15 Down, 15 To Go!!

Hello everybody. I hope this update finds you warm and dry. It seems like it's feast or famine with the rain this year. I guess I shouldn't complain as much as we needed it, but it sure would be nice to receive it in smaller, more frequent increments. I had radiation this afternoon here in Greenville, and have it again in the morning; so it didn't make sense to drive to Bear Grass in this nasty weather, just to turn around and drive back in the morning. So,........I'm here in my townhouse....trying to get some work done before SVU comes on. I have just over two hours.......

Congratulations to me: I just completed my fifteenth radiation treatment today! Woo! Hoo! I am doing well so far. I'm a little pink, and I have some itching in that area, but, overall, I am doing okay. I'm trying to take it one day at a time in order to keep my anxiety to a minimum. My radiologist is telling me she's going to "burn me good". I keep telling her that if she burns me too much, I'll just take a few days off.

I went to see my oncologist on Friday the 24th, and received my Herceptin treatment. I got a copy of my echo report, and it looks fine. No problems there. My labs are a little concerning to me though. My white cell count never went below 3.0 during chemotherapy. That was August the 13th. September 3rd, they increased to 3.4. On Friday, they had dropped to 2.68. My radiologist said they should drop no more than 0.4, but obviously, mine dropped more than that.
They are going to check them again on October the 18th. So, for now, I'm supposed to wash my hands a lot, stay away from sick people, and just use good judgement. I asked her if I could continue going to PCMH to see Kellie, and she said yes.

Speaking of Kellie, she continues to hold her own. Having the trach has stabilized her, and her vitals are good now. She has a feeding tube now, so she no longer has a tube in her nose. She has continued to improve in her appearance: her face is no longer puffy and swollen, the rash continues to improve, her coloring has improved. She looks like her old self now. She continues to get stronger, and she has said that she has even been able to swallow her own saliva some. She had a muscle biopsy done last Friday, and the results should take about two weeks. She still has no diagnosis. It is extremely frustrating that all of the tests are showing up negative, but it helps to see Kellie more comfortable and able to mouth her words. I showed her my hair again, and told her it was coming back in mostly gray. She smiled and mouthed the word "blonde". I thanked her for her optimism.......

That's about all I have to report for right now. I hope it makes sense. I'm a little distracted tonight, and I'm having trouble concentrating. Maybe next time I write I'll be a little more relaxed. As always, thank you for tuning in....

Until next time,
cindy