Monday, January 31, 2011
Cancer makes me excited for Scrabble and fresh air!
Well, I am feeling really good the past few days! I have even went grocery shopping and took Deacon (our dog) for a small walk when the weather was nice! It was amazing! I hope that the next 4 rounds of chemo allow me to feel this way, because I feel more like the old Ashley. The next 4 rounds of chemo are an entirely different chemo drug, so I have my next treatment next Monday and this will be the first round of that drug. I just pray that it doesn't send me back to square one with the nausea and other side effects. I was planning to go to the gym and utilize the seated bike today, because my feet seem to always hurt, so I thought the bike would put less pressure on my feet. However, our driveway is a sheet of ice and I am waiting for the ice melt to work. The good news to this is that I got outside, took out the trash, and scattered ice melt over the drive, even though it was freezing cold the fresh air was good. So now I sit by the window and play online scrabble and watch for the driveway to de-ice, and the moment it does I am going to try to make it to the gym before the 9-14 inches of snow falls in the next 24 hours! So that is the current and exciting life of Ashley, lol!
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
The plan
Well, Monday was Chemo #4, which means I am half way to being done with Chemo!!!!!! Good news, the tumor in my breast measured 1cm smaller horizontally and is softening! Dr. Rabe and I were really happy!
We discussed that this aggressive treatment regime of chemo will most likely eliminate those scattered cells throughout my body and that there will be no need for further chemo after these 8 cycles. I meet with the radiation oncologist in 2 weeks in order to discuss the length, and frequency of my radiation. Radiation will not begin until after my breast surgery. I have an appointment March 14th to meet with my breast surgeon again and set the date for the breast surgery.
If all goes well my last chemo will be at the end of March, I will wait about 3 weeks and then have breast surgery the beginning of April, then wait another 3-4 weeks for wound healing and then beginning radiation.
Yesterday was my last Neulasta shot, so that is also reason for celebration! However, Monday night and Tuesday I was really sick, had hot flashes, and my blood pressure was low, so when I went into get my Neulasta shot they had to give me a bag of fluids.
It has been a bit since I have posted on the blog. I think that I was going through some depressed moods. I continue to struggle with being sick. I hate being weak and in bed. The bone pain makes me feel like an old lady. I go to this healing/support group on Thursday nights, and the patients that attend are of various ages with varying types of cancer. I like the group, but sometimes it is too much. I really struggle with the being sick and weak myself and then there are some patients that are attending the group and they state that they are still working and that they have rarely been sick. It is also hard for me to be around those patients that look like death. The bottom line is is that I am struggling with being a patient and I hate that Sean, my mom, and my girlfriends have to help me so much.
I think the other reason I have had a bit of depressed mood is because I have had to begin focusing on some wedding details lately. I have not even got a dress yet and now I am bald and rarely have any energy, so feeling bridal is really not in the cards these days. So a couple of days that I have felt good I had to go try on some dresses, which has not been the fun experience that most people get to have, oh well! I will try to focus on September when we will have a big party and cancer will not be invited!
We discussed that this aggressive treatment regime of chemo will most likely eliminate those scattered cells throughout my body and that there will be no need for further chemo after these 8 cycles. I meet with the radiation oncologist in 2 weeks in order to discuss the length, and frequency of my radiation. Radiation will not begin until after my breast surgery. I have an appointment March 14th to meet with my breast surgeon again and set the date for the breast surgery.
If all goes well my last chemo will be at the end of March, I will wait about 3 weeks and then have breast surgery the beginning of April, then wait another 3-4 weeks for wound healing and then beginning radiation.
Yesterday was my last Neulasta shot, so that is also reason for celebration! However, Monday night and Tuesday I was really sick, had hot flashes, and my blood pressure was low, so when I went into get my Neulasta shot they had to give me a bag of fluids.
It has been a bit since I have posted on the blog. I think that I was going through some depressed moods. I continue to struggle with being sick. I hate being weak and in bed. The bone pain makes me feel like an old lady. I go to this healing/support group on Thursday nights, and the patients that attend are of various ages with varying types of cancer. I like the group, but sometimes it is too much. I really struggle with the being sick and weak myself and then there are some patients that are attending the group and they state that they are still working and that they have rarely been sick. It is also hard for me to be around those patients that look like death. The bottom line is is that I am struggling with being a patient and I hate that Sean, my mom, and my girlfriends have to help me so much.
I think the other reason I have had a bit of depressed mood is because I have had to begin focusing on some wedding details lately. I have not even got a dress yet and now I am bald and rarely have any energy, so feeling bridal is really not in the cards these days. So a couple of days that I have felt good I had to go try on some dresses, which has not been the fun experience that most people get to have, oh well! I will try to focus on September when we will have a big party and cancer will not be invited!
Friday, January 14, 2011
Good News During Chemo #3
The sound is a little low on the videos, but I want to shout this news out anyway! Monday at chemo was most likely the best day Sean and I have had in this whole journey so far. Dr. Rabe measures the breast tumor before each chemo treatment. The reason for utilizing chemo at this point is not to directly shrink the tumor, it is to "clean up" all the scattered cells. However, it would be a wonderful indirect benefit to chemo if the tumor did shrink. Dr. Rabe measured it on Monday and the breast tumor had shrunk 1 cm vertically and .5 cm horizontally! Sean and I were super pumped, even Dr. Rabe was excited! We were, and still are, so happy! Five more chemos to go and then off to the next battle!
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
This past weekend
The weekend before chemo I am at my physical best. Emotionally it is all about preparing for another round of nausea and intense lethargy. However, this past weekend I was able to sit on the couch most of Saturday and Sunday...which was a big deal. I even ran an errand to Walmart with my mother, I begrudgingly utilized the motorized cart. I hated every minute of that damn cart, I hated it because it was undeniable that I was the "sick" person. However, my overly optimistic mother refused to let me wallow in my pity party and reminded me that I was strong enough to get out of the house and even able to run an errand. She was right, I should be happy about that. My mom was such a good mom, and it was evident that she moved effortlessly in her mother role. She was able to cook, clean, and I even allowed her to boss me a bit. It was nice just to have her here. We were able to Skype my little sister and brother-in-law, who are in Germany, and they were able to marvel in my baldness. My amazing neighbors came over, and graciously offered to assist in any way. A couple of my girlfriends came by, and yes Carol was able to feed them...she was so happy she was beside herself! All in all, it was definitely a good weekend!
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
May have trouble with order form
I am realizing people may not be able to print order form from blog. We are trying to figure out an alternative or to fix this. We are thinking about a facebook post and/or email as well. Leave me comments on the blog to let me know what is happening or email me at alee_msw@hotmail.com Thanks in advance!
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