March, 4, 2011

Friday 3/4/11

Day after chemo – I have decided that Ativan is not for me.  It is making me feel very funny – I am not quite confident that it is helping me any more then the previous anti-nausea pill.  So for now I am going to quit the Ativan.  I found myself feeling very tired and even somewhat more emotionally sensitive (believe me I don’t need any more of that, just ask Matt).  

I went into the clinic for my Neulasta shot (white blood cell booster).  Quick visit, but a painful shot and the side effects are sore muscles and bone aches.  By the time I made it to the clinic I was feeling full on nausea – I am hoping that the switch back to my normal med will kick things back into shape, like anything else I expect it will take a little time.   

Feeling Yucky in the Infusion Waiting Room

Upon returning home – Matt said that I would feel better if I got on my motorcycle (which by the way I haven’t gone riding since all this began).  And he snapped a few photos – seen below.  

Xerox always makes me feel better :)

Kids - Don't try this at home!!

I am not sure that I have what it takes to go for a run this evening – plans for the rest of the day have not yet been decided.  But if anything else exciting happens I will let you know in my next update.  

Thursday 3/3/11

Today I showed up for Chemo at 10 am.  This is the 3^rd of 6 treatments so I am half way finished with my full chemo cocktail – while I understand that I am currently expected to continue on maintenance medication after the 6 treatments – they will be much less intense – so that is GREAT NEWS!!  

Sad news I forgot my packed lunch at home – so we ended up picking up a couple of sandwiches in the Luby’s restaurant in the clinic, they were pretty good.  Chemo ended around 3 pm.  As I mentioned on Monday – I spoke to the infusion nurse and pharmacist about Ativan.  They suggested I take it today before my chemo – so I did.  They said it is normal for it to make you feel different.  The rest of they day I took half doses. 

This week’s cocktail also included iron as I was a little anemic per my most recent oncology doctor visit / blood draw.  

While getting Chemo I got a visit from a volunteer from CanCare – Amy.  Amy has been very sweet and supportive since we were introduced, but today was the first visit in person.  I am in a much different place then when I was initially diagnosed and she had a long list of resources to help me through this time.  She later sent me an email that contained all the info we discussed.  It is very important to have others that can walk the road with you.  I have valued all the friendships Matt and I have during this time – old and new.  

Pictured with my "Healing Scarf"

Eating Fruit and Yogurt Parfait 

Ham Sandwich -- Yummy!

Mastering my weight:  So I totally think the scales on the infusion unit are way off ... so I took my weight this morning and between my morning weight at home and my weight on infusion it says I gained 7 pounds.  That is a bit much, for shoes and a jacket.  All the nurses agreed that the scales require recalibration, but Matt on the other hand still doesn’t believe me as evidenced by the pamphlets he picked up for me while we were in the lobby - picture below.  

"Santa Claus is wrong - being fat aint Jolly!!"
Ryan Calong

Thursday evening I slept a lot and Matt was able to make it to training with the HARTies.  He said he had a great time with a torturous training provided by “Coach Weihan Lin”.  

Wednesday 3/2/11

Matt returned from his trade show in San Antonio and after work we decided to go to Memorial for a run.  I gotta say that getting out of the house was great!!  And I felt a lot better running today then the last run I had – less nausea = much more fun!!  I even hit a little sprint for a bit, while I can’t tell you how fast I was going because my heart rate monitor was not charged … it felt fast and I felt good.  

Monday 2/28/11

Today was the first day working with a voice,  and my cold is greatly improved.

The most recently medication change to alleviate my nausea is Ativan.  I took some on Monday night at around 7 pm just in case it made me really sleepy.  I woke up the next morning feeling different – not quite groggy and not quite nauseous and not quite normal.  I won’t take it again until Chemo on Thursday when I have a chance to talk to the nurse and pharmacist.  You maybe wondering why Ativan (anti-anxiety) for nausea, my doctor reported that one of the side effects of Ativan is reduced nausea, it interrupts the signal from your brain to your stomach resulting in less nausea.  Ativan can be habit forming – but given my current condition this is not a great concern.  

Pictured with my new "Fight Like a Girl" T-Shirt from my friend Pam

Sunday 2/27/11

Today Matt and I had lunch with a New Friend Susan Tan and her family.  It is good to get out after being so sick.   

We had a great time, she and her husband are from Singapore and they were great to talk to.  I didn’t get a picture of us at the restaurant, but Matt took a picture of me in my dress when we got home.  We hope to get to know Susan and her family a lot better in the future. 

In my dress :)

We saw the trail riders on the way home from the restaurant and while I wasn’t able to get great pictures this gives you an idea of what we saw outside the window.  

Trail riders in Houston for the Rodeo

The rest of the day was low key and I have reached the place where I am much quicker to tire – so while I am terrible at napping – this is a skill I must learn to master.  

Given all the interest in Charlie Sheen (Matt’s Newest Favorite Rock Star), I couldn’t help but double quote him in the is weeks’ update. 

“Can’t is the cancer of happen.”

- Charlie Sheen

and

"I'm tired of pretending I'm not special, I'm tired of pretending I'm not a total freaking rockstar from Mars."

- Charlie Sheen