Last 'chemo light' treatment delayed a day

... but tomorrow it will finally be here!

The doctor had a day off today so I must wait until tomorrow to have the 12th and final treatment.

That's OK. Time flies anyway. I don't wish it to go any faster than it does.

{And so my online breast cancer journey journal continues. Thanks for reading.}

Life imitates blogging

Or something like that!


So happy it's Saturday morning...had another busy week. Whew!

Today I combine blogging about my breast cancer journey with my journalism.

Please click here (it's a quick read) for my story in today's paper and join me in celebrating my return to a wonderful support group. I haven't been going but hope to start anew.



{My online journal about breast cancer continues. Thanks for reading.}

I did it!

So happy I completed the 3.1-mile walk this morning.

It was amazing - as I was pulling out of the driveway the rain was letting up and the sun was breaking through the clouds. It ended up being a perfect, albeit steamy, morning for the event. There were so many participants. I'd say it was a huge success.

I was among friends. I saw two of my doctors, both oncology nurses, an extremely energetic and enthusiastic nutritionist and fitness expert named Samantha (who has been strongly suggesting to me that I get into an exercise routine), and several other hospital employees.

Samantha was at the finish line and gave me a big hug when I completed the walk. I think she was happier than I was.

Thanks to all my supporters. ;-) I must say I enjoyed the hugs and kisses and handshakes and all.

I also love the T-shirts they gave out. I didn't know they were going to be long-sleeved. Woo hoo!

It was a beautiful day in the neighborhood

This is how the courtyard outside the area where I get chemo looked at noon today. It's a beautiful setting. 

This was taken through the window. Unfortunately we can't go out and play in the courtyard. 

Today is Chemo Day again...the weeks fly by

Gimme a c - C!

Gimme an h -H!

Gimme an e - E!

Gimme an m - M!

Gimme an o - O!

And what does that spell?  Exhaustion.  

Well at least it's 'chemo light,' as I prefer to call it.



Must be Monday.  ;-)


{And my online cancer journal continues..}

Time for 'chemo light' again, tra la, tra la

Actually I joked to a friend last week that going for the treatments is my only break! My days seem to get pretty busy. So it's relaxing to just sit there and veg out.

My mother is there with me, and she goes to the snack bar in another part of the building and gets us a roll or something to snack on, and there is free coffee...

The doctor will even get it for you! How cool is that.

He seems to get miffed if you don't want any!

 

{And so my online cancer journey journal doth continue. Thanks for reading.}

Building up a tolerance? Could be

Yesterday was "chemo light" day number 4, and miraculously when I got home I was not ready to go to sleep.
I actually stayed up for two and a half hours and worked before taking a nap.

When I told Ralph he said I must be getting used to it.

Maybe my body is building up a tolerance to it or something.

All I know is eight more treatments to go! Or as the doctor said, I'm one-third of the way there. The weeks are flying by.

~ ~ ~

My online cancer journey journal doth continue...

Thanks for reading!

A day later than usual

My usual Monday chemo light appointment got postponed until today.

I just got up from a nap and feel a bit less tired than I did when I got home. I found out what is knocking me out is a dose of Benadryl. It must be a large dose or maybe as one of the nurses said, I'm a cheap drunk.

And I thought it was the chemo light. Silly me.

Dang, it's raining now and we were thinking of going to a free outdoor concert tonight. I figured I have enough energy to sit there and listen.
I guess it will be postponed until tomorrow.

And so my not-too-scintillating online journal of my cancer journey continues...

Almost doesn't "cut" it

I almost got my head shaved yesterday afternoon...but I got too busy to take the time to go to the salon at the hospital.

The service is free if you're undergoing treatment there. I must take advantage of it.

Next week. Yep. I'll do it next week.

Steroids and 'chemo light' ~ cancer journal continues

I had my first Taxol treatment/injection yesterday, but not before lots of steroids got pumped into me.
I had to take five tablets the night before then got more steroids through the IV, along with Benadryl to help a possible allergic reaction to prep me for the chemo drug.
They say this drug won't affect me as much as the previous "A and C" cocktail, so I've decided to call it "chemo light." haha

The steroids give me an appetite and today I have that Taxol glow. Pink cheeks. They also seemed to keep me awake last night. Not good. Time for some coffee.
When we were leaving the Griffin Hospital Center for Cancer Care I took a quick photo through a window of the healing garden built into a rock outcropping and situated between the chemotherapy side and the radiation side of the building.

It's a beautiful facility, that's for sure. I'm fortunate to live so close to such a wonderful place.
When it was dedicated in late 2008 I never thought I'd be making use of it.
It just goes to show you never do know what the future holds.

Ignorance is bliss

I've not been keeping up lately with my online cancer journey journal thingy.
And it's truly counterproductive, since my goal is to compile parts of these blog posts into something more permanent.
The idea is to self-publish a book...I have the title and everything. ;-) Maybe by sprinkling some humor into a book about breast cancer I can help another woman with a similar diagnosis. That would be my hope.

So it's Monday..and I have more chemo coming up this morning. Woo hoo.

I was blissfully ignorant a few weeks ago when everyone who has been caring for me in a medical professional way was saying "it's your last chemo"...turns out what they meant was the last treatment featuring that strong "A and C" cocktail. I thought they meant the last chemo.

That's what I get for not reading all the literature given to me at the start of all this. I found it overwhelming, and decided I'd take one day, one week at a time.

That July 5 treatment really knocked me out for more than a week. All I wanted to do was nap.

(Cue the violins here) And it seems like once I started regaining my energy the HORRIBLE HEAT hit. I don't like the heat at all, because I get so sluggish. And with all this medical stuff I feel even more sluggish.

So, that's it from here. Hope everyone is keeping cool. We can try anyway.

25 years and counting ...

Well here we are ~ the old married folks, renewing our wedding vows Sunday. A totally unexpected event, and one Ralph and I will never forget.

I hinted about this here on Monday, but I was waiting for a photo to illustrate!

The occasion ended up being kind of a blur, but I'll share what I remember.

We were invited to the Baptism of seven-month old Noah, the first child of Ralph's boss and friend, Marc. We arrived early and found a spot on the aisle in the last pew.

The Rev. Thomas F. Lynch (above) came over and smiled and welcomed us to the church. He struck up a conversation and asked Ralph what his illness was; Ralph told him he has Muscular Dystrophy and then mentioned I have cancer.

Father Lynch, an incredibly friendly man, seemed taken aback.
He asked, "Are you two friends?"
We said something like, no, we're married (hahaha) and told him we had just marked our 25th wedding anniversary.

He asked us if we had celebrated or renewed our wedding vows. We said no we hadn't. He told us to see him after the Baptism and he would renew our vows. It was our turn to be taken aback!

After the Mass, Father Lynch announced to a crowd of about 200 people (there was also a First Communion that day in addition to the Baptism and the sanctuary was filled with proud parents) that there were two visitors from Ansonia who had just had their 25th wedding anniversary.

Ralph and I just looked at each other.
We thought he was going to renew our vows privately, after everyone had left. Nope. That was not to be.

He called us up to the altar, asked us to take each others' hands, and we recited our vows.

My voice got a bit shaky, as I saw Marc and his lovely wife in the first pew beaming at us.

After the brief exchange of vows, everyone applauded! I was overwhelmed, and I do believe Ralph was too.

We walked (and rolled) back down the aisle to lots of smiles, and one elderly man got up and shook my hand and said congratulations. Ralph's co-workers were beaming, and surprised, as were we.

Afterward more of the parishioners came up and congratulated us.

I told Marc (who fortunately has a great sense of humor) that we didn't mean to steal his thunder! It was his special day!

He told me, "I feel like I should get you a gift." I said jokingly, "Don't worry about it, we didn't get you one."

At the luncheon afterward we got more congrats and best wishes, from Ralph's co-workers as well as from people we didn't know.

I'm grateful to Ralph's colleague, Chris, who was quick with the camera and got a few photos of the moment for us.

Words escape me ~ I can just say it was wonderful. We went to the church Sunday not knowing we were going to get married again.

But we did.
And sealed it with a kiss.

asdfghjkl;

Did that get your attention?

If not, maybe this will: QWERTYUIOP.

Being silly.

I can't seem to get into writing my online health journal these days. What I do know is that last chemo treatment 10 days ago knocked me for a loop.
Just so exhausting.

But I'm really grateful that I feel fine. And that I have an appetite.

So to sum it up, the side effects I've experienced are exhaustion and food cravings. And I know it could be worse.

{The online journal about my cancer journey doth continue...}

Not sure which is worse!

Feeling exhausted from this last chemo treatment I had Monday or...

having to go through almost two hours with no Internet this morning. Yikes.

It was frustrating. It must have been the heavy rain we had earlier that caused a "disruption in service."

Glad that's over.

Cue the violins

...because I am zonked.

My third chemo treatment Monday was a doozy. I feel OK but I'm just so tired.

I have several blog post ideas in my head, but I can't seem to write them. I feel like I need to save my energy to focus on work these days.
I've been trying not to complain, but I thought I would today...

The good news is that I only have one more chemo-fication to go...on July 5. Woo hoo!

{And so my online journal about my cancer journey continues.}

To end on a happier note, I once again share my guardian angel. She is on the wall right above the computer monitor, watching over me.

She's the creation of my artist friend Rich DiCarlo of Derby, Ct. I wrote about her here four months ago.

Shadow Shot Sunday ~ Showered with hats

Last Sunday I was given a "hat shower" at church. Several friends brought hats - nine of them - for me to wear now that 98 percent of my hair has fallen out.

It was so much fun to open the bags and find hats of every description waiting inside!
I've worn a few of them this week, but still haven't gotten to them all.

I want to thank Mary R., Mary M., Evie, Anne, Jeanmarie and Donna for the wonderful surprise and for your thoughtfulness! It was a Sunday morning I'll always remember.

To join in the shadowy fun visit our awesome Aussie friend, Tracy, who hosts this meme at her blog, Hey Harriet.

Survivors celebrated

A visit by these adorable four-legged volunteers, the pet therapy brigade as I call them, was just one of the highlights of a National Cancer Survivors' Day celebration Ralph and I attended this afternoon at Griffin Hospital in Derby, Ct.
The theme was "Another Year of Birthdays." We were treated to sandwiches, cookies, and cupcakes as well as a "birthday" celebration.
Our daughter stayed home with a bad cold, and missed the festivities. But there is always next year.
We won some door prizes, including a complete DVD set of the Indiana Jones movies, and candy-filled loot bags, just like a little kids' birthday party.
My surgeon, Dr. Zandra Cheng, was keynote speaker. She inspired me, as she always does.

According to the hospital's Web site: "A cancer survivor, as defined by the National Cancer Survivors Day Foundation, is anyone living with a history of cancer, from the moment of diagnosis through the rest of their life. "

So I'm one of those now..and have been for almost four months.
It's my new claim to fame, along with some 12 million other cancer survivors nationwide.

~ And so my online journal about life after a breast cancer diagnosis continues.

Wearing a hat inside

Yep, I been wearing mon chapeau in the house, except when I sleep.

haha!

That's because these ~~ flyaway~~ hair strands are driving me wacky.

To shave or not to shave

NO...not my legs or other areas.
I do that routinely.

Rather, my quickly balding scalp. These strands of hair are bothering the crap out of me. They fall out and stick to my skin and clothing.

I guess it's time for a buzz.

Any thoughts?

(And so my online cancer journey journal continues)

...or maybe not

I took a picture of the top of my bald head to post here.
It was depressing so I decided not to use it. I'll just keep that one to myself.

I wear hats all the time. Not sure yet about the wig idea...maybe I need to be talked into wearing one.

In happier news, I bought a pink ball cap at Wal-Mart today for only $2.50.

My collection of chapeaux continues to grow!

I've neglected this online journal of my health journey. Must get back on track.