AC's Back On

And the reason this is?  We want to sleep.  It was just not cooling down enough last night, but I wasn't about to go around the house at 2AM shutting windows, so I didn't turn the Air Conditioning back on until this morning.  Oh, and yes, it was a bit warm today. :)


Jane and Nancy have soccer tomorrow, so Cathy and I are going to do something in the crock pot.  I got the recipe from "Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook."  A rather unwieldy title, but it does have some freaking awesome recipes.  Any book that includes SEVERAL recipes with Hominy has GOT to be good! ;)


I can't remember exactly what the recipe was but it definitely involved turkey smoked sausage and a jar of good salsa.  We're going to slap it over whole-wheat pasta; whichever type we have in the pantry is fine.


Today, I decided to get up and put on my compression socks.  Holy carp, what a workout.  I guess they wouldn't work well if they were not a job to don.  Did they work?  The jury is out, only because I didn't put them on right out of bed. I think my ankles had already started swelling before I put them on my lotion-slathered feet.  Don't forget, I'm still trying to stave off the nasty Hand-Foot Syndrome from my chemo.  


On the agenda for this week?  Monday, a plethora of blood tests; my PT/INR, and some exciting pre-chemo checks...CBC, platelets with differentials and something called a D-Dimer to check my clottiness, so to speak.  Thankfully there is no test to check my snottiness.  I think the results might be pretty fascinating, though, if there were.


Then, Tuesday, it's Camptosar infusion time, followed by the start up of my week of Xeloda, and of course, the Dreaded Decadron Insomnia.  After that, the remainder of the week will be filled with me trying not to be nauseated.  Although, on Thursday, it'll be back to the phlebotamist for another PT/INR.  


But on the happy side, my sisters and I will be attending BlizzCon, virtually of course.  Wouldn't want to barf all over an actual convention, and I think the airlines would charge me a fortune to pack up my scooter, Darth Vader (my oxygen concentrator), and my CPAP.  


And now, it's time to take my night time bevy of pills and read a bit before I head off to slumber land.  I hope you all have a great upcoming week full of peace, sleep, and much happiness.

Can *I* do Six Rounds?

This is getting harder with every round of chemo.  I want to be one of the 30ish % that can make it through six rounds of this, but I am finishing up round four and I am sick as the proverbial dog.


My legs are swelling up, my hands and feet feel creepy, and I can't begin to tell you how nauseated I am.  But, tomorrow is my last day of chemo week ON, and I hope I can begin to feel better.  


I slept a bit this afternoon; I'm so tired, and so weak.  I guess tomorrow I had better start hitting the Lasix so I can keep the edema at bay.  I keep remembering the last time I saw my oldest brother in the hospital, and his legs were HUGELY swollen.  And so were my mom's at the end.  In fact, she got water blisters all over her legs.  Her beautiful legs.  Ok, now I am starting to freak myself out, which means I should probably get to bed before the Queen of Neuroses gets out of bondage and runs rampant through my brain.


Good night, all.  Don't worry, I'll get past this, and I *WILL* do six rounds of this.  For I am, of course, strong like bull.

A Visit with The Pulmo

My morning appointment with my pulmonologist, Dr. S, went very well.  He says despite my severe lung disease, they are holding up well through the chemo and the past radiation.  All's stable on the lung front, and thank the gods for that!

Dr. S says every time he sees me he is amazed at how well I seem to be tolerating the chemo.  I told him about the two new chemos and the clinical trial.  It's too early to tell but I did mention that the referral pains were gone, now.  I hope that's a good sign.

Left there, and decided that since I was up and dressed, and now hungry, I should stop and get some breakfast.  So, my sister Nancy and I went to Crackers and Co.  I had the California Eggs Benedict.  Oh, yes, some of my favorite things:  Avocado, eggs, bacon, and spinach!  While I can still eat, I relish things like this.  It was a great morning!

While I was there, Dr. S asked me how I was doing emotionally.  Boy, my doctors all seem very concerned about my emotional state!  I told him I was fine; that I had discussed hospice with Dr. F and my oncologist had said we still had options, so Dr. S was happy with my answer. :)  And, I don't see him again for six months, unless something comes up.

I will admit, though, that between the visit to the pulmonologist and the breakfast, I am exhausted.  I took the walker today; didn't use the scooter.  You know I want to stay on my own two feet for as long as I can.  And while it's certainly good for my psyche, and good for my physical well-being, walking does take its toll on me.

And on that note, I think I'll go see if I can't take a nap.  I didn't sleep well last night, so I can probably use a good forty winks or so.

Live long and prosper!

Nose is Still Hideous

But I am almost starting to feel a little more human.  I'm still wobbly on my feet, due to the debilitating effects of the chemo, but I did have a little bit of an appetite this evening.


I couldn't work again today, but thankfully, I did have enough sick time saved up that I could use two days of it.  It's kind of scary that every round of chemo, I get sick with SOMETHING.  I hope to heavens this regimen is making a difference.  This is hard, and now I'm starting to have anxiety about each round.


Hopefully, the CT will show some improvements in my tumors and if it does, I will continue on, and just deal with it.  If not, I don't know.  Yes, I am terrified of this disease running its course.  


I have to stop typing, now.  The pain in my arms is annoying.  Have sweet dreams, all. :)

Feeling Better

My niece, Cee, came in last night.  Jane and Nancy and she are going to the Rennaisance festival out by Gold Canyon.  They are in full costume, too. :)  It's way too dusty out there for me, and I'd have to take my scooter, which would be rather anachronistic.  Although, perhaps if I put a saddle on it, and I could make it whinny now and then....

So, I had a long talk with my pancreas, and we agreed that he'd have to work harder, and things are MUCH improved on the glucose front.  Well, that and no Prednisone for four days is probably helping as well.  Prednisone... I love it for keeping me breathing, but I hate it for all the horrible things it does to the rest of my body.  It's almost like the relationship I have with chemo.  Chemotherapy is more overt in the things it does to you, though.  Prednisone is sneaky!

We had quinoa with a cilantro, garlic, jalapeno and pepitas pesto last night, and a pork loin goulash over shredded cabbage.  Good stuff, good stuff!  Quinoa is so yummy; great texture and LOADED with protein!

I'm going to head into the plant tomorrow; prove that I really do exist.  I'll take it easy.  No unnecessary wandering, although I do have to go get coffee with my 'brother' John Alfonso, tomorrow.  He called yesterday to check up on me. :)

So, that's the scoop.  Glucose is much improved, my attitude is much improved, and it's nice and warm today.  Who could ask for more?

Chemo Thursday

Here I am again, in my favorite place in the chemo center, working on this blog post.  My port has been accessed, and the Benedryl is coming onboard.  Oh joy. :)

Jane is sitting here with me, playing 'super scribblenauts' on her Nintendo DS.  Thank the gods for electronic ways of passing time.  Today's oncology nurse is Tracy.  She's a sweetie, as are they all.  I can't eat much before chemo, so I drank a Glucerna for breakfast.  I'll try to eat a decent lunch later.

Wendy and Dean must be up in the air by now.  I'm so happy they are coming!  Oh, I should take a picture!  My hair is so straight right now.  I wonder if this, too, is some sort of side effect.

Will it stay straight?  It's just so weird.  I've had very short hair before, and it was still full of curls, so I'm not sure if my curls will be back or not. :)  Oh well, if my curls do not return, it's a fair trade off:  Curls for some extra time on earth?  Deal!

I think that's it for this post.  The Benadryl is really kicking in...and I apologize in advance for any typos and weirdness :D

Keep warm, safe and happy.  Live long and prosper!