visit with them. Steve baked a great apple pie although I was only able to eat a bite. He got me a pair of earrings, a Roku to stream Netflix to the TV, and a snowman for my collection. I ended the day by trying to watch a DVD but immediately fell asleep and slept until 7:00 this morning.

Sunday

It is a gloriously, warm day today. I have been spending most of it out on the deck reading or knitting. Steve has been working all morning to try to get the Roku to work. I think he gave up trying to do it wirelessly and has now gone to Lowes to get some wire to hardwire it. Nothing is ever easy around here. I'm feeling a bit better today, not quite as tired. Still difficult to eat. Food doesn't look good or taste too great. I just keep making myself eat something and am trying to drink all day long (that is not too pleasant either.) But, I do know that this will pass and with each passing day it will improve. I did take, what I call, a power pill (anti-nausea) this morning just so I could make it through lunch. Downside is that they put me to sleep. So far I'm doing okay, might be the fresh outside air.

Kathy stopped by this afternoon with a birthday present. She ordered me a beau beau head scarf. It is so easy to wear. NO TYING. Just put it on and go. Looks great, feels great and a piece of cake.

Steve made hotdogs and tator tots for dinner. They actually tasted pretty good so I ate the whole thing. We had birthday pie for dinner which I just tasted. Sugar is not my thing anymore. Such a shame, can't hardly believe it.

The Chemicals

A couple of folks have asked me what they are pumping into my veins. I finally got the energy to go drag out the literature with the facts. So here goes:

#1. Taxotere - Classified as a "plant alkaloid" and an "anitmicrotubule agent". It is made from the bark of the Pacific Yew tree. Plant alkaloids are cell cycle specific. That is, they attack the cells during various phases of division. It is given through a vein. There is no pill form. Premedication with a corticosteroid pill starting a day prior to infusion for 3 days is given to reduce the severity of fluid retention and allergic reactions. (I am taking something the day prior, could be to counteract this, not sure). The amount received depends on many factors including height and weight, general health or other health problems and the type of condition being treated.

#1. Carboplatin - Classified as an "alkylating agent". Usually given by infusion into the vein. These are most active in the resting phase of the cell. They are cell-cycle non-specific. This is a Metal Salts.

There you go, for all of you who are interested.

Friday November 6

Well the lack of sleep on Wednesday night finally caught up with me last night. I fell asleep at 8:00 and slept until 6:30 this morning. Best I've slept in awhile. I woke up feeling pretty good this morning. Steve had the day off and we needed to go to the grocery store so I decided that I would go with. We went to Kroger, Walmart and to lunch at Five Guys. We've decided the grilled cheese with grilled shrooms and onions is pretty good.

Steve went out shopping for my birthday present and I stayed at home and got a bit of knitting done. We tried to get caught up on some of our DVR shows but AGAIN I immediately went to sleep and didn't see any of it. Guess the chemo treatment was hitting me again this afternoon.

I made chili and cornbread for dinner. I ate some but didn't have a great appetite. Plus, the chili really needs to cook longer tomorrow.

Hoping to not have to spend my birthday tomorrow in bed as I did on the Saturday after my first treatment. We'll see how it goes.

Day 1 after Chemo

Today was a really good day. No side effects at all.

My biggest concern during this whole thing has been the probability of losing my eyebrows. I haven't really had a concern about the hair because there is always something to put on your head BUT the eyebrows are a different story. I also decided it would be smart for me to do this before they are gone so I at least could get something that is closest to the original color. So I headed out to the mall to the make up counter. They taught me how to measure where they should be on my face and how to draw them on. I also wanted lipstick so I got that also. They applied eye shadow as eyeliner (at the base of my eye lashes instead of trying to draw that straight line on the top of the lashes). They also convinced me that if I lost my eye lashes but used eye liner no one would even know I didn't have lashes. It looked pretty good so I left with that product also. Hopefully, I'll be able to do all of this. Guess I'll start practicing tomorrow.

Also ran errands at Crate and Barrel, DSW shoes, and Fresh Market.

I picked up some roses for a neighbor friend who underwent a surgical procedure yesterday. I stopped by to see her this afternoon. Good news is the surgery was a success and she was on the mend.

Paxton and I spent some time out on the deck in the sun today. It was nice until the wind kicked up and a cold front started to move in.

Didn't get to sleep last night until 12:30 and was awake at 5:00. I did take a short nap this afternoon.

Chemo Treatment #2

I was a big concerned about the WBC count today but according to the nurse, my blood work was "Fabulous". My WBC was 7 which is very normal, actually higher than it was when I went to the Emergency room. I was stoked.

Next activity was putting the needle in my arm. That was not easy! Two people tried 7 different places, and lots of different sizes of needles. We finally decided to try the right hand since the left was used the last time and also at the hospital. Apparently, the skin and veins were pretty tough. The eight time it finally worked and we were on the way.

I had an appointment with the Dr. today. He said that some people (me as usual) develop very sensitive places on the skin and that it would disappear with time. The only suggestion was to take Motrin and if that doesn't work to take some of the more powerful pain killers that he prescribed. I also told him that I had a knot at one place. I said, What is this knot?" His response, "It's a knot". DUH! What he meant was that it really is a knot. He said, 'You know all of that sewing up I had to do underneath there had to be tied off somewhere, so that is the knot". "Oh, I get it". It will dissolve, with time. He also said that I seem to be tolerating chemo pretty well. He told me I was being to strict with the confinement. Maybe we'll make some changes this go round.

This morning when I walked in with my hat on the nurse and I talked about the hair loss. Her first question was "Did your hair hurt?" "Whoa, yes, why didn't you all tell me about that.?" "Everyone tolerates this process differently. This doesn't happen to everyone. (me again) I guess they don't want to have people obsessing over something that may not happen. Understandable, but it would have been nice to know that it might happen.

Kathy stayed with me all day today. It's so great to have company. I can't thank her enough for spending her day off with me. Such a great friend. We spent the day knitting and visiting. The day was long 8:15 - 2:30. Afterwords Kathy wanted to go buy a couple of gifts so we went to TJ Max and I picked up a couple of more hats, and a jogging suit (which I haven't tried on yet.)

Poor Paxton was in his crate a long time today. He was SO happy to see me. Lots of jumping and puppy kisses. We took a long walk and visited with some neighbors.

One of the neighbors brought us dinner tonight. I tell you, I don't think we could have picked a better neighborhood to live. The people here have just been fantastic.

I'm hoping, I'll feel okay to do a couple of quick errands tomorrow. If things go like they did the last time my most tired days will be Friday afternoon and Saturday. We'll see.