Chemo 5 - over the hump

Down hill from here! At least as far as chemo goes. There's still the issue of surgery and possibly radiation, but that's for another day's worries.

I had my fifth treatment yesterday. The first of the four taxol. They said I won't grow my hair back just yet, though I do have some white fuzz sticking up on my head. I hope if it comes back white/gray it'll still be soft and not coarse like some gray hair can be. Or maybe it'll be a soft beautiful blond! Cool.

The side affects are much the same as the other; nausea, fatigue, hairloss. Of course the only hair I have left to lose is on my arms and I still have to shave my legs about every three or four weeks. I haven't had to shave my armpits in months though! That's been really neat. And my girlie parts are bald and smooth as a newborn baby. Funny problem that causes, ladies. If you've ever shaved down there you probably are familiar with the peepee problem. It seems your hair works as a trail for your pee to neatly follow down into the potty. Remove the hair and the pee goes everywhere! How's that for an unanticipated problem? You have to sit at just the right angle on the toidee to pee straight down. Otherwise, what a mess!

They told me the taxol usually doesn't cause as much nausea or fatigue. It also isn't so hard on the kidneys as the other two, (boy is that a relief!!) but may be some trouble for the liver. I can't help think how crazy a treatment is that calls for you to intentionally poison yourself! And yet, we all agree to it.

The big thing to look out for with taxol is nerve damage in the hands and feet. Melissa Etheridge stopped her treatment with this because she was having trouble with her fingers and, of course, she needs her hands for guitar playing. I don't play guitar, but I do need to be able to type. We'll see what happens.

The doc was very pleased with the rapidly disappearing breast tumor. I mean, he was clearly delighted. I asked him if it was normal for a tumor to shrink so fast. He laughed and said, with cancer nothing is normal or predictable. But then he admitted it had gone from a large tumor (about as long as a AA battery) to something the size of the very tip of a finger in a remarkably short time. Not to mention the one in my neck practically disappeared after the first treatment. Then he told us a story of one other patient he had that was Stage IV (Stage IV is almost certain to kill you, I think the survival rate is like 15%) whose cancer disappeared altogether following the same treatment I'm having. I got the impression he was saying she was the only other patient he had who had done that.

Disclaimer: I have mentioned the communications problem I have with this doctor, so I could have misread what he was telling me. But I gotta say, the man was giddy.

I didn't mention to him that I had lost track of the number of people who promised to pray for me and put me on their church prayer lists. I'm not a religious person but all that positive energy may just be doing the trick. Thanks folks. And despite my recent whining, I've really not had a terribly hard time of it when I put it in perspective. I've heard of other people who were much sicker and more miserable than I've been so far. I can go to work more days than not. I haven't had any vomiting. The meds have affectively controlled the nausea. The worst has been the total interruption of my life and the fatigue. But I've got a great support system and people who care about me. And I don't think I'm going to die this year anymore. (See how much better my attitude is when I'm not suffering from PMS?) Let's not talk about the blood transfusion or having to put off a treatment due to liver function levels or the creatinine rising or the other problems with various parts of my body....

The doc also changed his attitude a little about the mastectomy. Not his mind, just his attitude. What he said was, "when you're done with these four treatments you'll meet with Dr. Marler (the surgeon) and you and he will decide where to go from there." I don't know if he put it that way because Luke was in the room or what. Being naturally suspicious, my first thought was, he's already discussed it with Marler that's why he seems so willing to go along with whatever "we" decide. Stop it, Dawn!

So I had the new chemo yesterday. The whole thing takes about 4 hours (after you see the doc.) We arrived about 9:20 for the doc appt and left for home about 2:30 after the chemo. First they give you premeds that take about an hour. Tagamet and bendryl and decadron (sp?). Then 3 hours for the taxol. The benadryl made me sleepy. I brought a book on CD (sometimes it's hard to read during the chemo) and fell asleep listening to it. Luke brought me lunch, but I couldn't eat much. I slept a couple hours off and on. Then we went home and I ate two bowls of cereal and slept some more. Didn't feel sick at all, though. I even managed to sleep last night after all that daytime sleeping. The only glitch was I woke up with acid reflux and had to sit up and take antacid and eat bread to get the acid out of my mouth.

Today I went to work (after going to the hospital emergency room for my neulasta shot - if you ever have to do this I've discovered the best time is about 7 in the morning) and felt almost normal all day. Even my appetite. Just a little heart burn.

After work I even took a dip in Bobbie's pool after watering the outside plants. Now I'm home and sleepy, but not sick.

The good thing that happened today: in spite of chemo yesterday, it felt like a normal day. I'm even sitting here blogging.

What I want to do someday: parasail.