3 down, 3 to go!!!

Good morning! It's Saturday morning, June 12th. I worked last night and have not been to bed yet. Mama and Daddy are going out of town for the day, so I decided to come over here and get some things done. I've cleaned up a little bit around my front door before it got too hot, and now I'm catching up on the computer. Kinda nice to be here without having to be somewhere else by a certain time, or having someone waiting for me.

I had my third chemo treatment yesterday. I had an 0845 appointment this time instead of 0945. I did this to make sure I could make it to the K&W before they closed! Everything moved along a little quicker this time, and I was done by 1pm. Got a migraine as I was walking out of the building, but didn't let that keep me from my countrystyle steak! When we got home, Mama and I each got in a recliner and started snoring. When I woke up, the headache was gone. This was wasn't bad at all.

So..........three treatments down, three to go. If I stay on schedule, my last treatment should be August 13th. Please pray that I can stay on schedule. In order to receive my treatments, my hemoglobin has to be 9, and yesterday it was 11.6. My neutrophils have to be at least 1.5, and they were 1.8. My platelets drop after treatment, but by the next treatment, they have recovered, so they haven't been a problem. However, yesterday, Dr. White told me that I had become anemic. My white blood cells, red blood cells, hemoglobin, and hematocrit are all below normal. This is making me feel really tired. She suggested that I start taking a multivitamin with extra iron in it. I prefer not to do this unless I have to. If you know anything about iron, you know that it doesn't have pleasant gi effects. I would prefer to try and eat more iron rich foods and see what it is next time without having to change vitamins.

Other than that, my second treatment didn't serve me too bad. My scalp isn't so sore anymore, and most of my hair has fallen out now. Still haven't worn my wig, but I guess I need to. I have to wear it around the house some so that it will mold to the shape of my head. Then I have to go get it cut a little more and styled. Honestly, I'm very comfortable in my baseball caps, but I would like to start going to church again, and naturally I wouldn't want to wear a baseball cap there. I'm starting to get a tan now. I'm riding the golfcart several times a day (spying on that muskrat!), and I get Mama to spray me down with sunscreen before I go. I've actually been working in the yard some during the mornings before it gets too hot. I've been able to water the flowers some to help Mama out; and I try to keep the limbs and pinecones picked up so Daddy can cut the grass. This makes me feel more like I'm earning my keep. Plus I get some fresh air, sunshine, and exercise.

Thanks to Ms. Alice Harris for the sweet potato cake this week, and to Mrs. Margaret Rawls for the brownies. I tell ya, I'm faring mighty bad in Bear Grass. I told Mama I was going to have to stop riding the golfcart and walk beside it while she drives!

Thank you so much for being so good to me and my family. I was reading a book this week entitled Chicken Soup for the Soul. This one was actually for breast cancer patients. There was a statement in there from someone whose name I didn't recognize. This person said, "An individual does not get cancer, a family does." This is so true. My whole family has been devastated by this in more ways than you can imagine. Please continue to lift them up in prayer as well. When you do something for them, it blesses me as well, for I worry about them less. I understand we have a small band of cousins coming the weekend of the 4th to help put up the corn. This takes a load off of my mind. I worry about my daddy being out in this heat so much. And anybody that puts up corn knows, when the corn's ready, everything else gets put on the back burner until it's done. My next treatment is scheduled for Friday, July 2nd, so I don't know how much help I'll be with the corn. I've been accused of planning it that way, but honestly, I didn't. Does it bother me? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm...........


I have to come back to Greenville Monday to get my Neulasta shot. I might swing by here then and post another update. It'll probably just depend on whether the effects of the chemo have kicked in yet. Thanks for everything ya'll are doing. It means so much to us.

Cindy