Taxol Round Two

Hello,
Here's an update from my Doctor's visit yesterday, the second round of Taxol treatments and a recap of the day.
First of all, Ryan was nice enough to give up most of his day off to drive in with me, sit with me during the chemo, get me coffee from the gift shop and just be an all around support guy. This is huge since he is a busy working guy and has Grady and Chantal to care for too. I appreciated his support and perspective on things.
I spent spent a couple of hours working from home in the morning - amazing got a bit accomplished. Guillermo decided to join me for awhile, finding just the right place to sleep in between the keyboard and the monitor on my desk - amazing! He was a big help. :-)
Ryan and I drove off about 7:30am headed for GHC. I checked in and did the blood test, then had my appointment with Dr. Chen. This was a bit educational and I have a few more plans for the future now. First of all, he advised me that I need a total of 12 Taxol treatments, so....this means that I should have been scheduled for treatments to the end of October - bleah!! Things will be going on in that regard a bit longer. I told him that I am getting the numbness in my hands and feet occasionally. Apparently this can become a permanent disability that will stick with you after the treatment is over. They will be monitoring this to see how it progresses. Dr Chen also suggested that I make an appointment with Dr. Stepan, the surgeon,  just to check in and possibly plan the date for surgery. It looks like that will be pushed to mid November at this point - a month later than I thought. Oh well...

I will be more diligent in getting in the Glutamine powder three times a day to see if it backs off, stays stable or what. (Ryan had a good suggestion - mix the powder with a very small amount of water to make it like a shot, therefore not fouling up the other water I drink with all that grit. Good suggestion, buddy!)

After my visit with Dr. Chen, it was time for the infusion. I had Tiffany as my nurse again this time. She is very good. First they flush the port out with saline solution to clean it out while we wait for the chemo to arrive from the pharmacy. When it finally did arrive it was about 10:00. This takes about an hour. As I was drinking a lot of water and coffee, I had to go to the bathroom before this was finished. That is OK as you can unplug the IV pole and travel with it. After I used the restroom I came back to finish up my treatment - two minutes at the most - wow! Turns out I could have waited for that. As the nurse was flushing my port, I told her it kind of hurt this time, which was a bit unusual. She took a look at the port and it had pulled out halfway - most likely when I stood up to go to the bathroom. This meant that the last 2-3 minutes of the chemo went under my skin and not into my vein - OY!! Since this a little bit of an emergency, they contacted the pharmacy and put an ice pack right away.  I am to ice the area 4 times a day for several days - if it becomes very red, hot or swollen, I am to contact the hospital. Anyway, as of this morning it looks OK, just a little sore and pink. Sheesh, I felt like an idiot, especially since I only had two minutes to go and could have waited for the bathroom. Well, I won't do that again!

Infusion finished, I made my next few appointments with scheduling and we were on our way to do errands and pickup Ryan's car at the body shop. (His fender had come loose on the Altima - they fixed it up and had it done in less than 24 hours). We headed over to have lunch at Ooba Tooba in Redmond - it's a Mexican Grill down the road from Ben Franklin and J. Michael's pub. Since I have the Pirq app on my phone recommended by Kevin, we had 30% off deal that started at 1:30. We got there just in time after shopping for milk at QFC. Placed the order including one for Chantal. They were really busy, but it seemed ours was taking a bit too long. Finally went up to the desk - they forgot our order! Had to do it over again, so we got it to go this time. They threw in chips and guacamole to make up for it and Ryan and I drove home to eat. By the time we dug in, it was probably close to 2:15 and we were hungry haven eaten breakfast at 5am! I had the Fajita Salad - really good and he had the Juan's special - awesome! Chantal came up a bit later and had her Taco special - she liked it too. It was worth waiting for, but put us a bit off schedule. After that ,we were all pretty tired. I took an hour's nap as I was feeling the effects of the chemo and the medications they gave me - especially the steroids.

Luckily, I did not have to cook dinner this evening thanks to the generous support of Trish from work. She had made an awesome Zitti Pasta with homemade meatballs that I was able to pop in the oven and warm up. We didn't end up eating dinner until after 8 since we all had lunch so late (Frank hung in there). Thank you Trish - and good luck to you in your new job!

About 11:30pm I decided to call it a night and try to sleep. Well, due to the steroids kicking in and drinking all that water, I was up and down all night. Finally got to sleep about 2:30am I think, so it will be kind of tired day today. 

I feel a bit more wiped out from this Taxol treatment in the past, maybe just because I had the week off and forgot how it feels, I am not sure. Dr. Chen did say this has an accumulative effect, so that could be part of it as well.

Anyway, this is the latest, I am off to ice my swollen port area and drink the Glutamine powder and see what the day holds.

Thanks to everyone for all your support.

Cheers,

Jan            

A week without chemo

So..it was really nice not to have chemo this Friday; although I decided to work from home on Friday because we were having screens replaced and I wanted to be here for that installation.

Since I didn't have the chemo, we went ahead with our plans to have two dinner parties over the weekend - woo hoo!

Saturday was the big birthday bash for Mike and Anne's 60th! We barbequed fish, vegies and pasta for the occasion along with the rest of the wonderful side dishes provided by the rest of the guests (Terry and Fritz, Chantal and her friend Marceil). Since we hadn't gotten together for quite a while it was great to see those guys. I am sure we entertained the neighborhood well into the wee hours of Saturday night/Sunday morning because it was just too hot to be inside.

Sunday was another birthday bash (or Wing-ding as Frank calls it). This time it was for the Fisher Family - lots of birthdays to celebrate: Doreen, Michael, Samantha, Jude, Chantal and Griffey! This time we made ribs, corn on the cob, grilled potatoes and corn bread along with the salads and desserts from the other guests we were stuffed. We managed to fit 14 on the deck for dinner; Griffey cleaned up all the spills from the floor and Grady entertained us with his coos and smiles. It was great to see all the relatives; the cousins get along really well. Whew, another really hot day made hotter by the oven being on all day to slow cook the ribs. I had been losing weight, but not after this weekend!

Going back to work on Monday was a bit of a challenge, but I made it through the day. By that evening, my back was pretty sore and I decided to work from home on Tuesday. There are a few side affects that are still persisting with the Taxol - a few aches in the joints and bones and increased tingling and numbness in my hands and feet especially. It is a bit weird and I am noticing it more and more as time goes on. I do have some glutamine powder to take daily and I will increase that to see if it helps.

This week I do have my chemo again along with a doctor's appointment and blood test,  so we will see what he has to say about my progress. I'll be going in early, so hopefully can just work about an hour or so in the morning, then knock off for the rest of the day after the treatment.

Things I'm noticing: my hair is growing back on my legs (groan) and a little bit on my head although it is very fine and light colored (could that be gray -- no!!) At the same time, my eyebrows and eyelashes have almost disappeared. People really look at me sideways in the stores. I haven 't had the nerve to go out in public bald, but maybe I will someday just to see the reaction. :-) So far my fingernails and toenails have not turned brown or black, but I am going to keep coloring them just in case. And so far, I don't think I have developed "chemo brain", but just in case I need an excuse for screwing up, I'm keeping that phrase in my back pocket.

I have been so busy at work that I have not been able to take my morning and lunchtime walks. I pledged to myself to try to get that in daily - I just have to ignore the phone calls and emails and just go for like it is an appointment that I cannot miss. I know this will make me feel better and keep my back stronger. I just have to put myself first; hard to do sometimes.

Sorry again for not posting so regularly, do not want to worry anybody. It's been a busy week.

Love and hugs,

Jan

Taxol III - doing OK

I know I have been scolded for not posting - might make some of you worried. Things have been busy - so sorry! Here are the updates:
Friday Morning I worked from home from 6-7:30am, then drove in with Frank to Group Health.
I had chemo buddies Kass and Judi meet me there again for my Taxol treatment #3 . It was so nice to have them in the room and I do appreciate the company and time they are giving me to watch the clear liquid drain into the little tube hooked up to my chest.
After the chemo session, they went shopping with me to pick out a hat to wear to the wedding reception this weekend and Kass took both Judi and me to lunch at Agave in Redmond. Those guys have some good fashion sense and found a cute little british straw hat and a white flower pin that coordinated with my dress really well. We had a nice morning and afternoon.

After that trip, Judi came back to the house for awhile to hold Grady for a few minutes before the man came in the replace the screens in the house. Wow - was that a welcome addition as we had not been able to open up the windows for a week - it had gotten really stuffy. After that, I finished up some phone calls for work and started getting the dinner ready. As the eveining progressed, I did not feel that well; pretty nauseous, tired, "buzzy" and had a bit of numbness in my hands and feet. I was bummed because we had a big weekend planned for going to Bellingham for the wedding reception, staying overnight and then up to Blaine to visit Marcia and Gary Sunday morning.
Well, went to bed early and when I got up Saturday morning, things were much better. So, off we went to Bellingham. Kevin and Nancy met us at the Best Western there near Bellis Fair Mall and we had dinner with them at the Thai restaurant. We then headed over to Lee and Jessica's reception at her aunt's place in rural Bellingham. It was a lovely night and then had lots of room to spread out on the lawn for the party. Since they were married the week before in Mexico, this was the local celebration for friends and relatives that couldn't make it there. We enjoyed the party for a couple of hours, then headed back to the hotel. We spent the rest of the evening visiting with Kevin, Nancy and Griffey in our hotel room. So nice to catch up with them. Griffey and I conked out on the bed before the rest, as I  cannot stay up late any more.
Sunday morning we met the kids for coffee in the hotel breakfast room, then headed up to Blaine to visit Marcia and Gary. It was a beautiful morning and their house is in such a lovely setting right on the bay before you get to Canada. Their daughter Stacy was visiting so we got to catch up with her as well as Marcia and Gary. They have done so much work on the house - it is amazing. They served us a nice breakfast while we caught up.
After that , we drove back home with a cruise down memory lane through the WWU campus, Fairhaven and Chuckanut drive, stopped at Costco and Albertson's in Woodinville before finally hitting home.
We saw Ryan, Chantal and Grady for a few minutes before they headed out to dinner with Michael and Sara.
Shortly after that, Juanita and Kathy Roach came over with a casserole and a gift for Grady - good to catch up with them as well.
It was a great weekend, I enjoyed it immensely, but this old lady is tired now! The numbness is coming back into my fingers and toes, so I think I need to just get some sleep.
Thank goodness I will have this next Friday off to recuperate before the next round. We are excited to have a couple of dinners planned for Saturday and Sunday with friends and family. Got to get this stuff in while the summer is here!

Sweet dreams to you all,

Love Jan

Taxol II

Friday, July 20th I went in for Taxol treatment #2, again riding in with Frank in the morning. I was lucky to have good buddies Judi and Kass meet me there! Everybody was talking about the Batman movie massacres from the night before - what a tragedy. Judi, Kass and had a good visit during the chemo session and it went by really fast since we were all chatting away...


Things have gone pretty well so far this time. I was able to hang in there to go out to lunch with Judi and Kass, visit with Grady and Ryan in between treatment and lunch. Honestly, Kass is suffering much more than I am with her broken tailbone!

The only side affects I have noticed so far are the usual tiredness that hits you pretty quickly when it comes and a little "buzziness" from the medications they give you before treatment. I am to expect getting some numbness in hands and feet; so far I have not felt that. I am losing more hair all over - my eyebrows and eyelashes are almost completely gone now - looking more and more like Uncle Fester from the Adams Family!

There is some more good news; I thought my Taxol treatment schedule was going to be extended out to finish at the end of October - the current thinking is that it will still be the end of September, with three weeks of chemo, one week off and then two more rounds like this. Woo hoo!

Yesterday, Chantal, Grady and I attended the bridal shower for Sara Eshe, my nephew Michael's fiance. Doreen and Samantha put on a great party - lots of nice food and a couple of fun games. We all got to know Sara, her friends and  relatives a little bit better. Of course, Grady was a  big hit being the only guy there! He got to visit with a few surrogate Grandmas and Aunties - even got a few minutes bonding time with his Godfather, Michael at the conclusion of the shower.

I hope you all are enjoying your weekend, more updates later.

Lots love,

Jan

Taxol I

I am so sorry that I haven't posted for two weeks - yikes!
I guess the reason is that I have been doing a bit better, but also work has been so busy and I have been working extra hours. The last thing I have wanted to do is look at the computer since I've already spent 8-10 hours in front of it!

Anyway, here we are with the new chemotherapy drug which I took yesterday for the 1st time. I met with Dr. Chen and he has filled me in on the expected side affects and thinks they may need to alter the schedule a bit. The main side affect that people seem to complain about is numbness in the hands and feet and tiredness. For this reason, I may need to do three weeks in a row of chemo, then take a week off and then repeat for three more sessions like this. This will stretch things out for another month or so, taking it until mid-November.  I guess we will just have to see how I do.

I drove into Group Health with Frank and then met Kathy and Nancy there for my chemo session. This time they had to have me lying down and check for any allergic reaction to the drug (swelling of the throat, hives, rashes, etc.) Since I did not get that, they were able to give me the whole treatment just fine and I will likely not have that reaction in the future.  It was so sweet to have Nancy come by on her way home from work (after her 12 hour shift)  and Kathy on her day off to keep me company.  Always great to have extra nurses for back up too! The treatment went well and will not take so long in the future.
Nancy brought miniature cinnamon rolls for breakfast and then we all went to the 3 Pigs barbeque across the street when we were finished for lunch compliments of Kathy. Thanks guys! Afterwards, Kathy drove me home, so things were easy for me this day.
Finished out the day at home with watching Grady for a little bit while Ryan and Chantal did some shopping for a crib mattress in Bellevue. Dr. Chen says I am not toxic with this treatment, so I was able to feed him, change his diapers and give him little kisses with no worries - just have to take the hand washing precaution of course. Yay!

Last night I had a little trouble sleeping since they gave me the Dexamethasone (steroid) before starting my chemo. It is not prescribed again, so hopefully tonight I will sleep better. So far no nausea, heartburn or numbness, but we shall see how things progress.

We're looking forward to a nice dinner here with Kirk and Heather tonight - catching up with our good buddies! I'm hoping the weather cooperates and we don't get thunder, lightning and hail like yesterday!

Until later,

Jan

xoxoxo

One week past Chemo IV

So, I feel like this week has been a bit more exhausting than the last three times following the chemo - I have been so tired after work that I cannot do much more than make dinner, clean up, get ready for the next day and go to bed early. I think this is due to the Neupogen shots I was taking to prevent the neutropenic fevers that I had over the course of the other treatments. It does leave you very tired, and with a lot of aches and pains in the bones (specifically the back and wrists for me). The odd thing is, I get totally winded doing the most normal things - ex: walking up stairs, walking up little inclines, moving things around. I have been walking up hills, walking up stairs and moving things around all my life - it is so frustrating to find these things leaving me worn out. I'm hoping this will change; I know, I know, I am old, so I can't expect too much, but this is a bit ridiculous!

On the plus side this week, Grady and I have had some G to G bonding moments - I can't tell you how lucky I am to have him here - a grandma's absolute best dream come true! Chantal, Grady and I have also had a couple of evenings where we could take a nice walk around the neighborhood. We had an unexpected little gift on the last outing - dog poop stuck to the stroller  wheel! Little did we know that the lady walking her dog in front of us kept looking back because she "forgot" to scoop his poop -- how convenient..  In the nicest way  possible I confronted her and asked her if she had a bag and then allowed her to scrape it off the stroller wheel. She didn't protest!  In a way this was a bit of a relief - both Chantal and I kept thinking the smell was coming from each other..

Last night and today I do feel a bit better - just having it be the weekend does help. I did not work from home at all last week and I am reconsidering adjusting that schedule to include at least a few days at home to allow my self the chance to rest if I need to. And....I might sneak in a couple of moments with Grady...hmm....it's sound better by the moment.

We had a great visit from Marcia this morning - so good to see her - she is a ray of sunshine. She brought some nice hats for me and a ton of cute stuff for Grady. Loved catching up with her and we are so sorry we don't live closer. We've made plans to visit her and husband Gary in Blaine the morning after Lee Martineau's Bellingham wedding reception in July. This will likely be our big outing for the summer, which I will totally treasure.

Looking forward to relaxing the rest of the weekend and the promise of sunshine before the summer is over.

Love and hugs to you all,

Jan

Circumcision and Chemo

Today was a major day - Grady's circumcision and my Chemo session IV.

They expect him to be pretty tired and sore for a few days - they just got home about an hour ago, so we will see how the next 48 hours will go. Since I am a bit toxic for 48 hours, I can't hold him until Sunday afternoon -- waaaah!!
Kathy drove me in for my chemo session today; it was great to have her with me. Karen was planning to come too, but she ended up getting a bad cold last night and we figured it was for the best that she stay home. I missed her, but as it turns out, there are very many more opportunities to have a "chemo buddy" along.
I met with Dr. Kentley today; she said the plan was to have 12 more chemo sessions with a different drug - this time Taxol. So, beginning Friday, July 13th, I will have chemo once a week for 12 more weeks. This drug is supposed to have less side affects, but can have some consequences at the beginning - i.e. swelling in the throat, chest pain and other allergic type reactions. I will be taking a strong antihistamine about an hour before treatment. They will check me every 15 minutes to make sure all is well, so the first one will be long.

The rest of the side affects are somewhat similar to the Adriamyacin: loss of hair, low blood counts, numbness, pain and burning in the hands and feet, slow heart rate, changes (darkening) of fingernails and toenails, nausea, sores in mouth, tiredness, change in taste of food, headaches, skin rashes (sounds fun doesn't it!) Oh well, if I get these things, I know it will be working on the bad cells too.

After the 12 weeks of Taxol (ends September 28th), I will then see the surgeon to make plans to go under the knife - probably a month or so later. At that point, I guess I will have to be off work for a couple of months - darn! See, there's a silver lining to almost everything.

Signing off for now,

XOXOXOXO

Jan