Well, I am a third of the way through my chemotherapy now, which makes me very happy. By the end of the month I will be halfway finished. Round two of chemotherapy came with several new challenges. They started me off with the Taxotere and within only 10 to 15 minutes I had shortness of breath, my throat and chest tightened, I was wheezing and coughing, and could not breathe. The nursed rushed in, clamped off the IV, and switched me to saline and Benedryl, which made me SO sleepy and just about knocked me out completely. They told me to take my asthma inhaler while they gave me the Benedryl in the IV and from that point on I was fine. Apparently, there was a girl in the room next to me that didn't know what an allergic reaction felt like and had a full blown attack with a swollen, red face, etc. Poor girl. Luckily I have experienced that before and knew something wasn't right immediately. The first time I had Taxotere I had no reaction. The nurse said it can happen on the first or second session usually. Thanks for the heads up, lady! Sheesh!My blood work came back pretty normal, although I am still anemic, but not to the point that they are extremely concerned. All in all they are thrilled that I am holding up as well as I am, especially with NO nausea. I have actually gained a few pounds, which I attribute solely to my obsession with Milano cookies, which the nurses are very happy about. Quite frankly, I couldn't care less about the weight gain. I just want this stupid cancer gone ... forever. People keep saying how they wish they could do these tests and treatments for me. Trust me, I would never wish this on anyone. It is the most horrible thing I have ever experienced and my goal in life is to help others now and do everything in my power to find a cure. One in eight women will develop breast cancer. Can you believe that ... 1 in 8!? I can't help but stop when I see a group of young girls playing together and count off now. Or when I have girls night with my friends I look around and count to eight. It scares me to death, especially for our children and their children. It's not fair.
Dad, Joey and Nicole came to treatment to keep me company, which seemed to make the time pass so much quicker. Nicole brought a pink container full of fun things to play with, like a pink cowgirl hat, mustaches, confetti wigs and more. We took a couple of silly pictures which I plan to have up later this weekend. My nurse threatened to take away my beloved BlackBerry at one point, but I assured her it was texts and e-mails from my friends and family. However, I did sneak in one or two work e-mails in (shhh!).
Unfortunately, the steroids I take for three days around my chemotherapy treatments to prevent allergic reactions are giving me the same acidic tummy that I had last time, but now my oncologist put me on over-the-counter Prilosec, which is helping a lot. This whole ordeal is trial and error since everyone reacts differently. I feel a lot more tired this time than last, but this is apparently normal since the chemotherapy builds in your body each time. Not only that, but I have a killer urinary tract infection which is incredibly pleasant. (Obviously, I am being sarcastic.) The oncologist had to call in an antibiotic this morning for me to start taking. Yay ... more meds.
Last night my Mom brought home mounds of presents from her friends at Lees Corner Elementary School. Carly Anne (my Yorkshire terrier), of course, thought it was Christmas again and had her head in every gift bag, especially the ones with sweets! It was hilarious. After a long and trying day, there was nothing better than sitting there with my family reading cards and letters of faith, hope and love, looking through all the generous gifts, and truly feeling the support from our friends. It gave me such a renewed sense of strength and purpose.
Today I plan to do absolutely nothing. I just got out of bed to write this e-mail and am headed right back. The mind is racing, but the body is moving in slow motion. There is nothing more frustrating for me, but I am trying to be patient with myself. I am keeping my "cute chin up" as my co-worker Sarah tells me to, but some days are more challenging than others.
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