So a lot of this is kind of unnecessary information, but if you are going to go through the same thing, it is worth sharing with you! My surgery was a lumpectomy and sentinel lymph node biopsy. The surgeon only had to remove one lymph node.
One Week at a Time
March 16, 2015 1 Comment
After the first day of my second treatment regimen, I was kind of expecting a restful boring few weeks ahead. I was not able to be left alone, drive, or take care of my kids independently so it made sense to expect someone to be here and be able to take it easy. I was also kind of itching to do things and so it was a difficult balance. It was a quest to get back to normal and feel productive, but also take it very easy. No problem, right?
Sidestepping Side Effects – The Ones No One Discusses Part 1
March 13, 2015 Leave a Comment
So there are obvious side effects, like hair loss, that everyone knows about and thinks about when they contemplate what a cancer patient goes through. Then there is all this stuff people just do not like to talk about. Or it seems like at least talking about it is finally starting. For example, loss of independence, financial stress, loss of control, depression, anxiety, and lost time doing activities you enjoy to keep yourself emotionally healthy. I feel like I have done a good job pretending these don’t affect me, but they do. That Guy and my mom see it the most, followed closely by That Little Girl. It’s awful. And that is coming from someone who tries really hard to just suck it up and get through this.
Months ago a childhood friend and fellow cancer survivor and I were talking about how exactly it feels. There are not many cancer patients in my demographic when I go in to the doctor’s offices. Being diagnosed while pregnant is another special thing. Even having little ones at home makes me somewhat of an oddity when talking to the care team. Dealing with any or all of our own special circumstances changes how we cope as a family and patient. It is a rather lonely feeling no matter how many people we have loving and caring for us as a family, in the end it is all in me and on me.
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Yes I’m talking About My Nails Again
March 12, 2015 Leave a Comment
As I finish up with radiation, I am finding my nails are getting pretty awful again. I have had a ridge in them that is either a result of the SVC syndrome blood clots (someone suggested my hands were so swollen it pinched the nails beds) or the chemo drugs making them noticeably thinner. Either way, they are ripping low as that ridge grows out! And these ripped nails are getting caught on everything and every little one I touch. Must mean it is time to get a new spring color in my favorite polish, right? Check out the last time I talked about this Brittle Nail Side Effect here.
Not So Fast
March 10, 2015 Leave a Comment
It seems like since Christmas things have really been going very fast. So many things have happened in our little family! We started off the year with the good news of my surgery results, but the doctor appointments did not stop for me. I still have the Herceptin infusions every few weeks, I had a post-surgical issue that required a follow up appointment, there was an appointment to meet the radiation oncologist and another to get me set up for radiation, then starting radiation daily, physical therapy, follow up dermatology appointment from the rash I had, and other non-cancer related appointments. Add in appointments for the rest of the family and you can imagine why we include our doctors on our Christmas card list!
Back on Track
February 22, 2015 2 Comments
I had lost a week and missed my first scheduled infusion of this second chemotherapy treatment group as a result of the SVC Syndrome and time in the hospital. Now that I was out, I was ready to get back to it. Even though I had just been discharged the day prior, I had to meet with my oncologist to be cleared for treatment. They gave me an appointment for very early that next morning, before his normal appointment times start. No rest for the weary since we all know you don’t actually get to rest in the hospital!
Sometimes It Is The Little Things
February 20, 2015 Leave a Comment
This could also be called, Sometimes It Is The Really Superficial Unimportant Things. Potato, Potahtoh. Either way, a few things that have been making me feel a little more like myself lately are worth noting. [Read more…]
Outta There!
February 9, 2015 4 Comments
When I last updated my treatment story, I wrote about having my port removed after nearly a week in the hospital being treated for SVC Syndrome and various blood clots. Here we are at day eight of my hospital stay and I wake up to find out that my “numbers” that measure the clotting of my blood were way out of range. So very far out, that they shut off my heparin for a few hours. Um, yeah, so remember that port out one day, go home plan? It didn’t happen.
Sidestepping Side Effects – Mouth Sores
February 2, 2015 Leave a Comment
One of the most common side effects for both courses of chemotherapy drugs I have been given is mouth sores. Now, if you are like me, you are asking, what is that? I did not know and each time I went into the oncologist they would ask me if I had sores and I was like, “not that I know of.” “Oh, you’ll know,” was the response. So when they happened, all I can say is, “Yup, no mistaking that!”
So Many Questions
January 22, 2015 1 Comment
This middle part of the week, as I continued to deflate, there were still a lot of questions. I was still stuck in bed. I was dizzy on and off. The left side of my face felt weird, including my eye, which is nerve wracking of course. No one had come to a consensus of whether I should be moving my legs around while I was in bed to prevent clots or if that would dislodge the clots I had.
All About My Girls 