It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood

Once again, it was cool enough for part of the day to have the windows open.  This summer has been kind to us.

I was able to get outside and walk every day this past week!

My first round of taxol has resulted in some additional side effects, both of which are listed on the hand out.

The tips of my fingers and toes went numb last Sunday, and have not come back.  The shooting joint pains have gone, though...so there's that.  Those were gone completely by Wednesday.

Then, I got a sore on the tip of my tongue that hurts really badly at times, and at other times is completely forgettable.  The dry mouth has also become more pronounced.

The strangest things set the pain of the sore off, too....like bland plain hummus.

SO, I talked to the nurse twice this past week.

She said that the peripheral numbness should resolve before my next treatment, and if it does NOT, they will change something in my treatment.

I have also heard, since talking to her, that the numbness can become permanent.  We'll have to see if my 25 year long career as a massage therapist is now officially over.

I can't treat clients if I can't fucking feel with my finger tips.

I also talked to her about the mouth, and she called in a prescription oral rinse that I am supposed to use 4 times a day.  She said that it doesn't sound like thrush, which is a common side effect, but that I should use the anti fungal rinse just the same.

The rinse also causes numbness that takes away the pain for a few minutes.

I have used it 4 times all together since picking it up on Friday night, and the spot on my tongue is now pretty much gone.

The numbness it causes in my mouth and on my lips is most disconcerting, but it does not last long.

One year ago on the last Sunday of August, while we were dealing with Dave's mom having been in the hospital for a month, my precious cat Jack told me that he was done.

He'd been diagnosed with lymphoma a few months earlier, and on that afternoon, he looked at me and groaned when I touched him.

We took him to the emergency vet, and made sure that he didn't have any more bad days.

I had promised him that I would help him when the time came, on his first bad day, and up until that point, he hadn't had any bad days.

He didn't cry in the carrier in the car on the way, and he crawled out of the carrier on his own at the vet, and he lay very still and peaceful as we held him and let him go.

I still miss him.

Our two babies now are doing great.  I had asked Jack to send me a kitty who would love me as much as he did, and that was when Pete came along.

He is a trip, that one!  Plays fetch like a puppy, and crawls into my lap at every opportunity, and gazes up at me with utter devotion and love.  Jack came through!

Annabel is also a very sweet girl.  I've never had a female cat before, because they tend to be psycho.  She has her psycho moments, but she is also a very loving and affectionate kitty.

Lately, she has been crawling into bed with me, and snuggling up against my heart, in the circle of my arms, like our remarkable Louie did during his short time on this earth.

We are off to visit Dave's dad.  He seems to be doing well these days since his helper moved in.

He's taking his meds, I think, and is far more lucid.  She also makes sure he eats.

He even called the other night and asked how I was doing!

Then, when we get back, there will be chores and making a batch of egg cups for this week's breakfasts.

Everyone have a good Sunday!

Number nine....number nine....

Round #9 of chemotherapy was Thursday.

Between the usual blood draw, doctor visit, and treatment, we were there for six hours.

Six.

All freaking day.

The new medication that replaced the two previous ones takes three hours all by itself. The bag didn't seem to be bigger, but I guess the drip has to be slower.

The nurse said that the only way to reduce that is to go every week for a treatment, instead of every three weeks.

Every week until mid October.

No.

I am thinking that the doctor knew I wouldn't want to do that, so he kept me on the schedule we've become used to.

Now that we KNOW this, we will pack lunch for the next three rounds....but it might have been nice if someone had advised us ahead of time for this first time doing the new protocol!

Since we were there all day, and were both tired and weak with hunger, we just got a take and bake pizza from Papa Murphy's for dinner.  That was a treat!!

I felt fine the next day, despite not having slept due to anxiety about what COULD happen with the new drug.

The weather was good that day, so I went out for TWO fitness walks during my breaks, and was only a little tired at the end of the day.  I felt jubilant over the fact that I felt.....fine.

Saturday (yesterday) was a different story, though.

I slept really well Friday night, thanks to pharmaceuticals, and got up feeling pretty good, but by mid- afternoon, I started having random intense pains in my bones.

First it was my pelvis, then my knees, then my shoulders.  It would travel from place to place, and last a few minutes, then go away.

I went about my day, though, sweeping floors, tweaking the hot tub chem, doing laundry, and preparing a feast in stages before dinner time.

But it wore me out.  By last night, I was just plain tired of hurting and felt exhausted.

But I could not sleep.  I got up at least 8 times.  Pharmaceuticals did not help.  I was just too uncomfortable.

So today is an easy day, and I am grateful for it.  The pains are still happening.

The feast I was preparing yesterday was to feed Dave and our friend Andrew (a 27 year old we met and became friends with back when we used to hang out at Urban Wine Works, before the owners ruined it, and all of the friends we'd made there quit on the same day).

Andrew and Dave spent yesterday tearing the front off of our storage shed, and replacing the door and siding.

We had reserved some of our tax refund money for this project.

Our shed was built as a garage when the house was built in 1927.  We have no way of knowing when it was converted into a shed, but whoever did it replaced the garage doors with chip board, and the old front door off of the house.

The chip board was rotting, and growing tufts of weird looking dark maroon colored mold, and the door was literally in pieces.

Dave's son had promised to help with this project, multiple times, but could never seem to find the time to do it, so Dave asked Andrew, and he was more than happy to help.

It really needed to be done now, because the door was broken.  There is also a chip board extension off of the side of the shed that will need to be re-done some day, too, but not right now.

It's also rotting, but is serviceable as a place to keep the wood pile for our fire pit, and some of our yard tools so they're easy to access.

Anyway, they did a great job on the front of the shed, and I made them a grilled steak dinner.

The weather held up in their favor for most of the day.  It started out cool, cloudy, and breezy, and one the sun came out, it didn't get THAT hot.  I think it was 92 or something.

HOT, to be sure, but not like it usually is in central Oklahoma in August!

Andrew really appreciated the good meal, because he's between jobs right now, and has been eating a lot of sweet potatoes lately....like....only sweet potatoes.

Poor kid had a good job, but the owner of the business closed it down right when it was most prosperous.  No one knows why.

Thankfully, his parents help him out, but he is pretty strapped at the moment, and if he can't find anything, he will have to go live with his folks in Tulsa.

My agenda for today is to make a batch of baked egg cups for this week's breakfasts.  Using spinach and arugula, diced bell pepper, and jack cheese.

Later, I will make a simple skillet supper.

Other than that, I think I will just need to rest.  Right now, the pain is in my forearms, so I am going to stop typing.

This pain thing is not listed on the potential side effects, but, as Dave says, I'm weird.

Oops

I forgot to post on Sunday....

We have had a lovely break in the weather, and it was so nice that we went to the local AAA baseball park on Saturday night and saw a game.

That was fun.

We got lots of stuff done around the house over the weekend, too.  De-cluttering and cleaning a bit.

We had a cold front go through, and it's only 73 degrees this evening.  SO beautiful!  SO weird, but so much appreciated!

Tomorrow, Thursday, is my next chemotherapy treatment.

I am hoping that I will feel well on Friday and be able to go to work.

Prayers and good vibes needed!  I'll try to remember to do my usual update on Sunday.

Only 5 days and random comments

This round, it only took 5 days for me to feel up to exercise and normal activities again.

Go me!!!

The immune booster drug side effects, however, seemed to last even longer.

I REALLY do NOT want that shit again. Ever.  During these 4 rounds of adriamycin, it was the immune boosting shit that made me sick.

I only felt the "adria" for the first 24 hours, and that was just marked fatigue and manageable nausea.

Anyway, the only lasting side effect seems to be dry mouth, so I am being extra vigilant about my oral hygiene, and hoping it will pass sooner rather than later.

Another thing that I have noticed, not sure it's a side effect or not, is that my sense of smell is far more acute than usual.  It's usually pretty darned acute!!

If someone in my office has body odor after going out for lunch on a hot afternoon, or bad breath, I can smell it like they are sitting in my lap.

I can smell EVERYTHING.

I have heard pregnant moms-to-be complain of this....maybe it's my hormones changing?  It has been 8 months since the pill was withdrawn from my regimen.

The smell of the detergent aisle at the store ALMOST made me gag.  Normally, it's way too strong to "enjoy," but it doesn't make me feel overwhelmed like now.

It's weird.

The ugly darkening and banding of my finger and toe nails has grown out, so I can stop wearing nail polish now, if I want to.

I am pretty sure the discoloration was from the Taxotere that was given in the first 4 rounds of chemo, and then removed for the second four rounds.

I have actually gained too much weight since surgery, and now need to lose 5 to 10 pounds so my lower-body clothes fit again.  There's a little too much belly and hip going on at the moment.

Too many comfort foods and too much freedom.....gotta get back on the healthy track!!

Since it's clear that chemotherapy is not going to turn me into a walking skeleton, I can "safely" start removing unhealthy enticements from my menu!

Dave has gained probably 25 pounds, so it's also GOT to happen for him.  He's in agreement.

We now have veggies and hummus to take with us to work this week for our snacks, and I have thrown out the various forms of bread that were in the house.

What a waste...there was a package of garlic naan that I had bought and never opened.  I had forgotten that it was in the freezer.  It was freezer burned anyway, so that helped me feel a little less guilty about pitching it.

I HATE to waste food.  Food is sacred.

One of our feral colony cats, the current alpha male that we call Stannis, got his head stuck in a glass jar sometime this past week.

He managed to break the end of the jar off, but the broken glass "collar" remained on his neck.

We started putting out "vibes" or "prayers" or "intentions" or whatever you want to call it for him to be the one in the trap this week.  We felt that it was critical to help him, because, sooner or later, that glass was going to find a way to kill him.

Since he was not prone to coming in the mornings for breakfast, I suggested we put the trap out in the middle of the night, instead of in the early morning.

When I woke up to pee in the middle of the night, I woke Dave up, and the trap was set at 2 am

Whatever the reason, or the combination of reasons, Stannis was the one in the trap at dawn!

What a wonderful feeling for both of us to be able not only to get one more TNR done, but also to save a life.

The glass would be easy to remove once he was sedated for his neutering procedure.

He came home hale and hearty, and is happily back with his tribe, free of his dangerous glass collar, and his kitten-producing balls.

He will live out his life, defending his territory, and hanging out with his family.

By the way, all of this spring's kittens seem to have died.  Thankfully, none of them died in our yard this time.

We really need to get one of the girls the next time the trap is set.  They'll be going into season soon for their second annual litter, and we hope to be able to stop at least one of them from dropping more kittens to die on the street.

Okay, I am off to make home made breakfast sausage patties, to finish cleaning the house, and to do some laundry.

Everyone have a good Sunday!

Last time....

Received my last round of adriamycin and cytoxin on Friday.

Also HOPEFULLY my last injection of neulasta happened yesterday afternoon.

Thanks be to all of the gods!  Because DAMN I feel like crap today.

I am convinced it's the neulasta, that stuff in the thing they put on my arm that goes off 27 hours after treatment to boost my immune system.

I felt great yesterday, and got a lot done around the house, until that damned thing went off.

Then everything started to hurt.  I mean everything.  My forehead hurts to touch.  Jeezuz.

The nurse said that I can skip this drug during the last four treatments, provided my blood counts stay up.  I will do whatever I can to keep my blood counts up, mostly drinking my herbal teas that build blood, and eating my usual healthy diet.

It worked before, it will work again.

The last four rounds will be just one chemo drug, the name of which escapes me now.

This also means fewer steroids, hopefully no benadryl, and not as much need for extra anti nausea meds (I've been getting three per treatment).

Hopefully, the treatments won't take as long because of this, AND hopefully, I will be able to work the next day like I could with the first four, which were made up of more drugs than these will be.

The nurse said the last four will be a "cake walk."

I just have to get through feeling miserable for the next few days, and the rest of this process should be much easier.

I am nearly out of the chemo woods!

I had run out of paid time off at work, and mentioned it to my co workers.

It came up because I told them that I was scheduled off for tomorrow (using my FMLA), but that I would come in if I could because I wasn't going to be paid if I stay home.

I won't be penalized, but I also won't be paid.

I wanted to give them the heads up that I MIGHT be there if I am not too sick, so they might not have to do my work.

One of them marched in and donated a day of his hours so I could stay home AND be paid.

Then another one donated some hours, too, so that I have a little cushion for the coming weeks until this process ends in October.  I will still have to take more time off than I earn in a month as we approach the end of this.

I work with great people.

The office politics suck just like at any other job, but I stay out of it, collect my meager pay checks that never seem to get much bigger no matter how much my work load grows (or even with the title of project manager), and do my work.

We have a good team, and I am amazed at the support and love they have shown me.

When this is all over, I am going to buy them donuts or something....

Today, it's all I can do to sit and read.  It even hurts to let my arms rest against my sides.  Sitting at the dining room table with my elbows on the table and my back away from the chair is the only position that doesn't hurt.  As with the past three times, every inch of my body feels bruised.

This will likely last until I wake up on Tuesday morning.

The nausea has been better this time, though.  Last time, I felt sick for the full 4 days.  I think that was partially because I went into that treatment completely exhausted from the trip to Chicago.

This time, I was stronger on treatment day.

But I am still getting the chills, the body pain, and the frequent hiccups.  SO weird.

Everyone out there have a good Sunday.  We've been blessed with a break from the heat, happy to say, and a little rain.