Checking in on Amy

I'm 9 days out from my last chemo treatment and I'm feeling more like myself every day. :) Although I have probably lost sight of what 'normal' flavours are I'd say my tastebuds are at about 75% today, which is something to celebrate. My mouth has been sore the last couple of days; it was sore last round too and I'm not sure if I mentioned it then. I have avoided getting any actual true mouth sores but there is a tenderness to my gums and parts of my mouth that makes me think I narrowly avoided them.  Our morning walks yesterday and today were the first that have felt good from start to finish, so my fatigue is fading and that is nice. I'm still pretty tired after walks but it is nice to feel the small improvements. My adventures with the open wound meant way less activity than usual for the last few weeks and it feels good to get moving a little more. My brain is also feeling a bit more normal the last couple of days. Brain fog is hard to measure. Sometimes...

Well, my last 'helpful poison' infusion was successfully delivered yesterday. Today I've got that familiar weird feeling as my steroids help keep my body only semi-aware of the effects of the chemo. My pee smells bad again. My face is puffy. I'm too wired to nap but I know the crash will come tomorrow. My last chemo day was much like the rest of them. I was lucky to have a window seat with a nice view on a beautiful day. Rick got to join me since it was the last round (visitors still limited to first and last appointments). He came for the last hour of the day. The chemo suite was a bit hectic as it was slightly understaffed, but my care was still as incredible as always. Last day! My view On the last day of chemo treatment one of the ways patients celebrate this important milestone is by ringing a bell. Over the course of the last few months I have met many people who will be on chemo for life and won't ever get a chance to ring the bell. I have learned that some p...

Here are my selfies from my FIRST chemo eve on April 13th and my LAST chemo eve which is today (August 10th). It's hard to believe that four months have passed since then. I am very glad that this first phase of treatment is finally coming to an end. It has been a bit of a marathon. The image from April is mirrored...I must have changed a setting on my phone since then. Both picc lines have been in my left arm. :) I'm going into my last chemo treatment with a similar mindset to the one I had before the first treatment. I'm glad things are moving along. I trust my doctors. I was nervous the first time because I didn't know what to expect. I am nervous now because I DO know what to expect - that I'll feel great until Saturday, really awful for a couple of days, then suffer broken tastebuds and fatigue for a few more days after that. I know I'll have trouble finding food I want to eat, but that the food will stay down. I know how much it helps to stay hydrated and ...

What a week! Chemo #5 went as expected yesterday. I'm feeling weird and steroid-filled today. I had some serious night sweats last which is gross because chemo is also seeping out of my pours. I have had this previously and don't think I've mentioned this here. I have experienced a few hot flashes since starting chemo too, and can't really know if it's the chemo or hormone changes causing them. It has been about 10 weeks since I last had a period, which is sort of a blessing since I don't have to worry about managing cramps or anything, but it sure has me wondering what's ahead of me when it comes to hormones and managing menopause. My chemo nurse yesterday was the same nurse who looked after me for my first treatment. She had already learned about my exciting chemo port dehiscence . I guess word gets around when freaky things happen. There are so many different situations I see while I'm in the chemo suite. Two different people came in to be hooked up t...

* * * * * * I published this post yesterday with the title "Send Good Vibes to My Platelets!" and have since learned that I 'passed' my bloodwork today and will be able to get my 4th treatment tomorrow, so THANK YOU, because your good vibes helped me believe that I would pass this test that I had very little control over. :)   * * * * * * As I suspected, it has been a lovely week full of long walks and time to enjoy my last few quiet days before summer break without any bad chemo side effects. I do have some growing anxiety about my blood test tomorrow; I have no way of knowing how much my platelets have recovered (or not recovered) and do not enjoy that feeling of helplessness. Finding the bright side of the situation helps, but that doesn't mean there isn't also worry. The delay in my treatment means that if my platelets have recovered and I get the green light for Thursday I will be at my pinnacle of shittiness for Miriam's graduation. It is not somethi...

After a crappy chemo-drenched Sunday and Monday my body and brain bounced some of the way back yesterday. This is very good, since I was sort of counting on it. :) My mom had been here for the weekend and left yesterday morning, so she was here for the worst of my exhaustion and brain fog. Her presence helped me take more (or better) naps and I am so grateful that she can be a rock for me when I need her. Sadly, not all of my 'chemo round 3 wishes' have been granted. On the 'wish not granted' list: I still have a smattering of ridiculous white hairs hanging on to my noggin. To all of the little hairs that keep hanging on: I love you, but you are FREE TO GO.  Upon careful assessment in the last day, I believe my finger numbness has gotten worse, and I am also noticing numbness in my feet that hadn't been really been obvious to me before. The numbness isn't enough to limit any of my activities, but it is a strange sensation. On my 'wish granted' list: Eyeb...

Every little noise makes it hard for me to think today. I am tired but not. Want food and don't. The dog has had a 'barky' day, and though I love her my patience is wearing thin. I know tomorrow will be better, but it does not change the fact that I'd like to crawl out of my skin right now, or just go to sleep and wake up on Tuesday or Wednesday when my chemo hangover is all gone. Since cute dog photos always make things better, here is a picture of Martha with Lily, another Wheaten in the neighbourhood. :)

My third chemo treatment was yesterday and so far I am feeling similar to last time. I've got a big wave of steroid-induced energy that will most certainly wear off tomorrow. This will (likely) be followed by a tired, foggy, grouchy Sunday and Monday followed by a better Tuesday, and incremental (but noticeable) improvements each day after that. About two weeks after treatment I feel as normal as can be, and I am grateful for that. My bloodwork on Wednesday showed that my blood is doing OK but my platelets were getting a bit low. This is to be expected, and can't really be helped. If they get too low, the consequence would be a delay in my next treatment, so I'm hoping this won't be the case because I'd really like to be able to stay on schedule. I like schedules! Chemo #3 Selfie My wishes for chemo #3 We have had a busy but uneventful last week. Science fair kept me busy on and off until yesterday. The long weekend was quiet but lovely. I experimented with some new...

What glorious weather we had this past weekend! Weather in May can be so unpredictable. In the last 5 years we have seen just about everything, including snow. We were very lucky to be able to spend this unusually warm one at our cottage. Our cottage is part of a corporation including 8 families that have each purchased a share in what used to be a lodge/cottage resort. Leading up to Victoria Day weekend we usually coordinate with the others to do the spring job of putting in our big docks. This year two weekends were put aside for this and we were not able to attend the first. We arrived this weekend (the second of the two) to find that the big jobs had all been completed. Of course, no trip to the cottage is without 'work' of some kind, and our water heater didn't make it through the winter so Rick spent half of Saturday replacing the element. I am certainly feeling better every day post-chemo. More like myself. My surgical incisions seem to be healing OK. Every day less ...

This second round of chemo has been similar to the first. I was feeling pretty good the first couple of days (if you can consider a steroid high 'good!') and like last time that is being followed by a couple of really slow and tired days. This round I have found that the feeling of exhaustion and brain fog bothering me more than the first time. The first round of chemo I wasn't sure what to expect, so to have my symptoms limited to fatigue and a nagging headache seemed like a gift (which it really is) and that 'pleasant' surprise may have distracted me from the details. Or perhaps things are a little worse this time. Hard to say. I've been trying to explain how I feel. How my brain feels. It is weird. But I will try. This feels sort of like jet lag. The kind where you are exhausted AND you still have a 10 hour day in front of you and you need to gather your wits so you don't get on the wrong train and it takes all of your concentration. The kind where you ge...

I just got home from Chemo #2 and, like last time, so far so good. Mom is here and she was my chauffeur today! During our neighbour dog walk this morning the topic of Mother's Day came up, specifically that it is happening this weekend. I was so sure it was next weekend, as it often occurs at the start of the Canada Wide Science Fair. So, I am thankful for Mother's Day I get to be with my mom. 💜 My treatment took just about exactly 3 hours today. I'm grateful it's not longer; some others are there for much longer, and still others go home hooked up to a bottle of chemo. Here is a picture of my in my comfy chemo chair - they are sweet recliners and VERY comfortable. I mentioned in a much earlier post that I received a really amazing gift from my friend Deb. She had a cancer diagnosis in 2017 (I think!) and did a beautiful job sharing her story at that time which I was grateful for. Her honest sharing helped inspire me to do the same, and I have found it to b...

It is the tail end of the long weekend. The sun has been shining every day which I did not expect based on last week's forecast. Even though it has been cool out the sun has tricked me into believing that spring is really here. I guess we'll see. :) On Saturday Rick learned how to give me the injection to help my blood cells grow. It was easy and I couldn't even feel it. I stayed hooked up to the IV hydration just for a couple of hours Saturday before deciding to detach myself and just drink tea and water instead. I'm sure I will be grateful for the hydration in the future if I'm having trouble eating or drinking, but at this point being hooked up to the pump just made me feel like a sick person. (And yes, I know that I AM a sick person, but I am definitely capable of drinking my prescribed 2L of fluids at this point.) I continue to feel pretty good, though the fatigue really kicked in the last couple of days. Yesterday I was feeling really tired and was in a bit of...

Well friends, two new chemical elements have entered this body, so my collection continues to grow. Yesterday morning I had my MRI bright and early. It went well; I'm not more claustrophobic than average, but mine was done lying face down so I actually had no sense that I was in a tiny tube. It was noisy of course, but not too bad. The contrast dye they use for that test contains the element gadolinium, which even as a chemistry teacher I don't really know much about. It sits way down low in the periodic table in an area we don't focus much on in high school (except a bit in grade 12 when we look at electron configurations), but I guess it's good for taking a closer look at tumours! My chemotherapy treatment took less than four hours, and the subsequent visits will be even shorter. I got three different drugs: Herceptin, CARBOplatin, and DOCEtaxel. The Herceptin is not chemotherapy, but just an antibody that blocks HER2 receptors on my cancer cells. They give the Hercep...

Well, we've made it to chemo eve! I had my shiny new PICC line installed this morning. The PICC (peripherally inserted central catheter) is a thin tube that goes into a vein in my upper arm and is threaded through all the way to my heart. Where it leaves my body there is an insanely sticky bandaid over the tube so that it won't move or come out. The outside end of the tube is soft and flexible; it sort of folds over on itself and I can cover it with a fabric sleeve to keep it out of the way. Every week the dressing will be changed and the line flushed to make sure it stays clean and functional. I will have this in my arm for just 5-6 weeks at which time I will become EVEN MORE bionic. More on that later. My big job this afternoon is to pack my bag for chemo! I will be there for 4 hours or so. I've got LOTS of things to bring and do (knitting, embroidery, reading, podcasts, etc.) and I also need to pack snacks and probably some layers. Rick will drop me off at RVH early for ...