I had my third of twelve doses of Taxol yesterday, November 1, 2013. I felt great before arriving for my appointment. My friend, Carly Crow, took me for my treatment today; so I was excited to spend the day with her. She joked when I got in the car "was I going to a doctor appointment or headed out to the club". I try not to let myself dress down when going to the doctor so as to keep my spirits up. I've always took pride in my appearance; and it feels if I give in to the urge to wear sweatpants to them, I'm giving in to cancer since being fashionable has always been my weakness. We spent most of the day laughing about this and that I may be one of the few who wore heels to a chemo appointment (they were ankle boots and too cute to pass up).
My appointment went by fast, and all my blood work came back fine. A few items had dropped a little since before I began chemo; but nothing was below the lowest "average" range. I still do NOT have a port as I am rebelling against getting one. I simply do not want to look at it each day and have a daily reminder that I'm sick. Call me crazy; but I'm trying to keep my life as normal as possible through this entire ordeal. I simply feel like one hour once a week of an IV isn't that big of a deal compared to looking at that thing every single day. I've always had great veins and never had a problem getting an IV, and until it's an issue, I'm sticking to my guns on this one.
They used the vein in the top of my hand today (so far, they've used a different vein each week). During the course of my treatment (1 hour), it was burning and hurting a little; but it wasn't unbearable. More than any of the others had. Upon removing the IV after I was done, I was set free. After an hour of saline, I needed to pee, like always. While washing my hands, the tape came off where my IV was. To my shock, the area where the IV had been was puffed up and blood was squirting out. I hurried back to the nurses station and showed her. Apparently, the vein had blown. That's a new one for me. I personally don't feel enough pressure was applied after taking the IV out and nothing more; but everyone likes to say this is a perfect example of why I need a port. Blah, blah, blah. We wrapped it tightly, and it was perfectly fine. It barely even bruised.
Carly and I made a trip to the mall and did a little shopping enjoying some girl time. Chemo day isn't so bad considering each week I get to do something fun with whomever takes me. Chemo is just a small portion of my day--a little blip in the radar.
I'm one day out from chemo, and I feel perfectly normal. My hair still hasn't begun falling out or even shedding. I certainly don't want it to fall out, so I am okay with that. However, I'm prepared for it if it does. My goal is to get through this upcoming work week as normally as possible. I'm very tired of how breast cancer has disrupted my life as well as my family's. I simply want to get up, go to work and not have any reason to think about anything than my job and focus on my responsibilities. THAT is my goal for this week. Since I always meet my goals, you can bet it will be happening!
It's Tuesday, November 5, 2013, and I am four days from my third chemo treatment. I have felt absolutely wonderful all weekend and so far this week. I thank God daily I am handling treatment so well. I have not battled any nausea or other typical side effects of chemo. I am continuing to work, and I honestly feel exactly the way I felt prior to knowing I was sick. Maybe even a little better because Diablo the tumor is shrinking in fear pretty fast. I woke up this morning, and I'm pretty sure he's a little smaller than he was yesterday. He should be afraid because I have a God just waiting to use this to show he's still God and what he's capable of. Say a prayer of thanks for your good health today and all the good things you have in your life. Sit down with your children and talk to them about their day and listen to them. Just take a moment to forget about rushing around here and there and remember the most important job you have in this life is to guide your babies. Smile at a stranger and help those in need. Don't feel sorry for me. I am just fine. There are so many others out there who have need greater than mine. Hang tough in this life because we aren't promised an easy one. =)
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