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Thursday, November 18, 2010

November 18, 2010 - Chemo 7

It's been difficult for me to keep up with this blog recently -- and not necessarily because I'm so affected by the chemo.  But this has been an extremely busy time for me in many respects, and I've been occupied doing other things.

Chemo 7 was on Monday, and went without incident.  I finally realized I could drive myself to chemo and back, and did so.  Tuesday afternoon I went back again for my shot, the dosage for which was reduced again because my white cell count has been higher than it needs to be.  All this week I've been converting the shop over to Christmas hoping to get it all done in time for this month's occasional sales.  Unfortunately, the occasional sales started today and I wasn't completely there yet.  Everything I wanted to get out isn't out yet, and areas of the shop I hoped would have been cleaned out by now aren't.  But I'm doing the best I can.

Wednesday evening I was very tired and starting to get the soreness that seems to come as a result of the shot.  Even though they've considerably cut back on the dosage, it hasn't eliminated the pain and discomfort I get (for a day or two) in my feet, legs and hips.  Tonight (Thursday) it's even more pronounced -- not unbearable, but I feel like I have "restless leg syndrome;" I keep having to shift my feet and legs to try to make them more comfortable.  In addition, I have two numb toes (a known side effect of Taxol) that feel kind of funny in my shoes.  If things go as they have been, I should be done with the foot/leg pain by tomorrow.

Which is good, because I still have a lot to do.  Tomorrow morning I'm going to the Minneapolis Gift Mart Sample Sale with my friend, Ann.  Then the occasional sale continues for two more days, along with the  aforementioned cleaning and merchandising.  We've been getting some new product lines in for Christmas, so that product needs to be priced and added into inventory.

Then there's our Savvy Soiree on December 2.  We set this up long before I was ever diagnosed with breast cancer, and I'm sure it will all turn out fine - but it still seems daunting.  Up to 65 shoppers will descend on Carver Country Flowers & Gifts at 6:00 that evening (having all pre-registered at www.Savvy.MN) for shopping, door prizes, refreshments and an educational seminar.  We're really looking forward to it -- but it will happen four days after Chemo 8.  In other words, I can expect to be feeling that night pretty much the way I'm feeling right now -- which will take a little effort (and Aleve) to get through.

In the meantime, I'm looking forward to waking up tomorrow morning and not having my feet hurt.

Saturday, November 6, 2010

November 6, 2010

While the side effects of Chemo 6 were much less than Chemo 5, they weren't without incident.  Usually, I'm dragging myself through Wednesday and Thursday following Chemo (and last time, Friday and Saturday as well).  This time Wednesday passed without incident, and I even went to my 7:30 AM BNI meeting on Thursday.  But Thursday evening I did start to feel fatigued.

Friday I had foot pain (similar to Wednesday two weeks ago), but not as bad as previously, so easing off the dosage of my follow-up shot must have had an effect.  I was able to take ibuprofen during the day and Excedrin PM at night to ease the aches.  This morning I still feel it enough to want to stay off my feet -- even though I'm supposed to be packing up the Halloween merchandise that is still out on the retail floor!

Heartburn has been mostly non-existent this round.  Mouth sores are a thing of the past.  All of the chemo tips I read up on and was prepared to have to deal with are just taking up space in my cancer binder.  Haven't had to think about them much since about the second week into this Chemo journey.  Seems the time is going very fast.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

November 2, 2010 - AM

I don't know what my night would have been like if Al hadn't reminded me to take a sleeping pill this first night after receiving the anti-nausea steroids yesterday.  They always have a stimulating effect.  I took a Simply Sleep at around 9:30, then went online to do a little research.  By 11:00 I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer.

But I got up to go to the bathroom at 1:30 and it took until after 3:30 to fall back asleep.  Woke up at 6:30 for the day (remembering that I have to pick up a bunch white cushion poms from my wholesaler today for a floral birthday cake I have to deliver tomorrow.  I think I'll just go to Van's in Edina; it's the closest.).

We have exactly one month to get ready for our Savvy Soiree on December 2.  Today I will continue making my To Do List, place some product orders, start packing away all the Halloween merchandise to make way for more Christmas and do some more cleaning/organizing in the back room.  All of the stuff we had stored "temporarily" in the workshop had to be moved to the back room, since our landlord seems to have found a renter for the workshop.  Good news and bad news!  (Mostly good.)

Monday, November 1, 2010

November 1, 2010 - Chemo 6 PM

Finished my chemo in record time!  I'm home early!  Nice to enjoy some extra time on this summer fall day away from the shop.

My lovely neighbor and friend, Bev, dropped me off at Ridgeview at 9:00 this morning to get my weekly blood draw, and then I walked across the parking lot to the oncology clinic.  I picked up the A section of the Strib to kill some time, and a few minutes later they called me in.  My appointment with Dr. B wasn't scheduled until 9:30, but he doesn't like patients to wait.

After Nurse Florence took my weight, blood pressure, pulse and temp and recorded them in the computer, I again picked up the newspaper I had taken with me.  Immediately, Dr. B came in.  (Is there something in the paper I'm not supposed to read today?)  We talked a little about how I've been doing - still no nausea, no digestive problems, heartburn was way less this time, no mouth sores at all this time.  He concurred that this drug I'm getting now, Taxol, should be less harsh on my system, even though the treatments are longer.

I mentioned to him that I did have some pretty good foot, ankle and lower leg pain the day after the shot (enough so I had trouble getting to sleep, even after taking a Vicodin), and that I also was surprised that I was fatigued for four days following the chemo, rather than the "normal" (for me) 1-2 days.  He checked my blood report (which, paradoxically in this high-tech world, had been shoved under the door while we were talking) and said, "Well, no wonder!  Your white count was going through the roof at that time.)

Normal white count readings are 4.0-11.0.  The highest I've had to date (a week after the Neulasta shot, which is designed to promote blood cell production) was 26.0, coming back down the second week to 17.0.  Last week, it registered 48.6!  (Today it was down to 19.8.)  That means that my bones were producing white cells like crazy (much more than necessary) and my body was reacting -- with foot pain and fatigue.  Tomorrow I go in for another shot, but this time he's cutting the dosage in half.  He thinks that should solve the pain and fatigue problem.  We then spent some time discussing the Steig Larsson books and Swedish movies versions (which are on Comcast On Demand, by the way).

So, that consultation only took a half hour.  By 9:45 I was walking into the chemo room.  By 10:00 I was all situated, my vein plumbed and ready for the meds -- pure saline, followed by benadryl, followed by an anti-nausea mix, followed by the Taxol - normally a 4-hour routine.  I should have been done by 2 PM.

But around 12:45 I looked up and the Taxol bag was nearly empty.  I called Michelle, the technician who worked with me today, and said, "I have someone picking me up today, and I'd like to give her an idea when I'll be finished.  Can you tell from looking at this bag approximately when I'll be done."  She looked and said, "I'd say 10-15 minutes."  I immediately called Bev, who was nice enough to jump into her car on short notice and head to Waconia again.  Sure enough, by 1:00 PM I was picking up my stuff and heading for the door.

So, it was nice to get out early.  (Gee, I sure hope they didn't forget something.)

November 1, 2010 - Chemo 6 AM

Good morning, everyone!  How did we manage to get to November so fast???  Halloween (and a lot of overbought candy) is behind us - well, the candy isn't quite behind us yet, but it will be soon.  For the past few years we've been trending up on the number of Trick or Treaters we get, so we expected quite a few more this year.  Instead we got less.  Wonder why that was.

Anyway, it's early.  I'm heading for a quick run to the shop.  I forgot to put my sign on the door yesterday indicating that I'd be closed all day today for chemo, so I have to run back and do that.  While I'm there I'll put stamps on the shop bills I paid yesterday (while watching that stupid Vikings game) and get those to the post office.  Then I'll be waiting for Bev to come pick me up to take me to chemo.

Treatment #5, my first on Taxol, seemed to be a bit easier on the heartburn and mouth sores, but a little tougher on the fatigue.  On the other hand, my acupuncturist and I had trouble scheduling any treatments prior to Chemo 5, so maybe that made a difference.  We were able to connect both last Sunday and yesterday, so I feel more fortified for today's chemo.  Again, we'll see.  Each day is a new adventure.

For these Taxol treatments, since they take 4 hours rather than 2, I need to come prepared.  Of course the first priority is the big, compelling book.  I'm about a quarter of the way through Drums of Autumn, book 2 in Diana Gabaldon's time travel series about Jamie and Claire (my first reading of this book having occurred shortly after its publication in 1992), so that's coming with me.  Also the little footie socks they gave me after my surgery and a packed lunch, since I won't be done with treatment until 2:30 or so.  And a few snack size Milky Way bars (we HAVE to get rid of this Halloween candy).  A can of diet Sierra Mist.  My Blackberry, of course.  And my planner, in case something I need to do occurs to me while I'm following Jamie and Clair around France.

I'll try to report again in a day or two.  Happy November!