It's been a rough week

and I hope the coming week is much better!

I had my first chemotherapy session on Tuesday. The room where they do the chemo has about a dozen recliners, each with a comforter, a nurses' station, and a wall of snacks--potato chips, nuts, cookies, granola bars, drinks, and things like Ensure. As expected, I snoozed in a comfy recliner while they ran toxic chemicals into my veins. I did have a snack when I woke up at one point, but resisted most temptation. They gave me the two drugs--Methotrexate and 5FU, along with an anti-nausea drug and a steroid. I also had blood drawn for the genetic testing--keep your fingers crossed for me.

After the treatment, I just felt weird--not bad, just weird. Went home, had dinner, went to bed.

Weds I got up and went into the office for the first time in about 2 months, and got lots and lots of hugs, including one from my boss. That last one surprised me, as he's not a real demonstrative guy, and so it was especially nice. Also got flowers, and a few smooches, and felt like I'd really been missed. Also got pulled into immediate crises, which I sort of expected. I was stupid, stayed too late, only got 7 hours sleep Tues night (which is way more than usual, but not enough right now). Went in mid-afternoon on Weds, as I had an evening City Council hearing. Went home after that, crashed and, when I woke up on Friday morning, said "I'm not going anywhere." Called off, and spent the entire day sleeping--I could NOT wake up, no matter what.

Part of the tired was taking the "antidote" pills. I finished my chemo at 4:40 PM Tuesday, and so at 4:40 PM Weds had to start taking pills every six hours. Staying up for the 10:20 PM dose was hard, but once I had stayed up that late it was tough to get to sleep. Then waking up for the 4:40 AM dose sucked, and again for the 10:40 AM dose . . . struggled to stay awake for the 10:40 PM (and last) dose and again had trouble getting to sleep afterwards. I'll figure this out. Really. Probably.

At 4:40 PM Friday, exactly 72 hours after my chemo, the nausea hit. Damn. I thought I'd eluded it. For me, nausea is worse than pain. I can distract myself more easily from pain, and at least I can eat comfort food! I took the pills my doc gave me-both kinds--and I've had some brief respite since Friday afternoon, but never for more than an hour. I'm calling tomorrow to see if there's another drug they can try. I've not felt really bad, just that mild, persistent yuckiness. So, I've spent a lot of the weekend feeling yucky, sleeping, and oddly enough, cooking. I really hope this clears up soon, since I fly to Pittsburgh on Weds for my Dad's 92nd birthday.

Tomorrow I see my naturopath, and hope he can help with the nausea too. I also see my radiation oncologist for follow-up, and I may ask for another ultrasound--I think I've got some more fluid in my breast, and I really don't want to fly with it!

Wish me luck and, as always, I'll keep you posted!

A long-overdue update

The past few weeks have been an energy roller-coaster, which is why I think about posting but haven't. But I'm doing pretty well . . .

I think I expected to snap back sooner, but having two surgeries wiped me out more than I expected. For the past few weeks I'll have a good couple of days, think "I'm going back back to work next week" and then have a really bad few days and say "Not quite yet." The last week has been ok, but I was having increasing pain in my breast, to the point where it woke me up. I called my surgeon Friday, and her assistant told me I might have fluid accumulating where the balloon was (the one used for the radiation). I went in, the assistant did an exam, and I wound up in the Breast Health Center (where they did my original biopsy and some of my pre-op stuff), where they used ultrasound to locate the area. Using two big honkin' syringes, they pulled about half a cup of fluid out of my poor breast. Gross, yes--but I immediately felt much better! The area is still sore from the needles, but nothing like before. I'll find out early next week (after the lab work) if I have to go back on antibiotics.

I saw my oncologist last week to talk about several things. First, to set up the chemotherapy. I have my first session Tuesday, and then every two weeks after. I'll spend two hours in a recliner hooked up to an IV--I expect it will be nap time. She said I won't lose my hair, and probably won't have nausea--but she gave me prescriptions for two different anti-nausea meds. I'm kinda nervous, so keep your fingers crossed for me.

When I posted last, I said Dr. O was also going to put me on a bone-strengthening medication that helps fight cancer recurrence. Actually, what she was doing was asking me to participate in a study--there's some good evidence that high doses of some of the meds for osteoporosis also fight the recurrence of cancer. The study is looking at two different meds, and two different doses of one. The researchers sent me the info, and I was reading through it, thinking "fine, fine, fine" until I got to the section on possible side-effects. The info said they were very rare, but one of them is osteonecrosis of the jaw. Osteonecrosis is dead bone, and there is no treatment. When I saw the doc last week I told her that I didn't think I could participate because I had osteonecrosis in both of my knees, and we hadn't figured out what caused it--but I wound up with two artificial knees. She asked me twice if I was sure it was osteonecrosis, as she had never heard of it in the knees, or in someone relatively young. I told her that my orthopedist hadn't heard of it in someone under 70 either, but yes, I'm sure what it was. So no bone strengthener study for me.

Dr. Orwoll also agreed that I should get the genetic testing. Since I had to wait for pre-authorization from my insurance, I said I'd get it drawn at Good Sam (Dr. O is out at Portland Adventist). Then I get a call from Good Sam--I can't get the test done until I compile a detailed family history and go through a 2-1/2 hour counseling session! When I saw Dr. O last week, she told me they could do the test at her office--and they can do the test first, and then if I'm positive do the counseling. I'll get that drawn on Tuesday when I go for my chemo.

When I last posted, I was trying to figure out what to mix the powders from my naturopath with. He suggested fruit juice, but most fruit juice is too sweet for me. Then I remembered some concentrated black cherry juice I had. I mixed a glug of that with sparkling water, and it worked! I also found some pure cherry juice (not a concentrate) at the Farmers Market, and a glug of that works too. I think the potion has been really helping, along with eating lots of whole grains and mushrooms. I'm no longer having lots of stomach acid and other digestive problems. I see the naturopath again about a week after my first chemo session, and he may modify my routine then.

At this point, I'm planning on going back to work next week--I'm just waiting for the letter from the doc to arrive (I have to have medical approval to return to work). I'll probably be less than full time for a few weeks--especially the week after this, when I fly back east for my Dad's 92nd (!!!) birthday. Although there are some things about work that I don't miss at all, I really miss the people I work with!

So what's next? I go back to work in the next few days, I have my first chemo on Tuesday, and I take the "antidote" for the chemo starting Wednesday, including a middle-of-the-night dose Wednesday night. I hope no more fluid accumulates in my breast, and I hope I have the sense to stop moving when my energy runs out!

And, as always, I'll keep you posted.