I forgot to include in my email yesterday that my results from my echo cardiogram were good. No concerns.
For those that are interested here is my blood work results from yesterday as well.
Potassium- Low
WBC- 6.1, Normal is between 4.2-10.5
RBC- 3.14, Normal is between 4.04-5.48, so I'm low. No surprise as I feel tired quickly!
Hematocrit- 31.3%, Normal is between 38-48%, so I'm low.
Platelet count- 116, Normal is between 140-450, so I'm low.
So far today I'm feeling just ok. I feel pretty bleh. I slept good last night, which is always a plus!
This
morning Bradley and I went shopping for our birthday cake ingredients
and our cake is made! Just gotta wait until its cooled so we can put it
together. Bradley chose a white cake mix and wants chocolate pudding in
the middle, and frosted with cool-whip and sprinkled with mini chocolate
chips. I told him he could pick out what we have for dinner, so far he
hasn't made up his mind.
Thank you so much to all those who have
wished Bradley and I a Happy Birthday! And also a big thank you to those
who have dropped of flowers or sent me pictures of flowers! These acts
lift my spirit and I feel your love!
Thank You!
And, I Love you all!
Friday, June 27, 2014
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Chemo #5
A big thank you to my sister-in-law for driving me to my chemo appointment! Thanks Judy! I love you!
Today’s appointment was pretty smooth. I was in and out by 2:30pm. My port access was done by a student, and was not too painful, but didn’t feel so great either. I’ve done my good deed for the year now. A students gotta learn somehow…
Today was the last time I will see Dr. Harker. He’s retiring at the end of the month. I am so happy to have had him as my Dr. What an amazing doctor he is! My new doctor is Dr. Call, however I will only see him after I have my next echo cardiogram in 3 months. For my next nadir and chemo I will see Rick the P.A. I’ve seen him for most of my nadir appointments and have really liked him. The reason I’ll being seeing Rick and not my doctor has to do with the volume of patients Dr. Harker had, there were so many they had to share patients around. For the ‘important’ stuff I’ll see Dr. Call and for the stuff Rick can do he’ll do. I’m cool with that.
Today I weighed 140 pounds, down 1 pound from my nadir. My blood pressure was like 106 over 69.
*We talked about my menopause. The chemo ingredients are what are causing this induced menopause and once I’m done with the hard chemo I have a 50% chance of remaining a menopause state while doing the Herceptin treatments. After radiation I will be taking tomoxifen and will continue having a 50% chance of continuing on in menopause. I will take tomoxifen for 5+ years, so by the time I’m done taking it I’ll be in my late 40’s, which means I may not get my periods back. We discussed some of the side effects of menopause, which I will spare you as it will make you blush, and maybe me.
*After my next, and LAST hard chemo I will make an appointment for a consultation with the radiologist. This is just an appointment to talk about radiation and what they are going to do and what I can expect. Within 2 weeks of my LAST and FINAL hard chemo I need to have an MRI done to see what’s going on in my breasts, and then within a few days of the MRI I need to see Dr. Lloyd,my surgeon and discuss surgery. Dr. Harker thinks I’m a candidate for a lumpectomy because I’ve had such good response to chemo. He said to talk to Dr.Lloyd and get her feelings, this cancer was quite involved and big and she may not be comfortable doing a lumpectomy. To be honest I’m nervous doing a lumpectomy. I have a 12% change of getting breast cancer again whether I do a single or double mastectomy. Interesting that the percentage doesn’t change by doing a double.
*The plan is still to do the herceptin treatment 3 weeks after my 6th chemo and do surgery the following week. BUT, I need to see when the surgeon is available, so that’s just my tentative schedule. For my Herceptin treatments I will not need to see the doctor, but I will need to have a blood draw. I will also not have a nadir appointment. After my 9th treatment (My 3rd only Herceptin treatment) I will do another echo cardiogram and at my next herceptin treatment I’ll see Dr. Call.
*After surgery I will be given 3-4 weeks of healing time before radiation begins. They will be radiating the whole breast and it will be penetrating deep enough to get my rib wall and everything in between. The side effects of radiation begin to be uncomfortable around the 3rd or 4th week.
*I talked to the radiation advocate about co-pays at my radiation appointments. They will not bill me a co-pay until they know how my insurance will pay. They do payment plans if I end up having to pay my co-pay every day for 6 weeks. I can also call my insurance and ask about coverage, but I was told that they may not even know until its been billed.
My chemo buddies today were: My sister in law Judy, my good friend Becky Bench, and 3 of my kids- Dallas, Drea and Colter. Drea and Colter only came to see the therapy dog Trent. Turns out Drea is quite the dog whisperer! Trent loved her and plopped himself on the floor for her to rub his belly, this lasted for quite a while. It was fun playing games and visiting.Dave joined us at lunch time and brought me the best Jimmy Johns sandwich! Thanks honey!! Becky brought me a yummy chocolate raspberry cupcake which I ate after chemo. It was delicious! Thanks Becky!
One of the highlights from today’s chemo was watching my friend Merna ring the bell! It seriously made me emotional! Before she rang the bell she could see I was almost done with my chemo so she waited. She came and held my hand while I received my nuelasta shot, which I think is the most painful part of chemo!! I got some great pictures today, but my phone won’t download to my computer for some reason. I’ll post a few on Facebook until I can figure out how to download them and send them via email.
Thank you to those who have surprised me with flowers! To say thank you doesn’t feel like enough! I love the support, the encouragement,and your generosity! I love the text messages, the emails and phone calls! You are all the medicine I need to get through this! Thank you, thank you, thank you, and I love you all!
Today’s appointment was pretty smooth. I was in and out by 2:30pm. My port access was done by a student, and was not too painful, but didn’t feel so great either. I’ve done my good deed for the year now. A students gotta learn somehow…
Today was the last time I will see Dr. Harker. He’s retiring at the end of the month. I am so happy to have had him as my Dr. What an amazing doctor he is! My new doctor is Dr. Call, however I will only see him after I have my next echo cardiogram in 3 months. For my next nadir and chemo I will see Rick the P.A. I’ve seen him for most of my nadir appointments and have really liked him. The reason I’ll being seeing Rick and not my doctor has to do with the volume of patients Dr. Harker had, there were so many they had to share patients around. For the ‘important’ stuff I’ll see Dr. Call and for the stuff Rick can do he’ll do. I’m cool with that.
Today I weighed 140 pounds, down 1 pound from my nadir. My blood pressure was like 106 over 69.
*We talked about my menopause. The chemo ingredients are what are causing this induced menopause and once I’m done with the hard chemo I have a 50% chance of remaining a menopause state while doing the Herceptin treatments. After radiation I will be taking tomoxifen and will continue having a 50% chance of continuing on in menopause. I will take tomoxifen for 5+ years, so by the time I’m done taking it I’ll be in my late 40’s, which means I may not get my periods back. We discussed some of the side effects of menopause, which I will spare you as it will make you blush, and maybe me.
*After my next, and LAST hard chemo I will make an appointment for a consultation with the radiologist. This is just an appointment to talk about radiation and what they are going to do and what I can expect. Within 2 weeks of my LAST and FINAL hard chemo I need to have an MRI done to see what’s going on in my breasts, and then within a few days of the MRI I need to see Dr. Lloyd,my surgeon and discuss surgery. Dr. Harker thinks I’m a candidate for a lumpectomy because I’ve had such good response to chemo. He said to talk to Dr.Lloyd and get her feelings, this cancer was quite involved and big and she may not be comfortable doing a lumpectomy. To be honest I’m nervous doing a lumpectomy. I have a 12% change of getting breast cancer again whether I do a single or double mastectomy. Interesting that the percentage doesn’t change by doing a double.
*The plan is still to do the herceptin treatment 3 weeks after my 6th chemo and do surgery the following week. BUT, I need to see when the surgeon is available, so that’s just my tentative schedule. For my Herceptin treatments I will not need to see the doctor, but I will need to have a blood draw. I will also not have a nadir appointment. After my 9th treatment (My 3rd only Herceptin treatment) I will do another echo cardiogram and at my next herceptin treatment I’ll see Dr. Call.
*After surgery I will be given 3-4 weeks of healing time before radiation begins. They will be radiating the whole breast and it will be penetrating deep enough to get my rib wall and everything in between. The side effects of radiation begin to be uncomfortable around the 3rd or 4th week.
*I talked to the radiation advocate about co-pays at my radiation appointments. They will not bill me a co-pay until they know how my insurance will pay. They do payment plans if I end up having to pay my co-pay every day for 6 weeks. I can also call my insurance and ask about coverage, but I was told that they may not even know until its been billed.
My chemo buddies today were: My sister in law Judy, my good friend Becky Bench, and 3 of my kids- Dallas, Drea and Colter. Drea and Colter only came to see the therapy dog Trent. Turns out Drea is quite the dog whisperer! Trent loved her and plopped himself on the floor for her to rub his belly, this lasted for quite a while. It was fun playing games and visiting.Dave joined us at lunch time and brought me the best Jimmy Johns sandwich! Thanks honey!! Becky brought me a yummy chocolate raspberry cupcake which I ate after chemo. It was delicious! Thanks Becky!
One of the highlights from today’s chemo was watching my friend Merna ring the bell! It seriously made me emotional! Before she rang the bell she could see I was almost done with my chemo so she waited. She came and held my hand while I received my nuelasta shot, which I think is the most painful part of chemo!! I got some great pictures today, but my phone won’t download to my computer for some reason. I’ll post a few on Facebook until I can figure out how to download them and send them via email.
Thank you to those who have surprised me with flowers! To say thank you doesn’t feel like enough! I love the support, the encouragement,and your generosity! I love the text messages, the emails and phone calls! You are all the medicine I need to get through this! Thank you, thank you, thank you, and I love you all!
Monday, June 16, 2014
Nadir Appointment #4
Today's appointment went very smooth and was pretty quick! My
sister-in-law Cheri was by buddy for this appointment. She picked me up a
little early which was great because I had some insurance issues that I
needed to talk about with the Insurance lady at the Cancer center. I
was 15 minutes early and within 5 minutes they called me back to have my
port accessed. This port access was pretty smooth with very little
discomfort. The nurse had a difficult time getting my blood to flow
through the port and had to back flush it to get it working, but it was
no big deal and no pain on my part. (Thank goodness!)
My friend
Myrna was having her port accessed at the same time as me so we were
able to sit and visit while we waited. Her last chemo is on the same day
as my next chemo. I'm really excited to hear her ring the bell! I told
her not to ring it too hard because I want it to still be there for my
turn next month! :)
I didn't really have any new questions for the
Dr. so the meeting with him was fast. He was happy overall that I seem
to be handling the chemo treatments. At the start of my chemo it was
harder on me than it has been the past couple times.
My blood work results:
Red
blood count- 32. Normal is 38, this is the lowest I have been so far.
This means I'll get winded easier and feel more tired. (I was surprised
by this as I have been feeling pretty good. I haven't had to take naps,
but I do notice I get worn out quickly.)
White blood count- 6.6 Normal is between 4-10, so I'm right in the middle. A safe place to be.
Platelets- 151. Normal is between 120-420. Looks good, the Dr. was happy.
This
past chemo was probably the easiest one so far. Friday after chemo I
felt blah, but not sick. Saturday I felt pretty ok too. I helped Dave do
some yard work even. Sunday was a tough day, I felt AWFUL all day! This
Sunday was comparable to my 1st chemo Sunday. Monday was a good day.
Tuesday was a good day, I spent a few hours at the park, sitting in the
shade, with my kids, a sister-in-law, a couple of my cousins and my
Grandparents. I was thinking that Wednesday would be a good day too, but
it was not. Wednesday was the day my bowels had had enough of all those
chemo chemicals. Spent the day at home, close to the toilet. Felt wiped
out and tired most of the day. Thursday was better than Wednesday,
however I stayed close to home and the toilet again. Friday I was
finally confident enough to go out and have some fun with my kids. I
helped Bradley with a lawn mowing job and spent the evening at my Dad's
retirement party.
I am currently still feeling good. Each day I feel a
little stronger physically, but mentally I feel challenged. Chemo brain
is a hard thing to get used to. I forget things easily. My patients is
short. I have little energy or drive to be productive, and if you know
me you know how bizarre that is! My emotions have been a bit tender. I
get frustrated and cry easily about my limitations and upcoming events
in my journey. I think this is normal and nothing to be worried about.
Most people going through difficult things hit a wall and feel
discouraged, I think that's where I am. It's just a temporary stage.
These emotions are part of the journey to being a stronger, more
confidant person, at least that's what I'm telling myself.
The
other day I got a letter in the mail from a cousin. Totally out of the
blue, and totally unexpected. Those kind of acts bring more sunshine to
my day than anything! So if you find yourself looking for something to
do and feels like there's nothing to do, send me a note of
encouragement. Notes of encouragement and support are better than GOLD! I
save them and pull them out to read on hard days.
My next
appointment is for an echo cardiogram. I'll update you on that if
there's anything exciting to tell. I'm sure it will be an uneventful
appointment. My next chemo is June 26th. This will be my 5th and next to
last chemo. There is an end in sight, at least to the chemo part and
all the days that follow being sick. I'm looking forward to the not
being sick and I'm super looking forward to my hair growing back. Until
then, I need to remember to take baby steps! Nothing about this process
is fast or quick, it all takes time...
I love you all!
Christy
Thursday, June 5, 2014
Chemo #4
These chemo appointments don't get easier! Knowing what to expect is
nice, but oh boy do I get nervous!! Today's appointment was no
exception. I'm so thankful for the text messages and emails of
encouragement I received this morning! They were just what I needed!
Today my chemo buddies were: my Dad and Dallas.
My port access was not painful at all! Happy, happy, happy!
I had Dallas come with me in the exam room so she could meet my Dr. and hear the Dr. discuss all my MANY questions. She said she liked him a lot! I'll see him one more time on the 26th and then he retires on the 27th. At my next appointment I'll find out who my new Dr. is and meet him if he's in the office.
Now for a run down of my questions and the Dr.'s answers:
Me: How long will I have my port?
Dr.: I see no need for you to keep it once your don't with the Herceptin chemo next year in March. So plan on it being removed once I'm done with that. (I like this answer!)
Me: Will I have the drug Emend as part of my chemo today?
Dr.: Yes. He was happy to hear my nausea wasn't as severe this last time.
Me: Are my odds increased to have cancer again because I've had cancer before.
Dr.: There is always that risk. Any new cancer, wherever it is in my body will be classified as Breast cancer because I had that type to begin with and any new cancer if most likely cells left behind that have matastasized. (I don't like this answer. I'd like to think I'm done with cancer for the REST of MY LIFE!)
Me: Who is my new Dr. and when will I meet him/her?
Dr.: I will see Dr. Harker one last time on the 26th and he'll tell me then who the Dr. is and if he's in the office I'll meet him.
Me: When do I need to call my Surgeon to discuss my surgery?
Dr.: Following the last appointment is soon enough. (My Dr. mentioned that because my tumor is gone I may be a candidate for just a lumpectomy. My surgeon is an advocate for complete mastectomies though. Doing a lumpectomy AND radiotion will achieve the same success rate at doing a mastectomy)(This leaves me feeling like I'm not sure what I'm going to do. My fear of having cancer again is HUGE!)
I'd love your prayers specifically on this matter to help me make this decision. It's a big one and one there scares me a lot!!
Following radiation I will start taking tomoxifen. This is a hormone pill that will be taken every day. Checkups while taking tomoxifen will be every 3 months. I will take this for 5+ years.
And, for clarifiction, because I've been mentioning it wrong- The herceptin chemo that I receive after the hard chemo is not a hormone chemo, it's an antibody chemo. I learned something new today. So now that that's cleared up I feel better.
Now for the blood work and weight check.
I weighed 139 pound, down 2 from my nadir.
My white blood count is 5.5. Normal is between 4.2-10.5.
My red blood count is 3.43. Normal is between 4.04-5.48
My HCT is 33. Normal is between 38-48
Platelets were 158. Normal is between 140-450.
So, the only thing that's a little low was my red blood count. Not bad!
Upcoming appointments:
My nadir is July 16th at 1pm.
Echocardiogram is June 23 at 11am.
My next chemo is June 26th (the day before my Bday!) at 9:30am-3pm
Melissa or Sarah will be contacting you in the next week or so with upcoming needs. Watch for their emails.
Thank you for all those who responded to my email! It sounds like it's working much better than the blog! I love getting your responses and I LOVE your supportive words! Thank you for lifting me and reminding me I stronger than I feel. I love you all!
Today my chemo buddies were: my Dad and Dallas.
My port access was not painful at all! Happy, happy, happy!
I had Dallas come with me in the exam room so she could meet my Dr. and hear the Dr. discuss all my MANY questions. She said she liked him a lot! I'll see him one more time on the 26th and then he retires on the 27th. At my next appointment I'll find out who my new Dr. is and meet him if he's in the office.
Now for a run down of my questions and the Dr.'s answers:
Me: How long will I have my port?
Dr.: I see no need for you to keep it once your don't with the Herceptin chemo next year in March. So plan on it being removed once I'm done with that. (I like this answer!)
Me: Will I have the drug Emend as part of my chemo today?
Dr.: Yes. He was happy to hear my nausea wasn't as severe this last time.
Me: Are my odds increased to have cancer again because I've had cancer before.
Dr.: There is always that risk. Any new cancer, wherever it is in my body will be classified as Breast cancer because I had that type to begin with and any new cancer if most likely cells left behind that have matastasized. (I don't like this answer. I'd like to think I'm done with cancer for the REST of MY LIFE!)
Me: Who is my new Dr. and when will I meet him/her?
Dr.: I will see Dr. Harker one last time on the 26th and he'll tell me then who the Dr. is and if he's in the office I'll meet him.
Me: When do I need to call my Surgeon to discuss my surgery?
Dr.: Following the last appointment is soon enough. (My Dr. mentioned that because my tumor is gone I may be a candidate for just a lumpectomy. My surgeon is an advocate for complete mastectomies though. Doing a lumpectomy AND radiotion will achieve the same success rate at doing a mastectomy)(This leaves me feeling like I'm not sure what I'm going to do. My fear of having cancer again is HUGE!)
I'd love your prayers specifically on this matter to help me make this decision. It's a big one and one there scares me a lot!!
Following radiation I will start taking tomoxifen. This is a hormone pill that will be taken every day. Checkups while taking tomoxifen will be every 3 months. I will take this for 5+ years.
And, for clarifiction, because I've been mentioning it wrong- The herceptin chemo that I receive after the hard chemo is not a hormone chemo, it's an antibody chemo. I learned something new today. So now that that's cleared up I feel better.
Now for the blood work and weight check.
I weighed 139 pound, down 2 from my nadir.
My white blood count is 5.5. Normal is between 4.2-10.5.
My red blood count is 3.43. Normal is between 4.04-5.48
My HCT is 33. Normal is between 38-48
Platelets were 158. Normal is between 140-450.
So, the only thing that's a little low was my red blood count. Not bad!
Upcoming appointments:
My nadir is July 16th at 1pm.
Echocardiogram is June 23 at 11am.
My next chemo is June 26th (the day before my Bday!) at 9:30am-3pm
Melissa or Sarah will be contacting you in the next week or so with upcoming needs. Watch for their emails.
Thank you for all those who responded to my email! It sounds like it's working much better than the blog! I love getting your responses and I LOVE your supportive words! Thank you for lifting me and reminding me I stronger than I feel. I love you all!
Monday, June 2, 2014
Changing the communication
I figured out the best way to share my journal entries and calendar items. Here's the new deal.
I will still post journal entries here (mostly to keep my journey in one nice and neat place), and I will be sending an email to those of you who view this blog. I've created a group and will send emails as 'bcc' so that your information is not shared. The journal entries will come from my email address. For calendar items I have two people who will take of that. My sister-in-law Melissa will be emailing those of you who are family & friends that do not live in my ward. My friend Sarah will be emailing my ward. When calendar items come up I plan to split them up so that more people have an opportunity to help. These calendar items will be first come, first serve, so reply to the email quickly if you want a certain assignment. I think this part of the change will be the nicest- replying to the email is easier than logging in to my blog and looking through the planner. I'm excited for that change. Calendar items will include: Meals, checking in on me, and attention dates for my kids. Sarah and Melissa will be sending an email later this week or next week. Any questions about the new plan? I'd love to hear them.
My meals for this next chemo are all filled. Thank you to those who are doing that!
Instead of having people scheduled to come during the day and take care of me I'm going to gather a list of names of people I can call if I need help. My kids will be home for the summer and they should be able to help me somewhat, or at least I'm hoping they will :)
Today I've had a lot of nervous energy in anticipation for my next chemo. It's hard to know what to expect when the side effects have been different after each chemo. I'd like to think it'll not be as hard as my first chemo. It's hard not knowing. This nervous energy is a lot like nesting when your pregnant, I'll be doing lots of cleaning and errand running :)
Hope you are all having a great Monday!
I Love you all!
I will still post journal entries here (mostly to keep my journey in one nice and neat place), and I will be sending an email to those of you who view this blog. I've created a group and will send emails as 'bcc' so that your information is not shared. The journal entries will come from my email address. For calendar items I have two people who will take of that. My sister-in-law Melissa will be emailing those of you who are family & friends that do not live in my ward. My friend Sarah will be emailing my ward. When calendar items come up I plan to split them up so that more people have an opportunity to help. These calendar items will be first come, first serve, so reply to the email quickly if you want a certain assignment. I think this part of the change will be the nicest- replying to the email is easier than logging in to my blog and looking through the planner. I'm excited for that change. Calendar items will include: Meals, checking in on me, and attention dates for my kids. Sarah and Melissa will be sending an email later this week or next week. Any questions about the new plan? I'd love to hear them.
My meals for this next chemo are all filled. Thank you to those who are doing that!
Instead of having people scheduled to come during the day and take care of me I'm going to gather a list of names of people I can call if I need help. My kids will be home for the summer and they should be able to help me somewhat, or at least I'm hoping they will :)
Today I've had a lot of nervous energy in anticipation for my next chemo. It's hard to know what to expect when the side effects have been different after each chemo. I'd like to think it'll not be as hard as my first chemo. It's hard not knowing. This nervous energy is a lot like nesting when your pregnant, I'll be doing lots of cleaning and errand running :)
Hope you are all having a great Monday!
I Love you all!
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