Getting ready

I have had overall a great few weeks and am getting ready for the next round. I am getting myself mentally ready for it - but the chemo itself is pretty easy overall. I try and make food for the staff when I can and just bring books and dress colorful, cheery and overall comfy.

We had a busy weekend - but it was wonderful. I had a great visit with my sister and Dad. Then we met up with a cousin of Steve's and his wife and had a really nice time. I did not know them too well but really enjoyed talking to them. They had kids about ours age and they were very kid friendly so that was nice. The next day, I even made it to my work party at the water park and with the help of friends, brought all the food and drinks for 20 people. Steve did a lot of entertaining the kids and I entertained under the shaded chairs...

I am learning that I can do things, but I need to sleep a lot afterwards to prevent getting sick. I slept for 2.5 hours on sunday and then was up for a few hours and slept another 8.5 hours. It was worth it though since I had a good time and no sickness.

I am hoping to meet with my surgeon (two of them) after this chemo and start thinking about surgery (bilateral mastectomy) in early September. I am kind of hoping to get the whole reconstruction thing over and done with at the same time - but I need to see if that will work best.

I just hate the idea of missing summer in Colorado. I could miss some of winter - because I would not be out hiking anyways. The weather is keeping my spirits up - but I am getting a little anxious to actually do some outdoor activities and not be worried about getting sick from pushing myself too hard. In time I will - so I am working on patience - which I have never been good at. Maybe it is time to learn...

Going strong

Things seem to be going pretty well this round. The fatigue is a bit worse - but everything else is much better. I have not had the severe muscle aches, leg pain or swelling that seemed to accompany the other treatments. Overall, it has been not too rough of a weekend - even though much of it was spent in bed :-). I did manage to attend Nat's soccer game and was asst. coach and then went to the carnival for a few hours. Andrew had been counting down the days and I really wanted to see his face when he saw all the rides. I guess cancer does change a few things... I bought the kids and Steve their favorite junk food and paid too much money for the rides without a single complaint. I was just happy to be enjoying it!!



I am hoping to gradually get my energy back this week and work a bit. The following week, Nat is off track for summer so I have a few fun days planned with both kids. I bought both kids some new clothes and will do the school supplies this week. It feels odd to do it at the beginning of summer but the kids start school the first week of July. If I focus on getting them ready and set for school, I do not focus too much on the cancer.



Steve is doing well and becoming quite the chef. I think he was tired of my reccomendations for tomato soup or grilled cheese - so he has been doing some experimenting. On the days when I can taste normal, it is pretty good. I am trying to cook a bit more too - but I tend to bake which is okay too. The kids love it! I also taught Nat to e-shop and told her that was Mommy's new favorite way of shopping for things. I do not think she really understood it - but will when the package arrives. Let's hope she does not figure out how to find my credit card and do it on her own...

Round Four - completed!

Well, round four went forward as scheduled. As expected, my blood counts corrected themselves with a bit more time. My sister Mary came out for a visit to keep my spirits up and to have a 'chemo party' with me :-). Things went overall well and I was wired for the last two days due to the steroids that I get with the treatments.

I am pretty relaxed now and rested quite a bit today and feel actually okay. Tonight and tomorrow are usually the worst with muscle aches, body aches and heart rate, blood pressure and temperature changes. It is nothing horrific usually - just annoying. I am trying a new tactic this round and am really forcing myself to rest a bit. Okay, I am going to do my best... I took a day and a half off work this round and hopefully the recovery will be a bit better.

My family and Steve have done as much as they can to try and get me to rest and work less - but I have been a bit resistent. I am going to try it this time and see how things go. I do not think I will run out of things to do - since I have a lot of good books from friends and wonderful uplifting cards and notes. I still need to find time to learn to knit, cook a little more and do some wood work - so I will not likely get bored. I may just need to wait some of them until my energy returns.

For now, I will stick with spending time with family and friends and trying to do more movie nights and date nights with Steve. My spirits are up and things are going overall as well as they could - but we will see how the next few days pan out. I am afraid to push things too much but I also hate staying at home and feeling like a wimp. I guess I will start learning how to slow down a bit - starting now...

Round Four - almost...

I went in today for my fourth treatment, but had to delay it since my platelets were too low. It was to be expected with the chemo drugs but they want to see them a bit higher before they knock them down again. It just means we wait a week and let them rise on their own and then we can proceed. It will delay all the rest of the treatments by a week but that is just how it goes.

I was a little disappointed - but quickly got over it. I had a rough go with round 3, so it will be nice to feel good for another week before we repeat the treatment. It also explained my mild bloody noses that I have had.

I am doing well and feeling pretty well - just tired. I certainly get my 9 hours sleep and most days it totals to about 10 so not a lot gets done around the house right now. I did manage to frame a great artwork on Natalies and get caught up on paying bills - so that is good. I even managed to do some e-shopping and real shopping for the kids - since I am not too tired for those things :-).