Why am I oinking like a pig? Could it be because I gained 5 pounds since
my last chemo? Or could it be because I found out today that I am a
guinea pig at my cancer treatment center? The answer is yes to the
later, but I really did gain 5 pounds. The doctor I saw today told me
that I am the first person that they have tried 'my' chemo cocktail on.
Most people with breast cancer have surgery FIRST and then chemo, which
would be TC chemo (taxotere and carboplatin). The cocktail I'm receiving
is TCHP. My cocktail includes herceptin and perjeta. Herceptin is a
hormone blocking chemo and the perjeta is like a super charger that help
the herceptin do its job better. Up until Dec 2013 this was only given
to those who's cancer had matacisized. But they discovered it would
work well on shrinking large cancerous tumors that were spreading fast
too. My tumor was the size of a lime and had already spread to my lymph
nodes. My doctor decided I would be the first patient at their clinic to
try this new concoction. Three weeks after my 1st chemo the tumor was
GONE! They are very pleased with how well it's working. They love that
my body is handling it so well too. The goal with this new type of chemo
is to shrink the tumor and kill as much of the cancer BEFORE surgery so
that when surgery does happen there are fewer cancer cells left behind.
And then any cancer cells that may be left behind will get a nice 6
week dose of radiation EVERY weekday. Sounds to me like I win and cancer
loses! At the end of my TCHP chemo I will continue having H (herceptin)
chemo every 3 weeks until March of next year. That hormone chemo will
not make me sick and each treatment will last 30 minutes.
My port
access today was more painful than I remember. My port site hurt for a
good hour after my blood draw. Not sure why that was the case, but I'm
just glad it's over.
My white blood count is down to a 3, between
4-10 in normal. I'm at an increased change of infection so I need to be
careful. The doctor mentioned that when the white count is low I have a
greater change of mouth sores, but so far my mouth has not been as bad
as past chemo's. Having a low white count can also effect my gut, so we
discussed adding a pro-biotic pill or yogurt to my daily routine.
My platelets were good. They were at 135 and I believe the low end of normal is 140, so I'm just a little low.
My red blood cells (hgt) were at their lowest too. They're at a 32 and normal is between 38-48.
Please
check the calendar and see if there is anything you can do. I know
there isn't a whole lot on there right now but there are some attention
dates with my kids and I think 1 more dinner.
I'm thinking of
changing up how I send out my journal updates and calendar items. I
can't tell if this blog is reaching as many people as I had hoped for.
And, now that I've used this blog I'm not sure it's everything I had
hoped for. My idea is to send out an email when I have a new journal
update or calendar item to those people who's emails I already have
viewing this blog. I'm working out the logistics of how to make that
work so until then keep checking here for updates and calendar items.
Leave me a comment if you love this blog or have any suggestions. I'd
really love feedback!
Could you all do me a favor after you read this entry by clicking on the heart so I know who has seen this?
My
next chemo is on Thursday next week at 8:30am. My kids last day of
school is Friday next week. If you'd like to play with my kids that
following week while I'm sick let me know. Comment below or call me and
we can arrange a play day if you are interested.
Thank you for
being a part of my journey. Thank you for continuing to love and
strengthen me. I have the best support group of friends and family! I
love you all!
Thursday, May 29, 2014
Sunday, May 18, 2014
Onset of chemo symptoms
I started feeling sick much quicker with this treatment. By lunchtime on
Friday was feeling icky. I was able to function, but the yucky feeling
worsened and by 7pm I took a pill and went to bed. I think the onset of
this was because I didn't sleep well the night before. Taking my
steroid pill late threw off my sleeping schedule.
Saturday morning Dave fed me eggs and toast in bed just before 7am. I was able to fall back to sleep after. I got up and helped 'encourage' the kids to do their Saturday jobs. (Dave was working today). The boys went and played kicked ball with a big group of friends. Throughout the day I felt yucky, with no energy, no motivation, with nausea just always lurking in the background.
After work Dave got our swamp cooler hooked up and going. Having a cool house will be nice this coming week!
Drea and the boys went to a movie with our neighbor. After the movie Bradley and Dave went and mowed Bradley's 'lawn job'. I went with them and relaxed at my Dads.
I slept great last night! And because I was feeling half-way decent I went to church just for the sacrament part today. While the rest of my family was at church I listened to conference talks and took a long nap.
Dave and Dallas made dinner. And now Dave is off with the boys getting some fresh air, which is providing me with a quiet house.
Saturday morning Dave fed me eggs and toast in bed just before 7am. I was able to fall back to sleep after. I got up and helped 'encourage' the kids to do their Saturday jobs. (Dave was working today). The boys went and played kicked ball with a big group of friends. Throughout the day I felt yucky, with no energy, no motivation, with nausea just always lurking in the background.
After work Dave got our swamp cooler hooked up and going. Having a cool house will be nice this coming week!
Drea and the boys went to a movie with our neighbor. After the movie Bradley and Dave went and mowed Bradley's 'lawn job'. I went with them and relaxed at my Dads.
I slept great last night! And because I was feeling half-way decent I went to church just for the sacrament part today. While the rest of my family was at church I listened to conference talks and took a long nap.
Dave and Dallas made dinner. And now Dave is off with the boys getting some fresh air, which is providing me with a quiet house.
Thursday, May 15, 2014
Chemo #3
I'm half way done! Hurray!
My appointment time was 8:30. That proved to be a little difficult but I made it by the skin of my teeth! Next time I won't do carpool drop off, which will help me be more on time.
I was called back pretty quick. The port access was about as comfortable as a port access can be. Not the best one I've had. My weight is back to 136, which is where I started. That's good news.
Had a great appointment with the Dr. He is retiring in June so the next chemo will be my last appointment with him.
Here's what was discussed today:
-The lump is still gone. There is NO sign of it at all! The chemo is still working. With that being said the Dr. sees no need to do an MRI. The fact that he can't find it means the chemo is doing its job. If there is any cancer lurking it'll continue to be killed by chemo and then removed at surgery. No MRI makes me uber happy! I hate MRI's.
-A new drug will be added to me chemo today. It's called emend, and will help with nausea. I was only told it stays in my body for 72 hours. We'll see how well it works.
-My blood count shows my platelets went up from 119 to 135, but are still lower than the low point they want me at. My red blood count, hgb and hematocrit are all still low too. My white blood count is still within normal.
-Before my 5th treatment (June 26th) I need to have an echo cardiogram to make sure my heart is still strong and not too stressed out. I'll schedule that for the beginning of the week to make sure the results are back in time for chemo.
-I need to keep up on moisturizing my nose after chemo to help with nose bleeds. I seem to only get them for about 10-12 days after chemo. The worry is that my platelets are low and they don't want me to not be able to control the bleeding. If it were to get bad enough they'd send me to an Ear, Nose and Throat specialist. I'd like to avoid that so I'll be diligent in vaselining my nose and using my humidifier.
-At my last chemo (July 25th), after I ring the chemo bell my doctor will walk me over to radiology to set me up as a patient. Radiation will begin about 3 weeks after surgery.
-Surgery will happen about 2-3 weeks after my last chemo, but my doctor wants to make sure I receive my hormone chemo before I have surgery so I won't have to come into chemo a few days post surgery with a hurting boob. With that being said I'll most like have my hormone chemo 3 weeks after my July chemo and have surgery the following week.
-I will call my surgeon as soon as my July 25th chemo is done to schedule surgery. Remember, this surgery is the temporary one. The incision will follow where the cancer was found. An empty spacer will be inserted. After surgery I'll have to go in regularly to have the spacer filled (slowly to a nice size, and tight breast)
-About 3 weeks after surgery and the spacer is filled the radiation will begin. Every weekday for 6 weeks. The whole breast will be radiated along with the area that had the 2 effected lymph nodes. Can you say red, hot and crusty?
My chemo buddies today were, my dad (which reads- MY HERO!), Julia- one of my Mom's caregivers, my Aunt Pam and my son Bradley. Our time was spent playing games, eating suck on candies, visiting, and having Bradley get us free snacks from the kitchen area in the chemo room. Bradley loved meeting Trent the Therapy Dog! He loved being there and said it was fun. Fun must be relative to him. I don't view chemo as fun, but having good company makes it funner (not a word!).
Today I began paying off all the medical bills. I've hit my out of pocket maximum, which was reached quickly. Now I just need to find out if I have to continue making my co-pays. If I do, I'll be making a co-pay every day I have radiation. A phone call to my insurance will be made tomorrow! I looked at my insurance EOB's and my insurance has already paid out over a quarter of a million dollars! And that doesn't include today's chemo! Thank goodness for insurance!!
Please check out the planner! There are attention days to claim. Dinners, and check up on me times too.
And because I haven't said anything, not because I've forgotten! I want to thank all those who came and supported me at the Race for the Cure! I had a total of 37 team member. 36 of them came out and walked! It was a day I'll never forget! And it's something I'll be doing again next year!
And last, I have to remind all of you of how much I love you! You are all so great at reminding me I'm loved and now it's my turn to tell you! I am blessed by your prayers, your thoughts and your outreaching on my families behalf! I pray that you will be blessed for your love and service!
I love you all!
My appointment time was 8:30. That proved to be a little difficult but I made it by the skin of my teeth! Next time I won't do carpool drop off, which will help me be more on time.
I was called back pretty quick. The port access was about as comfortable as a port access can be. Not the best one I've had. My weight is back to 136, which is where I started. That's good news.
Had a great appointment with the Dr. He is retiring in June so the next chemo will be my last appointment with him.
Here's what was discussed today:
-The lump is still gone. There is NO sign of it at all! The chemo is still working. With that being said the Dr. sees no need to do an MRI. The fact that he can't find it means the chemo is doing its job. If there is any cancer lurking it'll continue to be killed by chemo and then removed at surgery. No MRI makes me uber happy! I hate MRI's.
-A new drug will be added to me chemo today. It's called emend, and will help with nausea. I was only told it stays in my body for 72 hours. We'll see how well it works.
-My blood count shows my platelets went up from 119 to 135, but are still lower than the low point they want me at. My red blood count, hgb and hematocrit are all still low too. My white blood count is still within normal.
-Before my 5th treatment (June 26th) I need to have an echo cardiogram to make sure my heart is still strong and not too stressed out. I'll schedule that for the beginning of the week to make sure the results are back in time for chemo.
-I need to keep up on moisturizing my nose after chemo to help with nose bleeds. I seem to only get them for about 10-12 days after chemo. The worry is that my platelets are low and they don't want me to not be able to control the bleeding. If it were to get bad enough they'd send me to an Ear, Nose and Throat specialist. I'd like to avoid that so I'll be diligent in vaselining my nose and using my humidifier.
-At my last chemo (July 25th), after I ring the chemo bell my doctor will walk me over to radiology to set me up as a patient. Radiation will begin about 3 weeks after surgery.
-Surgery will happen about 2-3 weeks after my last chemo, but my doctor wants to make sure I receive my hormone chemo before I have surgery so I won't have to come into chemo a few days post surgery with a hurting boob. With that being said I'll most like have my hormone chemo 3 weeks after my July chemo and have surgery the following week.
-I will call my surgeon as soon as my July 25th chemo is done to schedule surgery. Remember, this surgery is the temporary one. The incision will follow where the cancer was found. An empty spacer will be inserted. After surgery I'll have to go in regularly to have the spacer filled (slowly to a nice size, and tight breast)
-About 3 weeks after surgery and the spacer is filled the radiation will begin. Every weekday for 6 weeks. The whole breast will be radiated along with the area that had the 2 effected lymph nodes. Can you say red, hot and crusty?
My chemo buddies today were, my dad (which reads- MY HERO!), Julia- one of my Mom's caregivers, my Aunt Pam and my son Bradley. Our time was spent playing games, eating suck on candies, visiting, and having Bradley get us free snacks from the kitchen area in the chemo room. Bradley loved meeting Trent the Therapy Dog! He loved being there and said it was fun. Fun must be relative to him. I don't view chemo as fun, but having good company makes it funner (not a word!).
Today I began paying off all the medical bills. I've hit my out of pocket maximum, which was reached quickly. Now I just need to find out if I have to continue making my co-pays. If I do, I'll be making a co-pay every day I have radiation. A phone call to my insurance will be made tomorrow! I looked at my insurance EOB's and my insurance has already paid out over a quarter of a million dollars! And that doesn't include today's chemo! Thank goodness for insurance!!
Please check out the planner! There are attention days to claim. Dinners, and check up on me times too.
And because I haven't said anything, not because I've forgotten! I want to thank all those who came and supported me at the Race for the Cure! I had a total of 37 team member. 36 of them came out and walked! It was a day I'll never forget! And it's something I'll be doing again next year!
And last, I have to remind all of you of how much I love you! You are all so great at reminding me I'm loved and now it's my turn to tell you! I am blessed by your prayers, your thoughts and your outreaching on my families behalf! I pray that you will be blessed for your love and service!
I love you all!
Monday, May 5, 2014
Nadir Appointment #2
Today was my nadir appointment. It was a great pleasure to have my Aunt
Pam (My Mom's sister) be my support and extra ears for this appointment.
She lives in Washington state and it just worked out she was in town. I
really enjoy my time with her, and I love how much she reminds me of my
Mom.
Back to my appointment...
The wait to be called back for the port access was extra long today. I think we ended up waiting about 35 minutes. They checked my weight first; I gained 3 pounds, which isn't a big surprise because I wasn't as sick after this last chemo (and I ate a ton of food this past weekend!!). My blood work came back with my White blood count being a 6. They want me to be between 4-10. My platelets were low, which means bleeding can be a problem. I was aware of this already as I've had quite a few bloody noses. I have also been experiencing a period that just won't end. My red blood count was 119,000. The low end of normal is 140,000. So I'm lower than the low. I could tell my red blood count was down as I've felt really tired and have been taking naps almost daily. They expect my red blood count to continue on a down hill trend, which means I'll be more tired after each treatment. If my count gets as low as 30,000 then they'll intervene and do a blood transfusion. I assume I can continue receiving normal chemo treatments until it reaches that point, but I didn't ask to make sure.
As for the period that isn't ending if it continues until Friday then I need to call in and they'll have me see an ob/gyn to see about getting help to have it stopped. For the bloody noses they want me to continue doing what I have been doing- putting Vaseline in my nose and using a humidifier at night. If I have a bloody nose that I can't get to stop then I need to call in and be seen.
After my appointment my Aunt and I went out and celebrated Cinco de Mayo by having Mexican food for lunch.
My next chemo appointment is May 15th at 8:30am. I hope I continue to gain my strength and energy in time for them to knock me down again :)
I love you all!
Back to my appointment...
The wait to be called back for the port access was extra long today. I think we ended up waiting about 35 minutes. They checked my weight first; I gained 3 pounds, which isn't a big surprise because I wasn't as sick after this last chemo (and I ate a ton of food this past weekend!!). My blood work came back with my White blood count being a 6. They want me to be between 4-10. My platelets were low, which means bleeding can be a problem. I was aware of this already as I've had quite a few bloody noses. I have also been experiencing a period that just won't end. My red blood count was 119,000. The low end of normal is 140,000. So I'm lower than the low. I could tell my red blood count was down as I've felt really tired and have been taking naps almost daily. They expect my red blood count to continue on a down hill trend, which means I'll be more tired after each treatment. If my count gets as low as 30,000 then they'll intervene and do a blood transfusion. I assume I can continue receiving normal chemo treatments until it reaches that point, but I didn't ask to make sure.
As for the period that isn't ending if it continues until Friday then I need to call in and they'll have me see an ob/gyn to see about getting help to have it stopped. For the bloody noses they want me to continue doing what I have been doing- putting Vaseline in my nose and using a humidifier at night. If I have a bloody nose that I can't get to stop then I need to call in and be seen.
After my appointment my Aunt and I went out and celebrated Cinco de Mayo by having Mexican food for lunch.
My next chemo appointment is May 15th at 8:30am. I hope I continue to gain my strength and energy in time for them to knock me down again :)
I love you all!
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