6 Down, 2 To Go

According to my cancer Killer Countdown, there are 30 days left of chemo to go! That has such a pleasant ring to me!

Things went very well today for chemo infusion number six. Sarah arrived at 7:45 am to escort me to my chemo infusion appointment, which lasted until 1:30pm. The drugs for each chemo treatment are mixed right there at Redwood Regional Cancer Center in their own pharmacy, made to order for each patient at each appointment, so it takes about 30 minutes for things to get under way when I arrive. The nurse brings out each bag of drugs and has me confirm that my name and date of birth are correct on each one. 

So the first hour of drugs is the premeds like benadryl and a steroid, all to help prevent nausea and other symptoms typical with each chemo drug. This time I am on Taxol, which is also known for allergic reactions, hence the heavy steroids. The premeds also help to suppress my immune system so that the drugs work to kill the fast growing cancer cells. Once the benadryl kicked in I got very hoarse, which has been the case in the past, and very sleepy. But for some reason I couldn't sleep because my legs were very restless -- it was kind of weird. So I knit some more, visited with Sarah,  and then finally slept for the last hour or two. I'm making great headway on a beautiful lace shawl I'm working on from my handspun yarn.

The infusion room is filled with about 10 cozy leather recliners, each with a fleece blanket. They make it very comfortable for us to rest, read, knit, visit with loved ones; whatever we like during the treatment, which can last up to 5 hours. Today I brought lunch with us, so we finished the session with our lunch and then came on home. I was still pretty drowsy so napped for another couple of hours before Sarah drove me down for a quick trip to the store and bank to take care of some business. All the while Mark was able to get some work done on repairing one of our raised vegetable beds in anticipation of planting our veggies, and then spent the afternoon on some book work. So it was a very productive day for all concerned.

I think the early morning appointment allowed me to rest and recuperate during the day so I had some energy in the evening. Sarah and I were able to do chores and give Mark a relief for a change. Then we made dinner and all three relaxed for the evening. 

Right now I'm feeling pretty wired, probably from the steroids, so I hope that the Trazodone will allow me to get a full nights sleep and let my body continue to heal, because tomorrow we have another busy day. 

Tomorrow Sarah will come with me for my Neulasta shot. Were gonna check out a cupcake shop in Santa Rosa. I had thought about bringing in a treat for the nurses at Redwood Regional for Easter, but have decided to do some research first and then bring in cupcakes for the nurses just before Mothers Day, which will be near my last chemo treatment. So the tough research will begin tomorrow. Heck... maybe we will find some cute Easter cupcakes that we can take to Alura and Stephan's on Sunday. :-)

GREAT NEWS.....

Sarah has officially given me the okay to share their news. She and Chris are also expecting their first baby. So this means that both my girls are pregnant, with our first and second grand children due two months apart; Alura is due in August and Sarah is due in October. How exciting is this? We are so blessed and have so much to look forward to this Fall.

Hugs, Debbie... aka the cancer warrior; AND survivor 
Sonoma Relay for Life Team (8/6/11) ~  Debbie's Blasting Crew

LIVESTRONG: 

I AM STRONG. I AM LOVED. I AM HEALTHY. WE WILL WIN!

Feeling Darn Good Right After Chemo!

I like this!!!

So It's Saturday morning and I know some are wondering how the 2nd chemo treatment went. BTW, it is called the "Infusion Center", officially. So now I know!!! :-)

And actually, this second chemo went quite well, I must say so far. I'm not sure if it is some of the things I'm doing proactively, or just my body getting better equipped to the meds I'm on. But that evening after treatment was not bad. No seasickness, or hungover feeling. Just a slight headache. I did take my anti-nauseau home meds before going in for treatment, and then the nurse suggested I take two tylenol while there right before the Cytoxan drug part of this AC cocktail I get, and both of these probably helped too.

The bugger is I slept only 5.5 hours that night from 9pm-2:30 am. That had me a bit miffed. But heck, I can deal with that. I hoped to catch a nap on Friday after our trip in the morning for the Neulasta shot, but I just wasn't that sleepy. Last night I took two of the Atavan and it helped a bit -- I slept from 10-4:30am. So that was a bit better. I'm sure it will catch up with me sooner or later, though. I'm predicting a good nap this afternoon.  :-)

I was able to lay low and get a scarf going on my loom yesterday, a nice plaid of green shades. Then sister Nancy came by with pizza for dinner -- how sweet.

I am staying in for a few days and avoiding the cold and crowds. Mark is being so good to keep reminding me that these are the days I need to be cautious about being exposed to bugs and catching cold. So he is doing chores on these days when they keep predicting snow. Once I have 3-4 days for the Neulasta to do it's work, then I feel safer to be in crowds and cold weather. 

Mark is taking such good care of me. I am a lucky girl all around -- blessed in oh so many ways. I just have to remind my self of this from time to time. 

There but for the grace of God, go I.

Hugs, Debbie... aka the cancer warrior; soon to be survivor 

LIVESTRONG: 

I AM STRONG. I AM LOVED. I AM HEALTHY. WE WILL WIN!

First Night/Day After Chemo

Well the first night after chemo was not a "great one", but it was not miserable. I guess on a scale of 1-10, 10 being the worst, it was around a 6. I did not sleep well, waking at 2:45am and up in the recliner till 6am or so. I had an overall headache, just a big stuffy head. Feeling very woozy and quesy stomache. Just ache all over.  Then I slept good till about 8:30am when we needed to get a move on for my Neulasta shot.

Neulasta is a prescription medication called a white cell booster that helps your body produce more white blood cells to reduce your risk of infection. A sufficient white blood cell count will help my doctor to determine I am ready for my next scheduled chemotherapy treatment. Most doctors agree that sticking to the planned chemotherapy schedule may be the first step to success. Studies have proven the effectiveness of a Neulasta injection given 24 hours after chemo helps to protect chemotherapy patients against the complications of a low white blood cell count.

A side effect of Neulasta can be an overall achy feeling as it is pulling from the bone marrow to help support the white blood cell count. This usually occurs in the large bone areas such as legs, hips, shoulders. So far (knock on wood), this is good. And while today was still a groggy, quesy day, I think I've figured out my meds, Tylenol, and drinking tons of fluids, I'm learning how to manage it all. After a few good naps this afternoon and evening, my head is feeling much better.

So the next few days should be the worst. Apparently the doldrums of chemo can last a week. So I'll be back to my old self just in time for the next treatment! Whopeeeeeee!!!

I can't thank you all enough for all your love, support, prayers, etc. It is so very heartwarming to us both. While I don't respond to every email or call, I do hear you all and it is very heartwarming and boosts me up. HUGE HUGS.....

Hugs, Debbie... aka the cancer warrior; soon to be survivor 

LIVESTRONG: 

I AM STRONG. I AM LOVED. I AM HEALTHY. WE WILL WIN!

Screw Cancer, Screw the Chemo...

Did I say... We are going to be Grandparents!!!!!

Just had to say it one more time so it will sink in. We got to see Alura today for the appointment with my Oncologist, Dr. Anderson. How wonderful to hug her. She is so cute hearing her talk about "it". They have some huge changes ahead for them, and they will be wonderful parents.

Dr. Anderson went over a few more questions I had. It was good to learn I can have an occasional glass of wine; although I've almost cut it out of my diet over the last month. He did discuss other options if the drugs I have do not curb the nausea.

I had my Port accessed today for the first time, so it is no longer a virgin.  :-) The nurse drew blood to get a base line for chemotherapy treatment tomorrow. I sat in one of the infusion chairs and it felt weird at first. Why is there such a stigma about this whole thing? I mean, thousands of people, if not more, go through this daily. And the dose I get will lower my blood counts, but it will not strip my immune system entirely.

The nurse was all excited about the Port. This was probably to put me at ease, but she seemed to really enjoy it. I skipped the lydocane to numb the area, and it was no problem. Why get stuck twice, for goodness sakes. And Alura noticed how the lady next to me, who did not have a Port, had to keep her arm still in her chair. This way I can knit!!! :-)

When Mark, Alura and I returned home, Sarah was here with lunch ready for us. How wonderful to have both my sweet girls here with me. The plan is to schedule future chemo treatments on Sarah's days off work so she can come with me some of the time. And there are some friends and family who have offered to join me on my excursions too. So we will see how it all works out.

And people have been wonderful with food. Between lunches and dinners, we feel spoiled. It is kind of weird to be on the receiving end of all this love and generosity. Especially since I really feel pretty good right now. But the hectic schedule of appointments has certainly taken its toll on our normal routine. So we do are very grateful for all the love and outpouring of help. THANK YOU!!!

I think I am ready. I've updated my calendar with the reminders for the Neulasta shot the day after the chemo, and the 4 new meds I will take to help combat the nausea. Time will tell how I react, what side affects really hit me. They say everyone is different and it is really hard to say. Between the meds I have at home, and the one hour infusion of anti-nausea drugs they will use for my first hour of treatment tomorrow, I'm hopeful that I won't get too sick

But I'm sure that come tomorrow just before my infusion appointment I'll be a bit nervous.

Hugs, Debbie... aka the cancer warrior; soon to be survivor 

LIVESTRONG: 

I AM STRONG. I AM LOVED. I AM HEALTHY. WE WILL WIN!

Chemo Teach

So today was a good day!     That always feels good to say -- and it's true.

We had most of the morning to do some things around Brookfarm. It is such lovely weather here in Glen Ellen right now. Can you believe 73 degrees, sunny, and all the pastures are full of lush green forage for the pacas. Then I had a farm visit from a neighboring fiber store over West who will be carrying our yarn and raw fleeces. That is always a very good thing. Thank goodness Sarah is coming out tomorrow to help me skirt more fiber and replenish our stock. It will be good to have her company for our "off day" of any kind of doctor appointments whatsoever.

Of course it would be great to be pruning my roses and working in the garden, what with this absolutely gorgeous weather. But I need to take it easy for the next couple of weeks so that my Port settles in nicely and I don't disturb it in any way. Don't want to lose my special powers, for sure!  :-)

Redwood Regional Cancer Center was pretty swamped when we arrived for my 2:30 PM appointment today. This is probably a good tip to me that morning appointments would be better for my usual chemo treatments after the first one scheduled for this Thursday. But the appointment was pretty much a breeze:  a 20 minute video (kinda of dated and comical to watch), the appointment with the NP Teresa, and a quick tour of the infusion room. Mark was open to tell Teresa they might consider updating their video sometime soon. Teresa fully agreed and said they were already working on it. 

The best news of the day was to learn that all the test performed last week are within normal ranges, and their is no other sign of cancer or any issues whatsoever according to the MUGA, CT, and Bone Scans. Yahoo -- that is a huge relieve!

During my appointment the NP went over all the ins and outs of the two drugs I'll be starting off with on Thursday. She went into the details about side effects and explained that the first hour of my 2-hour infusion will be for anti-nausea medication, and the second half is the cocktail of  Doxorubicin Hydrochloride (Adriamycin) and Cyclophosphamide. These are the two drugs of my three part ACT cocktail. So only two hours each for the first four appointments, which lasts 8 weeks -- one week on, and one week off.  The major side effects are the nausea, fatigue, mouth sores, loss of appetite; amongst others to be sure. Oh, and low blood count. This will be combated with a shot of Neulasta the day after each chemo treatment to help to bring my blood count back up somewhat. That means treatment is actually a three-day process. One day to get the blood work done to make sure I am well enough for the next treatment, then infusion day, followed by a shot of Neulasta on the third day to bring the blood count back up.

I now have all sorts of tips to try to counteract the multiple side effects. of my chemotherapy And I will need to be very careful to stay clear of those who are sick, and bacteria from gardening and working with my alpacas. This is not to say I can't do these things, but I will take precautions with gloves and such, and only do what I feel is appropriate. But the bright side is that this is not the type of chemotherapy that strips your immune system. Yes, it brings it down significantly, but with the help of Neulasta and my bodies own defense mechanism, I should be able to fight off the normal germs around me. AND, I do not have any food restrictions. It is also okay to take my daily multiple and andy additional vitamin D and C. But everything else is off limits until after Chemo. No special herbal treatments, or high doses of other vitamins.

And yes, I'll be losing my hair in a couple of weeks. But Teresa tells me that frequently she sees patients hair return with a beautiful new texture and or color, like curls! Now that could be fun to anticipate. And I now have a beautiful supply of bandannas, courtesy of cousins Paula and Gail.

The NP has also called in 4 prescriptions for me at our local drug store. I'm to bring those with me to the next appointment so they can go over their use, which is mainly to combat the expected side effects. She also provided me with a mouth wash recipe that should help with the mouth sores (Yuck). Did you know you are not to floss during chemo, and can only brush your teeth very gently. This is to prevent any bleeding that can be exacerbated by one of the chemo drugs.

This series of chemotherapy will be immediately followed by a series with Paclitaxel (Taxol). This is the "T" part of the ACT. This infusion is identical in days of treatment (4 series to last 8 weeks), but each infusion will last 4 hours for that series, and there will be some new side effects, which we'll cover later.

So, tomorrow is an "off-day". Off from any kind of cancer appointments whatsoever. Yippee!!! I will focus on me, the farm, my hubby, Sarah's visit, and whatever else good comes to me.

Hugs, Debbie... aka the cancer warrior; soon to be survivor 

LIVESTRONG: 

I AM STRONG. I AM LOVED. I AM HEALTHY. WE WILL WIN!