Hey! Hey! It is Tuesday afternoon, and I came straight here from work. I am so sorry that I didn't update my blog yesterday, but it was a very full day. I tried to call, text, etc. as many people as I could to get the word out. As promised, here are the details:
(1) Saw my dentist at 0800: No cavities! No problems showing up on xrays! Considering how poor a job of cleaning I did during chemo, teeth looked great!
(2) Met with radiologist at 0945: She continues to be impressed with how fast my radiation burns are healing. Asked me to come back in three weeks to let her inspect skin one more time. Then she's turning me loose until June! Woo! Hoo!
(3) Met with oncologist at 1030: She informed me that my vitamin D level was now 33. Normal is 30 to 100. She did not renew my prescription, but told me to continue taking it over the counter. She explained to me that she did not order a CT of my head or a bone scan to be repeated because she does not want to keep subjecting me to unnecessary radiation. That in itself can give you cancer. She encouraged me to let her know immediately if I develop any kind of symptom that would make me think that those scans need to be ordered. She started me on a medication called Arimedex. I think it's similar to Tamoxifen. I'm not sure why she started it now though. I had been told that I would receive the Herceptin treatments every three weeks for a year, then take Tamoxifen by mouth for five years. I failed to ask her why she was starting it now, and why Arimedex instead of Tamoxifen. We tend to talk about a lot of things and joke a lot, and I guess I got distracted. I do remember that she said Arimedex can cause osteoporosis, so she's in the process of ordering me a bone density test. They are down one technician at Physician's East, so this might have to be done somewhere else. And last, but not least, she informed me that my CT's of my chest, abdomen, and pelvis are clean. The only problem was that my lungs looked like I had the beginning of some type of infection. I thought that maybe it was just inflammation from the radiation, but it's more on my left lung than my right. She started me on an antibiotic called Augmentin, twice a day, for a week. The radiologist that read my CT suggested close followup, so she's going to repeat the CT of my chest in three months. She said that it didn't look like anything other than infection, but of course, we need to be diligent. I'll see my oncologist again in three weeks when I get my Herceptin treatment (11/29).
(4) Received my Herceptin treatment. The nurse always makes me a copy of my labs to view while I'm waiting. My white count dropped just a bit, but remains just within normal limits. My hemoglobin just squeaked by as normal, but my hematocrit still has a little ways to go. My platelets increased from 104,000 to 124,000. (140,000 is the lowest normal parameter.) So, overall, my labs look good and continue to improve. I received my treatment while listening to Christmas music on my ipod, and was out of there around 1:30.
The plan was for Mama to drop me off here while she went to Sam's, but we had so many other errands to run, we never got here. At 4:30, we just stopped and headed home, but we had to go all the way to Williamston to pick up my jeep from being serviced, so we didn't get home until almost 6pm. So those of you who don't have email or texting, please don't rake me over the coals too much. It was a very long day, and we were exhausted when we got home.
My next appointment is with the obgyn surgeon, Dr. Fisher, on Monday afternoon. I'm really hoping to have a surgery date by the time I leave her office........stay tuned!
Okay, it's almost 6:30, and I still have to drive to Bear Grass and get up at 0530 tomorrow morning. I cannot leave yet though without giving all praise and honor to the One who is getting me through this. I continue to be amazed at how much He goes out of His way to let me know He's watching over me. All weekend long, He did things to get my attention; things that He knew would amaze and comfort me. Thank you Lord........you are an awesome God..........
That's it! Gotta get to Bear Grass! Stop by and see us sometime.......
Cindy
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Saturday, November 6, 2010
I think I can, I think I can,........
Hello everybody. It is Saturday, November 6th, and I spent the night here at my townhouse. It feels like I hardly come here anymore, but I guess it's because of the radiation. It got really bad there at the end, so I didn't go anywhere. I just read my last posting, and at that time, I had one more radiation treatment to go. My cousin, Robin, was coming to spend the weekend with me.
It started out to be a nice weekend. We went out to eat and she helped me with some stuff on my computer. (She also put clean sheets on both the beds, washed clothes, washed dishes, brought me oatmeal & raisin cookies, etc., etc.,) That night, she helped me get all of my pillows positioned just right and tucked me into bed. It had been a good day......
The next morning, I woke up after a surprisingly restful night to find my pajama top drenched. I was so sore, that I couldn't even turn over in bed. My radiation burns had drained all over my shirt during the night, and even though I was wet, my skin was very dry and tight. It felt like I would rip open if I moved. Robin helped me out of bed, and I have to say, it was downhill from there as far as the condition of my skin.
All during the weekend, my skin continued to get worse. By this time, it was completely raw, and the moisturizer felt like rubbing alcohol. When I put it on, my shirt would stick to the wound, and when I would move, it would pull more skin off. I eventually got on the couch, flat on my back, and stayed. As long as I didn't move, I was relatively painfree.
Monday came, and I had to go get my last treatment. I had been told for over six weeks that my chest had to be dry in to order to receive my treatment; otherwise, the radiation would literally fry the wet areas. I could not apply my moisturizer within four hours of going. So here I am, arriving for treatment, with a wet shirt. I could barely even pat myself dry. I told the doctor that I did not want to receive my last treatment because I knew what was going to happen. Of course, she wanted me to have it, and gave me a lecture on how I couldn't give up now. I didn't want anyone to accuse me of being a quitter, and of course, I want to survive; so I received the treatment. And my skin literally fried......
I stayed on the couch pretty much from that day (Monday) until Saturday. I missed four days of work. I didn't do anything that I didn't have to. Sometimes I didn't even bathe. It was too painful. Thank God that I have a loving mother who watched over me day and night. She brought my meals to the couch and even cut up my meat when I couldn't. She tucked me into bed at night, patiently positioning all of my pillows to make me as comfortable as possible. She'd wait five minutes and come back.....checking to make sure that position was going to work for me. She returned every morning, removed my pillows, and helped me get out of bed and to the bathroom to apply moisturizer. By Saturday, I was feeling better. We took Rachel to see "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" at the Turnage Theater in Washington that afternoon. That was the first day that Mama didn't have to put my socks and shoes on for me.
I am doing much better now. My burns are healing very quickly. I am still sore and a little tender, but I can see improvement every morning when I wake up. I went back to see my radiologist the following Monday, the 1st. She was pleased with how well I was healing, and wants to see me again on this Monday. I also met with my oncologist that very same day. She ordered my scans to be repeated, and has scheduled me an appointment with Dr. Fisher, an obgyn surgeon to see about getting my hysterectomy scheduled.
I went back to work this past Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Luckily, I take care of a 4yo who spends the whole morning watching cartoons. It's not hard being there; it's the 0530 alarm and getting myself there. I did fairly well. Yesterday, I had my scans repeated. They did a CT of my chest, abdomen, and pelvis. I was very disappointed to find out that my doctor had not ordered for the bone scan or the CT of my head to be repeated. I was told that a lot of the insurance companies will not pay for them unless there is a problem. I am going to discuss this with my doctor on Monday.
I have four different appointments on Monday:
0800 Dental appt (routine cleaning)
0945 Radiologist inspects radiation site
1045 Oncologist reviews results of scans
Herceptin treatment afterwards
It's going to be a busy day looks like. As you can imagine, I am anxious to get the results of my scans. I am trying not to think about it too much, but I'm human. I just want all of this to be over, at least for the sake of my parents. This has been so hard on my family. My sister, Tammy, came over and prayed for me yesterday. I tell you what, that girl can pray! I feel much more at peace now.......
So that's what's going on. I have those appointments on this Monday, the 8th. Then I meet with the surgeon next Monday, the 15th. I'm really hoping that I will be able to have the surgery before the end of the year. I would so much like to start the new year with a clean slate. I figure.......have the surgery sometime around the holidays, lie around and enjoy all of the holiday cooking while I recuperate, and start the exercise program for cancer survivors in January. Woo hoo!! Sounds like a plan to me!!
That's all for now. Thank you so very much for taking the time to keep up with me. I am continually surprised at the number of people who say they read this. It sure has been a blessing as far as keeping everybody informed. I'm going to spend the day here at my house doing a few things, then I'm going to go pick up a few Christmas presents. Not knowing when my surgery will be, I want to get a jump on my shopping. Take care. I hope all of ya'll have a nice weekend.
Cindy
(P.S.) KELLIE CAME HOME YESTERDAY!!!!
It started out to be a nice weekend. We went out to eat and she helped me with some stuff on my computer. (She also put clean sheets on both the beds, washed clothes, washed dishes, brought me oatmeal & raisin cookies, etc., etc.,) That night, she helped me get all of my pillows positioned just right and tucked me into bed. It had been a good day......
The next morning, I woke up after a surprisingly restful night to find my pajama top drenched. I was so sore, that I couldn't even turn over in bed. My radiation burns had drained all over my shirt during the night, and even though I was wet, my skin was very dry and tight. It felt like I would rip open if I moved. Robin helped me out of bed, and I have to say, it was downhill from there as far as the condition of my skin.
All during the weekend, my skin continued to get worse. By this time, it was completely raw, and the moisturizer felt like rubbing alcohol. When I put it on, my shirt would stick to the wound, and when I would move, it would pull more skin off. I eventually got on the couch, flat on my back, and stayed. As long as I didn't move, I was relatively painfree.
Monday came, and I had to go get my last treatment. I had been told for over six weeks that my chest had to be dry in to order to receive my treatment; otherwise, the radiation would literally fry the wet areas. I could not apply my moisturizer within four hours of going. So here I am, arriving for treatment, with a wet shirt. I could barely even pat myself dry. I told the doctor that I did not want to receive my last treatment because I knew what was going to happen. Of course, she wanted me to have it, and gave me a lecture on how I couldn't give up now. I didn't want anyone to accuse me of being a quitter, and of course, I want to survive; so I received the treatment. And my skin literally fried......
I stayed on the couch pretty much from that day (Monday) until Saturday. I missed four days of work. I didn't do anything that I didn't have to. Sometimes I didn't even bathe. It was too painful. Thank God that I have a loving mother who watched over me day and night. She brought my meals to the couch and even cut up my meat when I couldn't. She tucked me into bed at night, patiently positioning all of my pillows to make me as comfortable as possible. She'd wait five minutes and come back.....checking to make sure that position was going to work for me. She returned every morning, removed my pillows, and helped me get out of bed and to the bathroom to apply moisturizer. By Saturday, I was feeling better. We took Rachel to see "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" at the Turnage Theater in Washington that afternoon. That was the first day that Mama didn't have to put my socks and shoes on for me.
I am doing much better now. My burns are healing very quickly. I am still sore and a little tender, but I can see improvement every morning when I wake up. I went back to see my radiologist the following Monday, the 1st. She was pleased with how well I was healing, and wants to see me again on this Monday. I also met with my oncologist that very same day. She ordered my scans to be repeated, and has scheduled me an appointment with Dr. Fisher, an obgyn surgeon to see about getting my hysterectomy scheduled.
I went back to work this past Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Luckily, I take care of a 4yo who spends the whole morning watching cartoons. It's not hard being there; it's the 0530 alarm and getting myself there. I did fairly well. Yesterday, I had my scans repeated. They did a CT of my chest, abdomen, and pelvis. I was very disappointed to find out that my doctor had not ordered for the bone scan or the CT of my head to be repeated. I was told that a lot of the insurance companies will not pay for them unless there is a problem. I am going to discuss this with my doctor on Monday.
I have four different appointments on Monday:
0800 Dental appt (routine cleaning)
0945 Radiologist inspects radiation site
1045 Oncologist reviews results of scans
Herceptin treatment afterwards
It's going to be a busy day looks like. As you can imagine, I am anxious to get the results of my scans. I am trying not to think about it too much, but I'm human. I just want all of this to be over, at least for the sake of my parents. This has been so hard on my family. My sister, Tammy, came over and prayed for me yesterday. I tell you what, that girl can pray! I feel much more at peace now.......
So that's what's going on. I have those appointments on this Monday, the 8th. Then I meet with the surgeon next Monday, the 15th. I'm really hoping that I will be able to have the surgery before the end of the year. I would so much like to start the new year with a clean slate. I figure.......have the surgery sometime around the holidays, lie around and enjoy all of the holiday cooking while I recuperate, and start the exercise program for cancer survivors in January. Woo hoo!! Sounds like a plan to me!!
That's all for now. Thank you so very much for taking the time to keep up with me. I am continually surprised at the number of people who say they read this. It sure has been a blessing as far as keeping everybody informed. I'm going to spend the day here at my house doing a few things, then I'm going to go pick up a few Christmas presents. Not knowing when my surgery will be, I want to get a jump on my shopping. Take care. I hope all of ya'll have a nice weekend.
Cindy
(P.S.) KELLIE CAME HOME YESTERDAY!!!!
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