Well, I'm almost done. Three treatments down and one to go! This one went just as smoothly as all the others. It was quiet and peaceful. The nurses were all great! My nurse even got a "blood return" on my portacath!!! Something no one has been able to do since my first treatment...including 2 port studies.
The only symptoms I'm experiencing tonight are....bad heartburn, rapid heartbeat and hot flashes. The steroids have a lot to do with it. I'm trying to drink as much water as possible to help flush all of these chemicals out. Tomorrow I have my Neulasta shot. I'm convinced this is the true culprit of some of my pain. I know that the chemo kills the bone marrow and the Neulasta stimulates it to rebuild itself at a rapid pace. This causes bone pain...and boy do I feel it. It mostly shows up in my lower back and hips. I'm NOT looking forward to that again.
I met a couple of really nice ladies today during chemo. One was suffering from colon/bladder and vaginal cancer. The other was suffering from breast cancer that had metastasized to her bone and liver. Both of them are suffering with a lot of physical issues but are very upbeat and positive even though their respective prognosis' are not the best. I admire women like that.
I'm so excited about the upcoming holidays! Thanksgiving and Christmas are my favorite time of the year. We're planning some fun activities for the kids for both holidays. I'm just hoping and praying that the chemo issues come and go quickly so we can get on with the celebrations.
I'd like to recommend two websites to you where you can find lots of fun activities, recipes and information for Christmas. The first is the St. Nicholas Center. Our family has made the spice cookies for two years in a row and they are a real hit! We make enough for ourselves and we end up delivering some to friends and family. This year, I bought a bishops miter cookie cutter to use. I also bought a St. Nicholas ornament and some prayer cards. I think celebrating St. Nicholas Day (Dec 6) is a great thing for the kids.
The second site is O Night Divine. Although this site is not in full swing yet for the season...it is packed filled with all things Advent/Christmas. You will find some great ideas here. Let me know what you think of these websites....and....if you have any others you would like to share...let me know and I'll be glad to post about them.
I'll keep you posted over the next few days about the how my "second to last" chemotherapy session is coming along. I guess you could say that the worse I feel....the more dead the cancer cells are!
5 comments:
God is good! You're almost there, Nancy! As always, you are in my prayers.
Nancy, I am so happy to hear you are 75% done with your treatments. Can't wait to hear you're done! My girlfriend is finding herself much weaker after the second round. She's had a constant cough since all of this started. Her son is here now which is good. She found a beautiful wig that really looks like her own hair. Also, I loaned her some beautiful scarves I hope she'll be able to use on days the wig doesn't feel good. Keep me posted please. Prayers continue your way.
Yay.. almost done!!! Prayers for you and your family:)
I will keep you in prayer in the coming days, Nancy. I do hope the side effects are minimal.
Christmas is also our favorite time of year...can't wait to begin sharing our acrtivites here and seeing what everyone else is planning for the holidays!
Rest up and be well this weekend!
If I lived closer you would definitely be sipping a bowl of homemade chicken soup from me this weekend.
Again, you are a great source of inspiration to me...even with your stories of other people. I pray your pain is not too intolerable.
25% to go. Woo Hoo. I hope all continues to go well. I'll be keeping in touch and praying throughout the day.
God Bless You!
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