Topped Off

Yesterday I had a treatment and, as Brian said, we "topped off all my fluids." I received the Avastin, Taxotere, Zometa, plus extra pre-meds to avoid any kind of adverse reaction. The extra Benadryl sent my head a spinning and then knocked me out for a nap right then and there in my chemo chair. I also have a new prescription for the GERD symptoms I've been experiencing. Just one more drug to add to my list of many.

I think I ate more for dinner last night (steroids again) than I ate all last week combined. At least that was the way it felt. Today I'm on the anti-nausea pills right away to try and curb any ill side effects. I'll also have a Neumega shot each day this week. Four shots seem to be maintaining my platelets in a "safe" zone. My white and red blood cells are hanging right on that borderline, but haven't dropped at all, which is promising.

VERY PROUD to report that Dominic was named "Student of the Month" by his band teacher for the month of January. The letter his teacher wrote was just wonderful. This honor is kind of a random thing. No teacher is required to name any student, there are no quotas to fill, etc. That just kind of makes it all the more special. Dominic is very proud of this accomplishment. He'll get his picture in the Lakeshore Weekly too.

Please continue to pray for me. I really need to have a good week or two now. And know that I keep all of you in my prayers as well.

Back Again

I seem to have the flu bug back in my system. So much for feeling human this whole week. I'm still optimistic for the weekend, however.

Today's Non-normalcy

I thought I better jump right on here tonight while I'm feeling up to it...since we have NO clue what the next several days may bring. I did receive a treatment today of both the Avastin and the Taxotere. My blood work looked pretty darn good too, so we've decided that being treated every two weeks instead of trying to squeeze in a treatment every week may be the better way to proceed. Cautious optimism, anyone?!?

Now we couldn't just have a "normal" day at the clinic. Ahhhh, Brenda was in rare form and she, Brian, and I had a bunch of laughs. Then we started the Taxotere as the last bag to drip for the day. As Brenda would tell it, we were only two drips into the treatment (I would say more like two minutes) when I caught her attention and signaled her over. The insides of my ears had become very hot very rapidly. By the time she got across the room my whole face was hot and, apparently, I was quite red in the face and neck. Sure enough, I had a reaction to the Taxotere. They immediatly stopped the drip (am I stating the obvious there?) and then injected something else into the port to counteract some of the reaction. I immediately felt the heat going away. After that I was pretty light-headed for a while. They summoned Dr K also to have him check and make sure I was ok and get his word on how to proceed. We waited about 15 minutes and then started up again at a super slow drip speed, with Brenda staring me down for a reaction. We were fortunate in that there were no more incidents.

I just had some supper a little bit ago and will probably feel hungry tomorrow also from the steroids. Then we'll see, day by day, how many of the symptoms I experienced with the last treatment were from the Taxotere and how many were flu-related.

Darn! I'm trying really hard not to get my hopes up too high, but if we can treat every other week instead of every week, and if I can better tolerate this particular chemo with the Avastin, then maybe I can start getting some structure back in to my world and do more than sit in the comfy chair in the living room and/or sleep. Too much to ask for just yet? Sure, I'm a little premature in those wishes. But this could be a very telling week for me! Oh...more cautious optimism!

So that favorite motto of mine is ringing loud and clear in my head: "hope for the best, but prepare for the worst." The worst would be to go through all I did last time and find out there was no virus involved at all. The best would be to control all side effects this week and have a semi-human week next week with no treatments at all. If you're wondering about any special prayer requests I may have...there it is!

Thank you again for all my replies. So nice to see Lois post a comment. And there were numerous emails and phone calls as well. The food we receive is always soooo appreciated. Even when I can't enjoy it myself, it's a relief to know Brian and Dominic aren't eating another frozen pizza.

Be well all of you. Get those flu shots. They say it isn't too late! And let the good times roll...

Down for the Count

And it has been a total, complete, and indisputable knock out! That is to say...I have been knocked out for the last week.

It started last Tuesday night when Brian woke to a strange noise. The noise turned out to be me, shivering uncontrollably. It only got worse from there. We have been able to determine that what I've gone through is a combination of chemo side effects and the nasty virus that's been going around. Unfortunately, we don't know which symptoms to attribute to what. By Friday afternoon I was in the clinic getting fluids for dehydration, as well as anti-nausea meds and steroids.

On Monday we did a chest x-ray and found fluid back around my lungs. My blood work, surprisingly, was good enough that we could have done another treatment, but I refused. I need this week to gain back my strength...physically, mentally, and emotionally. The stomach is still somewhat unsettled and the mind is not as good as it could be. This was a true beating.

Each day seems to be getting a little better. I'm sure by Monday I'll be "fine" and we'll do another round of the chemo. Only then will we know what the true side effects of the chemo are. (Mouth sores seem to be a new one, making it extremely difficult to eat, even when the stomach seems willing.)

Hopefully this bitter cold will at least serve the purpose of killing off some of the nasty germs out there.