... or does the entire Whole Foods store in River Forest smell like a cross between a Rush Street alley garbage bin after midnight and an abbatoir? Oh, riiiiight...... it's just me.
I swore I wouldn't whine like this. Blood counts are low at this point in the cycle, which doesn't help anything. Cumulative effects of cytoxan and adriamycin have finally rolled me into a ball of misery. I am grateful that it took this long, and that the end of these miserable drugs is near.
Treatment only gets ... er, less miserable from here on out.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Monday, November 14, 2011
Ugh.
Let's see now... Dizziness, shortness of breath, exhaustion, hot flashes, nausea. What fun. Could be anemia, could be dehydration, could be low blood count. Could be premature old age, I suppose. But I doubt it.
Taxol had better be as symptom-free as advertised.. aside from the numb fingers and toes. Frankly, that sounds like heaven to me about now.
Taxol had better be as symptom-free as advertised.. aside from the numb fingers and toes. Frankly, that sounds like heaven to me about now.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Halfway there
...to the end of chemo, that is.
My uncle gently reminded me, in the context of annoying side effects, to consider the larger picture. And he was right. This misery will pass soon, hopefully forever. The hair, as the toddler reminds me constantly, will grow back. The cancer, ideally, will not. Thanks, Trog.
In other news, I greatly anticipate picking up a prescription for artificial tears. One tricky thing about chemo is that one tends to diagnose annoying but ultimately harmless maladies as "something else"... rather than checking with oncology to see whether they can be fixed. Pays to be a hypochondriac in this situation.
My uncle gently reminded me, in the context of annoying side effects, to consider the larger picture. And he was right. This misery will pass soon, hopefully forever. The hair, as the toddler reminds me constantly, will grow back. The cancer, ideally, will not. Thanks, Trog.
In other news, I greatly anticipate picking up a prescription for artificial tears. One tricky thing about chemo is that one tends to diagnose annoying but ultimately harmless maladies as "something else"... rather than checking with oncology to see whether they can be fixed. Pays to be a hypochondriac in this situation.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Happy Friday
Yes, I do still have my eyebrows.
Am finally befriending various pharmaceuticals to deal with unpleasant side effects. Better living through chemicals!
Oncologist's nurse threw cold water all over the NYT piece that's been giving me agita since I read it. She says that the greatest chance for recurrence occurs within the first two years. After that -- and especially after the 5-yr milestone -- it goes down. I can barely describe how happy this makes me.
So. let's do this again. I'm stage 2b.
Chance of recurrence out of the gate: 25%
Treatment cuts that in half: 12%
Thus, the 5-yr survival chance: 88%
After 5 years: 88% OR HIGHER
Not 50%, you crazy bitch. You owe me -- and all the other freaked out cancer patients out there -- an apology.
Am finally befriending various pharmaceuticals to deal with unpleasant side effects. Better living through chemicals!
Oncologist's nurse threw cold water all over the NYT piece that's been giving me agita since I read it. She says that the greatest chance for recurrence occurs within the first two years. After that -- and especially after the 5-yr milestone -- it goes down. I can barely describe how happy this makes me.
So. let's do this again. I'm stage 2b.
Chance of recurrence out of the gate: 25%
Treatment cuts that in half: 12%
Thus, the 5-yr survival chance: 88%
After 5 years: 88% OR HIGHER
Not 50%, you crazy bitch. You owe me -- and all the other freaked out cancer patients out there -- an apology.
Friday, October 21, 2011
and
Thankyou to my sister in Seattle for both shaving her head in solidarity (we actually look like sisters now!) and for signing me up for the Exotic Fruit Of The Month Club! First shipment was pomegranates, blood oranges and sapotes. MM-mmm good.
Thankyou to my other sister for sitting through my chemo sessions with me. First I thought it was silly, but now I find it comforting.
Thankyou to Butch for taking doggie on long walks with his doggies.
Thankyou to Eric and Laura S for being smiley and comforting and good friends in my hour of need.
Thankyou to my other sister for sitting through my chemo sessions with me. First I thought it was silly, but now I find it comforting.
Thankyou to Butch for taking doggie on long walks with his doggies.
Thankyou to Eric and Laura S for being smiley and comforting and good friends in my hour of need.
Three down, five to go.
Cytoxan was a bit nauseating today, but I'm ok now.
Turns out what I'd thought was overly severe seasonal allergies, due to a weakened immune system (all-day itchy eyes and drippy nose) is just the chemo, which means it'll be gone after the next treatment, yay.
When the toddler turned two and suddenly had loads of energy that was preventing me from accomplishing any productive evening activity, my friends said, among other things, "Put away Julia (Child), get out the peanut butter." And they were right. But we can't live on peanut butter.
Happily, I've realized the answer to both the aforementioned dilemma and treatment exhaustion: the crock pot! Hurrah for slow-cooking! 15 minutes of prep in the morning, and you're done. Experiment #1, chicken with tomatoes and olives, wasn't great.. the chicken was dried out and flavorless... but I think I took too long in browning it, and cooked it instead. Next stop: root veggies.
Thankyou, Nana and Poppy, for taking the toddler overnight on treatment day.
Turns out what I'd thought was overly severe seasonal allergies, due to a weakened immune system (all-day itchy eyes and drippy nose) is just the chemo, which means it'll be gone after the next treatment, yay.
When the toddler turned two and suddenly had loads of energy that was preventing me from accomplishing any productive evening activity, my friends said, among other things, "Put away Julia (Child), get out the peanut butter." And they were right. But we can't live on peanut butter.
Happily, I've realized the answer to both the aforementioned dilemma and treatment exhaustion: the crock pot! Hurrah for slow-cooking! 15 minutes of prep in the morning, and you're done. Experiment #1, chicken with tomatoes and olives, wasn't great.. the chicken was dried out and flavorless... but I think I took too long in browning it, and cooked it instead. Next stop: root veggies.
Thankyou, Nana and Poppy, for taking the toddler overnight on treatment day.
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