It's Going Up!!!

    

 

 

 

Thanks for the extra prayers and good wishes!!!  They are working!

     I had a blood draw this morning at 10:00am. My platelet count has gone up 18 points from 48 on Monday to 66 today. I'm headed in the right direction!!!  :-)  I'm pretty sure I can make the 100 mark by next Thursday.

 If I can make 100 points by Thursday, my last chemo will be done by mid-afternoon on Sept. 4th!  HURRAY!!!

     Because my platelets and my hemoglobin are both low, I am really tired. Walking upstairs with a light laundry basket makes my heart pound and my legs feel like rubber. I napped yesterday while Arland cooked supper. Napping just blows my mind...coming from someone who needed only 4 hours of sleep per night for the first 60 years!!!  :-) 

     I will have another blood draw next Wednesday to see if chemo is a "go" for 7:30am on Thursday. I'm praying I can have chemo so I can say, "I'M DONE!!!"

     Stay tuned...and thanks for checking in on me!!! I really, really appreciate your friendship and support!!!

:-(

    

 

 I AM BUMMED!!! 

 

I cannot get my last chemo today because my platelet count was waaaaaaaaay too low!  :-( 

 

     Normal platelet counts run from 140 to 400.  At my last chemo, I was at 84 which is below ideal but above the 70's which is sort of their cut off point. The time before that it was at 173 so I knew it was dropping substantially each time I had chemo.

 

Today my platelet count was 48. I was mentally prepared for it being low...but NOT that low!!! I AM BUMMED but this is just another bump in the road.

 

     My chemo has been scheduled for a week and two days from now on Sept. 4th.  My platelets NEED to be over 100 before Dr. Terstriep will consider doing chemo on that day.

 

I will be taking a liquid B-12 supplement and get this...PRENATAL VITAMINS!!!  Dr. Terstriep warned me I will probably get some strange looks when I buy the prenatal vitamins! :-) 

 

I will have a blood draw this Thursday to make sure my platelets are not getting lower which can become life threatening. I will also have another blood draw on Sept. 3rd to make sure I can have chemo the next day.

     Kristi came up with my golden thread for today.  She said, "Well, just think how good you'll feel for Labor Day weekend!!!"  And she is right!

 

 

                                                     

  

I Am SOOOOOO Ready...

     I am SOOOO ready for tomorrow!

 

It is my LAST chemo (hopefully for forever!!!!!!!!). It is number six out of six and I am excited beyond words! I am ready to move on...

 

     My biggest concern about tomorrow is that my platelet count will be too low.  The count could only drop 4 points before we need to think about plan B  ...a blood transfusion or wait a week or more (neither one sounds good to me!). My counts have dropped about 15-20 points between the last two chemos so I'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed!!! Four points isn't much to go on.

 

     Speaking of toes...because of my weakened immune system, I have been gotten two or three infections of one kind or another. YUCK! One of my big toes has an infection so I'm sure that infection will mess with my blood work numbers.

 

     Tomorrow I meet with my oncologist, Dr. Terstriep, for the last time until November or December. We have lots to discuss.  My list of questions keeps growing. Some of the questions I think I know the answers to because of all my reading but I want to know "her take" on them too. I will be meeting with her every three months for the next two years.

 

     Tomorrow, we will lay out the rest of my "venture" since my chemo will be done! I believe I will get 4-6 weeks off to recuperate from chemo and then radiation will begin. Radiation is EVERY DAY except Saturday and Sunday.  I will let you know more details tomorrow when my appointment is done.

     It is 11:15pm.  I had to take two steroid pills today because steroids decrease chemo side effects. Steroids make me not sleepy so tonight will be a long one as will the next two nights because I get steroids for the next two days. I do appreciate their ability to decrease side effects. I do not like the sleeplessness for the next three nights though.  Oh well! I only have 54 pages left to read of a good book so that will be my plan for tonight. I'll have to plan on getting through a couple magazines the other two nights!!!

     Keep posted for tomorrow's update...   :-)

I've Lost Weight!!!

    

     A few weeks ago, we were at the lake when we saw something new at the local store.  This picture shows the new item and HOW MUCH WEIGHT I've lost!   Hahahaha!!!!!

This is my second week after chemo so I am feeling ok for the most part. I am finding it is taking me longer and longer to get my strength and energy back after each chemo treatment. According to the "experts", the effects of chemo supposedly aren't supposed to be cumulative but I can't say I'm buying that theory. Maybe if I could erase 30 years or so, that might help!!!    :-)

     One of the things I enjoy doing is taking my grandsons school shopping. Since school is right around the corner, I took Brody, who is seven years old, shopping yesterday. We had a great day!!! He is usually quieter than his younger brother but he talked non-stop from the moment I picked him up until I dropped him off. We talked about everything from evaporation to what a "not a through street" is to what his newest idea for an invention is! We covered the gamut! Here is a picture of him at the pet store.  He wants a kitten sooooooo badly!!!!!

Since I can't give him a kitty, we got this instead!!! We had a wonderful, fun-filled day!

 

     Today I took Logan, who is four, shopping so he can be ready for pre-school. Logan is a VERY friendly, outgoing little boy.  He must have said "Hello" to at least 500+ people today!!! Talking to that many people works up an appetite so we went for pizza.  He ate a whole personal pan pizza all by himself! While he was eating, he looked at me and proclaimed loudly, "This is the BEST day EVER!!!"

 

 

Of course, we couldn't call it a day until we had a treat so we ended up at Tutti-Fruitti!  We had such a great, fun-filled day!!!

These past two days are the very things that keep me going during this challenge!

    

We Have The BEST Friends!!!

     Two weekends ago, Arland and I traveled to Medora for a reunion of NDSU college friends. This is a rather unusual group because we have been getting together each summer for 42 years!!!!!! Yes, you read that right...42 years!

 

     The group began getting together in July of 1972. The majority of us were still attending NDSU and most of us were not yet married.  We just had a really close, tight-knit group of both young men and women that wanted to get together to camp during the summer before the fall quarter started...and so we did.

 

     As the years went by, we continued to camp during the summers. Some of us eventually married someone from the group (Yes, Arland WAS at that first campout in 1972!) and some married others. Eventually, the group evolved into eight couples that met every summer.

 

We all had babies during the early years.  As those children grew, they all became friends with the other children in the group. Many of them are friends and still keep in touch today. Camping with ALL those little children was always interesting back then!

 

     Then the weddings began! For quite a few years, our reunions were planned around which couple's child was getting married that summer. And there were a lot of them!!! Our group made one big change when we decided to begin staying in motels instead of camping which occurred during the "weddings" years. We all decided it's a lot easier getting ready for a wedding in a motel room rather than a tent or camper!!!

 

     Finally, all of us were empty nesters so we decided to add another get-together into the mix. We now have a "Winter Conference" around February of each year to visit and catch up on what has happened since our summer get-together! We have made soooo many wonderful memories!!!

     Two weekends ago, our group met in Medora for our summer get-together. We all attended the Musical on Saturday night. The weather was cool at the Musical so everyone had sweatshirts on. We sat in a group with about seven seats in front of the other seven seats. Arland and I were in the front set of seats.

 

     Phyllis, my college roommate and dear, sweet friend, took her sweatshirt off which I thought was unusual because she is not usually warm but I dismissed it without a second thought and went on visiting with the friend next to me.

 

Finally, she got my attention and said, "Gee, Verna. I guess you didn't get the email!" I had NO idea what she was talking about so I asked her, "What email???" She replied, "The email I sent to everyone!"

 

Again, I was TOTALLY lost so I asked again, "Hmmm... which email was that?" Finally, with a huge grin on her face, she told me to turn around and LOOK at our group. Nearly everyone in our group had taken their sweatshirts off to reveal a sea of PINK shirts. They had all worn PINK shirts in support of my fight against breast cancer!  I was soooooo surprised and overwhelmed by everyone's support!!! That was just the best surprise! It meant the world to me! As I said before, we have the BEST friends!

 

I have attached a picture we took later on that evening to show our AWESOME friends!!! Phyllis, the one who planned this incredible surprise is the one on my left. She even has PINK shoelaces!!!

                                 Here is our crew from L to R...

Back row - Bob S., Roz S., Rod H., Sandy S., Diana D., Rod K., Larry D., Marilyn H., Arland, Jerry D.
Front row - Margaret K., Margaret D., me, Phyllis W., Michael W.


     As far as Phyllis's email went, NO I did NOT get it!!!  :-)   However, I wonder what she thought when we all arrived Friday afternoon and I was wearing a PINK t-shirt!!!???!!!

Chemo Monday

 

Today was chemo day. We were there early at 7:20am. Arland and Katie accompanied me. Here are some pictures and short (ok, well maybe not short...I like words you know!!!) explanations of the pictures. 

 

  

 

 

The first thing I do when I get to the Roger Maris Cancer Center (RMCC), is register. One of the people who registered me in the past was a former student at Westside. She recognized me, even though I did not have her or her sister in my class. She now works in the Infusion center at RMCC instead of registering people. I went back to the infusion center immediately after registering to have my blood drawn to see if I was able to have chemo today.

 

After my blood draw, I went back out to the waiting room and what did I see??? I found a former police chief eating a doughnut!!! Imagine that!!!
 

I spent the next hour and 20 minutes waiting for the results of my blood draw. Arland read the paper and Katie and I visited. Finally, my beeper went off and we were taken back to the Infusion Center again to begin my infusions.

 

As you can see, I am down to my second to the last infusion!!!  I am soooooo delighted about that!

 

My blood test came back with some not so good reports. My tests showed very, very low platelets counts. That is not good because platelets help blood to clot. That explains all the black and blue marks I have been getting lately. Lower platelets counts are normal for people getting chemo, but they usually don't get that low. Because I am heading into my last chemo in 3 weeks, they THINK I will have enough platelets to do the last chemo.  If not, I will need to wait a week for my last chemo OR get a blood transfusion. Time will tell...

 

 

 

 

I begin my infusions with four pre-chemo bags of medications. They help keep the chemo side effects under control. After each of the four bags are empty, I get a short rinse with IV fluid. The most common IV fluid is called Normal Saline (NS) and it is a saline (sodium chloride and water) solution. After that, I get the two chemo drugs, Taxotere and Carboplatin, and then Herceptin. I get a 10 minute rinse with the saline IV between each of the chemo drugs. The rinses help the drugs get through the tubing and into my port.

Each time a chemo drug is given, my nurse puts on a gown, a mask, clear safety goggles, and double gloves. After the drug is hung on the IV pole, she takes off all the extra protection and calls in a second nurse. The second nurse is the safety check. I tell them my name and birthdate to make sure the drug is for me. Then one nurse reads the labels and amounts of the chemo on the bag  as the other nurse checks the doctors orders on the computer to make sure the kind of chemo drug and the amount of drug is correct. They are very, very careful and contentious about getting the correct drug and accurate amount to the right person.

 

One problem I am experiencing is neuropathy in my fingers and toes. Neuropathy occurs as a result of nerve damage from my chemo drug, Taxotere. My fingers have been affected more than my toes. My fingers are numb which makes doing daily activities more challenging. I have some discomfort and difficulty opening bottles, tying shoes, snapping Olivia's clothing snaps, opening bags (like chip bags...but who doesn't have trouble opening them!!!), typing, writing, and other activities that you use your fingers to do.

Because neuropathy is often times permanent, my oncologist, Dr. Terstriep, reduced my Taxotere amount to 80% of what I got during my first four infusion for my last two infusions. She is on a national panel that has been studying a new drug for relief/reversal of neuropathy after chemo and believes I may be a candidate for trying the drug if the neuropathy continues or worsens. The drug would be given after all my chemo infusions are complete. I will find out more at my next appointment with her in three weeks.

 

Another one of the side effects of Taxotere that I get each time is face flushing. Right now, my face is very flushed! It looks like I was in the sun for hours and hours!!! It will be less red by morning. By tomorrow night, just my cheeks will be red and by Wednesday, I will be the correct color again.

 

 

On the day before chemo, I have to take a steroid pill in the morning and again at night to help manage the chemo side effects. One of the steroid's side effects for me is that sleep is elusive. Sunday night I fell asleep sometime after 3:30am and woke at 5:25am. Even though I needed very little sleep before I had cancer, two hours doesn't do the trick for me now!!!
 

As I mentioned above, I get four pre-chemo meds. One of them is Benadryl. Within 20 to 30 seconds of getting the Benadryl in my port, my eyes CANNOT stay open! That medicine puts me into sleepyland sooooo fast!!! I'm sure my two hours of sleep Sunday night also played a part in my sleeping for about an hour during my infusion. Two different people walked into my room to check on me and I didn't even know they were there!!! Katie took this picture...and of course I didn't know that either!!!

 

When I finally woke up, I had a visitor. Nels is an 84 year old volunteer whom we have come to know during our time at RMCC. He is the sweetest man who always checks to make sure we have enough to eat or drink. He is friendly and talkative and of course we always engage him in conversation because he is such a sweetheart! He helps make our time at RMCC pleasurable. He was a farmer for many years. He reminds us a lot of my Dad.

Arland stayed for part of the day but Katie stayed with me all day. I appreciate her staying with me very much. Unfortunately for her, I am not good company because of the Benadryl. She just keeps telling me to shut my eyes and go to sleep because my attempts at conversation are not very coherent! Towards the end of my infusions, the Benadryl has worn off some so I make a little more sense. At least I THINK I do!!!

 

Thanks to Kristi for putting the pictures on my blog and REPEATEDLY teaching me how to get them on this page!!!  Unfortunately for her, I am a VERY slow learner. 

 

 

There are several Golden Threads from the infusion today. The first is that I had another fantastic nurse! Her name was Casey and she was delightful! She had such a bubbly, sunshiny personality that we immediately liked and trusted her.

 

The second Golden Thread was that I DID NOT HAVE TO BE IN THE PARTY ROOM!!!!!!!!!!! I had a private room for which I was so very, very grateful! It is so much easier for both Katie and Arland to be with me. The party room is sooooo not conducive to having anyone with you. It is just too crowded! We very much appreciated having a private room for the loooong chemo infusion day today.

 

The third Golden Thread is that I can see the end of the chemo tunnel! What a wonderful feeling that is!!!

 

A quote I found fits how I am feeling as my venture with chemo nears it's end. Joni Eareckson Tada wrote, "The best thing we can hope for in this life is a peek at the shining realities ahead. A glimpse is enough to convince our heart that whatever sufferings and sorrows that currently assail us aren't worthy of comparison to that which waits over the horizon." 

 

And that's what I'm waiting for!!!