Paul and I got up this morning at 3:40 a.m. to drive to Beaumont (I had to be there at 6:00 a.m.) to have my medi-port surgically installed. We had more waiting than we would have liked (surgery didn't actually start until 8:00 a.m.... ), but it went very well. The nurse found a vein on the first try (yea!), and the port made my chemo today much, much easier.
The chemo I got today was a "short" one -- only the medication Gemzar. The oncology nurses affectionately call Gemzar "bee sting" medication. That's because as the medication goes in through a vein (without a port), your whole arm feels sore and tense like it is being stung by a bee. That is the feeling I had last Monday as the medication went through my vein. This week, as the medication went through my medi-port, I felt nothing! (Smile, Smile, Smile)
But... my oncologist said that my white blood count and my red blood count are both way too low. If I have a fever, he has mentioned putting me in a hospital. I don't think it will come to that for me, but I know he was trying to make a point with me. He succeeded.
Today he gave me medication for the red blood count and tomorrow I have to a Neulasta shot. Not a big deal in the scheme of things; we just hadn't anticipated any shots during this stage of the chemo.
But, I recognize that I have been through an emotional and physical roller coaster in the last two months. I feel whipped, and am not surprised that my body is physically responding in a similar way. My next chemo is two weeks away -- that gives me time to Rest, Eat Well, and Rest....
Showing posts with label medi-port. Show all posts
Showing posts with label medi-port. Show all posts
Monday, July 7, 2008
Thursday, July 3, 2008
First Chemo -- So Far, So Good
I had my first chemo on Monday, and today is Thursday... I have felt surprisingly good -- a little more tired than usual in the evenings, but I am able to rest at night and I wake up reasonably alert. I still anticipate losing my hair in the next couple of weeks. I think that is inevitable?
Yesterday I met Paul for lunch, and then I went to Best Buy and Meijer. That was enough for me, but it was good to be able to get out and do those things on my own strength. It helps a lot that all three boys are gone right now -- the house is nice and quiet. But, overall, I think this chemo will be reasonably manageable for the summer, and I am relieved.
After Labor Day I'll start a new regime (AC) -- two drugs that I took the first time around. We suspect those are the drugs that really knocked me out the first time around, and caused the chemo fog and other problems that I remember. With those drugs, I will definitely need more rest, but by then the boys will be back in school all day. I'll have the house to myself. As much as I hate the schedule, I guess God's timing is working out.
On Monday, I'll have my medi-port installed. This is a short surgery, only about 20 minutes? It takes longer to be prepped and to recover than to actually do the surgery! My oncologist moved my Tuesday to chemo to Monday -- I can have the medi-port put in and receive the chemo in one trip. Paul is most likely not able to go with me to this appointment. We are going to try to work it out that his parents or sister can help me -- I'll have to be at the hospital around 6:00 am, and will need a driver since I'll be sedated. His family is great, so I know this will work out one way or the other.
One lingering concern... My surgery is now 6 weeks past, and I still have an open wound that will not heal. It is just being stubborn. My doctor is watching it, but the more time that passes the more of a concern it is. Chemo slows down any healing process as well, so that adds to the issue.
Paul is golfing this morning, and this is my last day without the boys. I'm going to work on my scrapbooking -- try to find the top of my desk so it is easy to pop downstairs and do a page now and then! Tonight we are going to go out -- I'm feeling good, and we haven't had the kids all three gone in a very long time. Take care, and have a blessed 4th of July weekend!
Yesterday I met Paul for lunch, and then I went to Best Buy and Meijer. That was enough for me, but it was good to be able to get out and do those things on my own strength. It helps a lot that all three boys are gone right now -- the house is nice and quiet. But, overall, I think this chemo will be reasonably manageable for the summer, and I am relieved.
After Labor Day I'll start a new regime (AC) -- two drugs that I took the first time around. We suspect those are the drugs that really knocked me out the first time around, and caused the chemo fog and other problems that I remember. With those drugs, I will definitely need more rest, but by then the boys will be back in school all day. I'll have the house to myself. As much as I hate the schedule, I guess God's timing is working out.
On Monday, I'll have my medi-port installed. This is a short surgery, only about 20 minutes? It takes longer to be prepped and to recover than to actually do the surgery! My oncologist moved my Tuesday to chemo to Monday -- I can have the medi-port put in and receive the chemo in one trip. Paul is most likely not able to go with me to this appointment. We are going to try to work it out that his parents or sister can help me -- I'll have to be at the hospital around 6:00 am, and will need a driver since I'll be sedated. His family is great, so I know this will work out one way or the other.
One lingering concern... My surgery is now 6 weeks past, and I still have an open wound that will not heal. It is just being stubborn. My doctor is watching it, but the more time that passes the more of a concern it is. Chemo slows down any healing process as well, so that adds to the issue.
Paul is golfing this morning, and this is my last day without the boys. I'm going to work on my scrapbooking -- try to find the top of my desk so it is easy to pop downstairs and do a page now and then! Tonight we are going to go out -- I'm feeling good, and we haven't had the kids all three gone in a very long time. Take care, and have a blessed 4th of July weekend!
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Chemo, Chemo and More Chemo...
Well, I understand now why my oncologist didn't want to review a chemotherapy schedule with me over the phone on Friday -- the regime he has me on is very aggressive and very long.
We talked about this "new" cancer before we talked about chemo options. We all are pretty much in agreement that this cancer was in the breast (but undetected) the first time that I had treatment. We had theorized this on our own, but the Harvard pathologist said the "new" cancer showed signs of previous systematic treatment (chemotherapy/radiation), and this led him to believe it could have been there two years ago.
Mammograms and MRIs are NOT perfect...
The size of my cancer keeps growing -- thankfully it is out of my body and now just a discussion on path reports.... When the cancer was first found in April, they said it was "nothing" -- precancer, Stage 0. After my surgery, the surgeon said they found "about" a 1 cm amount of real cancer. She and I were both stunned. This report didn't satisfy my oncologist -- he had it sent back within his hospital path department for a second review, who concluded "about" 2 cm. Finally, it went to Harvard, who said the exact amount could be "anywhere around" 2-4 cm. At some point, all this discussion becomes academic. The bottom line is that this cancer has to be treated (chemo), and it has to be hit fast and hard!
So... we discussed chemo options. A brand new drug, specific for triple negatives, has come out in the last year (Ixempra). It shows promise, but it is not "proven" enough in my oncologists mind and he was hesitant to use it. Had I stayed at the 1 cm size for the cancer, he said he probably would have gone ahead with the new drug. Given what we know about the size of my cancer, and that my previous cancer had a "partial" response (sounds bad, but its actually a good thing) to the previous chemo regime, he recommended repeating what I had done a couple of years ago. With some tweaking.
So... I will get 4 doses of two drugs (Taxol and Gemzar) every 3 weeks. In between doses, I'll get a single dose of just Gemzar. After these drugs are finished (around Labor Day weekend), I'll start a second combination of drugs (Adriamycian and Cytoxan) that will be given 3-4 times every 2 weeks. This will end sometime mid-October.
So... yesterday, I had my first treatment of Taxol/Gemzar. It has to be given through an IV in my arm, since my "medi-port" was removed in November. Unfortunately, we have decided that I should have a port put in again (this makes given the chemo drugs sooo much easier) because my veins are so hard to find (it took them half-an-hour), and because two of the drugs (Gemzar and Adriamycian) are so hard on my veins. The tough part will be keeping my white blood counts high enough for me to get through a surgery.
This sounds complicated, but it is amazingly "normal" to me. I've been living cancer in some fashion for almost the last two years. What bugs me about the treatments is how much TIME they rob from my life. And there is no eloquent way to say that it really stinks that I'll lose my hair again! And, I hate not being at work -- I really enjoy my job at the library. I could possibly work on my "good" days, but I don't know how reliable I'll be during chemo and I also don't want to be exposed to every patron's potential virus or illness. I need to be focused on getting better. It will take a lot of time already -- making myself sicker in the process is just detrimental in the long run.
So, it looks like my life (and my family's life) is a little more on hold again. It will be different this time around... Shane is driving, so that will be helpful. Some of the treatment can be done in Midland instead of only at Royal Oak, so that helps. And, until the kids are back in school, we have some flexibility in our schedule with them. We have more options for leaving the older boys at home and finding friends for Liam is not a problem. Having meals again would be helpful, like we did last time. I'll add some information on my webpage about that.
Neither Paul nor I understand this at all. I've kept up with some of breast cancer histories, so I know that I'm not really that unusual to have a recurrence and that I'm lucky it didn't come somewhere like bone, liver or lungs. In all practical terms, it didn't really come back -- it was just never taken away. We just both thought we were moving on, and now this brings life back to an almost-screeching halt again. He is really feeling the brunt of it all -- it is manageable to support a person through a first round of cancer, but then when it's over you are so relieved. To have it come back again is just overwhelming. For me, as the patient, all of my responsibilities have essentially stopped. For him, as the main parent, all of his responsibilities are just that much more critical. If you say prayers for me, please always remember a couple for him, too...
We talked about this "new" cancer before we talked about chemo options. We all are pretty much in agreement that this cancer was in the breast (but undetected) the first time that I had treatment. We had theorized this on our own, but the Harvard pathologist said the "new" cancer showed signs of previous systematic treatment (chemotherapy/radiation), and this led him to believe it could have been there two years ago.
Mammograms and MRIs are NOT perfect...
The size of my cancer keeps growing -- thankfully it is out of my body and now just a discussion on path reports.... When the cancer was first found in April, they said it was "nothing" -- precancer, Stage 0. After my surgery, the surgeon said they found "about" a 1 cm amount of real cancer. She and I were both stunned. This report didn't satisfy my oncologist -- he had it sent back within his hospital path department for a second review, who concluded "about" 2 cm. Finally, it went to Harvard, who said the exact amount could be "anywhere around" 2-4 cm. At some point, all this discussion becomes academic. The bottom line is that this cancer has to be treated (chemo), and it has to be hit fast and hard!
So... we discussed chemo options. A brand new drug, specific for triple negatives, has come out in the last year (Ixempra). It shows promise, but it is not "proven" enough in my oncologists mind and he was hesitant to use it. Had I stayed at the 1 cm size for the cancer, he said he probably would have gone ahead with the new drug. Given what we know about the size of my cancer, and that my previous cancer had a "partial" response (sounds bad, but its actually a good thing) to the previous chemo regime, he recommended repeating what I had done a couple of years ago. With some tweaking.
So... I will get 4 doses of two drugs (Taxol and Gemzar) every 3 weeks. In between doses, I'll get a single dose of just Gemzar. After these drugs are finished (around Labor Day weekend), I'll start a second combination of drugs (Adriamycian and Cytoxan) that will be given 3-4 times every 2 weeks. This will end sometime mid-October.
So... yesterday, I had my first treatment of Taxol/Gemzar. It has to be given through an IV in my arm, since my "medi-port" was removed in November. Unfortunately, we have decided that I should have a port put in again (this makes given the chemo drugs sooo much easier) because my veins are so hard to find (it took them half-an-hour), and because two of the drugs (Gemzar and Adriamycian) are so hard on my veins. The tough part will be keeping my white blood counts high enough for me to get through a surgery.
This sounds complicated, but it is amazingly "normal" to me. I've been living cancer in some fashion for almost the last two years. What bugs me about the treatments is how much TIME they rob from my life. And there is no eloquent way to say that it really stinks that I'll lose my hair again! And, I hate not being at work -- I really enjoy my job at the library. I could possibly work on my "good" days, but I don't know how reliable I'll be during chemo and I also don't want to be exposed to every patron's potential virus or illness. I need to be focused on getting better. It will take a lot of time already -- making myself sicker in the process is just detrimental in the long run.
So, it looks like my life (and my family's life) is a little more on hold again. It will be different this time around... Shane is driving, so that will be helpful. Some of the treatment can be done in Midland instead of only at Royal Oak, so that helps. And, until the kids are back in school, we have some flexibility in our schedule with them. We have more options for leaving the older boys at home and finding friends for Liam is not a problem. Having meals again would be helpful, like we did last time. I'll add some information on my webpage about that.
Neither Paul nor I understand this at all. I've kept up with some of breast cancer histories, so I know that I'm not really that unusual to have a recurrence and that I'm lucky it didn't come somewhere like bone, liver or lungs. In all practical terms, it didn't really come back -- it was just never taken away. We just both thought we were moving on, and now this brings life back to an almost-screeching halt again. He is really feeling the brunt of it all -- it is manageable to support a person through a first round of cancer, but then when it's over you are so relieved. To have it come back again is just overwhelming. For me, as the patient, all of my responsibilities have essentially stopped. For him, as the main parent, all of his responsibilities are just that much more critical. If you say prayers for me, please always remember a couple for him, too...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)