Only 8 More Xeloda for this Round

I made myself a grilled pepper jack cheese on sourdough with sliced, fresh tomato.  Gotta have something hearty in your tummy before you start taking your Xeloda.  I did my four morning Xeloda along with a B6 and two Turmeric caps.  I have to take four more Xeloda with dinner tonight, then four more with breakfast tomorrow and then I get a week off!  It's not a complete week off; I need to visit my pulmonary doc on Friday.  :)


Last night the Valley of the Sun fell asleep to the sounds of a good summer monsoon.  Lots of wind, rain and thunder and lightning.  It was noisy and yet comforting in the familiarity of nature doing its summer thing.  And gods know we needed the rain.


I finished reading "A Dance with Dragons" by George RR Martin.  It was more of the same, which isn't a bad thing.  But, listen dude, some of us don't have EIGHT YEARS to wait for your next installment, so I respectfully request that you get cracking and get "The Winds of Winter" published.


Jane's scheduled for her colonoscopy tomorrow.  When you have a strong genetic link to that cancer, colonoscopies are something you do with alarming frequency.  My great grandfather, grandfather, father, and oldest brother all died from colon cancer.  My cousin Diane told me that her mom, my Aunt Annie, also had it, although she survived it.  But no one in my family ever had breast cancer, nor esophageal, nor adrenal gland cancer.  I always did have to be different. :D


Now, I'm off to brush my teeth and play a little World of Warcraft then maybe take a nap.  I feel a bit tired today.  Love to all, and be happy today!

Tortilla Soup

There is nothing better guaranteed to produce an appetite in me more than my sister Jane's Tortilla Soup.  I can smell the aromatics even back here in my bedroom.  She makes machaca chicken first, and then at the last moment assembles the actual soup.  It's an all-day venture, very soulful and full of love.   The link up at machaca is actually a recipe for machaca beef, but Jane's is similar for chicken.


I wonder why I always get bone pain with chemo?  I took a Naprosyn, and that took the edge off it.  It makes walking very uncomfortable, but I don't want to become a lump, either.  Happily, I have no symptoms of Hand-Foot Syndrome as yet, nor do I have the warned about Diarrhea. I do have the beginnings of one mouth sore, but even that's feeling alright at the moment.  I wonder how it will enjoy Tortilla Soup? :D


Yesterday I asked for something I normally NEVER want:  I wanted a slice of a very decadent chocolate cake.  Of course, Jane went right out and found me one from AJ's.  I only have a couple of bites of it at a time, so this could last for a week. :D  And it is OH so decadent, rich, moist, bringing great happiness to my taster.


So, for the week upcoming, I have to do the eight Xeloda pills until Monday, and then Tuesday, I only take the four with breakfast, then I get a week off.  But Monday the 1st of August, I have to go get my labs done, and Tuesday the 2nd of August it's back to Ironwood for my next infusion of Camptosar again and more than likely, a shot of Aranesp, which is the one I had to sign paperwork to acknowledge that they had warned me of all the risks.  Well, duh.  I die if I don't get it, pretty much, so if it kills me... c'est la vie.


Anywho, next week should be a piece of cake... hmmm... ummmm... cake.  Stop that!  So, I shall rest up and get my strength back so that I can go into round two of this regimen able to deal with the side effects. 


Love to all, hugs, kisses and stay healthy!

Cumulative Effects of Chemo

Food is an abomination right now.  But sleep is coming pretty easily.  My stomach feels like it's tied in knots, and nothing tastes good.  Nancy made me a garden burger for lunch, but I could only get two bites down.  I did eat an entire Sargento Pepper Jack cheese stick, though.  YAY for protein.


I slept until almost seven AM, then I got down my plethora of pills with two pieces of toast.  And then I went back to bed and slept until Noon.  My strength is gone, and I'm wandering the house using a walker again.


Actually, I think I hear my bed calling out to me again.  "Come, sleep!"  "Rest more!"  Oh the temptation.  I don't feel sick while I sleep, but who wants to sleep away their life?  But I am so tired.


I'll post more tomorrow, or the next day.  I'm tired and I don't feel so hot.

I am the Epitome of Compliance

I think I must be every doctor's dream patient.  I am compliant ... obsessively compliant.  I may be naive, but I figure if a doctor tells you to do something, you should do it.


For years, I monitored my breathing with a little contraption that measured peak expiratory flow and Forced Expiratory Volume in 1 second. (FeV1)  I had data out the wazoo, and trending charts back to 2003. :D  Ok, granted, that kind of fell by the wayside when I got this cancer, because it was all I could do to cope with THIS.


But now, I can obsess about new things, i.e. how much water I am drinking, getting those eight Xeloda tablets down every day, and the two B6 and the Turmeric (which are kinda hard to get down.  Stop making HUGE capsules, people!)  All these things I write down as I take them, keeping my date book by my bedside.  Yes, the glucose levels are recorded there as well, and I am happy to report that this morning I was down to 113.  The decadron has definitely left the building. :D


Oh, and the lotion and emollient thing!  According to the Patient Information sheet my oncologist gave me on Xeloda, I need to put an emollient on my hands and feet five to six times a day, and especially before bed.  I love the Emu oil, I have to say.  You use so little, yet it stretches one slight pump of the bottle to both hands and feet.  No scent, thank the gods, and it absorbs quickly.


One of the common side effects of Xeloda is mouth sores, so of course, you have to pay extreme attention to your dental hygiene.  Because I tend to get very dry mouthed from the chemo, I use a moisturizing mouthwash from Spry that contains Xylitol.  The Patient Information said that I should avoid Citrus fruits and juices, tobacco, and... NOOOOOOOOOOO!... spicy foods.  Dr. Fastenberg assured me that that part didn't apply to those of us of the latina persuasion.  If you grew up and grew and immune to it, eat it. ;)  Phew!  Dodged that bullet. 

In any event, today I feel pretty darned good.  I feel strong; much stronger than yesterday.  If I can get this chemo regimen through to completion, and it works to at least control this cancer, I will be so very happy.  


Here is Jane on a hunt for squash.  We put a basket up on the wall for the neighbors behind us and then she returns it empty with a sweet thank you note.  It's good to share. :)


Well, I'm taking each day as it comes, keeping on top of side effects as best I can and hoping this is the one that does the trick.


Love to all!

Xeloda with Dinner, Xeloda with Breakfast

Best not get confused with all the pills I'm taking...lol.  Especially after last night's lack of sleep, thanks to my old pal Decadron. :P

I started the Xeloda last night.  Took them over the course of my dinner, one at a time, since they are a little on the large size, but there was no problem.  Later, took my first B6 with my normal night time stuff:  Singulair, Protonix, Lipitor, Zantac, Magnesium and Iron.  That was fine.

This morning, I had my Muesli and took four more of the Xeloda, again, with plenty of water over the course of my meal.  Then it was time for Januvia and Glipizide, again thanks to my friend Decadron, which raised my glucose to 218!  Holy guacamole.  Then I started my Turmeric Caps.  These are a little bigger than the B6, but I got them down well enough.  Dr. F looked up the interaction potential of taking it and gave me the go-ahead.

I also asked him about Henna usage.  Check out this link for more information.  Dr. F said he's good with that. :)  Yes, my hands are feeling a bit warm, but my feet seem ok so far.  I'm using Dermasil mostly during the day, then night time I use the emu oil.  This is all so weird.  But I have a good feeling about this combo.  Well, let me clarify, I have good MENTAL feelings about this combo of chemo...the physical is not so great, but I shall persevere. :D

Can you believe we're still getting tomatoes in 110 degree weather and there are still tons on my plants?  Putting the shade cloth and the 4 inches of mulch really helped this year.   Ok, they are not beautiful, by any means, but damn(!), are they delicious!

Now, off to pay some bills, and then I think I'll try to take a nap.  I love you all, and send hugs and wishes for good health and happiness.

And We're Off!

I told Dr. F about the pain, and he said both were common referral pains from esophageal cancer.  He also said he's changed up my new chemo regimen.  Now, I shall be doing the Camptosar  every two weeks, and take the Xeloda pills for one week, with a week off.  This would be an easier regimen on me.


For my pre-meds, we have once again decadron, but now also atropine and zofran.  No more Herceptin, since it wasn't actually making inroads in the control of the cancer.  And it's not approved for use with Camptosar, anyway.


Atropine makes me a bit woozy, or at least I'm attributing my wooziness to it. :)  I just wish I didn't get so darned anxious about new chemos.  I mean, so far, so good on this one.


Here's a shot of Jane working on the most vicious jigsaw puzzle ever.  By the time we were done with my infusions, there was a volunteer and another chemo patient helping her.

Look at that concentration!


So, now I am home, and I was told to take my first four Xeloda pills with tonight's dinner.  Oh joy. :)


And that means, before I go to bed, I must slather on the emu oil onto both hands and feet.  I predict much sheet washing in my future.


Love to all!

Some Problems

I've got pain in my shoulder and throat.  The throat pain is on the right side, near my collar bone, and the shoulder is right side as well.  Coughing is painful, and if you know me, I'm a big cougher, due to my degenerative lung disease.  Strangely, nose blowing and ... sorry,... belching, is also painful.  But what really gets my shoulder is the nose blowing.  Yet, normal breathing, even taking the deepest breath I can, hurts neither my throat, nor my shoulder.


So, we'll be discussing this with Dr. Fastenberg tomorrow.  Maybe I just have a pinched nerve somewhere.  Yeah, that's the ticket. :D

Here's a photo of a Paladin and her Seahorse.  It's pretty rainbow-bright in the depths of Vashj'ir.  Luckily, you get a spell cast upon you that allows you to breathe underwater... HANDY!


And now, it's off to bed for me.  Aetna called to say Dr. F had sent them the paperwork for my leave, to which I replied, "Holy Moses!"  Remember the last leave?  That was a little stressful, but it looks like this batch of paperwork didn't get lost in the shuffle. :D


Sweet dreams to all, and may you give and receive many, many hugs.