DAY 1 (Feb 19, 2011) -
Yesterday was a pretty good day. I slept decent. I wasn't able to fall asleep until about 1AM but once I was asleep I stayed asleep. I felt good all day. I was able to do things around the house and I didn't even have to take a nap. I also ate pretty good too. Nothing else to really report for day one.
DAY 2 (Feb 20, 2011) -
Slept pretty good again last night. Woke up tired and pretty much stayed tired all day. I didn't nap again today but would have liked to. Everything is back to tasting very strange and my nausea stayed with me
most of the day too. Ate okay. Nothing really sounded good all day b/c of the strange taste thing I got going on. My hair is still sticking around. I am guessing that maybe by Tuesday some of it may start to fall out. Who really knows though. The doctor just mentioned the majority of his patients seem to start losing it after the second treatment. Well I don't really have anything else to report for today. Sorry these have been kind of boring. But I guess that is a good thing in a way!
DAY 3 - (Feb 21, 2011) -
Slept good again. Woke up worn out and stayed that way all day. Again nothing tasted right and I had a nauseous feeling all day. I took a nap and probably could have slept all day long. I know this is gross but I didn't even take a shower. I tried to play with Kalli as much as I could. But mainly I didn't leave the couch. That is all for today...
DAY 4 - (Feb 22, 2011) -
Didn't sleep as well last night. Had alot of dreams. All of them about my hair falling out. LOL.Only thing going on with the hair loss right now is that if I run my fingers through my hair I will get small amounts in my fingers each time. I woke up very worn out. Took Kalli to the sitters today and tried to rest. I didn't get to take a very good nap but I guess I did rest up enough. My appetite and tastes are almost back to normal which is great. I signed up today for a free program that the American Cancer Society does called Look Good Feel Better. They help woman going through Chemo and Radiation with there make up, wigs or scarves as well as how to apply make up and just feel beautiful while going through all of this. I signed up for March 14. I am so excited.
DAY 5 - (Feb 23, 2011) -
Slept pretty well last night. But again woke up today so exhausted. Took Kalli to the sitters again. Had such a hard time taking a nap. I just couldn't get comfortable. But I did finally get about an hour and half in. My hair loss is no different and my appetite is good to go. My neck and shoulders hurt today. Kind of a strange pain. Not sure how to explain it. My arm started to go numb today but luckily that only lasted for a few minutes. Nothing more to report for today...
DAY 6 - (Feb 24, 2011) -
Today went well. I didn't wake up tired and I was able to tidy up around the house and go to the grocery store. I still had to take a nap and of course I am exhausted now. I probably did a little too much. I will have to learn to balance that out. While blow drying my hair today I noticed that some of my hair was blowing around. Much more than normal. And after I applied my hair glue to my hair I had tons of hair in my hands. So I guess you can say my hair is starting to thin out a little. Oh that anyone really cares but I have been able to drink a glass of wine here and there without it giving me a monster headache. I guess the one time was a fluke. I know it is not important it is just interesting. Well that is it for today....
DAY 7 - (Feb 25, 2011) -
Woke up today with a sore throat. Felt kinda like crud all day. Hopefully I am not getting sick. I was still able to get somethings done around the house. I took needed a nap and it really needed to be longer than it was. But really nothing else to report. Was a pretty easy week. Will report after next Chemo.
UPDATE (Feb 26, 2011) -
Think that Kalli and I might have strep. Kalli has had a fever of over 100 two days in a row. To be safe my oncologist has prescribed me an antibiotic. And since it is the weekend I cannot take Kalli to the doctor until Monday. My throat and stomach have been hurting for a couple days now. If anything else comes up I will let everyone know.
I want to say thank you to everyone for all of the support! I greatly appreciate it all.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Friday, February 18, 2011
Second Chemo
So today was Chemo #2. Got to say I was not really looking forward to it. This past week I have felt pretty normal and I wasn't looking forward to going back to all the crazy side effects.
GREAT NEWS!!!!!! I gained 5 pounds in one week!! I am so excited. I have been trying really hard to eat high calories and more frequent meals and it seems to be working. YAY!!!
Before I go into how the day went I figure I will try to explain to you what the infusion room looks like. It is a large wide open room. At the the head of the room is the nurses station. Off to the side of that is the small kitchenette (fridge and counter with snacks and such). And then next to that is the bathrooms. On the opposite wall of the nurses station is a windowed wall and against that wall are several chairs that look like hospital grade recliners. Next to each of those is a vistor chair. Opposite those chairs in front of the bathrooms and kitchenette is another row of chairs. In the middle of the room is 4 rows of chairs. The outside row faces a wall, the 2 middle rows face each other and the last row faces one of the middle rows. Behind the last row are 4 "private rooms." They have curtains that can be pulled closed for privacy. So that is the room. I hope it makes since. My mom took some pictures today so I will put them on here when I can.
My appt today was at 9AM. My mom took me again today for company and in case I had to receive Benedryl again. My nurse today was Kim. She was great. She was funny and laughed alot. The first med she put in my line was an anti nausea medication that had a steriod in it called Decadron. Appartently this little guy is the reason I couldn't sleep for days after my first Chemo. And it will probably affect me everytime... I was then given a Pepcid to help with any allergic reactions and to avoid taking the Benedryl.
First Chemo drug I was given was Viznblastine, then Adriamycin after that was the Bleomycin AND GUESS WHAT??? I had an allergic reaction the Bleomycin (So we now know which med it is which good). It was a very minimal reaction. Just minor inching. But I had to get the Benedryl anyway. After all that I was given the final drug which is Dacarbazine. The Benedryl made be super sleepy for a bit but I never fell asleep. I was all finished at 1:30 PM. I came home and crashed on the couch for about an hour or so. Went and picked Kalli up at sitters. I was feeling very tired and worn out. But despite the way I was feeling, I decided to go meet Kurt, my Mother in law, Father in law, my sis in law, bro in law and Niece for dinner. I think it was a good thing for me to get out and do something even though I was tired. I need to push my body sometimes to keep it strong. Oh and so far my taste isn't as screwed up as last time. A little off but not too significant. And no nausea to report. I am extremely thirsty again with no relief which is annoying. Well this it for today. I will be posting again how each day following this treatment goes so please check tomorrow for the first update to Chemo # 2.
2 down 10 to go!!!
GREAT NEWS!!!!!! I gained 5 pounds in one week!! I am so excited. I have been trying really hard to eat high calories and more frequent meals and it seems to be working. YAY!!!
Before I go into how the day went I figure I will try to explain to you what the infusion room looks like. It is a large wide open room. At the the head of the room is the nurses station. Off to the side of that is the small kitchenette (fridge and counter with snacks and such). And then next to that is the bathrooms. On the opposite wall of the nurses station is a windowed wall and against that wall are several chairs that look like hospital grade recliners. Next to each of those is a vistor chair. Opposite those chairs in front of the bathrooms and kitchenette is another row of chairs. In the middle of the room is 4 rows of chairs. The outside row faces a wall, the 2 middle rows face each other and the last row faces one of the middle rows. Behind the last row are 4 "private rooms." They have curtains that can be pulled closed for privacy. So that is the room. I hope it makes since. My mom took some pictures today so I will put them on here when I can.
My appt today was at 9AM. My mom took me again today for company and in case I had to receive Benedryl again. My nurse today was Kim. She was great. She was funny and laughed alot. The first med she put in my line was an anti nausea medication that had a steriod in it called Decadron. Appartently this little guy is the reason I couldn't sleep for days after my first Chemo. And it will probably affect me everytime... I was then given a Pepcid to help with any allergic reactions and to avoid taking the Benedryl.
First Chemo drug I was given was Viznblastine, then Adriamycin after that was the Bleomycin AND GUESS WHAT??? I had an allergic reaction the Bleomycin (So we now know which med it is which good). It was a very minimal reaction. Just minor inching. But I had to get the Benedryl anyway. After all that I was given the final drug which is Dacarbazine. The Benedryl made be super sleepy for a bit but I never fell asleep. I was all finished at 1:30 PM. I came home and crashed on the couch for about an hour or so. Went and picked Kalli up at sitters. I was feeling very tired and worn out. But despite the way I was feeling, I decided to go meet Kurt, my Mother in law, Father in law, my sis in law, bro in law and Niece for dinner. I think it was a good thing for me to get out and do something even though I was tired. I need to push my body sometimes to keep it strong. Oh and so far my taste isn't as screwed up as last time. A little off but not too significant. And no nausea to report. I am extremely thirsty again with no relief which is annoying. Well this it for today. I will be posting again how each day following this treatment goes so please check tomorrow for the first update to Chemo # 2.
2 down 10 to go!!!
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Days following my first Chemo Treatment
This part of the blog is sort of a journal for myself. To see how I feel and what I expericence on the days following my Chemo Treatments. I will add each day following the first treatment under this post. So if you are interested in how in how I feel and what I am experiencing each day please check back to this post.
DAY 1 - (Feb 5, 2011)
Had a hard time sleeping last night. The nurse said that this may happen due to the steroids that are in my "cocktail".
I woke up at 7 AM and was wide awake. I didn't really feel nauseous but had a strange feeling in my stomach. I popped my anti nausea pill that I am to take and that was that. (But that feeling never went away)
Next thing I noticed is that EVERYTHING tastes different. Not sure how to explain it. It is not a good different I can tell you that. Sorta metallic tasting. Not enjoyable that is for sure. I hope that goes away soon.
I wasn't more tired than usual today. I tried to get some things done around the house that I may not be able to get to for days. I am anticipating that by tomorrow or the next day I will be pretty tired and not wanting to do much of anything at all.
Took my normal 2 hr nap when Kalli took hers today. I am so glad at this point that she still takes naps. I really need them. My poor body gets tired so easy.
Despite the fact that everything tasted gross I ate pretty okay today. Could have been better. Need to work on that still.
No hair falling out yet by the way!! LOL
Well that is it for day one.
DAY 2 - (Feb 6, 2011)
Last night I didn't sleep well AT ALL. I haven't done much of anything today. Lots of sleep. My nausea is a little more present today. Things are still tasting odd. Not as much as yesterday so it is either getting better or I am getting used to it. LOL. Still could be eating better but my wonderful mother is working on a meal plan for me. Just have to make myself eat the food.
Well no more for day two.
DAY 3 - (Feb 7, 2011)
Actually today wasn't so bad. I didn't sleep well again. But after a nap I didn't feel real bad. Just weak. Can't do a lot of anything. My body tires way too quickly. Like after a shower, cooking dinner or even playing with Kalli. My appetite was better today and no nausea. Even things started to taste back to normal. Only thing now is that I am always thirsty and NOTHING quiches my thirst. Guess there has always got to be something.
No more for day 3...
DAY 4 - (Feb 8, 2011)
I slept better last night than I had in the last several days. I kept Kalli home with me today (instead of taking her to the sitters) But I did have a bit of trouble staying awake in the early morning while Kalli was playing. Overall I was feeling pretty good though. I was eating well and all. I took a nap when Kalli did. I was thinking to myself wow this first round of Chemo went pretty smooth. Then BAM! At about 4:30 PM I starting developing a migraine. I was feeling quesy and and just not right. Kurt wasn't home yet from work and dinner time was approaching. Soon my whole left hand went kinda tingly numb then my tongue. I called my doctor and he said that it is a normal reaction to one of the meds in my Chemo "cocktail" Vinblastine. He said I shouldn't be concerned unless I had slurred speech or extreme weakness. I asked how I could be reacting now after getting treatment Friday. He said today is the 5th day and it is the peak. So I guess I was way wrong about thinking I was out of the woods. The tinglying luckily didn't last long but I just haven't felt "right" the rest of the night. Since Kurt was working I had to cook dinner, give Kalli a bath, and play with her before bed. Talk about a challenge when you just don't feel good. But those are the things that us parents have to endure sick or not. Here's hoping for a better tomorrow! :)
DAY 5 - (Feb 9, 2011)
Got my best sleep yet last night!! Took Kalli to the sitters today. When I got home it was about quarter to 9 AM. I had to FORCE myself to eat breakfast. I was too tired to make anything and nothing sounded good. So after eating I went to sleep, and I slept and slept and slept. Around 1:30 PM I got a call from my grandma checking to see how I was doing. Now it was time to force myself to eat lunch. After lunch again I slept and slept. Sitter texted me at 3:30 that Kalli was done with her nap and I could come get her at anytime. At this point I hadn't even taken a shower. It took me until 4:30 to get myself off the couch in the shower and off to pick up Kalli. When I got Kalli home my enegry level picked up which was good timing and I was able to play and cook dinner no problem. But now I am back to being exhausted!! Who knows what tomorrow will bring....
DAY 6 - (Feb 10, 2011)
I have to say that today was the best day yet! I slept well again, which is a plus! I woke up thinking I was going to be super tired again. But after getting Kalli up and moving around I actually felt pretty good. I really wanted to get out of the house. Besides taking Kalli to the sitters I hadn't gotten out of the house since last Friday. So I got all cleaned up and we went to the Dollar Store and to Krogers. Yeah I know not so exciting but I loved just getting out and moving. After being out for a couple of hours, we came home had lunch and crashed!! I napped super hard. Which I knew I would. But after we woke up I was back to having some more energy. It was great. I was able to do some things around the house. I almost felt dare I say "normal". Hard part in all of this is not knowing how I am going to feel from day to day or even sometimes hour by hour. But in the end the result will be awesome! Visit with Dr. Draper tomorrow to see how things are going. Will keep you all posted....
DAY 6 PART 2
So you know how I just mentioned above that I am not sure how I am going to feel hour by hour well....
As Iwas writing that above I decided to enjoy a glass of wine. BAD IDEA!! I began getting the start of a migraine. And Now I feel awful!! Guess I can mark wine off the list. I have to say it is so hard to just not know what is going to happen with anything I do or eat or drink. All of this is definitely going to be a struggle.
DAY 7 (Feb 11, 2011)
Today was the visit with Dr. Draper. Nothing exciting. He just said things are going a long as they should. My appt was at 10:45 and when I got home I crashed until 3. But after my nap I have felt pretty good all day. Pretty much a non-eventful day. Which is the good kind right?? Well This is where I stop recording the days after my first treatement. I will only log if something exciting goes on. So you all will most likely not hear from me until next Friday the 18th.
DAY 1 - (Feb 5, 2011)
Had a hard time sleeping last night. The nurse said that this may happen due to the steroids that are in my "cocktail".
I woke up at 7 AM and was wide awake. I didn't really feel nauseous but had a strange feeling in my stomach. I popped my anti nausea pill that I am to take and that was that. (But that feeling never went away)
Next thing I noticed is that EVERYTHING tastes different. Not sure how to explain it. It is not a good different I can tell you that. Sorta metallic tasting. Not enjoyable that is for sure. I hope that goes away soon.
I wasn't more tired than usual today. I tried to get some things done around the house that I may not be able to get to for days. I am anticipating that by tomorrow or the next day I will be pretty tired and not wanting to do much of anything at all.
Took my normal 2 hr nap when Kalli took hers today. I am so glad at this point that she still takes naps. I really need them. My poor body gets tired so easy.
Despite the fact that everything tasted gross I ate pretty okay today. Could have been better. Need to work on that still.
No hair falling out yet by the way!! LOL
Well that is it for day one.
DAY 2 - (Feb 6, 2011)
Last night I didn't sleep well AT ALL. I haven't done much of anything today. Lots of sleep. My nausea is a little more present today. Things are still tasting odd. Not as much as yesterday so it is either getting better or I am getting used to it. LOL. Still could be eating better but my wonderful mother is working on a meal plan for me. Just have to make myself eat the food.
Well no more for day two.
DAY 3 - (Feb 7, 2011)
Actually today wasn't so bad. I didn't sleep well again. But after a nap I didn't feel real bad. Just weak. Can't do a lot of anything. My body tires way too quickly. Like after a shower, cooking dinner or even playing with Kalli. My appetite was better today and no nausea. Even things started to taste back to normal. Only thing now is that I am always thirsty and NOTHING quiches my thirst. Guess there has always got to be something.
No more for day 3...
DAY 4 - (Feb 8, 2011)
I slept better last night than I had in the last several days. I kept Kalli home with me today (instead of taking her to the sitters) But I did have a bit of trouble staying awake in the early morning while Kalli was playing. Overall I was feeling pretty good though. I was eating well and all. I took a nap when Kalli did. I was thinking to myself wow this first round of Chemo went pretty smooth. Then BAM! At about 4:30 PM I starting developing a migraine. I was feeling quesy and and just not right. Kurt wasn't home yet from work and dinner time was approaching. Soon my whole left hand went kinda tingly numb then my tongue. I called my doctor and he said that it is a normal reaction to one of the meds in my Chemo "cocktail" Vinblastine. He said I shouldn't be concerned unless I had slurred speech or extreme weakness. I asked how I could be reacting now after getting treatment Friday. He said today is the 5th day and it is the peak. So I guess I was way wrong about thinking I was out of the woods. The tinglying luckily didn't last long but I just haven't felt "right" the rest of the night. Since Kurt was working I had to cook dinner, give Kalli a bath, and play with her before bed. Talk about a challenge when you just don't feel good. But those are the things that us parents have to endure sick or not. Here's hoping for a better tomorrow! :)
DAY 5 - (Feb 9, 2011)
Got my best sleep yet last night!! Took Kalli to the sitters today. When I got home it was about quarter to 9 AM. I had to FORCE myself to eat breakfast. I was too tired to make anything and nothing sounded good. So after eating I went to sleep, and I slept and slept and slept. Around 1:30 PM I got a call from my grandma checking to see how I was doing. Now it was time to force myself to eat lunch. After lunch again I slept and slept. Sitter texted me at 3:30 that Kalli was done with her nap and I could come get her at anytime. At this point I hadn't even taken a shower. It took me until 4:30 to get myself off the couch in the shower and off to pick up Kalli. When I got Kalli home my enegry level picked up which was good timing and I was able to play and cook dinner no problem. But now I am back to being exhausted!! Who knows what tomorrow will bring....
DAY 6 - (Feb 10, 2011)
I have to say that today was the best day yet! I slept well again, which is a plus! I woke up thinking I was going to be super tired again. But after getting Kalli up and moving around I actually felt pretty good. I really wanted to get out of the house. Besides taking Kalli to the sitters I hadn't gotten out of the house since last Friday. So I got all cleaned up and we went to the Dollar Store and to Krogers. Yeah I know not so exciting but I loved just getting out and moving. After being out for a couple of hours, we came home had lunch and crashed!! I napped super hard. Which I knew I would. But after we woke up I was back to having some more energy. It was great. I was able to do some things around the house. I almost felt dare I say "normal". Hard part in all of this is not knowing how I am going to feel from day to day or even sometimes hour by hour. But in the end the result will be awesome! Visit with Dr. Draper tomorrow to see how things are going. Will keep you all posted....
DAY 6 PART 2
So you know how I just mentioned above that I am not sure how I am going to feel hour by hour well....
As Iwas writing that above I decided to enjoy a glass of wine. BAD IDEA!! I began getting the start of a migraine. And Now I feel awful!! Guess I can mark wine off the list. I have to say it is so hard to just not know what is going to happen with anything I do or eat or drink. All of this is definitely going to be a struggle.
DAY 7 (Feb 11, 2011)
Today was the visit with Dr. Draper. Nothing exciting. He just said things are going a long as they should. My appt was at 10:45 and when I got home I crashed until 3. But after my nap I have felt pretty good all day. Pretty much a non-eventful day. Which is the good kind right?? Well This is where I stop recording the days after my first treatement. I will only log if something exciting goes on. So you all will most likely not hear from me until next Friday the 18th.
Friday, February 4, 2011
First Day of Chemo
Had to be at oncologist today at 9AM. Mom picked me up and soon after 9 we met with Dr. Draper. He informed me that my staging for my cancer is IIIB (the B means that I had symptoms such as night sweats, fatigue, weight loss, etc). The cancer is not in my bones and that is good news. He reassured me that I have over a 95% chance for cure. He said I would need to go for 6 cycles (that is 6 months) He said after 4 cycles they will do another PET scan to see if cancer is gone. If that is the case they do the other two cycles as a precaution. If the cancer is still present then he said we will talk about the options at that point in time.
I asked the doctor when to expect my hair to fall out. He said probably after first cycle. So we are looking at around March. (Yay......NOT) Oh well. I will take it for what it is. I need to get better and this one side effect that I have to put up with.
So after meeting with Dr. Draper it was time to start my Chemo. My nurses name today was Julia. She was super awesome. She put the huber needle (I call him Hubey, Dolly's boyfriend) into my port. I thought this was going to really hurt but it didn't at all. First they put saline in the line. Next was a small test dose of one of the drugs Bleomycin to be sure there were no allergic reaction because this drug apparently can cause some bad reactions. After the test the gave me the rest of the Bleomycin. This all took over an hour. The next drug was a push drug (not a drip) and that was the Adriamycin (this is drug is red! and guess what it turns red haha) After this drug they gave me a drug called Vinblastine this is also a push drug. Then the last drug was called Dacarbazine which is a drip drug (these take much longer, like over an hour). Between Vinblastine and the Dacarbazine, I starting getting a rash on my stomach and right under my bra. Appartently I had a slight reaction to one of these two drugs we are not sure which one so I had to to have a dose of Benedryl. After that I was able to finsh off the Dacarbazine. They said next time they will spread out the drugs to better pinpoint which one I am allergic to and give me the Benedryl before that one.
So of course after getting the Benedryl even though it was a small amount I fell asleep for the last hour and a half or so.
We were all finished around to 2PM and I was sent on my merry way. I was given two drugs for nausea. One to take tomorrow and Sunday. And one to take as needed.
Well at this point I can't thing of anything else to say.
1 down 11 to go!!!!
I asked the doctor when to expect my hair to fall out. He said probably after first cycle. So we are looking at around March. (Yay......NOT) Oh well. I will take it for what it is. I need to get better and this one side effect that I have to put up with.
So after meeting with Dr. Draper it was time to start my Chemo. My nurses name today was Julia. She was super awesome. She put the huber needle (I call him Hubey, Dolly's boyfriend) into my port. I thought this was going to really hurt but it didn't at all. First they put saline in the line. Next was a small test dose of one of the drugs Bleomycin to be sure there were no allergic reaction because this drug apparently can cause some bad reactions. After the test the gave me the rest of the Bleomycin. This all took over an hour. The next drug was a push drug (not a drip) and that was the Adriamycin (this is drug is red! and guess what it turns red haha) After this drug they gave me a drug called Vinblastine this is also a push drug. Then the last drug was called Dacarbazine which is a drip drug (these take much longer, like over an hour). Between Vinblastine and the Dacarbazine, I starting getting a rash on my stomach and right under my bra. Appartently I had a slight reaction to one of these two drugs we are not sure which one so I had to to have a dose of Benedryl. After that I was able to finsh off the Dacarbazine. They said next time they will spread out the drugs to better pinpoint which one I am allergic to and give me the Benedryl before that one.
So of course after getting the Benedryl even though it was a small amount I fell asleep for the last hour and a half or so.
We were all finished around to 2PM and I was sent on my merry way. I was given two drugs for nausea. One to take tomorrow and Sunday. And one to take as needed.
Well at this point I can't thing of anything else to say.
1 down 11 to go!!!!
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Slight change of plans
I was all set to have my first treatment tomorrow (Feb 2). But Lisa (Doctor's nurse) called and asked if I would be willing to move it to this Friday (Feb 4). She said they were quite busy tomorrow and they wanted more time to pay attention to me because I am a new patient. So now I have to wait 2 more days. I really just want to get the first treatment out of the way. See what it's like and what I have to go through afterwards. That part of this process is such a big unknown for me. And I would like all those things answered. But I guess that will all come soon enough.
Other news I have on me at this point it that I am non stop tired. I could sleep all day. That is just part of the illness.
I am only slightly sore from getting Dolly put in now.
I have been working on eating 3 meals each day which is a challenge for me right now. But I do not want to drop anymore weight. If anything I would love to gain weight during this process.
Still have lots of love pouring in which is awesome.
Well will keep you updated on how first treatment goes.
Other news I have on me at this point it that I am non stop tired. I could sleep all day. That is just part of the illness.
I am only slightly sore from getting Dolly put in now.
I have been working on eating 3 meals each day which is a challenge for me right now. But I do not want to drop anymore weight. If anything I would love to gain weight during this process.
Still have lots of love pouring in which is awesome.
Well will keep you updated on how first treatment goes.
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