Almost halfway there!!

It has taken me a while to update the blog because just when I was supposed to be feeling better I caught a nasty cold. So on my good week I have been feeling pretty lousy...lots of coughing, ear aches, and runny nose. Luckily I do have more energy then I did last week so I can tell my blood levels are up.

My sister Alison and my niece Lily came for my last chemo since Mike was away on a business trip. It was so fun to have them here. We went to dinner and down to BYU on Monday night since I was feeling great. Then we went to chemo on Tuesday and she said as I was walking out that the spring in my step was gone. I get so wiped out. Here is a picture while at chemo.



The fatigue hit really hard on Friday night. I went to bed at 8 p.m. and really didn't get out of bed till 2 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. I'm sure that's what my body needs though is just a lot of rest.

Here are some other pictures from the week.



I talked Mike into buying a WII so here I am playing with Lily.


Lily is an angel baby. She never cries and is just content to hang out. I'm sure she missed the chaos of her brothers and sister and wondered where everyone went.



Getting ready to go on our nightly walk. The books all say that walking is a great way to battle the fatigue. I feel great when I am out but then feel exhausted when I get back and we don't go very far.



Big thanks to my sister for coming out and taking great care of me. It was such a comfort to have her here. Next Tuesday hopefully I will be over this cold and will be able to have chemo and then I will be on the downside. Woohoo!! The doctor told me last week that the end goes a little easier because they take out one of the drugs (the one that makes me sensitive to cold). I sure hope so because right now I am just taking things one day at a time and it is not easy. Thanks again to everyone for your continued thoughts and prayers.

Moms are the BEST!!

My mom left on Sunday and it just hasn't been the same around here. She took care of everything while she was here. She cooked, cleaned, did laundry and just took great care of me. I wish we lived closer together. Mike was able to go on a backpack trip which he enjoyed even if he did come home with monster blisters. Here's a picture from his trip.



Chemo round #4 went well. I wasn't sick and didn't have the heartburn issue I had the time before. I am 1/3 of the way through treatments although at times I feel like this will never end. Just last night Mike came home from work and I told him I was fragile and then I had a little meltdown. He did his best to comfort me and just give me a little extra love. I am always on the go and so not feeling well is getting old and I hate feeling this way. At the doctor's office they have pins that say "Cancer Sucks!!" I feel like that most days. I know that I have to go through this and that I will get through it but some days it just seems like too much to deal with. At least I'm starting to feel better and I'll have a good week before it starts again. My sister Alison is coming for the next treatment since Mike will be on a business trip. It will be great to have her here even if we will just be hanging around at home.

I'm still here

All I have to say is this is going to be a LONG process. 3 down, 9 to go. Last Tuesday I met with the doctor and it just confirmed all my feelings that I am in good hands. So as for the nausea, he gave me the rundown on what I am getting. When I go to chemo they give me some anti-nausea medicine through the IV. He told me that this is like Super-Zofran and lasts about 4-5 days. So instead of giving me more Zofran, he gave me a drug called Emend which is 3 pills and works like a charm. It is about $100 a pill which luckily our insurance covers. I didn't have any nausea this time at all. In fact I felt pretty good up until Thursday night when I crashed at about 8 p.m. The fatigue is pretty intense and is starting to get worse which is expected. Friday and Saturday I didn't have any energy to do anything. Sunday was a little better and today I am still not bouncing back as quickly as I have before. All I can say is that I can handle the fatigue a lot better than the nausea.

I have all kinds of new little symptoms now to ask the doctor about next time. I get serious heartburn 3-6 days after chemo that wakes me up at night. I've been downing Tums, Maalox, warm milk...anyone have any other ideas? My glands in my neck have also been sore and I'm not sure what that is about. Maybe my lymph nodes are working double time to replace the white blood cells and that is why they are sore. So just some new things to ask at the next treatment.

My mom will be here in a week and it will be nice to have her here. Poor Mike has lost 10 pounds since this started because I just don't cook like I used to. He forgets to eat and so I'm sure he'll be glad to have my mom here although with his picky eating, she gets a little stressed about what to make him.

Thanks to all for your continued love, support and prayers. I feel it every day and am so greatful to have such an awesome support system.

Back to Life

Well, the 2nd round of chemo did not go as well.

It all started on Sunday when I had to fly out to San Francisco for a meeting on Monday morning. I went to my meeting on Monday and my flight home was "supposed" to leave at 8:30 p.m. The plane was at the gate but the flight crew was stuck in Las Vegas so we didn't leave SF till 11 p.m. PT. I got home and in bed at 3 a.m. I then had to get up early to go to chemo in the morning. Not a good way to start things off. I was pretty much sick (nausea) from Tuesday to Saturday.

I think I got a little dehydrated too which didn't make me feel any better. I can't drink anything cold because it feels like razor blades in my throat. There's only so much luke warm water a person can take. I did go buy some Propel for this next round and will just keep it at room temperature. I kept telling Mike, "I am done". I just don't see how I'm going to get through 10 more rounds of this. I have a new appreciation for all of you who have gone through morning sickness. I only had to endure it for a week, I can't imagine many weeks in a row.

I will get to meet with my oncologist this next chemo round. (I haven't seen him since my initial consultation.) I'm hoping that perhaps he can prescribe some other anti-nausea medicine that doesn't wipe me out and really works. I've heard from a number of people that Zofran is the wonder drug for nausea.

I am just looking forward to a great week of feeling good and to help me forget how bad it was last week.

Spoke too early

OK...I spoke a little early when I said that it went well. Tuesday and Wednesday were fine but on Thursday, I got the pump removed and I was really weak and tired. This is going to be hard getting used to. Friday was a little better but I still felt pretty weak. Today has been the first day I have felt semi-normal. My bowels are still not working correctly so I am back to my white diet (eggs, oatmeal, cottage cheese, yogurt, pretty much anything white). Having my mom here was a dream though because I didn't have to worry about dinners or driving or anything. She is such a champ. She did say that this is a whole lot easier than last year when she was here for 2 weeks taking care of me with my broken knee. At least I am mobile this time.

I'm just so grateful for Mike and the patience he has with me. I am so lucky to have a great man in my life that helps me get through the tough times. I'm also glad that he started a new job this year that doesn't require him to travel so much. We are also finding that the insurance is a lot better than what we had for my knee problems last year. I know that we are being watched over and blessed. Thanks to all for your continued support, love and prayers. I feel it everyday.

#1 Chemotherapy

The first session of chemotherapy went well. My mom is in town which always makes it better because I know that I won't have to worry about a thing. We got to the office at 9 a.m. and met with a physician's assistant (mid level) as my doctor is on vacation. He went over the results of the CAT scan I had last week. There is some fluid that was found that they have not ruled out is the cause of a leak in the colon. I had some sharp pains over the weekend and more blood in the stool but we are just going to keep an eye on the pain, blood and my temperature.

So after meeting with the PA I went to chemo where they drew my blood to check my blood count levels. They test the blood on a Coulter machine which is the competition of the machine my dad sells. He teased me and said that I could not trust the results because it was a competitors machine. My blood levels were fine so they went forward with the chemo. The combination of drugs I receive is called FOLFOX. I was given anti-nausea medicine, 2 potent drugs, and then a push of 5-FU that I also got as a pump that goes home with me for 48 hours. The pump gives me about 1/2 teaspoon of the drug every hour. The port is working like a champ!! We were able to watch a movie while we waited for the drugs to go in. It was a cute chick-flick called Penelope. I recommend it.



I haven't really had any side effects. I have some prescriptions for anti-nausea that I have to take for 3-4 days whether I feel nauseous or not and then as needed. I did have one strange side effect happen though. We came home and as I was taking my anti-nausea pill, I grabbed a water bottle from the fridge and as I was drinking it was cold and felt like razors going down my throat. The sensitivity to cold is something I'm going to have to get used to. Luckily, it will only last the first couple days.

One down, Eleven to go!!!!

Placement of Port

On Friday I had the port put in. This is a little device in the shape of a triangle and about an inch thick that sits just below my skin in my chest and then a tube travels up into my neck and into a vein. It will make life a lot easier as it will be like a temporary IV that will stay in for 6 months. When blood is needed for tests or dye and medicines need to go in, the nurses and doctors can access the port. I was awake for the procedure which was kind of creepy. They sedated me a little but I could feel the doctor pulling on my skin.

Here is a picture as I was recovering. They kept me there for about an hour after the procedure to make sure that things were fine. I was just glad that I didn't have to stay the night.



I've been pretty sore the past couple days and Friday afternoon when we got home, I crashed and slept for a few hours. Today it is sore and the incision where the port is, itches like crazy. Hopefully it will feel better in a couple days.