Update

Just wanted to thank my Mom for a great visit. It was shorter than we would have liked but fun. Nicholas talked Grandma into a game of Fantasy Football monopoly that lasted the whole weekend. Hopefully now I won't have to play for a while! Mom, Alyssa and I enjoyed a beautiful sunny day walking around Poulsbo and shopping. Alyssa had fun trying on shoes with my Mom. They both have expensive taste! It was really nice to have my Mom out here to take of me for a few days! Now I have a clean house and a stocked freezer!!!

Acupuncture is helping a lot. I have finally progressed to only 2 times per week. I feel like I spend all of my time managing & going to appointments! I don't seem to be getting anyworse after each chemo which is nice. I am definitely getting impatient. I want it to move along faster. I find myself wishing for another chemo day just so I can get that much closer to the end. I realize it has only been a couple of months but on the days when I feel like crap I just want to be done. Patience is not really my thing. Alyssa seems to be getting tired of it too. Last week she asked when my cancer would be done. When I asked what she meant, she said will it be done in February or March? We finally figured out she was talking about chemo!

Thanks for all the great meals over the last few weeks. Last week several of our friends from church came over to help with a few projects. It was a huge help to us. Thank you for giving up a Sunday afternoon to help out. It is difficult for me to ask for help but so appreciated.

My next chemo day is Friday. Hopefully it will go as smoothly as the last four. Only 2 left until I get my scans.

Only 2 more chemo days!

Chemo went well Friday. I had fun catching up with Wendy, a good friend from work. I feel pretty good so far. Sunday through Tuesday are usually the hardest days. I think acupuncture and herbs are making a huge difference in the way I feel. I am a little tired throughout the 2 weeks but not too bad. I'm sure some of it has to do with me trying to do too much when I feel good.

Sorry I haven't posted for 2 weeks but I'm not getting up at 5am as much and then I never seem to find the time to do it. I guess I'm not quite ready to go to day shift at work! That may take a few more years.

I want to give a huge thanks to my coworkers who have donated annual leave. That is such a tremendous help to us. It helps relieve some of the stress of not working. Thank you for being so generous with your time.

I'm looking forward to my Mom visting next week. It's difficult being so far from your family when things are challenging. We have a great group of family and friends here but it will be nice to see my family.

Thanks for all the great meals over these past 2 weeks. The evenings seem to be my most tired time so it's a relief not to have to think about meals everyday. Terry's a great guy but not much of a cook.

Chemo is half done....maybe

I had another "fun" day at chemo with good friends and a good nurse. Thanks to Laura and Christine for keeping me entertained. The day went so fast.

I just finished number 3 and right now I have 6 scheduled. After 6 then I'll have another CT/PET scan. Depending on the results, I may be done with chemo and on to radiation. It feels great to have come this far already. I can't believe it's only been a month & a half since I was diagnosed.

I feel pretty good right now. Up at 5am again but I feel asleep at 8 last night so I guess I've had enough sleep. Usually I don't start to feel crappy until Sunday. Should be a low key superbowl for us this year! First one in a long time, good thing I don't care about either team. Sorry if there are any cardinal or steeler fans reading this.

This past week was pretty busy so it will be nice to lay around for a few days. I try to do as much as possible when I feel good and this week was no exception. With several friends birthdays this week, there was a lot of celebrating. Thursday I was fortunate to have two of my coworkers stop by. Sara J brought over some goodies. I love the hat & scarf. Thanks to the Sunday-Monday NICU crew for the card & gift card. Terri A stopped by and took me out to lunch. It was great to catch up on work. I would also like to give a huge thanks to everyone who has donated leave. I can't tell you much that means to us. Thank you all.

Thank you all for your comments. I love reading them. Most of the time I have a pretty positive attitude but they give me such a boost.

Thanks for the great dinners this past week as well. Everything has been so good!

The 2 blogs I have on my blog list are for Ramah Ryan. She is a friend and coworker who is training for a the Lavaman Triathlon with Team in Training. Team in Training raises money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. She has done this for th past 6 years. If anyone is interested in donating to this good cause then check out the link to her training page.

Buzz Cut

Last week I was upset about losing my hair. It was really tough when it first started coming out. By the end of the week, I was so grossed out by all of the shedding that I decided it was time. Saturday afternoon with friends and chocolate martinis, I got my first & hopefully only buzz cut. My friend, Johnene was the lucky one who got to cut & shave all my hair off. I think she was more nervous about it than I was. It actually looks ok, feels a little strange though. The only problem is all of the gray hair!!!! If it wasn't going to fall out, I'd have to get it colored! Of course with Alyssa rubbing my head all the time, I'm sure I'll be bald by the end of the week!

Thanks to Terry and my friends for a great weekend. This was just one more reminder of what great friends we have!

I learned two things this weekend. My head will look ok bald and I totally suck at guitar hero!

Update

I'm not sure why I thought my oncologist would be wrong but let's say I hoped he would be. He has told me all along that the effects of chemo are cummulative. I was hoping that maybe I would be the exception to that. I still don't have any nausea which is great. I actually took less meds this time. The anti-nausea meds can make you sleepy. The fatigue is much worse this time. I'm not as sleepy, but I just don't have any energy. It's getting better but I definitely feel like a couch potato!
The acupuncture seems to be helping with some of the aches & pains. After three treatments this week, I feel like a pin cushion!
I have been on a roller coaster of emotions this week. Most of the time I can be pretty positive about all of this. On Tuesday, my hair started falling out! I guess I wasn't ready for that. I'm shedding worse than the dogs! I have been trying to decide when to shave my head. I'm having trouble committing to a date but there will be chocolate martinis involved!

Round 1 of Chemo is done

So now I've finished round 1 of chemo. Each round or cycle is 2 chemo days. Friday I went with 2 of my girlfriends and for lack of a better word it was actually fun. I'm sure the ativan helped a little as well. We got to make fun of silly wigs. I don't want a wig but I think shopping for one with friends would be a riot! No, we were not making fun of people wearing wigs, just the ones in catalogs!

But seriously, I can't thank Johnene and Kristin enough for giving up an entire day to spend with me a chemo. It means more than I can express. I'm thankful for all of the great friends we have.

So far I feel pretty good, just tired. My 1st acupuncture treatment was helpful, although I felt good that day. The next 2 will be a real test of how it will help. My acupuncturist seems very hopeful that he can relieve most of my side effects. I just have to learn to relax a little more. I found it difficult to lay there for 30 minutes with needles in me. I wasn't sure what I could move or not move. It should be easier next time since I probably won't feel so good at the start of it.

I'm working on the coffee part. I think one cup a day is reasonable. It certainly wasn't coffee that gave me Hodgkins. I'm tired of having all this stuff taken away from me. Thanks for all the great tea ideas. I've tried some and they're not too bad. Thanks to Terri who brought me over a whole basket of tea! I'm willing to try just about anything but I can't completely give up all my bad habits either!

I talked to my oncologist, Dr. Aboulafia, on Friday. He presented my case to the Tumor Board and we have a new plan. I'm going to have 3 cycles(6 chemo days) and then another CT/PET scan. At that point we'll get together with the radiation oncologist and decide what's next. It will depend on the scan results but most likely I'll need more chemo or radiaiton, even if it is clear. He has said all along that the best thing would be to do both. It would be nice to be done with the chemo at the point. Although radiation comes with lots of long term side effects that seem very scary right now. Right now, I'm happy to be done with the first cycle. Every little step counts.

I love having my haircut short. Makes me wonder why I didn't do it sooner. It's so easy. I hope I have some time to enjoy it. They say it could start falling out soon but nobody knows for sure.

It was great to go into work the other day, seeing all my coworkers that I missed. Using my brain for something besides cancer research. Next time I'll come in later to catch the night shift crew. I hope to be able to go to a staff meeting or 2 and maybe IQ Day. This past week it was really hard not being at work because I felt pretty good. It's the only really big thing that has been taken away so far. It's amazing what a big chunk of my life is temporaily gone. I love being able to spend so much time with my family but I miss my work family.

Thanks for all the meals and help. Alyssa is loving all the playdates! Thanks to our secret pizza delivery person. That was a very nice surpise.

Time to give the dogs some attention. They are on my crazy schedule too.

Tracie