Round 2 WON!

This round was definitely harder than the last.  I have felt really down and out the last few days and hope now I can pick myself back up.

My main symptom was fatigue and the horrible taste in my mouth.  It makes everything taste weird, would you believe I have not had any coffee in days!  I just can't stand the taste of it right now.  The nausea is well controlled with the meds as well as the heartburn.  I take a pill for everything now!

Carson finally came home today :) So happy!  It was nice to have a little break but I am so glad he is home.  He seemed to have a nice visit and it all went well which is good.  Carson did not see me without hair when he left so when I raced up to hug him he was a little shocked.   It was so cute, he said he would not laugh at me and promised to still love me no matter what. :)

Thanks to all of you who called and checked on me and for all the love and support.  It really helps to know I have so many people behind me :)  

Same song and dance!

So, Round 2 went pretty well. I felt more tired in the evening and did not sleep worth a darn last night. This morning was pretty rough as well but, I just got up and tried to stay busy! I feel like the minute I sit still and think I am not doing well, then I won't.

MIND OVER MATTER!

We went to the beach tonight and I told Brian, I could never get tired of looking out into the horizon. It is the most peaceful and relaxing feeling to me. A glass of wine did not hurt either.

So, lets just hope things keep cruising along and I can manage my side effects a little better this time since I know more what to look for.

Love to you all :)

Family Time

Tracy and Meredith headed home today ;) We had such a nice visit and I will miss them very much. We went down to the oceanfront last night and did it up tourist style. I think we went into every gift shop.

I am feeling great but, very worn out from all the going and doing. It will be nice to just hang out for a few days before my next treatment which is Friday. My only wish is that I could feel this great through the process. Like I've said before it's the not knowing that just kills me! I guess it's just a waiting game now.

Keep you posted :)

Hair montage :)

Brian made a really cool montage of my hair! WOW, kinda crazy how my hair has changed over the past few months.

My head shaving went really well. My stylist, Marci made it so comfortable and fun! We first went with the Mohawk and took some great photos. Then she came at me with the clippers and after the first swipe, I LOST IT! It just finally sunk in that I was going to be bald and for a really long time to. We all laughed and we cried and it turned out not so bad. Brian said he thinks I really look cute ;) He is so nice !!!

Gettin' wiggy with it???

I am starting to lose my hair a little and that is a bit freaky! I guess you can never be fully prepared until it happens. I am going wig shopping on Saturday just for the fun of it and to see if I would even like a wig. Would not hurt to have one "just in case" :)

Other than the hair thing, I am feeling great! I got a new road bike and went on a 21 mile bike ride on Wednesday morning :) It was really fun and I was proud to have made it that far without killing myself!

We are having a great time with Meredith! We've been to the beach, shopping, and today waterpark! Tomorrow is rest day I think ;)

Day 10

Good news today. I went back to the doctor and my counts are back up!!

WBC is now 8.06
ANC is now 5.63

SO excited, I think we need to have a party :)

THE NUMBERS SAY IT ALL

WE HAVE HAD A BIT OF A SET BACK. I STILL FEEL REALLY GOOD BUT WHEN I WENT TO THE DOCTOR ON FRIDAY THE LABWORK TOLD A DIFFERENT STORY.

HERE ARE THE NUMBERS:

WBC: 1.75 RANGE: 4.10-10.90
NEU 0.41 RANGE: 2.0-6.9

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absolute_neutrophil_count


THE "NEU" IS ANOTHER TYPE OF WHITE BLOOD CELL CALLED NEUTROPHIL. SO, WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? BASICALLY THAT IF I WERE TO GET SICK, I WOULD BE MORE PRONE TO INFECTION. MY BODY DOES NOT HAVE THE WHITE CELLS TO FIGHT AN INFECTION LIKE IT USED TO.
I HAD TO CANCEL OUR CHEMOPALOOZA PARTY TONIGHT WHICH WAS A COMPLETE BUMMER. I WAS TOLD TO STAY AWAY FROM GROUPS OF PEOPLE AND REALLY WATCH MYSELF.

I ALSO HAVE GI TOXICITY WHICH MEANS MY GI TRACT FROM MY MOUTH (WHICH HAS A FEW SORES) DOWN TO THE OTHER END ARE NOT HAPPY WITH THE MEDICATIONS WHICH ARE FLOWING THROUGH MY BODY. I HAD TO GO GET SALINE IV's ON FRIDAY AND SATURDAY FOR HYDRATION.

THE FUNNY THING IS I FEEL PRETTY DARN GOOD AND IT'S SO HARD TO BE SICK WHEN I DON'T FEEL SICK.

I AM GOING TO TRY AND TAKE IT EASY AND DO BETTER AT EATING AND DRINKING MORE HEALTHY. IT'S SO HARD TO DO WHEN YOU HAVE BEEN HEALTHY YOUR WHOLE LIFE TO NOW HAVE HEALTH ISSUES AND REALLY HAVE TO CHANGE YOUR HABITS.

Lickity-split

Let me just start out saying...I LOVE SURPRISES :) and last night was the best! We had our friends Joe and Amy over for dinner. After dinner, we headed out for dessert at "Lickity-split"(a new ice cream place that I had never heard of)....well about half way there, I noticed tons and tons of traffic. Still not suspecting anything, they just said, "maybe there is an accident".

We then passed the place for the ice cream and all I saw was a big sign that said CONCERT PARKING! I looked at Brian and said, we are not going for ice cream are we??? He just SMILED AT ME! We were going to Dave Matthews! WOO HOO :) :) They had this all planned out and he had bought the tickets months ago! Meredith (my niece) is here so we had a built in babysitter!

What a fun night, I sang and danced like a fool! Thank you Brian, Joe, and Amy! I had an awesome time and I look forward to next year :)

The Beginning of Chemopalooza!

For all the nerves that I had built up yesterday, my day was not that bad at all. I had and easy time and the nurse was very good at explaining exactly what was going on. It was a long day but in the end I felt really good.

I woke up this morning feeling a little tired and groggy but as soon as I had my coffee I was good to go. I went for a little walk/jog with my exercise partner Bella (our black lab). I'm still trying to take it easy, we only went a couple miles. I was happy that I could jog a little... it was the first time since the port was implanted on Monday.

I keep waiting and waiting for some awful thing to happen or for me to run to the bathroom and let loose! So far, I am feeling quite normal. I have heard from several people that it's pretty easy at first and does not really hit you for quite sometime. Everyone is different, right? My new philosophy is to just go about my day normally and then if I need to rest, I will. I still have to take care of two children...darn, I thought would get me a free pass for a nanny :)

My kids are one of the reasons I can be so strong. I love them so much and love hanging out with them. When I told Carson, "hey Buddy, Mom got her cancer medicine today," he said... "oh, ummm can I have something to eat? I am hungry!" NICE...that is what will keep me grounded and smiling too.

The "cocktail" I get is called TAC. This picture is me with the first med I got called Adriamycin (or doxorubicin). It's quite an interesting drug. It's the "killer" that takes care of all those nasty cancer cells that might be hiding. The nickname for the drug is "RED DEVIL" Whew, that says it right there! It's also what's going to make my hair fall out. It only took 10 or 15 minutes for that bag to empty. Next was Cytoxan which took about 30 minutes then Taxotere which took about an hour. The day after chemo, I get a shot to stimulate bone marrow and boost my white blood cells. The drug is called Neulasta and is supposed to make me feel tired. More to come!

Thanks to all of you who read my BLOG :) It means so much to me!