Five down, three to go!

Yes, my chemo went on as scheduled this week! Woohoo! :-) My levels were up and good so I'm assuming my change in diet, continuing to exerise and attempt to relax/get more sleep has helped quite a bit. Although if you were the oncology nurse you had a different opinion. I told her I started to eat more fruits and veggies and she said, "that has nothing to do with your counts". I beg to differ and I know there are some health care professionals out there who just "don't get it". You cannot tell me that eating foods which boost the immune system doesn't do anything. Give me a break.

Anyway yesterday's chemo session was LONG. I forgot that since it was Good Friday the week before and Easter Monday this past week the Cancer Clinic was closed so that meant they were back logged and busy yesterday. I checked in at 9:30 (my appointment was for 10am) and they called me in just shortly after 11am. I was anxious about yesterday's appointment because it was the first in a new chemo drug. I didn't know how my body would react to it. I first received Benadryl because some people have an allergic reaction to the tree oil which is in the Taxol. I know I do not have any allergies to trees so I was pretty confident I would fine. After the Benadryl they wait a half hour before giving you the Taxol. When they do they watch you to make sure you are not having a reaction. If it happens it happens right away. The nurse, Jeanette came over and started telling me funny stories and had me laughing quite hard even though I felt very drowsy. After she was done she said, "okay good, you didn't have any reaction so we're good". I looked at her and said, "you mean you already hooked me up to the Taxol??" She smiled and said, "I always distract my patients so that they are not influenced knowing the drug is going in". Smart lady, tricky but smart. LOL. One of the other side effects she was telling me about is that I could get leg twitches but they could give me Ativan for it. While I was going to sleepy land I felt my left leg twitch. It stopped after 3-5 minutes so I didn't bother telling her. It helped that I was starting to drift off to sleep I think that relaxed me enough to stop the twitches. I slept on and off for about an hour and a half. My husband left for a bit to get a coffee and stretch his legs. It was probably a very long day for him, at least I was able to sleep to pass the time. The Taxol lasted just under 3 hours and then they flushed my veins out with saline that took about 15 minutes. By 3:10pm we were ready to leave. Long, long day.

I was told that I wouldn't get the nausea with the Taxol but I would feel muscle aches and pains. I took Tylenol extra strength a half hour before bed time as a preventive measure. I didn't want to wake up during the night in pain. Well, I didn't but I ended up waking up at 2am thanks to the steriods. I managed to get back to sleep at 4am. I still have not experienced any muscle aches or pains this morning. I'm cautiously happy but part of me is wondering when it's going to hit. It may turn out that I won't really feel this until the 2nd to last or last treatment. I'm just relieved that I know how my body will react now and that I'm approaching the end of treatments soon.

Next treatment is schedule for May 10th, I'll have to start to visualize for that as well. Radiation info coming soon!

Medication Info - New Chemo Drug

Here's the drug info for my last 4 treatments. I'm supposed to start this new drug this Wednesday. I'm getting my blood work done tomorrow and meeting the doctor to find out if my counts are up. *fingers crossed everyone* I've started to use visualization. I visualize myself good counts and that I am having chemo on Wednesday. I also met with my Radiation Oncologist this past Wednesday. Since I already have background information about radiation from my father's experience I was pretty relaxed and comfortable about the appointment. My doctor is amazing. I have been truly lucky to have this team of doctors. All of them have incredible "bed side" manner and I've never felt rushed through an appointment. Our personalities have also blended well. I'll write more about the radiation side of my treatment in a later post. For now here's the drug info:


New Chemotherapy Drug

Paclitaxel ("pack-li-tax-ell" or Taxol)

Clear solution for injection, mixed into larger bags or bottles for intravenous infusion. It is used for the treatment of cancer of the ovary or the breast. Paclitaxel is infused into the bloodstream over 3 hours. It is very important that you tell your doctor if you have chickenpox (or have been recently been exposed to someone who has chickenpox), shingles, heart rhythm problems, or any other infections. Any of these conditions could affect therapy with this medication. Paclitaxel usually causes temporary loss of hair (including scalp hair, body hair, eyebrows, eyelashes, and pubic hair) starting 2 to 3 weeks after your treatment.

So far I've been lucky, I have not lost my eyebrow or eyelash hair but I think this time around I maybe losing it as well as this new hair growth I seemed to be developing these past few weeks. I've also been gaining weight because of the steriods I've had to take and will continue to take with the Paclitaxel. Thank goodness I workout, I can't imagine how much more weight I would have put on. I'm feeling uncomfortable about my weight gain (physically uncomfortable). Pretty soon I'll be at the weight I was when I was 9 months pregnant. It's frustrating but I know it's only temporary. I keep telling myself it's all part of the process and I just have to be patient.

Think of me tomorrow and Wednesday and visualize for me as well. I'll keep you all posted.

Think Pink!

If anyone outside of Canada would like one of these coins just drop me a line here.

Think Pink Coins