June 27, 2012 A/C #3 down the tubes!

June 27th - Monday I had A/C chemo treatment #3 of 4.  Honestly I was not looking forward to it at all because of all the side effects that I had the past few weeks - this is nasty stuff.  After talking to Dr. Moynihan on Monday he suggested that I take the Prilosec every day as some of the nausea meds can cause heartburn which is hard to distinguish that between all the other side effects that I was having.  So far (knock on wood) the first couple of days here have been slight better as far as the nausea.  Today though I'm feeling a little bit more nauseated, no energy and tired along with getting that great metallic taste in my mouth again.   Even though I'm giving myself Heparin shots, I've continued to develop a couple more clots in my arms.  Dr. Tim seemed perplexed by that and told me take a baby aspirin a day along with the Heparin shots so we'll see how that goes over these next two weeks.

After these two weeks I will only have one more chemo treatment left!!!!! Can you tell I'm excited about that as I've noted it on many of my prior posts.  Yahoo!!!   That will be one huge milestone completed!!  Then I will have several apppointments coming up.  One with my general surgeon - Dr. Boughey and one with the plastic surgeon - Dr. Jacobson to get me ready for surgery.  Plus another breast MRI to complete the study that I am on which will be after the last A/C treatment on July 9th hopefully the tumor has responded well to this chemo drug and has reduced the size of the tumor even more.  More to come on that. 

On a happier note - got to see my grandson Ben over the weekend (and his parents, of course) it's always good to see them all!   Ben is getting so big and is getting such a little character for himself.  He laughs, smiles, tries to talk and is so much fun to have around.  He's the light of my life and he brings me so much joy and happiness at this point in my life which is what I need right now given what I'm going through.


Sitting with Grandpa at his home in N. Mankato



Ben in jammies getting ready for bed.



June 20,2012 - This chemo is rough stuff

June 20th -  This past treatment that I had on June 11th has proven to be a rough one.  Since then I've been very tired, no energy and nauseated along with giving myself heparin shots each day.  Last week was the most difficult with these symptoms, with this week some of the nausea subsiding but now I have mouth sores (kinda of canker sores +).  I gargle with salt water and another product for dry mouth. 

Just trying to take one day at at time.  Since I get so exhausted so quickly, I do little things around the house, rest, then do some other little thing, rest....you get the picture.  It doesn't take much to get me to have to lay down. 

I have a my third of four treatments on Monday (that is if my blood counts are good).  After that only one more chemo treatment!!  That will be a huge milestone!!  Can't wait to be done with this!

June 14, 2012 - Pretty Flowers

June 14th - Yesterday I received a beautiful bouquet of flowers from the bicycling group that my husband rides with.  Don truely enjoys rides with such a great group of guys.

Silver Cycling - thank you so much for your prayers and thoughtfulness during this long journey.  
You've touched my heart!

June 14, 2012 - Update on clots

June 14th - well, I found out that I do not have the heparin-induced thombosis, which is good per my Dr.  Although I have not heard back from my doctor to the reason why I'm getting these clots.  Some reading that I've done is that chemo treatments can cause this.  I will have to wait to talk to my Dr at my next appointment on June 25th.  With the help of the heating pad, both areas pain has mostly subsided.  Feeling pretty lousy these past few days...no appetite, no energy, very tired, hopefully this will pass.

I did share with my Dr. that my dad had a blood clotting disorder that he ultimately passed away from.  I will talk to him more about that at my next appt.

June 12, 2012 - Another blood clot confirmed.

Learned today, Tuesday June 12^th, that it was indeed another clot.  Now they want to go another blood test to see why I’m getting all these clots all of a sudden…is it because of the new chemo drugs that I’m on or the heparin shots that I just started giving myself starting last Friday. 

They are thinking I have Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) which is the development of thrombocytopenia (a low platelet count), due to the administration of various forms of heparin, an anticoagulant. HIT predisposes to thrombosis, the abnormal formation of blood clots inside a blood vessel, and when thrombosis is identified the condition is called heparin-induced thrombocytopenia and thrombosis (HITT). HIT is caused by the formation of abnormal antibodies that activate platelets. If someone receiving heparin develops new or worsening thrombosis, or if the platelet count falls, HIT can be confirmed with specific blood tests.^[1]

Test today for this at 12:30.  Plus I have another Neupogen shot right after.

Should be an interesting day.

June 11, 2012 - another clot noticed

June 11th- Today I woke up with another painful lump now on my right arm.  Fortunately I had my chemo treatment this morning so I was able to show DeAnn Smith – Nurse Practitioner prior to chemo.  She definitely wanted to ultrasound it to verify if this was another clot or not. 

She spoke with Dr. Tim and they decided that I could go ahead with chemo as my blood work was relatively OK.  The ultrasound was scheduled for that afternoon. 

More to come.

June 9, 2012 - One More Thing - ughhhh

June 9th - Just to get you up to speed...this new series of chemo has been a tough one.  I've had a lot of nausea and a heavy metallic taste in my mouth for a good week following my treatment. 

Also last Sunday evening (June 3rd) my left elbow began to have extreme pain in it.  I was pretty sure that I didn't do anything to it to make it hurt that bad.  That evening I went to bed after taking two extra strength Tylenols and I basically thought that it would be gone in the morning.  Well...it wasn't and I lived with the pain until Wednesday when I thought I should bring this to the attention of my oncologist because the pain was not subsiding and it hurt like a son-of-a-gun.  Dr. Tim suggested that I go into Mayo and talk with one of the chemo nurses.  On Thursday, along with my sidekick - Marie, we did just that.  When the chemo nurse saw it she was pretty sure that I had a clot in my arm and right then and there things started rolling.  My oncologist just happened to be in the clinic that day and came over to access the situation and he ordered an ultrasound to confirm or not confirm a clot.  After that he said that I should go home, take Advil and put a heating pad on it and he would call me with the findings later that afternoon.   

The ultrasound showed that I had several superficial clots in the veins of my left arm (elbow area) thus the pain I was experiencing.  They said it could possibly be a side effect of getting IV chemo treatments.  It was decided that I needed to be put on blood thinners until my chemo treatments were complete so that I would not get anymore clots.  On Friday I saw a Physicians Assistant who prescribed me Heparin (blood thinner) and proceeded to tell me that I would have to give myself a shot each day for the next 5-6 weeks until my chemo treatments come to an end.  The assistant gave me a 5 minute demonstration on how to give myself the shot.  Really, I have to give myself a shot!  I was thinking, I could do that as my Mom has to give herself shots for her diabetes each day – so if she can do it then I surely could.  They sent me on my way to the pharmacy and I received a 30 day supply at the cost of $749.99!!  Ouch - evidently Mayo Clinic employee insurance doesn't cover this very well and the kicker is that I have to go back to get more.  If I get through this for under a grand, I will be surprised.  Don says don’t worry about the money…its well worth it.  I then recognized that I have to agree!!  The alternative is not an option. 

My first shot was last night and the funny thing is I stood there for about a minute, maybe longer, with the needle about an eighth of inch from my skin, not able to give myself the injection.  I then thought of my mom and that was all it took.  It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be, thanks Mom for being my inspiration!! 

Another chemo treatment is scheduled for this coming Monday if my blood work is ok.  Then after that only two more treatments!!  I'm getting there slowly but surely! 

Keep the prayers a coming!!

June 3, 2012 - Boat ride on Mississippi

June 3rd - Don's brother Doug and sister in law Lisa and son Tom asked us to come on a leisurely cruise on their cabin cruiser down the mighty Mississippi.  Don’s parents and brother Dennis joined us as we went from Red Wing, south to almost Lake City.  It was a very relaxing time with great conversations.  We saw, I think 22 eagles, a lot of debris on the river as the waters just happen to be cresting that day, regardless of that our Captain – Doug did a fine job navigating the tree stumps floating on the river.  After the leisurely ride we meet in downtown Red Wing at Liberty’s for a bite to eat. 

Days like this mean a lot to me – getting together as family and spending time together is very invaluable. 

"The family is one of nature's masterpieces."
-- George Santayana