The waiting game

I had my 6th round of chemo yesterday...2nd round with Taxol.  Hopefully I win this match.  I keep waiting for the pain to start.  Fortunately nothing yet but minor nausea and fatigue.  Last time the pain set in on Thursday ...so only time will tell.   My oncologist said that typically people suffer from peripheral neuropathy (tingling in extremities which I also have), but I am also suffering from central neuropathy.  The good news is he said that the central neuropathy that causes the intense pain gets better, but the other may worsen.  If by chance it does not improve, they will switch my chemo to a sister drug of Taxol.  Hopefully he is right though...I can handle numbing over pain ANY day.

Pray I am smooth sailing and pain free the next few days!!  6 down...2 to go!  Man I can not wait until chemo is over.  Then I have surgery and radiation to look forward to.  Radiation should be a breeze...surgery prolly not too much fun.  BUT...then the cancer critters will be GONE!!  AND...I can begin really shopping for my upcoming reconstruction...hehehe.

Jaime made delicious manicotti last night and Hoskins are bringing dinner tonight.  Christy is going to help  me finish cleaning my upstairs also!!  So lucky to have great friends :)

Until later...

Feeling hot...hot...hot!

And I am not talking about the 100 degree heat wave!!!

...Or my looks...LOL...

It's these damn hot flashes I have!! Seriously I am 34 and have symptoms of a 55 year old menopausal woman.  It started with waking up drowned in sweat...and then got increasingly worse.  Now it seams I have them once an hour and I wake up several times throughout the night.  Seriously...can someone cut me a break??**!!

Oh...and BTW...I am losing my eyelashes and my eyebrows!!  EERRRRRRRRR!

On my nerves...literally

Well I am one week out since my first round of Taxol.  I thought it was going to be a breeze because I had zero nausea and not one side effect like I had on AC.  Then...I woke up on Thursday!  OMG...talk about some serious pain!  I had nerve pain in my pelvis, lower back, hips , thighs...all the way down to my toes.  Walking was difficult...and getting comfortable was next to impossible.  The worst part was I was at the lake on an adults only trip and I did not have pain meds with me.  Friday was just as bad, but began to ease up Friday night.  Saturday was much better.  Then I took a turn for the worse on Sunday and ended up with a fever and was bed stricken all day.  I literally could not walk without holding on to something.  Yesterday and today have been much better, but I still have numbness in my hands and feet.  I am very scared to have my next round in a week.  Hopefully after I tell my doctor about my experience there will be something he can do to help me so I don't have that again.  My mom asked me which experience was worse...the first chemo type (AC) or Taxol...I don't have an answer.  AC made me feel sick, but the Taxol is painful!  

On the bright side...I had a blast with Haneys, Ayers, Mezcars, and my brother and sister in law!!!  Good times!  I absolutely love Lake Cumberland!!

Great week

Since last Tuesday I have felt really good.  I am praying that my next round tomorrow will bring little to no side effects.  I am starting the new chemo, Taxol.  The first 4 treatments I was receiving 2 different chemos...now only 1.  Makes sense to me that the side effects will be cut in half...wishful thinking.  I just hope they are not as strong and do not leave me bed ridden for 2 days.  School will be starting in just a month and will have 1 treatment during in-service week and one 2 weeks later after the students arrive.  I prefer not to be out since it is so early in the year. 

On Thursday my mom's friend, Patty, gave us tickets for the screening of "The Help."  I got to see the faces of some people who I haven't seen in quite some time.  Great movie...and even greater company!!  Thanks ladies for joining us...AND thank you Patty for thinking of me :)

Friday, Angie Woolum, came over and gave me an hour long massage!!  What a wonderful gift.  She is really, really good for anyone looking for one.  Maybe that is why I felt so great all weekend!  THANKS WOOLUM :)

On Saturday, we took the kids to K.I. water park.  I found myself shopping for a new pair of boobies...lol!  I kept pointing the nice sets out to Jr and he kept saying I didn't have to because he has his own "radar."  Yeah whatever....typical male response.  I did find the perfect size...I should have asked to take a picture....wouldn't be the first time  (ha girls...Christy's rehearsal after-party). I find that "shopping," as I like to call it, has become a ritual.  I can't help but point out a nice set when I see em in person or in a magazine or on TV.  I think Jr may be starting to worry...he he.  Well to some it may be weird...but it is my payback for all the crap I am going through!

Have a nice week...stay cool in this heat...and keep your fingers crossed that my treatment goes well.

U-TURN

Wow!!  Glad this past week is over.  I had treatment Tuesday and felt good until Thursday.  I think Thursday and Friday were my roughest days yet since treatment has started :(  On the other hand it stopped as quickly as it started.  I had a wonderful weekend Saturday-Monday!  Then on Tuesday, my

body took a U-turn.  I woke up Tuesday a very sick girl...100 degree fever, pukes, AND...I am sure you can fill in the rest!  That too disappeared as quickly as it started...as the night progressed I began to feel better very rapidly.  Today I feel good other than my appetite isn't back yet...but I can handle that.

On the flip side...I had an ultrasound today since I have completed half of my treatments!  WHOO-HOO!!  I have great news....AGAIN!!  I think the storm cloud that has been following me around has finally lifted!  The 8.8 mm tumor in my left breast is down to 6 or less mm and the lymph node in my armpit shrunk from 3.2 cm to 1.17 cm.  That is amazing and I still have 4 more treatments left!  I warned those critters they messed with the wrong gal!!

Looking forward to an easy 6 days ahead!!