I can now answer all of your questions!

Hello everybody. It is Friday evening, July 23rd, and I had my fifth chemo treatment today. If all goes well, I will have my sixth and FINAL treatment in three weeks on August 13th! And if you don't think I'm counting the days............

I have felt pretty good the past three days. The closer I get to "treatment day", the better I feel, due to it wearing off. I've tried to help Daddy clean up some small branches and pine cones in the yard due to the daily thunderstorms we're having now. I've been riding the golfcart right much when it's tolerable outside. It helps tan me a little bit, and lessens my insecurity about my paleness caused by the anemia. (Muskrat update: I think he's moved on to deeper waters...literally. Haven't seen him lately.) I've also tried to finish some reading, pay bills, get a little more organized. Last time I thought I would do all of that after chemo, but the effects kicked in earlier and stayed later. I didn't feel like doing anything. So, while I feel good and have some energy, I try to get as much done as I can and earn my keep a little bit. Plus, this is the second and last time that my chemo treatment falls on a weekend that I'm scheduled to work. I've tried to get everything done that had to be done so I can rest as much as possible. That's why I'm updating my blog tonight. I slept all thru chemo, and I'm rested. Instead of coming here tomorrow morning after working all night, I'm going to bed and rest.

Okay, here's the latest info. Remember, my oncologist, Dr. White was on vacation on July 2nd when I received my fourth treatment. So today, when she walked in, she hadn't seen me in six weeks. She said she thought I looked great, she was pleased with how my labs looked, and she shared in my excitement about nearing the end of my chemo treatments. I really like her. She seems genuinely concerned about me. The three labs that absolutely have to be okay in order for me to receive my treatments are: hemoglobin, platelets, and neutrophils. My hemoglobin has to be at least 9 (12 to 16 is normal). Today, mine had dropped from 11.9 to 11.7. Not bad. The normal parameters for platelets are 140 to 440, and they have to be at least 90. Mine were 116. Again, low but nothing to worry about yet. I don't know what happened to my neutrophils this time. The normal range for them is 2 to 7.5. Last time, they had increased from 1.8 to 2. This time, they had dropped to 1.3. Dr. White had told me that they had to remain at least 1.5 in order to keep going, but she didn't mention them today. I guess because they were barely below the minimum level, and I'll be getting my shot to boost them on Monday. Plus, I guess she figured that I only had one more treatment to go. I am definitely going to try and eat all my veggies again and try my best to get that level to go up before my next treatment. The best way to do that is pray, and I would appreciate you praying for me as well.

As far as the near future, this is the tentative plan, as long as things continue to go well. Again, please agree with me in prayer that they do. My last chemo treatment is scheduled in three weeks on August the 13th. After that, I will continue to go to Physician's East every three weeks on Friday and continue to receive a drug called Herceptin. This is NOT a chemo drug, so that means my hair and eyebrows will finally start to grow back! Woo hoo!! Herceptin is an estrogen blocker. If I understand everything correctly, my cancer was aggressive and fed by estrogen. Herceptin will block the estrogen receptor sites that are on the surface of any remaining cancer cells in my body (or any that try to come back). Let's just take a leap of faith and say that there will be NONE left in my body! By His stripes I was healed.........
I will continue to receive Herceptin for a year, which would be the end of next March. After that, I will take a pill called Tamoxifen for five years.

Three weeks after my last chemo treatment, which I think is September 3rd, I will meet with Dr. White and confirm what I'm telling you now. If everything is okay, I will receive Herceptin only that day, and she will schedule my scans to see if there has been any change since the first ones that were done before surgery. She has already scheduled me an appointment with the radiologist, Dr. Ballenger, to get the ball rolling as far as radiation. I'm not sure why she is doing this before repeating the scans. I would think that if something showed up on the scans, there would be no need to start the radiation. She previously told me that I would not be able to tolerate chemo and radiation at the same time. I guess she's taking a leap of faith and planning on the scans being negative too! As I'm looking at the list of appointments they gave me today, I'm realizing they scheduled me to see Dr. Ballenger on Monday, August the 16th. That is perfect due to me already being in Greenville to receive my last Neulasta shot that day. I might be dragging, but I'll be making good use of my time.

Dr. White has told me that I only need to wait three weeks after my last chemo treatment before I can start radiation. So, no break for Cindy. It'll take a good three weeks for the last treatment to wear off, then it's laser time! Looks like last chemo on 8/13, last shot and meet with Dr. Ballenger on 8/16, and okay to start radiation around 9/3. Remember, I've already had one appointment with Dr. Ballenger before chemo started. I guess it was a "meet and greet" session. I have no idea what else needs to be done before starting radiation. I only know that they plan to do it Monday thru Friday for six weeks. If they start by September 6th, I ought to finish up approximately October 15th. Just in time to head for the "hills"!

I hope to schedule my hysterectomy as soon after radiation as possible. Again, I will have to have the okay from Dr. White, but the sooner the better. The quicker I have my ovaries removed, the lower my chances of recurrence, and higher my chances of survival. Sometimes words like that knock the air right out of me.........I've been so busy trying to survive, sometimes I forget that people don't. Okay, we're not going there tonight........

Gosh, this update is going on and on, but that's the latest. I've read it time and time again to make sure that's it's easy to understand. I hope I haven't confused anybody. Maybe I'll type up a schedule of some sort later. It's twenty minutes to ten, and I have to leave about ten-thirty. I'm going to wrap this up for now. I might make another entry tomorrow or Monday if I'm up to it. The last time, the effects kicked in on Saturday evening, and I didn't really feel good again until Saturday of the next week. I'm really hoping and praying that that won't be the case this time. I still say, I can tolerate fatigue and gi upset a lot better than nausea and vomiting, so I'm really grateful. This could've been soooooooooo much worse.

Okay, that's it for now. Hope I answered everybody's questions. It's 10pm, and I have about thirty minutes before I have to leave for work. Thank you for your prayers. Nothing means more to me than to know you care enough to stop and do that on my behalf. May God richly bless you for that.

Talk to you again soon,
Cindy

Four down, two to go........

It is Saturday, July 10th, and I'm at my townhouse for the first time in two weeks. It's storming outside, and I can hear the rain pelting the sidewalk. Sure hope it's knocking some of the bugs off my jeep. I noticed it was looking a little neglected when I got here this morning. I usually leave it here the day of my chemo treatment because I know I won't be needing it for a few days. It makes it look like I'm at my house. Much obliged to Aunt Rose for dropping me off here this morning on her way to work. And kudos to my cousin, Betty, for the chocolate chip cookies she brought me this week. I brought them with me to keep me company today. They're doing a fine job.....

I haven't been here to update my blog because my fourth chemo treatment knocked the wind out of my sails. I have my treatment on a Friday, and I don't usually start feeling bad until the following Monday. By Wednesday, I'm usually drained but starting to perk up some. This time, I started feeling bad by Saturday evening, and it lasted thru last night. I felt some better yesterday, but the effects kicked in again last night about 9:30; I ended up calling out sick from work.

I do have some good news though. When I got the results of my bloodwork this time, my labs had improved a little instead of decreasing. My hemoglobin had risen from 11.6 to 11.9. My neutrophils had increased from 1.8 to 2.0. My platelets were a little lower than the norm, but nothing to be worried about. Between treatment 3 and 4, I didn't have very much gi upset, and I ate lots of fresh vegetables from the garden. It must've paid off.

Aunt Rose took me the following Monday to get my shot. I had to go to Physician's East Urgent Care due to the holiday. It was also Mama's birthday, so she stayed home to get things ready for the cookout later that night. We had intended to have a small get together for all the cousins that had helped us out so much since I got sick, but not everybody could come. It ended up being more of a birthday party for Mama which was pretty cool too.

So, that's it. Nothing exciting. Just lots and lots of fatigue and exhaustion. That's okay, though. It's much better than nausea, vomiting, and mouth ulcers. At least I can eat and rest. I've been able to sleep in a bed a few nights without too much difficulty. So I thank God for the baby steps.....

If I can continue to stay on schedule, I should finish my chemo on August 13th. I'm not sure when the radiation will start. The radiologist initially told me that we had to wait six months after my surgery. That would be October the 7th. I'm going to ask my oncologist about this on my next chemo visit. I also would like to know when to plan for my hysterectomy. I'm anxious to finish this "stuff", but I also hope to have a little bit of a break to recover, build my strength, and replenish my immune system before starting radiation.

So that's it for now. I'm hoping to get some cards and thank you notes written today. Thank you so much for everything. For the prayers, gifts, and cards. For the carrot cakes, the chocolate chip cookies, etc, etc. It all means so much to us. Please continue to support us and keep our family in your prayers. It's still a long road ahead...........

My next chemo treatment is July 23rd.

Thank you,
Cindy