Chemo

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One more round of Taxol to go!

It’s Monday and I’m feeling good!  I did round 11 of Taxol Friday.  I go in this Friday for round 12, the last one!   I remember the day my oncologist told me I was going to do 12 rounds of Taxol.  I was devastated!  Twelve more weeks of chemo!  How was I going to make it through that!?  Well, I did it!  One more round to go!  The inner strength you find when dealing with something like cancer is amazing!  The strength and love that the people in your life give you is also amazing.  I couldn’t have made it through this part of my journey without all the support I’ve had.  I have to say thank you to my sweet Javiee for taking such good care of me.  For working all day and coming home to make me yummy dinners and yucky juices!  For telling me I’m beautiful when I just don’t feel beautiful!  He is always there for me, he’s my rock and I couldn’t do this without him!  My kiddos have also been so strong.  How unfair is it that they have to deal with this!!  They also give me strength.  I fight for them!  To all my family that came a thousand miles to visit me ( Daddy, Joyce, Laura, Betty, Diane, Danny & Patsy) Thank you!  It was so good to have company, even when I was feeling my worst!  To all my family at Denny’s,  Arvin’s and Noah’s Ark, you guys have made this horrible time so much easier for us!  For that my family thanks you!  We love you all!  Then there’s my mama who has been with me every step of the way.  She took so much time off work to be at my many appointments.  I couldn’t imagine having done this without her!  I am thankful to have such a great support system!  I am a long  way from home, so I know a lot of you can’t visit and you follow me on my blog or my facebook.  Thank you guys for all your support!  It means so much!  You encourage me daily!

As far as my treatment goes, I will do my last round of Taxol this Friday.  The following week I will have another PET scan.  That will show us if the past five months of chemo has gotten this cancer under control.  The results of the PET scan will decide my future treatment plan.  For now, I’m just praying for good scans!

On a happy note, my son, Kori, turned 21 this week!  21!  He’s making me old!  Happy Birthday Kori!  I love you with all my heart!

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That’s my oldest, Kori.  Happy Birthday Kori!  I love you!!!

 

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TGIF??? No…For me it’s more like Taxol…Round 8!

Friday again, chemo day.  TGIF doesn’t pertain to me anymore!  It’s more like TGIM!  By Monday I’m usually over the bone pain and leg cramps that seem to get worse with each round of Taxol.  No, Friday is not what it used to be!

On the bright side I can say after this round I have 4 more to go!  Does that mean after 4 more rounds I am done with chemo?  Your guess is as good as mine.  This cancer inside of me seems to be the deciding factor.  For now my tumor markers are down and that gives me hope  that my Fridays in the chemo chair will soon come to an end.

I had a lady come up to me this week at Natural Grocers.  I wonder how she knew I had cancer, could it have been my bald head or my lack of boobs??  She told me to stay strong.  She battled cancer two years ago and there would come a day when I would wake up and not think of cancer.  I thanked her for her kind words.  After all, she was only trying to be an inspiration to me.  Little did she know,  I’m stage 4 and not a day will go by when the thought of cancer is not lingering in the air.  I had an emotional breakdown once we made it to the car. How nice would it be to actually entertain the thought of not having to think of cancer!?   Unfortunately, that is not a luxury you have when your stage 4.

On a happy note…I had pizza this week!   My Javiee is the best!  You all know my diet is very strict!  Javiee found the perfect pizza recipe.  Of course he didn’t use white flour, it had 2 grams of sugar in it!  He used wheat flour and made his sauce from scratch.  It was yummy!!  I am a lucky woman to have such a great man to help me through this!  I am blessed!

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Here’s a picture of my pizza!

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Chemo begins again…

I enjoyed my two week break from chemo!  It was nice to feel like my old self for a little while!  Javiee and I went with T.J. on his class field trip to Ouray.  Good times, oh how I treasure them!!  I was a little nervous about going to the hot springs.  It was my first time out in a swim suit with no boobs and no hair!  A friend of mine, Trish, told me to just own it. What good advice!  (Thanks Trish!). Own it.  That’s all I can do.  Cancer has taken enough of me.  I can’t let it keep me from doing things with my little one because I’m worried about what other people will think!  How liberating!  I think it’s the first time I put on a swim suit without worrying about that little pooch in my tummy!  Why do we care about those things anyway??  It’s the moments and the memories that matter.  Cancer has a way of opening your eyes to everything.  If there’s one thing you can take from what I’m going through, take that.  Enjoy every moment and make memories with your family that will outlast you!

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That’s me and T.J. at the mine in Ouray.

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That’s me with my Javiee. I’m still so swollen from chemo, but he loves this picture.

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Ouray, Colorado

On another note, I started chemo again Friday.  I had my first of 12 rounds of Taxol.  I will be doing Taxol every Friday throughout the summer.  I looked at the calendar yesterday.  I will finish chemo one week before T.J. goes back to school.  I hope the side effects are minimal so I can enjoy the summer with him!  The first round went really good!  I was really dizzy after it.  I came home and slept the rest of the day.  I woke up Saturday feeling good and I still feel good today! I’ve heard Taxol is a lot easier to deal with than the AC was.  So far that seems to be the case!  Praying all 12 rounds are like this!

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The results are in…

I went in for my PET scan yesterday.  It shows no new growth and improvement!  Yay!  That was what I needed to hear!  The past 3 months have been so hard on me!  It’s good to know that all I’ve been through has helped.  Talk about life changing!  That’s what cancer is!  

I was hoping for a break from chemo.  How nice would it be to feel normal this summer!  No chemo brain, no nausea, no extreme fatigue, no bald head, could I be so lucky?? No..my new treatment plan is in full force.  12 rounds of chemo, one every Friday for 12 weeks!  On the bright side it’s not AC, it will be Taxol this time.  I hear the side effects are a lot easier to handle than the side effects of AC.  Praying this is true!  Seeing the improvements on my PET scan helps to motivate me for the next 12 treatments.  I can do this!  As far as feeling normal goes, I guess its just time to find my ” new normal”!  

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That’s my T.J. out by the river.  It was so good to have a little break from chemo!  So good to be outside!

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Bloodwork for Chemo round 3…April 11, 2013

That's me with my Javiee. I miss that hair!

I went to have my bloodwork checked today to see if round 3 of chemo is a go. My white count was perfect and I will have chemo tomorrow. My doctor says she needs to put all her patients on my Javiee’s juices because I’m the only one of her patients that doesn’t have a problem with constipation..lol. I told her it was the beets! My man is the sweetest and his top priority is taking care of me. Everyday he puts a fresh beet in the juicer for me. When I get that down he does carrots. The beets taste like dirt to me, but I down it because he says it’s good for me. The carrot juice is actually yummy. I am a lucky woman to have a man who loves me the way my Javiee does. He gives me hope. He gives me strength. He is my treasure.