April 30,2012 - 10th chemo treatment

April 30th -Waiting with my hubby on Gonda W10 to see if I "pass" my blood work test to be able to have treatment today.  More to come.

UPDATE:

Well, here is the verdict - Chemo was a go today!! Yessss!!

Hemoglobin 9.6 (12-15.5) lower than 4/16, Leukocytes 6.0 (3.5-10.5) higher than 4/16 but within range, Neutrophiles 3.5 (1.70-7.00) higher than 04/16 but within range, ALT (liver function) 89 (7-45) lower than 04/16 out of range but still a grade 1 which is ok to do ahead with treatment.  With these counts I was still able to have treatment.  At least they were better than last week so thank you all for your continued prayers!  The Power of Prayer...isn't it Wonderful!!

I will do the wait and see approach on how the Carboplatin plays a role on me this week.  This chemo drug is a tough one but it's the last one of this drug!!!  I'm also through with taking the study drug - ABT888 which is a pill form, as of today.  I'm scheduled to have another MRI prior to starting the A/C chemo drug.  This will be after, hopefully, two more Taxel treatments that were missed early on. This will be scheduled around May 25th. 

I'm getting there but I'm not going to lie....It's a long, tiring and at times painful journey! 

 "Perhaps our eyes need to be washed by our tears once in a while, so that we can see Life with a clearer view again" ~ Alex Tan

April 29,2012 - 9th Chemo Tx-Weekly Update

April 29th - I was able to receive my 9th chemo tx last Monday with blood counts waivering on the low end but I'm thankful that I was able to move forward on my chemo journey.  This week proved to be very tiring for me with very low energy.  I will be finishing the study part of my chemo on Monday so that will be out of the way....Amen!!  Since I missed two previous Taxel treatments due to low counts I have to 'make them up'.  This coming Monday I receive the final Carboplatin chemo (study chemo) along with Taxel.  The Carboplatin, historically, has been the chemo that causes me to not have treatment the next week as it's very rough on me....let's hope that is not the case this time!  We meet with Dr. Moynihan last Monday and he said that once I'm done with the Taxel chemo (3 more treatments), the A/C chemo will start.  This is given once every other week for 4 treatments and he indicated that this will make be even more tired.  I'm not sure how that will be possible but it sure DOES NOT sound fun!  Anyways, let's take one day at a time and hope and pray that I can receive my treatment on Monday!

My son Bill was away this week again at training in St. Paul so Cathy, Ben and dogs stayed with us from Tuesday to Thursday.  During this time we went and visited my mom, Ben's great grandmother in Hayfield.  She was delighted to see her 5th great grandchild for the first time.  He was 6 weeks old as of yesterday and he's growing like a weed!



Great Grandmother Martha and Benjamin



April 19, 2012 - 8th chemo tx and Ben is here to visit!

April 19th - Monday I was able to receive my 8th chemo treatment just by the hair of my chinny chin chin...actually no, I don't have any hair, not even on my chin but you get the point!

Here are some of my blood count results from Monday:
My Hemoglobin was low 9.8 (normal range 12-15.5), Leukocytes 2.9 (3.5-10.5), Neutrophils 1.26 (1.70-7.00) and one of my liver functions, the ALT was 98 (7-45) this is still elevated but has come down from 142 - two weeks ago.  I was considered to be in a grade 1 for receiving treatment and most times can still proceed if levels are in the grade 1 category which was the case this past Monday.  I've had to continue the Neupogen shots this week to get my white blood counts back up for this coming Monday so that I can receive treatment.  Please say a prayer for me that my counts stay within range or grade 1 range for treatment to continue.  Let's get this over with already!!

On Tuesday, my daughter-in-law, Cathy, Ben and her two dogs made the trek from their home in North Mankato to spend a few days with us while Bill is attending a training class all week in St. Paul.  We thoroughly enjoy them being here.  Ben has grown so much even from a week ago that I saw him.  He is just starting to coo and looks at you so intently; I think he's trying to figure out who you are. 


Ben sleeping in his car seat - look at those chubby cheeks!

Bill, Cathy and Ben at Easter 2012

The Lace Up Against Breast Cancer article was in the PB last night. 

Here is the electronic version:

http://postbulletin.com/news/stories/display.php?id=1493557

Click on More photos from this story under the picture and you will find one of Melissa and Tracy. 

The paper version actually talked about Team ESC. 

Under Melissa and Tracy’s picture it stated “Melissa Mathias gets a hand with her bib number from boyfriend Tracy Sonnier.  Mathias was part of Team ESC – Mayo’s Employee Service Center – a team of 40-50 people participating to show support for a co-worker who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer.”

Way to Go Team ESC!!  I'm still so very proud of you all!

April 15, 2012 - Visit from sister Sharon

April 15th - On Friday my sister, Sharon, from Kimberly, WI came to visit.  I have not seen her since I've been diagnosed, talked with her several times but had not had the opportunity to see her.  After a nice visit we then went to Newt's North for lunch were we shared their signature hamburgers such as the one with a fried egg on it and the other one with peanut butter on it...yum, yum!!

We then decided to go visit my mom who lives in the assisted living at the nursing home in Hayfield. 

Here is a photo of my niece, Emma, my Mom and my sister, Sharon.  Isn't family great!!

April 12, 2012 - No Neupogen shots and Flowers!

April 12th - Well, along with not have chemo treatments on Monday, I was told at my appointment to get my shot on Tuesday (after waiting 45 minutes), that I would not be having any Neupogen shots this week.  I told the nurse that if my white blood counts were low on Monday I was going to blame her.  I realize now that I was kind of harsh, as she really has no control of my MY white blood counts, in fact during chemo, neither do I!  They just do whatever they want to do and it's annoying!  So it's been a weird and interesting week!   I think that all of this happening was more an emotional /mental thing for me as I want these chemo treatments to be done, not linger on and on and on. 

Having said that, on Tuesday my wonderful hubby knew that I was not taking all this news well so he brought my home a beautiful bouquet of flowers to brighten my day...this was just the thing to take the edge off my "bad mood".  He is so kind and thoughtful...I love you dear!

  

April 9, 2012 - Let's just say GRRRRRRRRR

April 9th - Well, today would have been my 8th chemo treatment but as I just stated would have been. should have been, could have been... 

My white blood counts proved to be 'ok' which is good but now it is my liver functions that are causing the problem, they are to high.  We believe it is because of the trial drug Carboplatin that is given with every 4th treatment.  Remember about 3-4 weeks ago I couldn't have treatment then either...well that was the week after my 2nd Carboplatin treatment. I'm scheduled to have one more closer to my 12th treatment.

This sure does stink...now I am 2 weeks behind on my Taxel chemo treatments which means it just prolongs this whole darn journey, not that the journey wasn't long enough in the first place.  As you can tell this really ticks me off.  But as my voice of reason - Marie- says, they do not want to give you treatment if your levels are to high as it would make me either more sicker, tired, fatigued plus who know's what else.  Also my hemoglobin is on the low end - 9.7 (normal 12-15.5), the study coordinator says that if that gets much lower or I start getting light headed or I start see stars, that I might have to have a blood transfusion.  Plus I started getting numbness/tingling in my left toes - also a symptom of the chemo. 
Will the fun ever end?!?!?!?

What can I say...other than (and I've said it before) CANCER STINKS!! 
People - PLEASE take care of yourselves the best you can so that you don't end up like me!!

April 8, 2012 - Easter and weekly update

April 8th - Don's brother, Dennis and his son Josh were back from Menasha, WI and we all were invited to Don's parents for Easter lunch.  Don's aunt and uncle and his cousin and family from Iowa, and his other brother, Doug and nephew, Tom from Rochester were present.  Bill, Cathy and Ben made the trip over from Mankato along with Marie, Justin and Don and I.  We had a fun time as many of them had not yet had the chance to see Ben. 
This was Ben's official 1st Easter and got an Easter basket to boot!  He was for sure the life of the party!

As far as my week - well it was rough.  I had the Carboplatin chemo on April 2 and have found that is doesn't not agree with me well.  Had stomachaches and a heavy metalic taste in my mouth all week.  We will see how my counts are in the morning.

April 3, 2012 - 7th Chemo treatment & one small victory!!

April 3rd - Monday I finished the 7th chemo treatment and as of today I have 5 more weeks of the chemo drug Taxel (that is if my blood levels stay up so that I can have treatments) and then 4 treatments of the A/C chemo drug which is one treatment every two weeks for 4 treatments so roughly two more months of chemo there.  In total this will bring me to the end of June before chemo is done.  After that I may have a small break before I actually have the mastectomy & reconstruction surgery, then another small break before the 5-6 weeks of radiation treatments every work day.  I guess I don't know what all of this will bring or be like for me so I'm just trying to take 'one day at a time', that's the best I can do at this point. 

I do have one small (but big) victory that I have to mention following my visit with Dr. Moynihan on Monday.  He measured the tumor and it has actually, for the first time, decreased in size!  Also one of my lymph nodes have decrease in size by half and one was not visible any longer - per the MRI that I had on 03/05/2012.  This means that something is working!  A lot more pain and struggling to get to the end of my journey but it will all pay off in the end!   Its a journey that I never thought in a million years that I would be taking but here I am trying to stay as strong as possible willing to go the extra mile to beat this thing.  Having cancer is not only a tiring and long process but an emotional one, something that I knew would happen but did not know the extent that it would play on me.  Maybe that is why they say that after all of this you will be a changed person, I know that I am already.  Life is precious! 

I'm continuing to have the Neupogen shots all the rest of this week to keep my blood levels up so I have to make the trek to Gonda 10 each day.

Bill, Cathy and baby Benjamin are coming home on Sunday for Easter.  Their first 'long' journey with Ben in tow since he was born.  He will be 3 weeks old on Saturday.  Don's aunt and uncle and cousin and family from Iowa will be here so they will get to see Ben for the first time also.

Lunch at Great Grandma Gerhart's house!! Yum-yum!! 

Have a great rest of the week!

March 28, 2012 - 6th Chemo and Weekly Update

March 28th - Monday's chemo went as planned even though some of my counts were on the lower end even with the Neupogen shots that are to boost my white blood counts.  I am continuing to come into the clinic each day this week to get my shot.  Along with all of that due to me having chemo it also puts me into menopause so I am so lucky to have those side effects too...awesome huh!  Each night regardless of the temperature, the bedspread and sheets come off...HOT FLASH...all night long!

Yesterday, Don's brother Dennis was in town as he had a 5+hour interview at Mayo Clinic.  We sure do wish he could be closer to family.  Good luck Dennis.

Today, Marie brought home the most wonderful basket, plump-full of goodies from my friends in the ESC and Payroll.  I was truly overcome with emotion with all the generous and thoughtful gifts that were given to me.  Thank you, thank you, thank you so much again for this kind gesture, you are all awesome and I am again very humbled with your thoughtfulness.

"I would thank you from the bottom of my heart, but for you my heart has no bottom."

~ Unknown

 

March 22, 2012 - 5th chemo treatment

March 22nd - The blood tests on Monday were good enough for me to have the chemo treatment.  They are watching my liver functions now as they are on the lower end of the scale.  I've had to come in for the Neupogen shots each day this week to keep my white blook counts up for this coming Monday's treatment.  On Monday, the chemo nurse offered to slow down the IV on the Benedrayl because she said that sometimes causes the restless legs that I've been having.  Well it did the trick - hope someone would have offered that sooner!  Next week I will definately have to ask for that again.  The week thus far has been good although late Wednesday and Thursday I've felt very sluggish and very tired.  Not much energy. 

Wednesday afternoon, Don, Marie and I went over to Bill and Cathy's to see Baby Ben.  He has grown and filled out even since Saturday when he was born.  Not that I'm partial but he is the most handsomest little boy ever!  Love you little Ben!

March 18, 2012 - Baby Benjamin is HERE!!

March 18th - We are so very blessed to welcome a healthy Benjamin William Gerhart into the world Saturday, March 17th at 2:18pm.  Yes, a St. Patrick's Day baby and WE are so very Lucky!!  He was 7lbs 13oz and was 21 1/4 inches long.  He has dark hair and big blue eyes.  Mom is going well; she was such a trooper during the whole labor and delivery.  Great job Mom!  Dad was right there helping in anyway he could.  Dad even got to change the first diaper (of course, one of many more to come!).

Ben coming into the world only solidifies for me that I have to be here to guide him (as a grandparent) through his journey through life so I have to beat this horrible disease called cancer.  This brings a greater importance for my recovery which is and always will be going forward my number one priority.  Ben will need his Grandma here to spoil him, of course!

Here is Benjamin William Gerhart (aka Ben).

Little Ben



Aunt Marie, Bill and Ben



Ben and Grandma Kathy share the same love for beanie hats!!



Grandpa Don and Baby Ben



Ben - only an hour old.



Ben with Auntie Marie, already sucking on his hand!

 Welcome to the world Ben!  We love you so much already!

March 14, 2012 - This is what friends are for!

March 14th - Some of you may know a family friend of ours, Jaime Prondzinski.  He had emailed Don last Monday (03/05/2012) while we were at chemo tx and asked Don what he could do for me - maybe flowers, etc.  I said that I really didn't need flowers although he could cut his hair for me which I knew might strike a cord with him.
Just some background on Jaime, he has shoulder length hair and a full bread and has had this look for quite some time (as you will see in a photo below).  We've joked with him over the years that he should cut his hair like he had it when he first started at Mayo back in 1998.  Then he was a young, clean shaven man but throughout the years has decided that shoulder length hair was the way to go, for whatever reason. 
Anyways, Don emailed him back my suggestion about the haircut and we did not hear anything back from him for about a week, which to me was probably a sign that he was not going to go through with it which I was ok with.  Someone’s hair preference is a personal thing and like me, even though mine was falling out, the decision to shave what was remaining was not an easy one so to ask him to do this for me was quite bold and I knew that.  

Well, suddenly Tuesday (3/13/2012) Jaime emails me and wants to know if I’m ready to shave his head that night.  I told him that I don’t want him to do anything that he didn’t want to do…in regards to his hair.  I know that it was really hard for me to do and I don’t want him to hate me the rest of my life because of it.  Well, in good old Jaime fashion I receive the following response – “I REALLY don't want to do it :) but I'm going to do it (or rather you're going to do it :) ) because you're having to experience things you don't want to experience and I don't want you to have to experience those things alone.  This will be an experience we can share.  So you're going to take some enjoyment in my suffering and I already hate you so this won't make it any worse :)”.   I wouldn’t have expected anything less than this type of response from him…gotta Love him!!

Here is what transpired Tuesday evening...

This is Jaime prior to shaving his head and yes, I said to him again that he didn't have to do this but he was bound and determined to do this for me….what a special friend!!  This will be something that I will never forget and he has touched my heart forever!

The following are photos during the 'process'.



As you can see there is some fright in his eyes...



What the Hell did I do????



BFF - Baldy Friend Forever!

Me, donning my new wig and Jaime, clean shaven!

Me, clean shaven and Jamie, donning my new wig!! 

The Clean Shaven Foresome!!
Aren't we the best looking people around!!



You know having cancer has shown me a different side of people.  It is amazing to me what friends and family will do for you in your times of trials and tribulations.  They were probably always there for you before but when something like this happens they really show their true colors!!

Love you all!!



March 12, 2012 - No Chemo today

March 12th - Today was supposed to be the 5th chemo tx day but sometimes the best laid plans don't happen.
Let me explain...we went in early (7:15a.m.) to first get a blood draw before the chemo appointment.  After about an hour and a half the study coordinator told me that my blood work had come back and several of the levels were on the low end.  She needed to get in touch with Dr. Tim to see if they could proceed with chemo tx or not.  Well, shortly after she came back and shared that they were not going to do the chemo today and that I would have to get the Neupogen shots again this week.  This will hopefully get the counts back up where they need to be so chemo can be given next Monday.  Hopefully this is just a minor setback and we can get back on track next Monday!

March 11, 2012 - Weeks happenings!

March 11th - Sorry  haven't written on the blog for almost a week but I was struggling with very low energy this past week.  I believe it was coupled with not sleeping very well at night and was just getting really behind on the Z's.  About Thursday, I decided that I should sleep in until about 9:00am and then also took a 2 hour nap after lunch.  Then slept well that evening.  I just need to learn that if the evening doesn't go well I need to take more rest times during the day.  Live and learn!

I talked a little bit about the hair becoming very thin, well I couldn't take it anymore.  The hair was literally falling out with every move so on Thursday after Don and Marie got home from work I decided that enough was enough...the shaver came out and well, you know the rest. 
I am now as clean shaven as my hubby and my son-in-law, Justin!
Here is before the shaving....

Here is after...I don't even know what to say other than I will probably not go with the style once I'm through with all this chemo!  I am not a pretty bald headed women!!

The weirdest thing happened while this was all taking place, Marie's dog, Indy, was bound and determined that he needed to be by me, I mean by me as on my lap by me, while this was all taking place.  He must have sensed that this was not a normal thing to be happening and that I was a little uneasy with it all.  He keeping looking at me and licking me...dogs have that weird sense about them when things like that are happening.  He's a good dog!  Both, Indy and Captain have brought me a lot of comfort during my days at home.

The rest of the week and weekend where quiet.  Don's brother, Dennis, visited us from Menasha, WI.  It was good to talk with him about my journey and he always is concerned and interested in how things are going for me.  Thanks for coming Dennis, it was good to see you!

 Chemo treatment again tomorrow morning....#5!

March 5, 2012 - 4th Chemo treatment

March 5th - First I have to recognize my wonderful, beautiful sister on her 51st birthday on March 4th!  Happy birthday sister Mary!  Celebrate all your birthday with happiness and a love for life!  It's a day all about YOU!   Hope you enjoyed it!

On Sunday, Don and I went to visit my son, Bill and wife, Cathy in North Mankato.  We enjoyed great conversation and a wonderful supper at Tav on the Ave in Mankato with them.  They have decorated the baby’s new room so cute and everything looks ready for the Little Gerhart baby.  Seven more days to the due date!  We are on alert :)

Today was an appointment with Dr Tim (oncologist) and he indicated that I would not have to take the neupogen shots this week!  The white counts answered well to last week shots.  Way to go White Blood Cells!!  And thanks to all that said prayers for that - see, pray does miraculous things!  Keep them coming!  He said the nosebleeds & heartburn are all side effects of chemo and gave me ways to try to alleviate them to some extent.  He said after 3 chemo treatments the ‘size’ of the tumor really hasn’t changed (darn it) but it feels ‘softer’ – not sure what that mean but I’m taking it as a good sign.  He encouraged me that the ABT-888 clinical trial drug has shown great outcomes in others in the clinical trial so to keep optimistic as I’ve only had 3 treatments!  He said the results of the mri/bloods/biopsy that I did on Friday will be back in about 2 weeks so will update you once I hear the results.  I was at chemo treatment all afternoon.  I had to have the Cardoplatin along with all the other IV’s that I normally get so took awhile longer today.  We didn’t leave Mayo until 5:00pm along with all the other employee’s trying to exit Mayo at that time!  The 5 o’clock rush!!  Who could forget!

I have an appointment with the radiation oncologist Wednesday afternoon - Dr Schomberg.  Dr Tim said that he would like me to meet with her so that she could see were I am at this point in my treatments.  She will need time to plan out what will be needed as far as radiation treatments after chemo is done and the surgery is preformed.  It’s a ways down the road but he felt it would be important. 

Hope this finds you all well and enjoying life!  God bless you all!

March 3, 2012 - You won't believe what my Hubby did!

March 3rd - Just a quick update on my appointments on Friday - they all went well and I am now awaiting the results.  Might be a week or two before I hear.  I have an apointment with Dr. Tim tomorrow morning and then chemo tx in the early afternoon.  I am planning on going to pick up the 'wig' that I had picked out a few weeks back as the hair is really coming out now...much, much thinner!

Having said that I have to tell you what my great husband did yesterday.  He had told me a while back that he would shave his head for me when my hair finally came out but yesterday he was bound and determined to have his head clean shaven before mine was.  So he got out the razor and we proceed to shave it off. 
This was before...see there is some there on the sides!

And this was after....

I still look at him in amazement that he actually did this for me.  At first he really wanted racing strips on each side but that progressed to a clean shaven look with shaving cream and the razor - the whole works.  Plus he also shaved off his goatee which he'd had for years.  Granted he didn't have a lot of hair to being with but now he looks way different. 

I cannot begin to explain what this means to me for him to do this.  It really made me feel that he is in all of this cancer stuff with me - not just beside me (which I know he is) but really with me and I appreciate that so much.  I couldn't do this all without the support of him, for sure and my family and friends!

I love him more today than ever!  Thank you Don  - I will never forget this!

Next step is for him to shave mine....I'm sure there will be photes once that happens!



March 2, 2012 - Week update

March 2nd - I started getting the Neupogen shots on Tuesday and completed the fourth one today.  Hopefully my white blood cell counts are back were they need to be so that chemo treatments will continue on Monday.  The Neupogen shots caused me pain in my legs and sterum throughout the week in the nights when I was trying to sleep.  Sleep didn't go so well most nights so I've taking a nap most days to get my rest.  The nurse giving me the shots said that the pain was a sign that the shots were working...let's hope she's right! 

Today I had to be at the clinic at 6:15 a.m. for a MRI, blood work and the Neupogen shot.  I then had another biopsy in the afternoon, which along with the other tests will be sent to USF for the clinical trial that I am participating in.  This will show if the clinical trial drugs are making any sort of a different impact on the cancer cells then what the normal chemo drug, Taxol, would.  I will find that out hopefully next week when I meet with Dr. Tim. 

The hair continues to come out in handfuls... and no, I'm not bald yet!  I guess it is a "blessing" that I have a lot of hair!  The hair now just looks thinner.

Not much planned for the weekend.  Will just be hanging low for now.
Have a great weekend all!

February 27, 2012 - 3rd chemo treatment

February 27th - Well, where do I begin? 
Today was a day of concern for me as you will see what I mean as you read this day's entry. 

I had to have the usual blood work prior to getting chemo and talked with the study coordinator regarding my past week symptoms and the results of the days blood test. After reviewing the findings it showed that my white and red blood counts are a bit lower than the normal ranges.  This has brought about some concern that they do not want those levels to get much lower as that will effect if chemo is given, adjusted or not given at all due to the severity of it.  They are going to start giving me booster shots to boost the white blood cells.  Right now my white blood cell counts are “okay”, and I’m not at any real danger of infection just yet.  However, as chemotherapy continues these could fall too low to a point where they 1). cannot give the chemotherapy on schedule or 2.) they may fall to a point where I’m at increased risk of infection. So in order to both be able to get the chemotherapy on time and to lower the chance of infection, they use these white blood cell booster shots.  Not everyone needs these, so they only do these in the event the blood counts are like mine (oh, lucky me!????)

Dr. Tim says this is very standard therapy however the trouble is this medicine is very expensive ($200.00 per shot given four days a week!), I know, crazy huh!!  And most likely once I start getting them they will have to continue with them until my chemo is done – you understand I’ve only completed my 3^rd chemo treatment and I have 13 left, you do the math!  You’re probably wondering what’s the big deal, she has great medical insurance (thank God, I stayed with the Universal health plan for 2012!!) but the cost for this one item is astounding to me. 

I really don’t know what to think about all of this other than there is no real alterative for me at this point.  I still have a question into my Dr. as to what the side effects of this shot will be – sometimes I’m not really sure I want to know.  All I know is this really sucks – it sucks big time!  But I hear the great wisdom of my friend, Jean S. - she would say, pull up those granny pants and quit complaining – right Jean?! (I’m not sure those are her exact words but you get the gist!).  I will suck it up and do all that I can do to eat the right foods, exercise as much as possible, and get back on track!   I have too!

I ask for continued prayers as I have a feeling this road is starting to get a bit bumpy and I'm not really liking it!

P.S…another joyful (I’m being sarcastic!) thing started happening today – my hair is starting to come out a bit faster than normal.  Not yet quite the huge handfuls that they describe but more than usual.  One blessing is that I have a lot of hair so not quite so noticeable yet.  About a week ago my head really started to be itchy and this might sound weird but it was also hurting where the hair meets the scalp.   I told this to my study coordinator and she indicated that this was one of the first signs that the hair would soon by coming out…really, I’m not sure I’m ready for this!  Can I start this dream/nighmare over please !!

February 24, 2012 - What happened all week?

February 24^th – Sorry I’ve been MIA (missing in action) all week so I'll bring you up to speed.

Monday evening/night proved to be not as bad as the previous Monday.  However I did have pains and burning sensations in my legs and arms and did not sleep welll but definitely not as bad as the week before.  This appears to be the pattern after the chemo treatment.  Wednesday and Thursday I was somewhat sick to my stomach most of the day and night, felt nauseated but did not actually get sick that way however the other end wasn’t so friendly.  I and the porcelain throne became good friends those couple days.   

Early Wednesday morning, Don left for a trip to Scottsdale, AZ on a five day biking extravaganza with six or seven of his biking friends from Lakeville, MN.  They  had their bicycles shipped down and then they all flew down later.  I’ve talked to him each evening and he’s says that they’ve had wonderful weather (in the 80’s) each day and getting in 80+ miles of riding in per day…needless to say he is in heaven and I’m glad he decided to still go with all that is going on with me. He will be back late Sunday night. 

Also on Wednesday I met a long time high school friend (Teresa) for lunch.  We had great conversation about how it sucks getting old and how our backs, knees, and other parts of our body don’t seem to cooperate as they did 30 years ago.  Thanks Teresa, I have a wonderful time.

Thursday I had a massage scheduled at DAHLC and I was going to cancel however they evidently will not cancel after 24 hours prior to the appointment.  Even though my stomach was still not cooperating I went in for my ½ hour massage (should have done an hour but maybe next time).  I’m glad I did as my back/shoulders/neck were in a knotted mess.  Maybe it was what the doctor ordered as I was feeling much better after the massage – even my stomach! 

I had been thinking long and hard about my hair – about 2-3 weeks ago I cut about 4-5 inches off to kind of prepare myself for the inevitable but I was still not sure that was going to be enough of a change for me when the hair does finally start falling out.  I scheduled an appointment with my hair dresser and we settled on a pixie haircut.  My hair has not been this short for probably 14 years.

So what do you think?!?!?!?  It's not easy to get use to, that is for sure...

Today, I mostly hung out with Marie as she had the day off.  We had a fun day together...thanks Marie! 

Hope you all have a great weekend! 

February 20, 2012 - 2nd Chemo Treatment

February 20th - Today I had to be at Gonda 10 at 7:00am to have a blood test prior to the chemo treatment (tx).  Then Don and I met with the study coordinator (Jean) so that she could 'hear my story' on how my week went after the 1st chemo treatment.  After filling her in on ALL the gory details, she reviewed the results of my blood work and all levels were within range which is awesome!  They really watch the white and red blood counts along with platelet counts.  They also watch the liver functions because of the Carboplatin they administer can be rough on the liver. Those were good as well!  I then proceeded to the Gonda 10 east desk for the chemo tx.  This round I did not have as much of the steroids and Benadryl nor the Carboplatin drug (that is only given every third week) so we got out of there by 11:30 instead of 12:15 like last week. It really is a full morning of appointments!  We went and had a small bite for lunch and Don took me home where I crashed for about 1 ½ to 2 hours – man, it takes a lot out of ya!

I’m felt pretty well later this afternoon and evening but I will have to see how the night goes as that was where the issues where last week.  Jean and the chemo nurse said that with a smaller dose of steroids/Benadryl, I should sleep better and not be on the edge of nausea every day and night. 

Things are moving along and next week will be even busier.  I have chemo Monday and then another MRI and biopsy on Friday.  This will show them if the clinical trials drugs are making any sort of additional impact on the tumor…Keep your fingers and toes crossed that it does!!