On December 12, 2013, I had my eighth dose of Taxol. I'm scheduled for 12 doses of Taxol, and 4 doses of another type; therefore, this marked my half way point for all my chemo! Not only did I celebrate my half way point, but I had been feeling amazingly good for two days prior to my chemo appointment. Not just a little better, but more energetic and an overall feeling of good I hadn't felt in a very long time. Long before I even knew I had breast cancer. I wasn't sure why I felt so good, but I was enjoying every moment. I discovered why I felt so good at my appointment.
As they do each week, I had labs drawn before my chemo was released. All of my labs revealed my blood counts were all as high or higher than they were before I had my first treatment. My chemo nurses were all quite shocked and said it's unheard of for a patient to have labs with blood work that's higher than before they began at half way through their treatment. My white blood counts was 6.5 before my first treatment; and it was 6.9 on the day of my eight treatment. I wanted to stand up and do a little dance when I read my lab results. I knew I had been feeling really good, and the labs proved to me it wasn't in my head. I REALLY was feeling good, and this proved it. Remember my blog when I said I expected a lot of myself and I wanted to be the best patient with the best outcome? Yep, this would be my body stepping up to the plate and doing exactly what I expect of it!
In all honestly, I give God all the glory. I truly believe God is watching over me every step during this process. I am not a super human, and my body is as fragile as the next person no matter what expectations I may have on it. God has chosen to allow me to stand in this fight, and I feel God is standing beside me and holding me up every step of the way. Having labs as good as what I saw yesterday can only be attributed to a small miracle that's the work of an awesome God wanting to show he works miracles today just as he did in the Bible. In addition to some amazing lab results, I'm happy to report the tumor is continuing to shrink. It's tough for me to give a report on the size of it now because it's THAT small now. It's tough to estimate what size it is because it's tough to find it. I have to somewhat pinch my breast tissue in the general location to even find it now. I have some fatty tissue in that area as well, so it's getting tough to tell the difference between the fatty tissue and the tumor itself. It's very clear to me how I missed this tumor in the early stages before it became hard and visibly obvious. I KNOW I have breast cancer, and I have trouble telling what is what now.
My son, Scott, took me to my appointment. Like always, we had a good time hanging out together and catching up. Between my work schedule and his school and work schedules, we do not see much of one another. Usually, when he's home, I'm in bed. Of my eight appointments, Scott has taken me to the most. He's always willing to rearrange his schedule any time I need someone to take me. He had a college final at 6 p.m.; and he got permission from his professor to arrive late so he could take me to my appointment. His professor was very understanding and allowed him to arrive late. Scott brought me home after a long day of driving, sitting at the treatment facility, and driving back home just to drive back to his school for his final. I'm so very thankful for all my children and the efforts they have all made to help me during this difficult time in my life. My children have truly been my reason for fighting this and staying so strong. I feel so very blessed to have such amazing children who love me.
I am happy to report my IV wasn't a problem this week. Although the nurse who started it is fairly new, she got it on the first try. I would say she has a future as a pro at starting IV's. Although I was told last week my veins are getting a little tough, I am happy to report that isn't the case and like I suspected, it was more of a case of the person administering the IV and not my veins! Making it half way through my treatment without a port is quite the accomplishment as everyone said I should get a port. I am glad I didn't follow everyone's advice and followed my own instincts. As I've stated before, I am the one who has to deal with it every single day, and it's simply not what I wanted. I feel it's a personal decision. If I found myself having medical issues during my treatment, and I felt a port was necessary to ensure my health was a priority, I would certainly make the decision to get a port; but I do not feel that's been an issue up to this point.
Since I am half way through my treatment, I want to touch base on side effects I've had up to this point. The list isn't very long, so it won't take me long. I feel so very fortunate to report that I have tolerated my treatment very well so far. I cannot say why I have tolerated treatment so well; but I am so thankful I have. I have continued to work full time (taking a day off here and there as needed for rest). I have had some issues with neuropathy in my hands. It started as a burning sensation in my hands. They told me to look for numbness; but I felt it was more of a burning or stinging feeling. I previously took Gabapentin for restless leg syndrome (before treatment). They increased my medication from 100 mg to 200 mb to help with the symptoms of the neuropathy. The increase has helped a lot. I still get periodic episodes, but they do not last as long. I've also had bone pain and body aches. I have had this since my first treatment. I would compare this to the body aches associated with the worst flu you've ever had. I take Tylenol as needed for the pain, and that seems to do the trick. It's usually the worst the first three to four days after an infusion. I've had issues with constipation as well. I've always had problems with this so I cannot say this is related to my treatment at all. I had an allergic reaction on my six treatment so I had to begin getting steroid shots before each treatment again. Unfortunately, that means breakouts and acne again. The steroids cause the worst acne imaginable. I take Solodyn (55 mg) each day to manage the acne as well as a daily face wash of Salex (salic acid) prescribed by a dermatologist. This REALLY helps keep the acne at a manageable level so I highly recommend this! It's worth a visit to your dermatologist because the acne isn't just on your face. It's on your chest and back too. I've had one major episode of hot flashes which began the night of my sixth treatment and lasted all night, but I haven't had any further issues with that. I hope that remains the case because that truly sucked!
The final side effect I've noticed is chemo brain. I must say it's VERY frustrating. I thought perhaps this was a joke or one of those mind over matter issues. I get so angry because I truly struggle to remember a word or how to spell something quite often. Anyone that knows me knows this is completely out of character for me. I have got to the point where I just laugh about it, and everyone at work and home knows not to make a big fuss over me forgetting simple things now. I can only say to make yourself a lot of notes and overuse your calendar on your phone. You're going to need it!
I had the worst night of sleep of my life last night, which I'm guessing is due to the steroid shot. I've had plenty of steroid shots in the past, but it seemed to affect me more last night. I am guessing I had a total of four hours of sleep last night, and that was likely in about 30 minute intervals. That was with 10 mg's of Ambien, so I can't even imagine what last night would have been like without Ambien. I've felt very good all day today, and I hope this continues. I have an evening planned with my girlfriends tomorrow night. A girls sleepover at my friend, Carly's, house to just hang out, laugh, and catch up. We've all been very busy and haven't had time to hang out together for quite a long time, so all of us are looking forward to it. Hopefully, I do not get too tired and fall asleep first!
It's hard to believe I'm half way through my treatment already. It seems like just yesterday I was being given the hideous news I had breast cancer, so I'm relieved to say my treatment seems to be going fast. I am okay with that as there is nothing I want more than to be cancer free and move on with my life. I know I still have a very long road ahead of me, but at this stage, I will take whatever wins I can get in stages. Baby steps, it's all about baby steps. One success at a time. Setting small goals and meeting them one at a time.
Have a blessed evening and hug your babies and loved ones.
Go to THE ONE STOP CANCER SHOP to shop for breast cancer products and useful information.
Go to THE ONE STOP CANCER SHOP to shop for breast cancer products and useful information.
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