Looking a tad woozy, aren't I? Yes, I'm well into my infusions in this picture. But LOOK! I spy peach fuzz hair growth. The only problem is there are still some bald spots, so I am thinking of having my sister take the dog clippers to me to kind of even things out again.
I have the feeling that the two main bald spots will never grow hair again. No worries, I'm thinking I'll keep my hair very, very short from now on.
To the right there is my bag of Camptosar. My oncology nurse today was Anne, and she's been there since the beginning, back a year ago. She's pretty concerned about how I'm doing since this is the most difficult regimen I have had. I told her it was getting a bit more trying with each round, but this was round five, and I have very few of the major worrisome side effects. One more to go...one more to go!
My asthma was a bit problematic this morning, due to the high humidity from all the recent storm activity. People kept commenting on my breathing; the nurses and even a couple of other chemo patients. Oy!
Well, I'm still a bit blecchy, so I'm off to have a little rest. But I did eat a nice salad for lunch. Isn't it nice to have cravings, for a change, that are GOOD for you? :D
Love to all, keep safe, be well and drink lots of water. :)
I'm exceedingly happy to report that I'll officially be returning to work on 31 January! :) Yes, this makes me very happy, considering I've still got stage IV Esophageal Cancer. But if the Herceptin treatments can keep this stuff from running rampant all over my body, then baby, I am ready to get back to a 'normal' life!
Not to say three months off work wasn't necessary. At my visit to the Radiation Oncologist today, she iterated that I had one of the worst regimens of chemo and radiation around. And as my dear friends Jon and Michelle can vouch, I wasn't doing all that well during the chemo. Some days it really was difficult to get out of bed and acknowledge that the world was still there. :/
Now, we have to watch out for Radiation Pneumonitis which Dr. Tsai says can occur about four to six months after the cessation of the radiation. And thus, I continue to take my temperature every evening.
But oh my gosh, I am so very happy today. I can't wait to see my co-workers, customers and friends; my Boeing family. I wish I could say that I'll see you with a head full of my normal curly hair, but... meh. I don't know why suddenly the lack of hair is bothering me. I know it's better to not have hair and live, than to be a hairy corpse. And it's not like I have NO hair at all... I have it, just not much of it. It used to fill in all the places on my head; now, there are gaps... in some cases, big gaps. Again, it looks like I have mange. I toy with the idea of getting a wig, but I rather think those things are more of a pain than a pleasure.
Maybe I'll just wear hats. I'll start a fashion trend. Big hats, small hats, skull caps, fishing caps, cowboy hats, berets... hmmm, that could be fun. :)
Well, hugs to everyone that reads this; things are looking up, and life is good.
This weekend I watched a bit of the Food Network, and Aarti Sequeira made oatmeal with pumpkin. That's brilliant! Pumpkin is full of great nutrients like Vitamin A, Folate, decent fiber, Vitamin C and Potassium, to name just a few. Plus, there are probably for most of us, tons of good memories associated with pumpkin. What a great way to work a veggie into breakfast!
Her recipe can be found here. We changed it up because I used my favorite Muesli which already has raisins, and we didn't have any pepitas. We used walnuts. For the spices, we used cinnamon, cloves and allspice. Hard as we searched through our spice cabinet, we couldn't find cardamom. And I LOVE cardamom, so that's on the grocery list, now. :)
What a lovely breakfast it was! There is something very warming and comforting about that pumpkin. Needless to say, we didn't put on the extras; I don't need the sugar, and nobody really needs the heavy cream. :D It was great just the way it was.
On an optimistic note, I do believe I'm getting a little curl back into my hair. Well, so far, it's probably more like a bit of a wave, but I'll take it! I don't think it will ever be thick again, but oh well, it'll be cooler in the summer!
In anticipation of getting back to work on the 31st, I'm trying to regain my strength. I don't think I'll be heading to work minus the walker, mostly due to the lack of lung capacity... I can't carry my laptop from the car to my desk. But I also don't want to feel all weak and dizzy, either. So, I'm trying to eat right, which really isn't that hard, as we've been doing that for ages. And I'm getting up and walking as much as I can. Can't let my legs get all out of shape! I've got my mama's legs, and I can tell you that at 85, hers were still looking quite amazing. Maybe the skin wasn't very tight, but her muscle tone was right-on.
And on that note, I think I'll go hit the NuStep, and work on my endurance. It's a lot harder to go to work than you might think. It's not just sitting at a desk all day; you have to have some stamina. ;)
Hugs to all... keep warm, and tell someone how much you love them.
Dean and Wendy are here! So for dinner last night we roasted a bunch of yummy vegetables (zucchini, jalapenos, Anaheim chilies, yellow squash, asparagus) in a light butter, olive oil and garlic sauce. Oh they were so good, and the added bonus was that the oven was going. :D
Yes, we're still not using our heater and today's high is only going to be 62. That's what layering clothes is for, folks. ;) Oh, and with the roasted veggies, Wendy sauteed some catfish with rosemary. It was SO good. So, though it sounds like we were all very good....my oldest sister Cee had brought us MOUNDS of See's Candy when she was here, and we all had a piece for dessert. Me loves dark chocolate. :)
When I was getting my Herceptin treatment yesterday, my oncology nurse, Tracy and I were chatting. I was telling her about how I had such curly hair before the chemo. But I told her that losing curly hair was fair trade off for getting more time, and she asked me if I would come to her Support Group. She said it would be nice to have someone there with a really positive attitude. There was one last night, and I told her I could not do that one because my company was here, but I'd go in January. Apparently they are only once a month. I can do that. You never know what you might learn, too. Anyway, I am MORE than happy to give back to the people at Ironwood Cancer and Research Center.
Wendy and Dean are preparing to head out to several places around town. Nancy's going to take them. I told her to take my Equinox so they can listen to Sirius XM radio... CINEMAGIC FTW!!!
I'm going to stay home and relax a bit. And keep warm. :D
Love to all!
