Thank you for all of your prayers. I really appreciate it!
Well it's time to get you caught up. On Wednesday May 31 I had my 7th chemo treatment. The treatment itself went well. It's everything after that, that has been a lot to deal with. I am assuming that all of my symptoms are a result of the new chemo drug given since I haven't had these before. Right away the next day I started to have stomach pain anytime I put anything into my mouth. Even just drinking a few sips of water caused pain. This continued to last for a week before getting some relief. Over the weekend after dealing with constipation and then loose stools, I developed the worst case of hemorrhoids I have ever had. It hurt to walk and sit. None of the over the counter products seemed to help. This took a week to get some better. If any of you have suggestions for this please let me know.
On Tuesday June 6 I had an appointment with my endocrinologist for my thyroid. She took a look at my labs and my thyroid numbers looked good and said that we were going to leave my prescription the same and to schedule in 3 months for a recheck. I also had a followup with my orthopedic doctor regarding my bone remodeling. He took some X-rays and said the bones are remodeling fine from the micro fractures and my leg pain should continue to get better. I will see him in 3 months for a follow up.
Tuesday night while watching TV I started to get a fever. At 4 AM my fever was up to 102.8 but by 6 AM it had broke. I notified my oncologist and we made a plan to keep a watch out for more fevers. Anytime I have a fever over 100.4 I need to contact them.
On Wednesday June 7 I had a virtual appointment with my palliative care doctor. We talked mostly about my new symptoms, the stomach pain and hemorrhoids and he told me that I probably have developed an ulcer in my stomach from all the chemo drugs. He prescribed me two new prescriptions to try for the next two weeks to see if I can get some relief.
Wednesday night my parents arrived for a visit for the next two weeks.
Thursday morning I had my PET Scan. I haven't spoken with Dr Brown (oncologist) yet but it appears that my cancer is no longer visible!!! I will write more on this after I have spoken to Dr Brown.
Thursday evening left me feeling feverish again so I called in and talked to the on call staff. They told me that I needed to go have labs drawn to see what was going on. Instead of driving all the way into Charlotte we were instructed to go to the ER in Lincolnton. My labs revealed my WBC count was 0.4. This means that my body has no immune system to fight off anything. The ER doctor contacted the staff in Charlotte and they all agreed I needed to be admitted until my count comes back up. They told us this at about 11 PM. I spent the night in the ER and they took me to a room upstairs the next morning about 8:30 AM. Since then I have been getting IV antibiotics and fluids. The have been culturing my blood but so far nothing has grown. I still continue to get fevers throughout the day. Last night they gave me a shot to try to help stimulate my WBC. My count this morning was 1.39. They are giving me another shot tonight. So we will see if it will stimulate it enough that I might be able to go home. If I'm not released tomorrow I am hoping for Monday.
Prayers:
- That my WBC count raises enough to be released from the hospital.
- That I can find relief for my hemorrhoids.
Thanks again for all your prayers. We really do appreciate it.
Last week was a boring week, as far as appointments go. I didn't have any! It was nice. I got time to relax, read a book, do some puzzles and took lots of naps.
This week on Wednesday I had a routine blood draw and met with my oncologist, Dr Brown. We talked about the neuropathy in my feet and how dropping Paclitaxel last time should help it not to get worse and might help it improve some. She has decided that I need to start on Paclitaxel's sister drug Docetaxel. This chemotherapy drug isn't supposed to cause neuropathy so I'm going to give it a try. After that I had another acupuncture treatment. Jon my acupuncturist is excited that I am no longer going to be getting Paclitaxel and he thinks that we will be able to make some headway with the neuropathy in my feet now. Fingers crossed! I am still using the lasers and Biomat most days, along with extra supplements.
Thursday Devin and I celebrated our 21st Anniversary. We went out to eat at our favorite restaurant Epic Chophouse.
We have taken advantage of the rainy holiday weekend to catch up on some shows, video games, naps and reading. Hope you all are enjoying your relaxing holiday weekend!
Prayers:
- My left leg/butt pain is getting worse. The pain is moving into my leg now. Praying my upcoming PET scan will show us what's going on.
- That my body will tolerate the new chemo drug on Wednesday.
As always thank you for your continued prayers. I feel them daily and appreciate them so much!
On Tuesday I had blood work done prior to my chemo infusion. Most of my numbers looked good. As expected my white blood cell count is still really low. The good news is the numbers for my thyroid (TSH) have lowered some. This means that the prescription is working. After my blood work we met with my oncologist's PA to go over everything. Dr Brown was out of the office that day. We talked about the neuropathy of my feet and how it was now causing me to fall while walking on uneven surfaces. We all agreed that in my best interest to discontinue one of my chemo drugs, Taxol which is known to cause neuropathy. So, during my infusion I received the other two chemo drugs and my immunotherapy drug. We also discussed getting my next PET scan scheduled. The results of that will determine our next steps.
The rest of the week was very hard for me, both mentally and physically. I was and am still very tired. My feet and legs below my knees are tingly and numb most of the time. The leg numbness comes and goes but my feet are constant numbness. We had hoped that dropping Taxol would help me to feel better after the infusion. But instead I would have to say that this round of chemo has been the hardest on me yet. I am guessing it is because of the compounding effects. The doctors always say that each chemo session builds upon the last. One good bit of news is that for 5 days after the chemo my left leg/butt pain was a lot better. I didn't even notice it for a few days at all. So that is a win!
I had a great Mother's Day. We went to brunch and then I took an afternoon nap. It was glorious!
No appointments this next week so I will just continue to rest and heal!
Prayers:
- That my body can rest and heal.
- That my body can repair the damage in my bones caused by the cancer.
- That my legs/feet will start to get less tingly/numb.
- That I can mentally prepare for the next phase of treatments whatever that might be.
As a health and wellness advocate, I want to emphasize the importance of complementary therapies for cancer patients. One such therapy that I have come across is the use of a BioMat. The BioMat uses far infrared rays and negative ions to promote healing and reduce stress. It can help reduce pain and inflammation caused by cancer treatments, boost the immune system, and promote relaxation and reduce stress. As always, it's important to consult with your healthcare provider before trying any new therapies. But if you're looking for a non-invasive, safe, and effective way to support your body's natural healing processes, the BioMat might be worth exploring.
Read more...
Thank you for all of your prayers! We really do appreciate it.
This week has been both good and bad. I will start with the bad to get it over with. Here is the real side of fighting cancer. I have been dealing with this leg/butt pain this week. It seems to be getting a little worse. I am taking 600mg of ibuprofen two times a day. I have thought about taking my prescription hydrocodone a couple of times but I try to keep that for dire circumstances. It only hurts when I am up and moving around so the ibuprofen does a pretty good job of keeping it at bay.
On Friday I tried to work outside in our wooded area since it was so nice out. Lots of sticks and tree limbs fell over the winter and we like to keep it cleaned up as best we can. Weeds have also started growing that need to be sprayed. I thought I would be ok working out there for awhile. Our wooded area is bumpy and I didn't realize how bad my feet have gotten with neuropathy. Let's just say that I don't do very well walking on uneven surfaces. It caused me to fall twice. I was very discouraged after that. I am very thankful for a husband who finished my work after he had already done his work for the day.
The good news for the week is I got to rest a lot. I took lots of naps. The dogs love this too! I have been feeling more tired lately so this was a much needed week of rest. I also had time to read and binge watch House Hunters International. I love seeing how people live in other countries. Lets just say that for this introvert this rest week was much needed for my soul.
Prayers:
- For the pain in my leg/butt to get better as it heals.
- For the neuropathy in my feet to respond to the different treatments we are doing for it.
- For my 6th round of chemo that I will get on Tuesday to heal me completely! (praying BIG for this one)
Pic: Dreaming of summer!
Not a whole lot to report this week. Praise that I didn't get the bone pain in my lower legs, like chemo's past. Thank you for the prayers. It was contained to just my feet. At times my feet feel heavy, like they weigh 25 pounds each. Mostly they just feel numb and tingly. I have been very tired the last few days. I think this is due to low white blood cell counts. So I have been taking it easy.
Tuesday I went to lunch with a new friend. She is a neighbor that I met through another neighbor. She prays for me every time she drives or walks by my driveway. We had a wonderful time and the food was really good.
Wednesday I had acupuncture again. It is hard to say if it is working for my neuropathy on my feet or not. But I sure do leave there relaxed. So for that I will continue to go. That afternoon I had an appointment with Dr Kadakia my palliative care doctor. He helps me manage all of my symptoms both with prescriptions and holistic medicines. We both agreed that I am doing really well currently with everything. He keeps reminding me that my body is undergoing a lot of changes and to take it easy.
I have no appointments this next week, so taking it easy should be able to be accomplished.
Prayers:
- That I can continue to do well even during my low white blood cell count days.
- That my body continues to remodel my bones where the cancer was.
Pic: Just a silly pic I ran across this week that made me laugh
