Update from today's earlier blog

So I am not crazy! I feel much better about that. Been down all week and was bothered by it all since I expected to be much better by now. My chemo nurse called to check on me and when I told her what was going on with me-she asked me to come in and have some lab work to check my blood counts. I am so glad I did. My white blood counts and iron are still low but I also have a viral and a bacterial infection. I knew I was struggling with eating and swallowing and the back of my throat hurt so bad but I thought it was part of the mouth sores so I dealt with it (complained alot but dealt with it). Thought that was why I was so fatigued also. Boy was I wrong. I am now on another antibiotic as well as medicine for thrush. seriously can anything else go wrong? Really!

Still Recovering

Well, seems odd to me that I am still a little under the weather with the first treatment. I know they told me the first one would be the worst but since I handled it so well at the beginning, I thought it would not last so long. Unfortunately I am still experiencing the side effects and struggle with food since the side effects seem to change constantly. I now have the mouth sores as well as night sweats and heat flashes and still alternate between the metal taste in my mouth. Still very fatigued but realized that all the meds I get for the side effects-cause drowsiness. My immune system is very low which is why the nurse said I got the mouth sores so early. Apparently my body was fighting an infection before I started the chemo and my white blood counts were already low. I have been hibernating in the house for a week to ensure that I do not catch anything from getting out in the stores. My nurse reassured me that all of this is normal and to expect to be "off" until day 10 due to the adriamycin ( the red devil). So I should be close to normal by Monday or Tuesday so I can start all over again on Thursday. She said this is the worst of it and when I start my weekly treatments on Taxol, it will be easier. I hope she is right. I hate asking for help.

My clinical Trial nurse called yesterday to check on me to see if I am getting any of the additional side effects from the clinical Study I am doing. Aside from all the other treatments, I am also getting Avastin every 3 weeks for a year. It is currently in a clinical study (with few side effects) to see if it reduces existing tumors. For those of us that are triple negative and have already had the tumors removed, they are testing it to see if it helps minimize the odds of any cancer cells returning after the treatments are done. At this point, I will do anything that could ensure I never have to go through this again.

Mom left yesterday and I was so glad that Bryan was able to make it home with all of the weather delays. Alex is feeling better and back to normal and Kaitlyn woke up at 5:oo this morning with a cough and not feeling well so I have a new "bed buddy" today. Hope she feels better because she is so excited to go trick or treating tomorrow.

Hope everyone has a safe and Happy Halloween.

I did it.

I made it through my first round of chemo. I am so happy to report that I did not get the vomiting that normally is associated with chemo treatments. I was a little sick the first few days but took all the meds they prescribed for me and they helped a lot. I did endure several of the side effects that they mentioned I would get but I am handling it all ok. The worst of it is over but the metal taste in my mouth I still cant seem to get rid of. Nothing sounds good to eat so I am struggling getting food into my body. Eating Lemon Drops does help but does not take it away completely. Aside from the fatique, anemia, low blood pressure, and skin irritation from the steroids, I am resting comfortably. I am also experiencing bone pains (from the nuelasta shot on Fri. that goes directly to my Bone Marrow to increase my white blood counts). I am feeling relieved to have gotten past the first round. Thanks Tiff for visiting me during my first treatment and to everyone that has contacted us to make sure we were ok.

and so it began.....

I was greeted at the chemo store by a smiling face named Katie (how appropriate). She was my friends nurse when he went through his treatments last year and he contacted her and asked if she would make sure to pick me as her "patient of the day" and take care of me. She has been amazing and has made this horrible process a little more bearable. Thank you Matt for being here for me even though you are a state away.

It is 11:15am and I have been doing my treatment now for over 2 hours. All of the pre-meds have been injected through IV in my port and the first round of "the red devil" was successfully hand injected by a long syringe. That was the hardest to watch knowing what the side effects are and what was going to happen next. Bryan has been here with me every step of the way and he has been my biggest fan. I also had a visit during my treatment from a good friend of mine as well as many texts last night and this morning to wish me well. I am very touched by the outpour of love that I am receiving.

My eyes are getting blurry and it is harder to type so I will post more later.

The Reveal

Here it is-Me and my new "wig"do. I went today to have a wigcut instead of a haircut. That was an interesting experience but I think it was worth it.

Things have been pretty quiet. I guess it is the calm before the storm. The last 2 weeks I have been trying to play catch up on all the things I could not do after surgery. Every day I get more energy which has been nice because I am able to get things done that I put off. We leave on Sunday to go to Playa Del Carmen and spend a week at the beach. I am looking forward to spending time with Bryan and being able to play with the kids because when the chemo starts, I will be sick and tired for awhile and wont be able to do things like I used to. Things will be rough so this will be good for all us. We get back in town on Sunday and then my chemo week begins. I have blood work on Monday and Wednesday, my first treatment on Thursday, and back on Friday for a shot to get my white blood counts back up. No wonder the chemo wears you out-I am exhausted just thinking about it all.