1st CHEMO: WINNER - Debbie

First Chemo Infusion ~ ROUND ONE: The Winner - Debbie... Loser - Cancer

I feel like  I'm going on a blind date.... I don't know him at all, is he cute, ugly, does he smell good or bad, will he burp in front of me? Is he taking me out for fast food or a nice dinner? Will we see a movie; a drama, or love story; or is he into gore and wars. I mean, I don't REALLY know a lot about this chemo date that I'm on. I've had all the instruction, but no one knows how I will react to these drugs. Everyone is different. 

Donna, a very pleasant medical assistant, calls me from the waiting room back to the infusion room. Is that even what they call it? She brings Mark and I back and gives us an orientation on the room. The bathrooms are over there, you can bring in food and there is a fridge to store it. They have crackers, water and fruit available, plus portable DVD players and a few movies. I see a basket of hats on the counter too.

I'm sitting in my cozy recliner chair in the infusion room waiting. My nurse, (she isn't wearing a name tag so I will ask her in a moment), is the same nurse who took my blood yesterday and was the first to access my port. She remembers that and asks if I used the lydocane yesterday. I did not, so we forgo that today too. It stings a bit when she "accesses" my port, which is basically placing the needle in. It is sort of odd as she has to push hard to get the needle into the port, which is made from some sort of material that immediately seals off after access and can be accessed to infinity. Sure hope I don't need it that long. Then she comes back a short while later with all the authorization and side affect forms for me to sign off on. I think there are an easy 5 pages. Mark snatches them so I can't read them during infusion. Probably a good idea.

Amy (I did ask her name) returns with my 3 bags of meds and has me verify that it is "me" on the bags. YEP! We got the right person (unfortunately). These three are the pre-meds, and designed to counter act the side effects, including the nausea.

The infusion room is a long room with a large nurses station in the center of the room. There are approximately 5 plush leather recliners on each side of the nurse station, plus a couple of side rooms for someone else, maybe radiation. Our chairs face a large bank of windows looking down from Fountaingrove over the Santa Rosa plain. There is a beautiful cherry tree in full pink blossom outside to the side. Go figure -- PINK! :-)

Its 3:05 PM and it's lift off; I am being infused.  The first hour will be with the anti-nausea drugs. Mark is reading and I am reclining and will get back to my knitting. I'm working on an entrelac hat. I wanted to have a baby project to start today, but that will be the next session, if not before. It needs to be the perfect project and yarn for the new grandbaby we will all welcome in August. And I wasn't quite prepared with it yet. I also have a beautiful alpaca blanket I will knit on soon, especially during the second series, which is a longer session each time.




It's now 3:30, and I've finished two of the bags for the "side effect" medications. One to go. AND I've just finished the first round of the head band and entrelac triangles on my hat, which is a dark heathery brown alpaca from my pacas. The next will be a fawn/white heather alpaca. So glad for my iPad. We don't have WiFi in the infusion room, but I can use my Notepad feature to get the Blog entry started so it is current when I finally get it posted. And although my phone volume needs to be off, I'm able to test and reassure Alura and Sarah that all is okay with their momma.

At 4:15 the chemo drugs start to flow throughout my body, but I don't feel any different at the moment. The first is a red drug called Adriamycin (aka Doxorubicin, or Rubex) and is done in a push/ pull method manually by the nurse. It can irritate the veins, so this method is used. This takes about 15 minutes and I'm told that my urine may be red for a day or so. Oops. Just took a potty break, and they got that one right! :-) Amy is a traveling nurse and very sweet. Id say she is in her mid-30s, much like my girls. She seems to love her job and is very enthusiastic.

Then a large clear bag is hung with the Cyclophosphamide (aka Cytoxan®, or Neosar®)  which is set on an automatic slow drip. We have another hour with this "date". And it gives me a foggy headed feeling, like sinus pressure and a slight ache to the nose. Almost done now!!!

I feel the cancer retreating already. WE are in control now, so you best shrink down to nothing you measly little cancer. There is no hope for you now!!!!! I can hear the wicked witch in the Wizard of Oz saying, "I'm melting....."

So we leave RRMG at 5:30pm. This session lasted an extra hour, although I'm sure this was because of the orientation and some questions I had. Plus the three-four nurses had up to 10 chairs full for most of that time. We stop at Olivers specifically to pick up an allergy med (brain is mush now and I've already forgotten. They say short-term memory loss is expected. I got it already). It is to help tomorrow with the bone aches that come with the first Neulasta shot. Neulasta will help to correct the dip in my blood count that happens after chemo. Are we having fun yet? I will take this pill tonight and tomorrow to help with that. We also pick up some yummy bread to pair with the pumpkin soup I made the other night, and more veggies for our morning juicing. I was kinda loopy during our short shopping, as the head is getting more foggy as time goes on.

By the time we pull into our driveway, I'm pretty quiet and feeling kind of yucky. So Mark unloads the car and gets me all cozy in the recliner with my alpaca blanket, Basooka Bear, and some Ginger ale. I quickly fall asleep for about an hour while he does chores. Then it's soup, followed by some yummy sorbet Tricia brought us with her scrumptious dinner last night.

So now its 10'ish and I'm in my cozy flannel jammies, still feeling kinda yucky, but the head seems to be clearing just a bit. I have a whole regime of pills to take over the next 2-7 days, depending how I feel. Then I start all over again. And Mr. Phil is here to help me remember what to watch for...

What can happen when Phil is low? (NeutroPhil)

The main thing is that I'm home right now, and managing okay. This I will take and embrace for the moment. Sweet Dreams!

Results of this match:

Round 1 of chemo down: Debbie wins, cancer loses. 

Feeling groggy, stuffy headed and achy face, almost like a bad hangover but without the bad headache. Metallic taste in the mouth, a bit of a queasy tummy, saliva flowing, like when you think you might get sick. Vision kind of blurry. But all manageable -- so far, anyway! :-) 

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!

Glad This Week Is Over

Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway.
~ John Wayne, Actor

I'm feeling much more positive and energized today, and that makes both Mark and I very happy. Today started out much better than yesterday, even though most of it was to be spent at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital to get my Bard Power Port. Whoopie!!! (To see my previous entry with more details on the Port, scroll down or look at this previous post.)

It was a long day, leaving the house at 10am and returning after 4pm, but I am just so relieved the week is behind me!!! All the nurses were fantastic, cheery, upbeat, polite (my goodness the cardiac "waiting room" is a bustling place at 10am on a Friday morning at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital); AND my tuna sandwich as I was in recovery was darn good. Not to mention my sweetie Mark was there with me and sis Nance stopped by with us while we were waiting and prepping for the procedure. Things went pretty well.

Other than the drama of my veins hiding out from the RN and after 2 sticks she needing to call for an ultrasound assist for my IV (I didn't know they could do that), I now am the proud owner/recipient of the Bard Power Port. Is that like a Power Ranger or something? I mean they can infuse me, transfuse me, draw blood, and so many other things with this new gadget implanted under my skin on my right chest. I wonder if I can hook my new juicer up to it? :-) Oh silly me. I will want to taste the yummy drinks I'm going to create.

By the way, my veins are known for hiding out when a nurse approaches with a needle. It has been that way most of my life. That, compounded with my fasting for tests the day before and over night for the Port, it was a logistical reason that the nurse had difficulty with my IV.

We are now home, the port is in place, and I'm resting while Mark does chores.  There is some minor discomfort, but nothing that an Ibuprofen can't ease. 

After a week of one test after another, I was exhausted mentally, and worried to no end. Now I am just happy the week is over and not to be traveling to any hospital or doctor office for the next couple of days. 

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

The PowerPort* device is a new kind of implantable port for  IV therapy treatments. It offers the unique ability to provide access for power-injected Contrast-Enhanced Computer Tomography (CECT) scans. Power-injected CECT scans produce superior images of the body to help the medical team better manage care. With a PowerPort* Implantable Port, I'll be able to receive IV therapy and CECT scans without having to undergo repeated needle-sticks in my arm or wrist veins. 

LIVESTRONG:

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

Up, Down, AND All Around

Emotions.... that is.

Maybe it was the fact I got up early to do some "homework" and read the info on line and in my books about "Triple Negative" breast cancer, and began to focus in on the negative part of Triple Negative, or maybe it is because chemo is now on the calendar. Perhaps it is because today and tomorrow are full of tests and procedures, or that next week is already booked for the same. Or maybe it is just a blue day amidst all the gorgeous sunshine in Glen Ellen and Santa Rosa tocay. BUT today was a down day for me.

I had a full schedule of activities today, most of which were spent at my latest new Home Away From Home, Redwood Regional Medical Group offices, Sotoyome Campus. There is something about this word "campus" that feels a bit strange. I'm not really learning here, but I do seem to be spending a bit of time here! 

On today's agenda is an injection for the bone scan, CT scan, then a break when I hope to purchase a juicer. Then I'll return back here for the actual bone scan. Oh, and don't forget a trip somewhere in the day to the "Fountaingrove Campus", aka Cancer Center, to pick up a packet for my chemo teaching appointment on Monday. Are we having fun yet? I think I need to make a visit to see Mom sometime real soon. By that I mean a long-overdue visit to the cemetery. I want to bring her one of those silk Hawaiian leis I have stored somewhere and leave it draped around the angel we seven kids chose for her headstone. It's about time she and I had a good talk about what is going on in my life right now. Not that she isn't fully aware.... but I think I need it most.

My latest Home Away From Home

10:45 AM     Injection (Radioactive Tracer) for Bone Scan. Am I glowing yet?

It is starting to feel like Connie and Bill and I are good friends now. This is my third visit with Connie, as she was the one to receive me for the MRI Breast Scan last week. (Was it only last week ? -- feels like much longer ago already.) This was pretty uneventful.

11:15 AM     CT Scan

Connie walked me a short distance over to the brand-spankin-new CT Scan room. It even had clouds on the ceiling. This was a nice change although it didn't help much when the actual Scan was taking place, since the machine obstructed the view. 

A tall, pleasant young gentleman greeted me, and introduced himself. I don't remember his name, but I remember him saying he was new, or a student, or some such thing.  It is not that the CT Scan was a bad thing, it was that I didn't realize I would be getting another injection, and that the authorization/release form I had to sign for it was frightening to say the least. I mean, did they already have the MUGA scan results to know if my heart would survive this test that they were doing to help check my heart. HELLO! Is this making any sense right now????? 

Yes, the scan was quick, yes the other, experienced female technician was very nice and considerate of my tears at the end. Yes, this injection gave me a warm, but weird, feeling all over my body and made me (as it does most women) feel like I would urinate (but thankfully that doesn't really happen!!!!). And then I felt light headed when I got up to leave, but was quickly told to sit down for a bit. WHY DO I GET MYSELF ALL WORKED UP OVER THESE THINGS??? 

So, the CT Scan was over and I went out to my car to cry for a bit and call Mark. Yep.... silly me! I told him I didn't need him today, that he he should stay home and take care of things he needed to do rather than sit around in doctor's offices. Dumb idea on my part, for sure!!!

The fun part of the day was when I drove over to Macy's between appointments to shop for a juicer. The sale did not apply to electronics, but they had it marked down anyway. I picked up some cute little Fiesta bowls in turquoise and also in the new celadon green color. Then later in the day I returned to Macys to pick up our new Breville Ikon Juice Fountain. I've been fasting all morning for these tests so by now I want much more than juice. But I am anxious to get started doing some juicing.

1:00 PM     Bone Scan     I'm back! :-)

Other than this procedure taking a full hour. And considering the injection occurred earlier in the day (injections of radioactive material into my veins seem to be the thing that gets me going.) This procedure was actually restful, as long as I kept my eyes closed so as not to see the camera that was about 2" above my head at the start of the the first 27 minute "photo shoot". Of course it was kind of comical when, during one of the breaks between shots, Bill stopped to ask if I had ever had any trauma on my right side. He was pretty amazed at how all the broken ribs were still evident after the 15 years since I was struck by the SUV while crossing in the cross walk. He asked if they still give me trouble. I replied, "Only to ache intensely when the weather changes." Is that barometric pressure changes?

So now I am off to the Fountaingrove campus to pick up my packet from The Infusion Room!!! (Dun, dun.... dun, dun).

And I finish off the day picking up my new juicer and shopping for lovely fresh greens and fruits at the fabulous new Whole Foods in Santa Rosa. So see, there is a silver lining to my day. :-)

Now.... to head to home sweet home, and my sweetie. Then to start fasting again tonight for the Port procedure tomorrow. Just another day in a soon yet to be breast cancer survivor's life. BETTER WATCH OUT.... HERE I COME.

What is a CT Scan?  ~  Courtesy of www.radiologyinfo.org

CT scanning is a noninvasive medical test to help physicians diagnose and treat medical conditions. It uses special x-ray equipment and computers to produce pictures of the inside of the body. The cross-sectional pictures can then be examined on the computer, or printed.
CT scans provide images of internal organs, bones, soft tissue and blood vessels; and reveal more details than regular x-ray exams. The CT Scan assists doctors to more easily diagnose cancers, cardiovascular disease, infectious disease, appendicitis, trauma and musculoskeletal disorders.


This exam only lasted a few moments after the injection of the contrast dye. My experience today with this scan was pretty uneventful. Once I got past the weird warm feeling that moved through my body with the contrast material injected right before the scan, and the bit of weakness I felt after the exam, I was fine. The worst part of the experience was reding the authorization form, and learning ll the horrible side effects possible from the contest dye. I wondered what was worse, cancer or reding and signing this form.

 What is a Bone Scan?  ~  Courtesy of www.webmd.com

 A bone scan is a nuclear scanning test that identifies new areas of bone growth or breakdown. It can be done to evaluate damage to the bones, find cancer that has spread (metastasized) to the bones, and monitor conditions that can affect the bones (including infection and trauma). A bone scan can often find a problem days to months earlier than a regular X-ray test.

For a bone scan, a radioactive tracer substance is injected into a vein in the arm. The tracer then travels through the bloodstream and into the bones. This process may take several hours. A special camera (gamma) takes pictures of the tracer in the bones. This helps show cell activity and function in the bones. Areas that absorb little or no amount of tracer appear as dark or "cold" spots, which may indicate a lack of blood supply to the bone (bone infarction) or the presence of certain types of cancer. Areas of rapid bone growth or repair absorb increased amounts of the tracer and show up as bright or "hot" spots in the pictures. Hot spots may indicate problems such as arthritis, the presence of a tumor, a fracture, or an infection.
A bone scan may be done on the entire body or just a part of it.

A bone scan is done to:

• Find bone cancer or determine whether a cancer from another area, such as the breast, lung, kidney, thyroid gland, or prostate gland, has spread (metastasized) to the bone. See a picture of a bone scan showing the spread of cancer .
• Help diagnose the cause or location of unexplained bone pain, such as ongoing low back pain. A bone scan may be done first to help determine the location of an abnormal bone in complex bone structures such as the foot or spine. Follow-up evaluation then may be done with a computed tomography (CT) scan or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
• Help diagnose broken bones, such as a hip fracture or a stress fracture, not clearly seen on X-ray.
• Find damage to the bones caused by infection or other conditions, such as Paget's disease.

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

LIVESTRONG: 

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

Girls Get A Rest

Me and my girls got a rest today. A rest from the frenzied schedule of doctor appointments and tests. My girls and I, well you know what I mean here, had an early morning appointment in Sonoma that was totally unrelated to cancer. Mark was with "us". That felt nice. After the appointment we stopped at Broccos to buy some hay for the alpacas, chicken food, and alfalfa pellets.

While out and about , I received two calls to schedule appointments for next week. So now next week is pretty full with three days scheduled -- the chemo teaching session, labs and Oncologist appointment, and my first chemotherapy "session".  Ready or not, here I come!

After we returned home, Sarah came up to the house to get me so we could drive back down to Glen Ellen Village Market and meet Bobbi for lunch. We sat outside at one of the barbecue tables and soaked up the beautiful mid-day sun. It was glorious!!!! When I returned home, I squeezed in a bit of knitting and welcomed our neighbor, Debbie, who came up to buy eggs and brought delicious lentil soup.

So now that evening chores are done, I'm writing this while heating the soup and trying to get in the remainder of the 10 glasses of water required for my day of tests tomorrow.

And tomorrow involves a bone scan and CT scan. We're almost ready! :-)

Hugs, Debbie... aka the healing breast cancer warrior

LIVESTRONG: 

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

To Port or Not to Port

Beam me up, Scotty!

So, you may have read the entry where I mention the Infusion Room. Sounds pretty luxurious, doesn't it? :-) Will I be infusing my hair in a lovely bath to make it dark and silky, or will I be infusing my body into a warm, steamy bath of oils and hydrating luxury. Nope, Nada, Absolutely NOT!

The Infusion Room is where I will have my veins and body infused with chemotherapy drugs. I think I'll stop with that description there so as not to scare you and me both at this moment.

The latest update is things have ramped up this week, as I suspected they might. I have all my pre-chemo tests set up and it will be a busy week. I finish up the week with the outpatient surgery to install/insert the port, which is about a 4 hour experience between prep, light sedation, and recovery.

These tests are to make sure "everything" is operating properly and I am ready for chemo, which will then tear it all back down. The side effects are so very scary, but what choice do I have? We just watched Crazy Sexy Cancer the other day and it has empowered me to bring some better health  practices back into my life. I can't believe where I was 30 some years ago when the girls were young, to where I am now. I mean, we are somewhat cautious about food and such, but I remember the food coop days that we were involved in here in Glen Ellen/Kenwood, using carob instead of chocolate, a sugar-less household, making my own whole wheat bread, and making so many other good (and sometimes not so well-received) dishes for the family. What the _ _ _ _  (heck) happened?

I guess it was just a busy, hectic lifestyle. So, I am on the hunt for a juicer and may try some yoga and meditation again. Can't hurt right???

This week is comprised of three days of different tests, which includes the port. I'm not sure when chemo starts, but it will be a 16 week ordeal, with one week on, one week off. I'll start with two drugs for 8 of those weeks, then they'll switch it to a different drug. Apparently there is all sorts of other stuff I'll be doing, like blood draws before each session to see if I've recovered enough. Then chemo is followed the day after with an injection or pill to bring the blood counts back up, hopefully, or the next chemo treatment may be delayed. Amongst all that, a slew of anti-nauseau stuff, etc. I'm still reading and learning, and a "chemo teaching" session will be scheduled for me before treatment. Can't wait.

I'm hopeful that the chemo treatment will start up next week or sometime soon thereafter. I'd like to get on with it and get IT all over with so I can get back to life as a survivor.

So what the heck is a "Port", you may ask.

Here is some info on the port: 

What is a Port Infusion?
A port infusion uses an under-the-skin (subcutaneous) port that has been implanted by a surgeon. The port is located either in your arm or your chest, (mine will be in my chest) and is connected by a soft, slim catheter tube that goes through your vein all the way to your heart. This catheter protects your vein during treatment. The port is an entry point that your infusion nurse can find each time you come for a treatment, and it can be used for a blood draw, as well as infusion of drugs. Your chemotherapy nurse will use a special type of needle to access your port, and won't have to hunt for a good vein to use. The needle will be taped into place to prevent it moving around during your infusion.

http://breastcancer.about.com/od/lifeduringtreatment/f/port_vs_iv.htm

http://www.breastcancer.org/pictures/treatment/chemo_port.jsp

One reason for the port is this: The chemo drugs are so caustic that if the IV were to leak,  the damage to the skin from the drugs would require surgery, and perhaps even plastic surgery. Ummm, order up a Port for me pronto, please!!!

Hugs, Debbie... aka the cancer warrior

LIVESTRONG:

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

Vocabulary of the week

The thing about cancer is that unless you or a loved one close to you has experienced it, or you are in the medical field, there is this whole new world of vocabulary that comes to you. Some of it is scary, some of it is almost funny, and some just plain interesting. 

So, I'm doing my best to get through my latest assignment of reading, Chemotherapy and You ~ Support for People With Cancer, which is a 60 page booklet to inform me on everything I need to know about chemo.  And then I will later go through a Chemo Teaching session with the NP to learn even more!

Thrombocytopenia: low platelet count

Neo-adjuvant chemotherapy: chemo used to make a tumor smaller before surgery or radiation

Port: a small, round disc made of plastic or metal that is placed under the skin. A catheter connects the port to a large vein, most often in the chest. The port is used to insert a needle into it to to give chemo or draw blood.

Infusion Room: The "salon" like looking room where chemo is "infused" into your body.

Chemo is designed to kill fast growing cancer cells. So it can also affect healthy fast growing cells; which include mouth, intestines, bone marrow, hair growth cells. Side affects: fatigue, nausea, vomiting, decreased blood cell count, hair loss, mouth sores, pain. There is also a risk of danger to heart, lungs, nerves, kidneys, reproductive organs.

Feelings during chemo: anxiety, depression, anger, helplessness, lonely, afraid.    HELLO!!!

Hugs, Debbie... aka the cancer warrior

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