February 25, 2015 (Day 2)- I totally forgot to write yesterday. Yesterday was a great day, once again the day after the infusion I did not feel a thing. I worked for most of the day, went to a funeral and then home to make dinner and then went to a few stores trying to find the finishing touches for my newly decorated bedroom. It is coming along and I love walking into my room now. It is so peaceful to me with the grey and white color scheme that I chose, unlike the red and black that just screamed at me. It is hard to spend money that I don't have but I just couldn't take it anymore. It is hard to describe how I felt at night right before I went to bed. I was extremely emotional but it also made me sick to my stomach to think about going to my room to sleep. After all that has happened since early October and all the time I spent in there after my surgeries and chemo, I just can't take it any longer. There were times when I would go into Kaci's room to take a nap during the day just so I didn't have to be in my room.
I didn't sleep very good last night because my fingers started hurting me. I kept thinking that I was sleeping on them but once I woke up it was clear that I wasn't. This is a side effect and it is actually quite painful especially since I type on my computer all day long at work. I am also feeling a bit run down but I still came into work today. I know tomorrow might be a different story if this all goes like the first treatment. Everyday is a surprise and I just have to wake up to see how I feel. My eyes are watering like crazy today just like they did with AC and after the first Taxol treatment but by the next week they almost dried up all the way. I sure hope that I get some relief after this round too. My doctor told me that since they are still watering with Taxol don't expect it to go away any time soon. It will go away after the treatment has ended. I guess I have to put up with it while I am on Taxol also. I was hoping it would go away like my rash from AC did.
February 27, 2015 (Day 4)- I had a rough day yesterday. I was so exhausted and tired, I say it feels like being hit by a bus. I really don't know how to describe it. I did not work and spent the entire day in bed and even had a little bit of nausea. I only have minor pain in my legs this time. Today I woke up with the same feeling but as the day went on by this afternoon I feel pretty good. I still feel a little run down but not exhausted. I did not work today either, I took quite a few naps throughout the day. I am still having hot flashes like crazy but I have only taken Effexor for 2 days now. The doctor said it could take up to 3 weeks to kick in, it's crazy that they use this anti-depressant for hot flashes. I sure hope it helps because I don't know how I am going to deal with them long term because after chemo then I start Tamoxifen which is a hormone blocker and the hot flashes will continue. They are literally driving me crazy. I never understood how uncomfortable they really are. All these years when my mom would complain of a hot flash I would just dismiss it, unfortunately now I know how uncomfortable they really are. I have a whole new understanding for menopausal women as well as women who experience chemical menopause like me.
March 2, 2015 (Day 7 Monday)- Saturday I was still experiencing pain in my legs so I just stayed in bed all day while Jeff was mounting our TV in our bedroom (the last of our bedroom redecorating). Later in the day Kaci went to her cousins house and I had Jeff take me out to dinner. I really needed to get out of the house for a little while anyway. After we got home I took a hot bath which seems to help the pain a little bit and then went to bed. Sunday I still had a little pain left but not too much. Jeff and I went out and ran some errands and then we came home and I took a little nap and then woke up and made dinner. I was worn out at the end of the day. Today I feel pretty good other than being tired but that is because I had a hard time sleeping last night. I made it to work but will need to rest when I get home. I still feel worn out today and my fingers are still hurting me but no tingling in my feet this time. Hopefully I can get some good sleep tonight and feel 100% tomorrow. This is my good week and I want to work all week and feel normal. It is now March and I only have two treatments left. This is the month I have been waiting for, for so long now. Only 21 days until I am finished with chemo treatments!!! I can't wait for my hair to really start growing back.
March 6, 2015 (Day 11 Friday)- The rest of this week has been good. I have worked every day and when I go home at night I am tired. My fingers feel better than they did earlier in the week. Other than that I have no other side effects. I guess it must be time for chemo on Monday! There is not much to report because this chemo is so much easier than AC. There haven't been any surprises and both times I only felt bad for about 3 days. I am hoping my last two rounds are the same. I am looking so forward to being done with chemo. I am so close now! Today I called my radiation oncologist and got an appointment for April 6th. They will get me all lined up that day and I should be able to start radiation on April 13th.
Side effects this round:
Facial flushing the day after chemo probably from the steroids
Just a little bit of nausea
Tingling in my fingers
Tired and sore from leg pain for 2-1/2 days
Hot flashes like crazy
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Monday, February 23, 2015
2nd Taxol Treatment
February 23, 2015 (Monday)- Today was my 2nd Taxol
treatment. I woke up and felt great and was not in any way scared to go
for treatment today. I was still a little bit nervous but that is to be
understood when you are getting a chemotherapy treatment. We were there
for 6 hours again today. They started the Benadryl first and this time I
decided to give in and rest my eyes for a while. Then I woke up and
started reading a book they had there and then watched a little bit of a movie
on my Kindle and surfed the web. About 1:00PM Jeff ran over to Crown
Burgers and got us some lunch. I decided that last time I was able to eat
snacks and not feel sick so we decided to try lunch today. I moved over
to the small table and chairs they had there and we ate our lunch but I did
feel a little bit guilty that we smelled up the room and hopefully we didn't
make anybody else sick with the smell. I know when I was having the AC
chemo that is the last thing I wanted was to smell things. I think next
time we will stick to Subway since it doesn't really smell. Either way it
was a yummy lunch and I enjoyed it! After lunch I was quite anxious
probably because I was bored. Jeff was working and I had no one to talk
to since most people were gone by then. I have two more long treatments
left. Kaci will be coming to the last treatment, because they are so long
I thought I could have my mom bring her over for about the last hour but she
got upset and said she wanted to go with us in the morning. Jeff said he won't
work that day so he can help entertain her, we will have to bring things for
her to do because 6 hours is a long time and there isn't anything else to do
there, nor is there anywhere to walk around. It will be nice to have her
there though and I am looking forward to it. Kaci painted my nails hot
pink today and I wore my hot pink sweats to match, we totally forgot to take
pictures today but at least I am documenting my nail color. It is so
important for Kaci to paint my nails the night before. I met with the
P.A. today since my doctor was in Hawaii and discussed the terrible hot flashes
I am having. She prescribed a low dose anti-depressant that they use for
breast cancer patients that cannot have hormone therapy and she said it used to
help minimize the hot flashes. I will pick up the prescription this week
and she said to give it about three weeks before it kicks in. I hate to
another drug but I am hoping it helps and unfortunately I will be taking drugs
from here on out when I start taking Tamoxifen which is the hormone blocker
that I have to take for at least 5 years but today the P.A. told me I may need
to take it as long as 10 years. I will do whatever I need to do make sure
the cancer does not come back. She also told me that the side effects I
got from the first treatment are all I should see with the last three.
She said the pain should not be any worse than it was during the first
treatment but the only thing that might hang around constantly is the
neuropathy in my hands and feet. She said that this can come on stronger
the further I get into my treatments and stick around for a few months after I
finish my treatments and hopefully it will go away. She said in the
younger patients it does tend to subside and not be a long term effect.
Anyway this week is another surprise as to how I will feel. Right now I
am wide awake and it is probably from the steroid, in fact this evening I
decided to vacuum the house since we did not get around to cleaning the house
this weekend. Tomorrow I have to leave work at 1:30 for a funeral for a family member. She is a distant family member but someone that I have
always been close with. She was 98 years old and she was a great, great
aunt but she was always my aunt Bernice. She was the shortest person I
knew and I loved her dearly. She was always so good to our family.
In fact I had gone to the viewing of one of her daughters back in October and
then her other daughter died on February 12th and she dies on February
18th. She wasn't even able to attend her 2nd daughter’s funeral. I
am sure she died of a broken heart because when we saw her in October she said
she was doing great and still lived alone in her house. I am sure losing
her daughter in October was so hard on her and then to lose another this month
was too much to bear. Here is hoping that I feel great tomorrow like I did the day after after my first treatment!
Tonight as I got in the shower I noticed that the rash that I had on my arms and hands has disappeared. It may have disappeared a day or two ago but I just noticed it tonight. I was so excited to have it gone. I have some skin peeling from where all the bumps were but the bumps and all the redness is gone. Today was 4 weeks since my last AC treatment.
Tonight as I got in the shower I noticed that the rash that I had on my arms and hands has disappeared. It may have disappeared a day or two ago but I just noticed it tonight. I was so excited to have it gone. I have some skin peeling from where all the bumps were but the bumps and all the redness is gone. Today was 4 weeks since my last AC treatment.
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
First Round of Taxol side effects (February 10 - February 22)
February 10, 2015 (Day 1) -
Today I woke up and felt great, in fact I felt 100%. I got up and went to
work for a full day. It felt good to feel so normal. I do not even
feel like I had a treatment yesterday, however I know it is still early in the
week and side effects are still possible. I sure hope they are mild
should they appear, I could really use a break after all that I endured during
AC treatment. I only got about 5 hours of sleep last night so I imagine I will
call it a night quite early tonight as I am really tired. I also made my
family dinner, everything about my day was so normal and it felt great. I
hope I wake up tomorrow and feel good so that I can have another
"normal" day.
February 11, 2015 (Day 2) - I slept good last night but still woke up exhausted. My energy level is down today but I still worked for most of the day. I feel a little tingle in my fingers and toes today which is a side effect of this chemo. I also feel like I am getting Kaci's head cold, I hope I can kick it fast. I came home from work and immediately took a little nap. Melissa brought over dinner again tonight; she is so nice and thoughtful. I am going to go to bed early again tonight. I need to listen to my body and rest when it tells me to.
February 12, 2015 (Day 3) - I slept 10 hours last night and still woke up tired. I got ready for work anyway and made it in a little after 8:00AM. I probably would not have gone in today but knowing that Dee wasn't there to do the purchasing I thought I could at least go in and help out for a couple of hours. I only made it until 10:30AM and then went home. I came home and ate some lunch and was asleep by 11:30AM and didn't wake up until 2:45PM, I was that tired. After I woke up I felt a little better but I am still lacking all of my energy. I have been a little dizzy today and I am sure it is because I am dehydrated as I haven't been able to drink much; I have a different yucky taste in my mouth now. I have been trying to drink a lot of water today with the hopes it will help the dizziness. I also have diarrhea which doesn't help my fluid intake as you lose electrolytes, I may have to resort to taking the Imodium that the doctor had me buy to keep on hand in case this happened. I still have some tingling in my fingers and felt it today as I was typing and really felt it when I had to cut up chicken for our dinner tonight. I hope it doesn't get worse; it really was a challenge to cut up the chicken tonight. I also feel a little achy but not too bad. I am nervous to say this but I do feel that this chemo thus far is way easier than the AC but I know that I am only 3 days into it. I just hope and pray that I don't get any weird surprises and that this is how bad I am going to feel. This chemo is also cumulative so the side effects might get worse or like on the AC they might get a little easier each round. The only problem with the AC was the surprises but by the 4th round my energy was not zapped as much as it was the first round. Only time will tell.
February 13, 2015 (Day 4) - I woke up not feeling good today. I was doing Kaci's hair for school and felt like I was going to pass out, I was really dizzy. I decided to not go in to work and just spend the day in bed. My legs also hurt; I have a lot of aches and pains in them. I took Tylenol this morning but it didn't help so I took some Motrin during lunch and that seemed to help take the edge off. My doctor doesn't want me taking Motrin every day as it can thin my blood and the chemo will also thin my blood but he said it is okay to alternate between Tylenol and Motrin. I just wish Tylenol worked for me but it just doesn't. I feel okay almost 5 hours since I took the Motrin and will not take it again unless I get desperate. I still have a little bit of tingle in my hands but I don't feel it anymore in my feet. Hopefully the side effects will start to wear off. We want to go to the RV show and dinner tomorrow but I just don't know if I can handle all of that. The climbing into the trailers will be hard for me with my legs hurting like they do, plus I don't have a whole lot of energy. I know tomorrow is a new day but I don't like being away from home when I don't feel good. I get really nervous and emotional. I will see how I feel when I wake up and maybe we can go in the afternoon. We always look forward to the RV show every year, it gets us excited about spring and upcoming camping season. I will be upset if we cannot make it but I also know that I need to listen to my body and not over do it. Tonight's plans are take out for dinner since I don't have the energy to cook and watch Undercover Boss and Shark Tank, if I can stay awake that long.
February 14, 2015 (Day 5) - Happy Valentine’s Day! We had to wake up at 7:30AM to exchange our Valentine's and then Kaci had a dance practice at 9:00AM. Kaci is so sweet she did a treasure hunt for me to find the Valentine she bought for me, the only problem was that I was very dizzy and not feeling good at all. It was extremely hard because she just wants to make me happy and I was a mess. I started crying over it and couldn't stop, I felt so bad to ruin that for her. She was still excited when we drove up to the mailbox to find my presents in our mailbox. She thought it out so carefully and spent a long time last night getting everything together. She also put a ton of cute hearts that she cut out on our bedroom door, she called it a "heart attack". She is so thoughtful and more excited to give us our presents than she was for us to give her hers. I only wish I would have felt better and not broke down. Our day did not go as planned, I could not go to the RV show, I just didn't have the energy nor did I feel very good. We ended up going to Village Inn for a late breakfast and came home and called it day. I slept the afternoon away and then got up and made spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. It was hard to make dinner so I had to sit down the entire time but I did it. We are tentatively planning on going to the RV show tomorrow but if I don't feel up to it then Jeff and Kaci will go without me. It will be hard to stay home by myself but I don't like making them miss out on things because of me. I keep hoping the side effects will subside but so far they haven't. I still must say though, this is still easier than the nausea and fatigue I had with AC but I don't like being drained of energy because then I am home bound and cannot do anything. The pain I had in my legs is a lot less today, I haven't needed to take any pain killers but my hands are still tingly and numb. I guess I trade one set of side effects for another.
February 15, 2015 (Day 6) - Yahoo, today was a great day!!! I woke up and felt pretty good so we got ready and went to the RV show. It was so fun to feel normal and have fun with my family. We love the RV show and always get so excited for spring and the upcoming camping season. The only thing I am feeling today is the tingling in my fingers and I still do have a little bit in my feet, I thought it was gone but after walking around all day at the RV show I do still feel it in my feet. I hope that I don't get any surprises this week; it seems like all my surprises while I was on AC happened this week. I am feeling pretty positive that I won't have any weird side effects on this regimen. I plan on going to work all week but I do have a couple of appointments this week. One of them is Pam's last day of chemo and I am going to be there on Thursday when she rings the bell, I am so excited for her and I cannot wait until it is my day to celebrate and ring the bell. I know it will be here before I know it but right now March 23rd feels so far away. Here is to a good week with feeling good, working and feeling like a normal person!!!
February 16, 2015 (Day 7)- I had another great day. I went to work all day but did leave for a little while to go to Debra Lyn's to get fitted for my new prosthesis and bras. I can't wait to have a normal looking chest again. It has been 13 weeks since my surgery and I only have a little bit of pain these days and sometimes it is still hard to sleep in certain positions. After all the lousy days I have had due to the chemo I hardly feel it some days. I am excited to be able to wear all of my old clothes again. I have been wearing some of them but there are some things I cannot wear because my knitted breast forms don't look quite right under them. I can't wait to look like the old me again, I should get everything next week. I can't believe how different my life really is, I never thought I would be shopping for new breasts. After work mom and I went shopping for a little while and by the time I got home it was 5:00PM and I was totally worn out. Jeff was almost home so we decided to go get something to eat rather than cook. After all the doses of chemo I have had I get tired really easy now. I know I still have 3 more doses left and I hope it doesn't get worse than this. For a while I will probably just have to go to bed earlier than I did before.
February 18, 2015 (Day 9) - This week has been pretty normal for me. I don't have any new side effects or surprises. My eyes have started to water pretty bad again, they almost cleared up a couple of weeks ago but they are back at. I may just have to put up with it until chemo is completely done. I really don't have that much longer until I am done with it. It is only a month from this upcoming Monday, I can't wait! I plan on working full days the rest of the week and taking it easy when I get home from work. I may not be posting again for a few days unless there is something new to report.
Sunday, February 22, 2015 - The rest of my week continued to be very normal. On Thursday I was able to go hang out with Pam as she received her last chemo treatment, it was bitter sweet because I had to say goodbye to her as well, she is moving back to California this next week. She was the first person I talked to during my first treatment and has become a really good friend. I actually looked forward to Friday this week because I was able to work all week and was ready for a weekend break. I have dreaded Friday's in the past because then I knew on Monday I would get chemo and feel terrible for a week and a half. On Saturday Jeff and I were able to go out on a date, we went to dinner and then went to Ikea to look around. After that we hit two different Kohl's stores, Gordman's, Marshall's and Home Goods. I got a bug and decided to redecorate my bedroom. I have hated my bedroom these days because I have spent so much time in there after surgery and during AC chemo that it just became a place that I dreaded going into due to the constant reminder of how I felt while I was in there. Jeff and I were able to find exactly what I was looking for. We got a new comforter and decorations and it is totally different than what it was and find the new decor soothing to look at. I was going to wait until I was all the way done with chemo but where this Taxol doesn't make me feel nearly as lousy I decided to do it now. We still have a few things left to do and find but for now, I love it. My weekend was very good and successful.
Side Effects from Taxol:
-Watery eyes and I was told that this will probably stay around until I am done with chemo
-Heartburn- I continued to take Pepcid twice a day until the side effects wore off on Sunday the 15th.
-Leg pain for 2-1/2 days
-Tingling in hands and feet for a few days after the treatment
February 11, 2015 (Day 2) - I slept good last night but still woke up exhausted. My energy level is down today but I still worked for most of the day. I feel a little tingle in my fingers and toes today which is a side effect of this chemo. I also feel like I am getting Kaci's head cold, I hope I can kick it fast. I came home from work and immediately took a little nap. Melissa brought over dinner again tonight; she is so nice and thoughtful. I am going to go to bed early again tonight. I need to listen to my body and rest when it tells me to.
February 12, 2015 (Day 3) - I slept 10 hours last night and still woke up tired. I got ready for work anyway and made it in a little after 8:00AM. I probably would not have gone in today but knowing that Dee wasn't there to do the purchasing I thought I could at least go in and help out for a couple of hours. I only made it until 10:30AM and then went home. I came home and ate some lunch and was asleep by 11:30AM and didn't wake up until 2:45PM, I was that tired. After I woke up I felt a little better but I am still lacking all of my energy. I have been a little dizzy today and I am sure it is because I am dehydrated as I haven't been able to drink much; I have a different yucky taste in my mouth now. I have been trying to drink a lot of water today with the hopes it will help the dizziness. I also have diarrhea which doesn't help my fluid intake as you lose electrolytes, I may have to resort to taking the Imodium that the doctor had me buy to keep on hand in case this happened. I still have some tingling in my fingers and felt it today as I was typing and really felt it when I had to cut up chicken for our dinner tonight. I hope it doesn't get worse; it really was a challenge to cut up the chicken tonight. I also feel a little achy but not too bad. I am nervous to say this but I do feel that this chemo thus far is way easier than the AC but I know that I am only 3 days into it. I just hope and pray that I don't get any weird surprises and that this is how bad I am going to feel. This chemo is also cumulative so the side effects might get worse or like on the AC they might get a little easier each round. The only problem with the AC was the surprises but by the 4th round my energy was not zapped as much as it was the first round. Only time will tell.
February 13, 2015 (Day 4) - I woke up not feeling good today. I was doing Kaci's hair for school and felt like I was going to pass out, I was really dizzy. I decided to not go in to work and just spend the day in bed. My legs also hurt; I have a lot of aches and pains in them. I took Tylenol this morning but it didn't help so I took some Motrin during lunch and that seemed to help take the edge off. My doctor doesn't want me taking Motrin every day as it can thin my blood and the chemo will also thin my blood but he said it is okay to alternate between Tylenol and Motrin. I just wish Tylenol worked for me but it just doesn't. I feel okay almost 5 hours since I took the Motrin and will not take it again unless I get desperate. I still have a little bit of tingle in my hands but I don't feel it anymore in my feet. Hopefully the side effects will start to wear off. We want to go to the RV show and dinner tomorrow but I just don't know if I can handle all of that. The climbing into the trailers will be hard for me with my legs hurting like they do, plus I don't have a whole lot of energy. I know tomorrow is a new day but I don't like being away from home when I don't feel good. I get really nervous and emotional. I will see how I feel when I wake up and maybe we can go in the afternoon. We always look forward to the RV show every year, it gets us excited about spring and upcoming camping season. I will be upset if we cannot make it but I also know that I need to listen to my body and not over do it. Tonight's plans are take out for dinner since I don't have the energy to cook and watch Undercover Boss and Shark Tank, if I can stay awake that long.
February 14, 2015 (Day 5) - Happy Valentine’s Day! We had to wake up at 7:30AM to exchange our Valentine's and then Kaci had a dance practice at 9:00AM. Kaci is so sweet she did a treasure hunt for me to find the Valentine she bought for me, the only problem was that I was very dizzy and not feeling good at all. It was extremely hard because she just wants to make me happy and I was a mess. I started crying over it and couldn't stop, I felt so bad to ruin that for her. She was still excited when we drove up to the mailbox to find my presents in our mailbox. She thought it out so carefully and spent a long time last night getting everything together. She also put a ton of cute hearts that she cut out on our bedroom door, she called it a "heart attack". She is so thoughtful and more excited to give us our presents than she was for us to give her hers. I only wish I would have felt better and not broke down. Our day did not go as planned, I could not go to the RV show, I just didn't have the energy nor did I feel very good. We ended up going to Village Inn for a late breakfast and came home and called it day. I slept the afternoon away and then got up and made spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. It was hard to make dinner so I had to sit down the entire time but I did it. We are tentatively planning on going to the RV show tomorrow but if I don't feel up to it then Jeff and Kaci will go without me. It will be hard to stay home by myself but I don't like making them miss out on things because of me. I keep hoping the side effects will subside but so far they haven't. I still must say though, this is still easier than the nausea and fatigue I had with AC but I don't like being drained of energy because then I am home bound and cannot do anything. The pain I had in my legs is a lot less today, I haven't needed to take any pain killers but my hands are still tingly and numb. I guess I trade one set of side effects for another.
February 15, 2015 (Day 6) - Yahoo, today was a great day!!! I woke up and felt pretty good so we got ready and went to the RV show. It was so fun to feel normal and have fun with my family. We love the RV show and always get so excited for spring and the upcoming camping season. The only thing I am feeling today is the tingling in my fingers and I still do have a little bit in my feet, I thought it was gone but after walking around all day at the RV show I do still feel it in my feet. I hope that I don't get any surprises this week; it seems like all my surprises while I was on AC happened this week. I am feeling pretty positive that I won't have any weird side effects on this regimen. I plan on going to work all week but I do have a couple of appointments this week. One of them is Pam's last day of chemo and I am going to be there on Thursday when she rings the bell, I am so excited for her and I cannot wait until it is my day to celebrate and ring the bell. I know it will be here before I know it but right now March 23rd feels so far away. Here is to a good week with feeling good, working and feeling like a normal person!!!
February 16, 2015 (Day 7)- I had another great day. I went to work all day but did leave for a little while to go to Debra Lyn's to get fitted for my new prosthesis and bras. I can't wait to have a normal looking chest again. It has been 13 weeks since my surgery and I only have a little bit of pain these days and sometimes it is still hard to sleep in certain positions. After all the lousy days I have had due to the chemo I hardly feel it some days. I am excited to be able to wear all of my old clothes again. I have been wearing some of them but there are some things I cannot wear because my knitted breast forms don't look quite right under them. I can't wait to look like the old me again, I should get everything next week. I can't believe how different my life really is, I never thought I would be shopping for new breasts. After work mom and I went shopping for a little while and by the time I got home it was 5:00PM and I was totally worn out. Jeff was almost home so we decided to go get something to eat rather than cook. After all the doses of chemo I have had I get tired really easy now. I know I still have 3 more doses left and I hope it doesn't get worse than this. For a while I will probably just have to go to bed earlier than I did before.
February 18, 2015 (Day 9) - This week has been pretty normal for me. I don't have any new side effects or surprises. My eyes have started to water pretty bad again, they almost cleared up a couple of weeks ago but they are back at. I may just have to put up with it until chemo is completely done. I really don't have that much longer until I am done with it. It is only a month from this upcoming Monday, I can't wait! I plan on working full days the rest of the week and taking it easy when I get home from work. I may not be posting again for a few days unless there is something new to report.
Sunday, February 22, 2015 - The rest of my week continued to be very normal. On Thursday I was able to go hang out with Pam as she received her last chemo treatment, it was bitter sweet because I had to say goodbye to her as well, she is moving back to California this next week. She was the first person I talked to during my first treatment and has become a really good friend. I actually looked forward to Friday this week because I was able to work all week and was ready for a weekend break. I have dreaded Friday's in the past because then I knew on Monday I would get chemo and feel terrible for a week and a half. On Saturday Jeff and I were able to go out on a date, we went to dinner and then went to Ikea to look around. After that we hit two different Kohl's stores, Gordman's, Marshall's and Home Goods. I got a bug and decided to redecorate my bedroom. I have hated my bedroom these days because I have spent so much time in there after surgery and during AC chemo that it just became a place that I dreaded going into due to the constant reminder of how I felt while I was in there. Jeff and I were able to find exactly what I was looking for. We got a new comforter and decorations and it is totally different than what it was and find the new decor soothing to look at. I was going to wait until I was all the way done with chemo but where this Taxol doesn't make me feel nearly as lousy I decided to do it now. We still have a few things left to do and find but for now, I love it. My weekend was very good and successful.
Side Effects from Taxol:
-Watery eyes and I was told that this will probably stay around until I am done with chemo
-Heartburn- I continued to take Pepcid twice a day until the side effects wore off on Sunday the 15th.
-Leg pain for 2-1/2 days
-Tingling in hands and feet for a few days after the treatment
Monday, February 9, 2015
First Taxol Chemotherapy Treatment
Today was my first of 4 Taxol chemotherapy treatments. We got there at 9:00 AM and left at 3:30PM. It all went great and I did not feel poisoned as it was being infused. It was so nice to not feel yucky. My friend Pam came and stayed the whole time, together we all built another 500 piece puzzle. In fact the chemo was done being infused and we were not done with the puzzle so they gave me some additional fluids to drip in while we finished, plus the fluid is good so it was worth staying there longer. I love Pam so much, she has become such a great friend. I am sad though because she is going to be moving back to California at the end of the month. We are going to keep in touch though and we will be lifelong friends. The Benadryl that they gave me prior to the chemo did make me a little woozy but not too bad, we continued doing the puzzle the whole time. I got super hungry but I was afraid to eat because I don't want any new food aversions. I did eat the banana that I brought and did just fine so then I had a small bag of Cheetos. Afterwards we stopped by Crown Burger and picked up some food for a late lunch. I came home and took about an hour nap but now I feel just fine, like nothing even happened today. I know the side effects take a couple of days to hit but I am hoping that they are minimal and I can work this week. If I wake up feeling good tomorrow I plan on going to work, I really don't want to stay at home any longer, I want my old routine back and I think on Taxol I will get more of my regular routine. Tonight my good friend and neighbor, Melissa brought dinner over for my family, they always do dinner on chemo Monday's. I love them so much, they are so good to me and our family. Every chemo I wear my bracelet that Melissa had made for me that says "I can do hard things", this is my favorite saying of all time and it gives me the strength I need to get to the office to get my chemotherapy. I will cherish this bracelet forever. Here is to hoping that I can sleep tonight and go to work tomorrow. Sleep might be a little tricky because of the steroid they gave me but sometimes medications do not affect me like they do others, after all I was able to get an hour nap in!!!! Jeff and I started a movie at 9:00PM and I went to bed around midnight, I was very awake and I am not sure it was from my nap or the steroids.
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| Me and Pam |
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| The 3 of us with the 500 piece puzzle we finished |
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| Kaci painted my nails red with pink hearts on the ring fingers. If you look close you can see the rash that is on my hands, it is also all over my arms. Hopefully it will start going away now that I am done with AC. |
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