It is a quiet Sunday morning. I received my second chemotherapy infusion last Monday. With some new strategies from the oncologist, I have been able to avoid most of the intestinal issues this time, but the fatigue and weakness is even greater that before. I understand this is normal...that it can be cumulative during the course of the chemo. If being tired is the worst of it, it is so manageable. "Vegging out" on the couch is not too tough to take :) What isn't fun is the taste changes...it is difficult to have everything, even water, taste really "off." I am drinking water though and some Italian ices and the weight that is falling off now will be back next week when I get my taste and appetite back.
Mike is in Seattle visiting Matt this weekend. Matt is performing in a production of "The Music Man" put on by Seattle's Lyric Light Opera. He, along with his barbershop quartet, are featured as the school board and, from all reports, are getting huge responses from the audience!! When Matt was cast is the musical, we had all planned to go out to see the play but flying is not really a good idea for me right now. So Mike is representing Matt's parental unit at the play. I am waiting his morning to hear what Mike's reaction to last night's performance was... and I am so jealous that I was not able to be on this trip :( But I have a feeling that this will not be Matt's last musical! Maybe next time.
This last week also marked the start of my needing to wear my wig. At the moment, my hair is at that point of the scary lady in the horror movies - I have about 10% left, sticking out at all angles. My wig, however, is not bad to look at. It doesn't feel great, but it does look pretty good - probably better that my normal hairstyle would be :)
The lesson I learned this week, and it is a big one, is to make sure to get all the medical screenings that your doctor recommends for you. I have always had my mammograms on time and my cancer was found on a routine mammogram, not being felt at all and it is stage 1 and very treatable. This past Monday, I shared my chemo room with a very nice lady, probably about the same age as me. She also had breast cancer, getting the same treatment as me but she was stage 4. She had not seen her doctor regularly and had not been getting mammograms when recommended. She was not diagnosed until she had symptoms from the metastatic brain lesions that had come from her breast cancer. She told me she was incurable. I hope she is wrong about that but she will undoubtedly have a much harder time than I will. Get your mammograms, and colonoscopies and whatever other screening tests that your doctor recommends. The discomfort of those tests is NOTHING compared to the treatment for the cancer that might be hiding!! Sorry for getting on my soapbox but I do feel strongly about it!!
This 2nd round of chemo is so much easier because I know that in the next week I will be feeling so much better. It really is the unknown that is the scariest. And I am not really scared at all. As a matter of fact, I am anxious to receive each chemo - it gets me one closer to the end of the treatment and I know that, with God's grip firmly on me and the love and support of everyone, I can handle this - no problem!
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