Scary time at dog park!

Yesterday afternoon I thought I'd take the girls to the dog park a couple of miles from my house. There was only one family there (on the small dog side, that is) with 3 bulldogs. I unleashed my dogs and immediately the 3 bulldogs came running from across the park to "greet" my babies. The greeting started to get a little out of hand and my dogs were getting really nervous. I started out kindly telling the owners that my dogs were rather skittish around other dogs. Things started getting intense, Bella and Stella started freaking out and soon I was screaming at the insensitive owners to get their dogs off mine! They took their sweet time doing so and I was throwing water from my bottle at their dogs. I managed to grab Bella, but then all 3 were on top of Stella and she was yelping. I kept yelling and throwing water. The owners FINALLY grabbed their dogs and I screamed at them to have better control of their beasts. They said that's never happened before but I don't believe it. My dogs weren't hurt, just very scared and upset, like me. It made me realize how fast things happen and how ugly things can get. I'm going to buy pepper spray this week and I won't hesitate to use it. I may just forgo dog parks in the future, but will carry pepper spray even when I walk them. What a nightmare that was! I was VERY upset. Sigh.

Tonight will be very boring. I'm not a big fan of New Year's Eve anyway. Really don't like being out when you know the majority of the people out for the night are drinking (then driving). I will stay home, watch a movie and sip some Pinot Grigio. How thrilling!

Wishing you all a safe, happy, healthy and prosperous 2008!

So very bored

My dogs would like nothing more than to go to the dog park. I've started taking them there again. But today, as bored as I am, I don't feel like dragging them and myself to the park. I feel bad for them sometimes. And it's not like I don't have anything to do around the house, but my motivation level is nil.

How bored am I? I dug out my counted cross stitch junk and started on a simple pattern. I haven't done cross stitch for at least 10 years. I'm sorry to report that it doesn't look like designs have changed much in that time. I'll probably get bored with this, too.

I AM in the mood for a serious road trip, but that won't likely happen before the end of February. I'm starting radiation on Jan. 7th. Yes, I met with my radiation oncologist this past Thursday. I had first met him in early November. I interviewed his staff for an article and press release. I told him at that time that I would soon become his patient. How ironic, huh? Life is funny. HA HA.

Anyway, I'll have 5 weeks of your run-of-the-mill rads, then the last week and a half, I'll get zapped with higher dosages directly to the (former) tumor site. It shouldn't be too bad. I'm anxious to get it started and over with.

I promised I would write about last weekend...so I'll bore you, too! Most of you know that my brother Joe, his family and I are applying for dual citizenship (USA/Italy). It's taken about 1 1/2 years to cut through the red tape to get all the documents required to submit. And after getting all the paperwork in order, we needed to find someone who could translate everything into Italian. Joe's networking led him to a couple who were willing and able to do just that. Peter is from Sicily and Dory (his wife) is from Argentina. They are great. They worked their butts off for us to get everything done. They moved into a new home recently and invited us to their home to celebrate along with some of their other friends last Saturday night. We had a great time, met some cool people and ate and drank. AND sang Christmas carols! I was SO tired the next day, but what else is new? Getting back to the dual citizenship thing again...now that most of the bureaucratic stuff is done, we have to wait for the Italian Consulate in Miami to clear out their backlog and begin processing documents again (more bureaucracy). Why are we doing this, you ask? Joe and Linda are seriously considering moving there after Elizabeth graduates from high school. Joe would like to teach English there for a few years. I'm just doing it because I don't have anything better to do!

On Sunday, Joe and I went to Barnes & Noble in Daytona Beach. My favorite bookstore! That's where I picked up a cross stitch mag to inspire me. Funny thing is, nearly all of the publications were from the UK. What, no one does needlework in this country anymore? Actually, I found a lot more info online. Thank you, Internet! Later that day we all had burgers on the grill. Love that. Once again, I was tired Monday morning. I guess it will take awhile to rid myself of all this fatigue. It would be nice if I had some patience.

Think I'll go find something to eat. Speaking of eating, I've started my list of New Year's resolutions. :)

How was your Christmas?

I hope you all had a good day. Christmas in DeLand was good. It was overcast and a little rainy with a slight chill in the air, which I preferred to a hot, sunny Christmas day!

Stella and Bella love the new toys and chew sticks that Santa brought. Santa also brought Levi a new catnip toy (in the form of a little squirrel) and treats. My job is to keep the the dogs away from the squirrel.

Linda and Joe had turkey breast stuffed with spinach, ham, and lots of garlic. Linda also made green beans almondine and cranberry salad. I made lasagna (for Marissa, the vegetarian) and brought a spiral ham. I managed to bake several varieties of cookies for Christmas: wedding cookies (my mom's recipe), turtle brownies, peanut blossoms and cream cheese chocolate chip cookies. I really wanted to make pizzelles, but I don't have a pizzelle iron (yet). Linda has a small one and I brought it home. I'll try to make them for New Year's Day. I used to help Mom make them every year, but I've never attempted to make the batter myself. If they turn out well, I'll buy a pizzelle iron the next time I visit New Castle (which I plan to do for Easter). I really missed everyone back home in PA, but it was great to talk to some of you on the phone.

No surprise that I was absolutely exhausted when I got home last night. My back is still bothering me. The last 3 days I've managed to take the dogs for a walk, so I HAVE to continue to do this, for their sake and mine!

Gonna take it easy today. Watch a movie and do some laundry. And maybe take a nap.

I was in such a crabby mood on Christmas Eve that I didn't post about the really good weekend I had. I'll try to post about that later.

Blessings

I was blessed by my church's candlelight service this evening. The children performed a little pageant and it was really cute. Joyce came with me and we hung out at my house for awhile afterward.

I'm so very appreciative of all your prayers and support. I wish you a peaceful and beautiful Christmas day.

Permission to Complain...

This seems oh so not festive, but I'm tired and my back hurts! I forgot to take Advil PM last night and I did not sleep well. Tossing, turning, hot, cold, really BIZARRE dreams... grrrrr....and it does not feel like Christmas Eve at all! I'm going to church this evening so hopefully my mood will change from crabby to grateful.

I think I'll stare at this pretty picture for awhile to improve my mood....

Is it Friday Already??!!

Wow, time flies....not much has been going on...been baking cookies and doing other Christmas-related things. Not as tired, but I notice that it doesn't take much activity for me to get tired anymore! I think that will go away as time goes on.

I had bloodwork on Wednesday, nothing new there. I think my RBC is going to remain low all through radiation. I don't go back to my medical oncologist till after the first of the year and I'm about to schedule an appointment with the radiation oncologist. I'm very grateful that the chemo is now behind me. YAY!

Tired again!

I don't know if was the excitement (and the cheering) of the Steelers almost winning or the disappointment of them losing (and the yelling).....but I'm tired today! Thank goodness Troy is back playing or it could have been worse. Enough about football. Gah!

Safe Room

Tornado warnings this morning. Woke up to lots of thunder and lightening around 6:00 a.m. Linda called around 6:30 to tell me about the warnings. I put the TV on and as usual, the meteorologists were beside themselves warning us of the danger like Armageddon was right around the corner. I shouldn't complain, though, the technology enables them to tell us where things are real-time and how many minutes away you are from disaster and complete annihilation. It seemed the nasty stuff was headed right to Deltona, and they encouraged everyone to get to their safe room. I gathered up Levi and the dogs and camped out in my bathroom with pillows, phone and radio. I decided that the bathroom is probably not the best place to hide, but I really don't have a room without an outside wall. The power flickered a few times, but didn't go out completely. Fortunately, the weather dissipated quickly and all was well. Not sure of the damage, if any, in Volusia County.

Not to minimize the horrible weather those of you in the Northeast are experiencing, but yesterday it was around 80 degrees and so far today we have had tornado warnings, fire weather watches and wind chill advisories. What a combo! I will still take all that over a bunch of snow, ice and sub-freezing temps!

Today I'm meeting Joyce at Frogger's in Oviedo to watch the Steelers. Frogger's is a Steelers restaurant/bar on football Sundays. One side of the place shows a variety of games and the other side is pure Steeler country. Haven't been there since last season. Should be fun!

Interesting Study Results

I just read an article about a study showing Taxotere improving survival rates over Adriamycin. I had posted a few weeks back that my medical oncologist switched my chemo regimen not just from Adriamycin, but also from Taxol to Taxotere based on another study's results. Well, I feel better knowing this now and also it demonstrates the Cancer Institute's desire to be at the forefront of new cancer treatments.

Article here: http://www.caring4cancer.com/go/cancer/news?NewsItemId=20071213elin033.xml

Congrats Joe!

My brother Joe was selected to teach Advanced Placement (AP) English at DeLand High beginning after the holidays. Way to go!

He keeps pretty busy teaching and playing music....check out his music blog (link on the right) if you haven't already.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Miss you

Happy Birthday Dad....RIP.

Sounds of the Season

I highly recommend http://www.zradio.org/ for your online Christmas music listening enjoyment. :) It's an Orlando Christian music station and they've been playing Christmas music exclusively since Thanksgiving. A nice selection of classic and contemporary holiday music for ya.

Went for weekly lab work today.... no surprises there....red count still low. I wonder how long it will take for that to get back up to normal?

I don't see any Christmas templates on this site, so the red and green colors will have to do for now.

Grapes!

I found the green grapes I've been craving. Yahoo.

I've moved the essentials from my old PC to the new one, which I'm now using. Still have a bit of cleanup to do on the old one. I feel like I've fast-forwarded 3 centuries! My other PC is 7 years old and was barely chugging along. Marching forward!

Still tired....

Stuff to Do

I'm over the football game....I predict, however, the Steelers will not venture far into the playoffs this year. Just sayin'.

I am less tired today, but in a crabby mood. My eyelids have been twitching since chemo #5 and it's driving me nuts!! I mentioned it to the doctor and he said he hasn't heard that one before. Just like me to have an unusual side effect! It's gotta be from the Taxotere; it's never happened before starting it. Annoying!!

I hope to get a lot done this week.....still haven't written Christmas cards. I have a new PC...which isn't hooked up yet. I have to transfer a lot of stuff from this one to the new one. And I have to get all the receipts turned in for reimbursement for the computer (from my severance package). The dogs need a bath and I have to get them and Levi to the vet soon for their shots. I'm tired just thinking about it all!

AAARRRGGGHHH!!!

...sigh

STILL Tired

Another day of power napping. I'm still super tired. Hopefully, I'll have some energy tomorrow. :-)

The Word for Today: T-I-R-E-D

I seem to be more tired this time around. No other problems noted, just very fatigued. Everything tastes funny, but that will pass in a couple of days. So to sum everything up, I've been sleeping a lot!

I don't why I thought the Steelers-Pats game was supposed to be last night (it's Sunday). A family member clarified this for me at the beginning of the week. It was a "flex" game, so maybe it was originally scheduled for Thursday, but moved to Sunday? That doesn't make sense, though, because it's a big game and you would think it would be on national TV. Oh well, just another reason to blame good ole chemo brain! Cheers all.

Round Six, Day Two

Linda and I went to the chemo cafe today for my IV fluids and Neulasta injection. I woke up REALLY tired this morning. Other than that, I'm feeling good. I'm ready to go take a nap now. zzzzzzzzz......

Went Well

Everything went well today. Linda and I gabbed with a woman sitting next to us. I made my (famous) turtle brownies and they were a hit. Three people gave me their email address for the recipe and the woman sitting next to us gave me her phone number because she wants me to make them for her. I probably will.

I'm getting that flushing feeling in my face again, but I've been experiencing lots of hot flashes, so it's not much different than that. I'm really not that tired right now, but I imagine I will be in the next couple of days. Tomorrow is Neulasta and fluids.

My medical oncologist said I would more than likely start radiation after the first of the year. I would miss several treatments over the holidays and they prefer that you don't miss any. I'll be making an appointment with the radiation oncologist very soon. I'll still go back for blood work the next few weeks and my medical oncologist wants to see me again Jan 2nd. He told me he spoke with a colleague from UCLA last week and they concurred that Adriamycin will probably be phased out as a chemo agent for breast cancers like mine in the next year or two. That's great news. There are changes going on all the time to improve treatment for breast cancer. Good stuff.

Round Six, Last One!!

Today is my last chemo treatment....I'm anxious to see my doctor and see what's next. I know radiation is right around the corner, but I'm curious to see how much follow-up I'll have with my medical oncologist. I'm sure I'll have weekly blood work for at least a little longer. And I imagine there are tests to take to make sure everything is A-OK. And at some point I'll need to have my port removed. Yay!

I haven't been sleeping well, even with taking Advil PM every night. I stayed up late last night and I got up to take the dogs out about 6:20 a.m. Could not get back to sleep after that. I was hoping to sleep until about 7:30-8:00, but no go. I'm sure I'll be napping later this afternoon!

For once, I was rooting for the Baltimore Ravens. I only saw the last few minutes of the game last night (forgot it was on) and it was a nail-biting end. Too bad the Ravens couldn't upset the perfect Pats. Now it's up to the Steelers to do it on Thursday night. Maybe the Patriots will be sluggish with only a few days to prepare? We shall see.....

Finally!

I finished Under the Tuscan Sun. I had to renew it 3 times! Hope the next book doesn't take as long for me to read. By the way, the movie is nothing like the book....except that the main character bought a run down house in Tuscany to restore and watched a local man place flowers at the shrine of Mary at the end of her drive nearly every day. I'm actually surprised the movie took the same title as the book. That's Hollywood for ya. :)

Oh No I Didn't!

Oh yes I did. A really stupid thing yesterday. I went to Wal-Mart to get a few baking supplies, walked my cart to the very end of the row where I was parked. Then I drove to another store looking for my latest food obsession...green globe grapes. Wal-Mart hasn't had them the last two times I've been there. I pull into the parking space, get out of my car and turned to grab my purse. Purse? Where's my purse? Nowhere in the car. Oh, I must've thrown it into the truck before I closed it. Ummm, no, not in the trunk. Panic starts to set in. What did I do?? Did I leave it in the cart? Did someone steal it? How stupid!! I race, and I mean race, back to Wal-Mart, praying to Jesus the whole way. I careen into the parking lot looking for the end of the row where I was parked. Now I almost always return my cart to the cart corral. This time I didn't and left it at the end of the row between cars. I found my row and see two guys collecting carts. I stop the car, roll down the window and frantically ask them if they found a purse in a cart. They did!! One of the guys grabbed it and gave it to me. I PROFUSELY voiced my gratitude and appreciation. Nothing was missing! When I got home I immediately called the store and spoke to a manager, relaying what happened and how grateful I was. She thanked me and said it's nice to hear positive comments from a customer for a change. Based on my experience, I could relate to that. It's much easier to complain about something than it is to share something positive.

The relief I felt was palpable. In my purse are my house keys, spare car key, cash, license, a couple of credit cards and a gift certificate. Someone could've stolen my identity (who would want MY identity, lol?), stroll into my house, steal my car, clean out the house, and God forbid, take my dogs and cat (I know what you're thinking: Who would want my pets?). I clearly averted a disaster and THANK GOD it didn't happen. Where is my brain? People, I tell you, it's shot!!

Anyway, everyone at the Malley household is sick, so I'm keeping away. I'm going to bake this afternoon! I'm doing laundry now and I'll start writing Christmas cards, hopefully. I haven't done that in years!

I've noticed that my eyebrows and eyelashes are really thinning. Big time. The hair on my head is really growing and I've been using the Bain de Terre stuff for thinning hair ever since I noticed it starting to grow again. So I guess there's some sort of trade off going on. I met someone who lost her eyebrows and eyelashes AFTER she completed chemotherapy. Maybe since my last infusion is next week that won't happen, but time will tell!

Steelers play tonight and it will be interesting to see if I can stay awake and also to see if they begin playing like contenders again instead of pretenders! Rah, rah.

Ho Hum......

Not much going on. I'm all decorated for Christmas (inside and outside), much to my amazement. Now I'm pondering what cookies to bake.

I went for my weekly blood work today and as usual, red count is low. White count has been fine. Next Tuesday is my last chemo treatment. WOO HOO! Then on to radiation. Not sure when I'll start that. As always, I truly appreciate your prayers.

Strange....

Oddly enough, I'm finding myself in the mood for Christmas! I usually adopt Ebenezer Scrooge's attitude of "Bah humbug!" but not this year it appears. Last year I didn't put my tree up, but I already have it together and as soon as I can figure out why the top looks like it's about to fall off, I'll decorate it. Wish I could get a real tree, but I will opt for the fire-retardant type this year.

Nothing new to report, I'm feeling good, just tired. Thanksgiving was relatively quiet. Marissa is still in New Castle, letting my family run her ragged, lol. They went to the USF-Pitt football game Saturday then did the Christmas window shopping thing in downtown Pittsburgh which included two of my great-nephews. I have to admit, I'm a little homesick! And you all know how much I (DON'T) like the cold!

Off to the store for a few groceries, then the pups and I will go over to my bro's house later.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing you all a blessed day with family, friends or a combination of both. There is much to be thankful for and I thank God for the gifts of friendship and family. I also thank Him for His faithfulness throughout my little adventure. God is good!

I'm spending the holiday with Joe, Linda, Angela and Elizabeth. Marissa is traveling to Pennsylvania today to spend Thanksgiving with our fam in New Castle. Have fun!

Crank Fest

I still have some residual crankiness from the weekend. I've been telling the dogs to stop barking (and they're not listening??) ALL day and I'm trying to list groceries I need to pick up today. I think I'd rather go back to bed! Sigh.

Oh yeah, as a testament to my chemo-brainness, I thought my weekly lab appt. was for today. I called yesterday to confirm, since I don't remember writing it down anywhere, only to discover the appt. was for yesterday at noon! And it was 2:30 p.m. when I called. Into the shower I went and trekked down Interstate 4 pronto. That poor staff is trying to cram in 5 days worth of patients into 3 this week, but they were very gracious. There was an accident on the interstate coming home which gave me an uninvited flashback to my commuting days. Good grief! Thankfully, blood counts were good. :)

Okay, off to Crankyville again!

Countdown to Thanksgiving

Linda, so glad you won some money on that game yesterday! What a crappy game to watch.

I'm not as tired or as cranky as I was yesterday. Goody.

It's taking forever for me to finish "Under the Tuscan Sun." I haven't picked it up in over a week, but I read some before bed last night and I've read today, too. Blame it on my short attention span, chemo brain or whatever. I guess right now I'm in the mood to escape to another locale. I keep reading about the author's terraced olive trees that she's trying to rejuvenate and before you know it, I'm opening a can of olives to eat. I never knew the power of suggestion could be so strong as while undergoing chemo.

Bella's better....thank God...not sure what upset her stomach over the weekend, but she's back to her little self. :)

The Lost Day

Yesterday came and went. I think I slept through most of it. Weird day. I had really bizarre dreams during the night. Bella wasn't feeling well yesterday.....didn't eat or drink much of anything. She seems to be better today. I'll be keeping a close eye on her.

I think today will be only slight more exciting than yesterday. Go Steelers....

Day Three

Got a lot of sleep last night and already had a 2 hour nap today. Better though than the cycles with Adriamycin. Becky and I planned to do nothing today, so that turned out to be a good plan. She goes back to Pennsylvania tomorrow morning. The time has flown by and it's been great to have her here!

This morning Robin Roberts shared her head-shaving ordeal on Good Morning America. She's a classy woman and handles things with such grace! I had trouble uploading the 6 minute clip so you'll have to click on the link to view it...

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/OnCallPlusBreastCancerCommunity/story?id=3869529

Round Five, Day Two

All went well today, but I am definitely tired this evening! I'll be going to bed pretty soon. :)

Round Five

Becky and I went to New Smyrna Beach Monday, but it was pretty icky. Beach erosion and seaweed everywhere from bad storms the previous weeks and the tide was high again. We didn't even sit on the beach. We sat up above it on this little mini-boardwalk. I could've looked up beach conditions before we went, but didn't think anything about it. We did some shopping afterwards then went to Joe's for burgers and hot dogs.

Got my 5th (and next to last!) chemo infusion yesterday. I don't feel too bad. A little tired and I'm getting that periodic flushing in my face. It doesn't last too long. It's probably from the Decodran (steriod) that I take for more days with Taxatere/Cytoxan than I did with Adriamycin/Cytoxan. Becky came with me to my treatment and we talked about food the entire time! We were looking at magazines full of Thanksgiving recipes. I was hoping we weren't making any other chemo patients sick listening to us talk about food, food, food. We went to eat afterward (naturally) and went to Sam's to pick up my new glasses and contacts. I luv my new glasses! I'm going to wear them today when we go back for my Neulasta injection and IV fluids.

Hope you are well! xoxoxo

Sun Day :)

I didn't realize I haven't posted since Tuesday. Time flies....

Becky arrived from Pennsylvania yesterday evening for a visit. I've spent the last few days getting things done around the house (with Linda's expert help, of course). I even got crafty and took a plastic plant pot and spray painted it with faux stone texture. I got the idea from my Garden Gate magazine. You run rubbery piping insulation around the top to make a rim, spray it then coat it with a sealer. It looks pretty good. I put mums in it and placed it outside my front door.

The weather has remained cool, dry and sunny. Becky, Joyce and I are going to a friend's house to watch the Steelers-Browns game. Tomorrow we're going to the beach! Tuesday is chemo day-- my next to last one! Woo hoo! My hair has been growing back-- another woo hoo!

Whoa...

Wow, the Steelers really did run over Baltimore last night! In the ugly throwback uniforms, no less. I think that's part of the key-- distract the other team with those atrocious things. It works! And it was great to see the Super Bowl heroes of yore together again....Linda B., was it as much fun as it looked? Naturally, I couldn't stay awake for the whole game, but it was over in the first half anyway. :)

Beeyooteefull weather!!

It feels like fall! Absolutely gorgeous weekend....lots of sun, cool temps, dry....perfect. More of the same forecasted this week. Over the weekend I worked on killing weeds and pesky vines. Going to have my enormous arborvitae on each side of the garage pulled out this week....they are so overgrown and very dry inside. I have 2 huge pots of sturdy snake plants to put in their place. There is so much stuff I'd like to do to increase the curb appeal of the front of my house, but I will have to do what I can and afford little by little. The 2 Sago palms out front are infested with insect scale (for the 3rd time). Insect scale on Sagos is a real problem in Florida. I swore the last time I clipped them (makes a mess and you get pinched by lots of spiky fronds) would be the last. I just don't know what to put in their place...flower beds, other small palms? What to do, what to do.

After church yesterday I went to Sam's Club with Joe, Linda and Elizabeth. I finally picked out frames for glasses and purchased contact lens from a new prescription. I now need bifocals, ugh. Pretty soon I'll need a hearing aid. :) Took the dogs for a walk in the afternoon. Linda made eggplant parmigiana and chicken for dinner. Yum. Good weekend.

Steelers will run over Baltimore tonight on Monday Night Football.

The Sun!!

I woke up to sunshine today! Yahoo....was beginning to wonder why Florida is called the Sunshine State. Our sunshine means TS Noel is churning north and ready to dump rain along the Eastern Seaboard. Turns out Noel is not in a yuletide mood. Nasty stuff.

My stomach is settling down, but not completely, so I'm trying to be careful about what I eat. It doesn't seem to take much to get it roaring again. :( The dogs and I need to catch up on our walking this weekend. I hope to do a little yard work, too, since it's supposed to be cool.

A BIG congrats to my sister Anita for being chosen a 2007 Woman of Distinction by the Girls Scouts of Beaver and Lawrence Counties (Pennsylvania). Distinctive, indeed! Wish I were there to celebrate with you this evening. xoxoxo

Happy Friday everyone!

Rain, Rain, Go Away!!

It's been rainy and ugly out for days....I felt bad that the last couple of days Van was here it was wet and dreary. She traveled back to Pennsylvania yesterday morning, safe and sound. It was great to have to her here, but I was worried she was bored!

I've been kinda tired all week, plus the stomach is churning a lot. I saw the doc yesterday for a follow up to my first Taxotere treatment. Everything is going fairly well and I can take over-the-counter meds for the annoying things. My bloodwork is good.

Now I'm waiting for Tropical Storm Noel to make a move so the sun can return again!

Sandpiper, New Smyrna Beach

New Smyrna Beach

Bethune Beach, New Smyrna

Making Strides

Today Van and I got up at 6:00 am (ugh) for the Making Strides walk in Daytona Beach. It was raining and muggy, but thankfully it stopped raining for the walk. Even though the temperature was in the low seventies when we started walking at 9:00 am, it was still pretty muggy. I was able to complete the 3k walk (as was Van, but she's a seasoned walker) and not feel too bad, just a little tired. Took a nap in the afternoon. And it's raining again.

I keep getting this periodic flushing in my face and I wonder if it's from the Taxotere. It passes quickly and my temp is fine, so I'll call the office on Monday and mention it to them.

Doing okay for Day 3

I'm surprised....I'm not nearly as washed out today (Day 3) than I have been in the past. This could be due to taking Taxotere instead of Adriamycin (the red devil), drinking more water this time, walking everyday, or more likely a combination of all three. I'll take it!

Laying low today.....don't want to push it. Hope you all have a great weekend! Love ya.

Change in Plans!

WARNING: Looooong post!

I know I didn't post this here before, but some of you already know that my medical oncologist resigned as director of the FL Cancer Institute. She is a fantastic doctor and her specialty was breast cancer. She will more than likely be teaching at the University of Central Florida's new medical school and will continue doing research. I saw Dr. Moroose for the last time at my early October treatment. I told her I was sad for her to leave but was glad she was staying in the field. Today I had my first appointment with one of her colleagues. I requested him after talking with different nurses and staff. He seems to be very knowledgeable, is easy to talk to and was willing to answer my many questions. :)

A couple of weeks ago a new study was published regarding Taxol, which was to be the poison for my next (and last) 4 treatments. The study re-examined data to determine its effectiveness for HER2 positive breast cancers. HER2 positive means that there is an over expression of the protein HER2 (human epidermal growth factor receptor-2) due to a gene mutation, which means a more aggressive cancer. Mine was HER2 negative. In addition, mine was estrogen and progesterone positive, which means the cancer feeds off those two hormones, but responds well to hormone therapy (e.g., Tamoxifen). What was discovered in this study was that ER & PR positive/HER2 negative breast cancers do not seem to benefit much from Taxol. The good news for HER2 positive patients is that Taxol seems to work very well against that type of BC. Soooo, (I hope I'm explaining this well), my new doctor suggested we ditch the Taxol and move to Taxotere immediately and keep using Cytoxan. Taxotere is less toxic (a lesser poison?) than Adriamycin and doesn't come with the risk of heart damage like Adriamycin does. With the Taxotere/Cytoxan combo we can reduce the total from 8 treatments to 6. He said this will probably be the protocol for my type of cancer in the future. I decided to go with his plan. I asked him if he felt Dr. Moroose would make the same changes and he said yes. I would feel much more comfortable if Dr. Moroose made these suggestions, but that's not possible. I hope I made the right decision! It comes down to this:

3 Adriamycin/Cytoxan - finished
3 Taxotere/Cytoxan - 1 down, 2 to go

Radiation and Tamoxifen (or something like it) to follow.

Anyway, it turned out to be a long day at the Chemo Cafe. New orders to be written, dosages to be determined, etc. Via IV I received Tagament, Benedryl (nice nap in the chair from that!), Decodran (steroid), Venofer (iron), Taxotere, then finally Cytoxan. Tomorrow I go back for the Neulasta injection and fluids. Fascinating, huh? I can guarantee you that you leave the office with your head spinning from all the info to absorb! I have mixed feelings this evening...happy my number of chemo treatments have gone from 8 to 6, but I feel a little apprehensive wondering if I made the right decision. Rats, where's the master plan?? Hmm, I must've misplaced it. ;)

Keep praying kiddies!

Round Four, On Deck

Tomorrow is my last A/C infusion---yay! And I will officially be at the halfway point of chemo treatments. Another yay.

I've been having a good time while Van's been here. Joe, Linda, Angela, Elizabeth, Van and I went to brunch on Sunday. Yesterday Joyce, Van and I spent some time at New Smyrna Beach-- very nice day. We had a late lunch at a seafood joint nearby. I had fresh blackened grouper...yum. Today Van and I went to Bethune Beach in New Smyrna to watch the shuttle launch. I would've preferred to be much closer....we were probably still 25 miles or more from Cape Canaveral, but it was still way cool and better than watching a little dot in the sky from my backyard. It was much hotter today than yesterday. Both days my beach umbrella kept getting uprooted every time a nice gust blew by. Guess I need what's called a "sand-grabber" which is a type of anchor for such things as this. Oh, and get this, my cap AND my bandanna flew off my head today at the beach. How cute.....NOT!!

I'll do my best to post tomorrow afternoon or evening.

P.S. I am mad at the Steelers for that performance in Denver on Sunday. Grrr.

Late night!

Van's flight was delayed leaving Pittsburgh yesterday afternoon. It was scheduled to leave at 6:44 p.m. but ended up leaving at 8:42. The flight got in about 11:25 p.m. Yikes. She sat at the Pgh airport for hours. I had the luxury of checking the flight status online, so I got to the airport around 10:00 p.m. and read my book while waiting. Neither of us slept well last night and my back is REALLY bothering me. I'm wondering if the pain is from the Neulasta shot. I'll ask the doc next week because it's really annoying.

Yesterday Linda came over and we cleaned. I tried to do a few things in the backyard and once again got bit by a fire ant. Those tiny things really pack a pain wallop. Think I'd learned not to go back out there without socks and tennis shoes, huh? I think I've finally learned my lesson. In the afternoon I gave the dogs a bath then spritzed them with some Chanel No. 5. They smell so pretty, lol!

It's raining and humid right now. We're going to go to Macy's to take advantage of a few sales, but other than that, I think we'll take it easy today. This weekend is Biketoberfest in Daytona, so I think we'll avoid the beach this weekend and go Monday instead. Have a great weekend everyone!

Lab work

Red blood count up ever so slighty, white count good. I've been trying to eat more iron-rich foods, but I don't know if that helped the RBC or not.

Took the girls for a walk this afternoon and we were all tired afterwards. It's still so hot! I'm waiting patiently for cooler weather. :)

Company's coming!

I've been feeling pretty good these last few days. I didn't go for a walk yesterday because my muscles have been screaming. I also have been doing some exercises to strengthen my lower back. Gosh, I had no idea I was THAT out of shape! I can't EVER let that happen again. Sheesh.

My sister Van is coming for a visit tomorrow. She'll stay for about 10 days. There's a million fun things I'd like to do while she's here, but we'll probably have to cram in what we can before my next chemo on Wed. the 24th. I know we'll hit the beach at least once while she's here....maybe New Smyrna Beach. We're planning on walking in the American Cancer Society's "Making Strides" walk in Daytona Beach on the 28th, but we'll have to see how I feel. I have been walking not only to increase stamina, but also because I want to do this walk!

I'm doing more freelance writing-- YAY. Good thing, because when I'm feeling good I start to get really bored. This afternoon is weekly blood work. I hope my RBC is up a little bit. I'll report back later.

Look Good, Feel Better

This evening I went to "Look Good, Feel Better" at Florida Hospital. The American Cancer Society uses volunteer cosmetologists and makeup from leading manufacturers to show women how to apply makeup when a) you've lost your hair and feel icky about it, b) feel icky in general from the treatment and c) show you how to use makeup to disguise the fact that you've lost your eyebrows and eyelashes. I haven't lost eyebrows or eyelashes YET. It was a fun thing to do and it's nice to socialize with other women going through chemo or radiation. And I came home with a goody bag full of makeup....some things I'll use and some things I'll give away (like the blue eyeshadow trio).

I did some yard work out back today and stepped into some weeds harboring some fire ants. OUCH! Just what I need. I'm going to have to be dressed from top to bottom if I continue to work outside. I can't risk getting an infection. So much fun!

Yard work

Linda came over today and trimmed my oak tree out front (and by trimming, I don't mean like Christmas). That thing has grown all over the place. We did some cleaning and I trimmed some of the monstrous hedges in my backyard (again, not like Christmas). My back was sore this afternoon, but it's feeling better after a shower and a menthol heating pad. It's taking so long to get some of these muscles moving that I can't let them get lazy again! Breast cancer aside, I know some of this is from just getting OLDER. Ugh. By the way, the temp is still in the mid-eighties, but the humidity is so low that it actually doesn't feel so hot. That cold front went AWOL.

Bye week for the Steelers, so here's hoping that Troy, Hines and Casey are healthy and active again for next Sunday's night game against the Broncos for win #5. :)

Oh, speaking of the Steelers, check out Terry Bradshaw's wardrobe malfunction while recently guesting on The Tonight Show. Luv him!

You call that a cold front?

Well, the cooler weather today came in the form of the mid-eighties, but with low humidity. It was a perfect day for a parade, especially since we were underneath the shade trees that line Woodland Blvd. in downtown DeLand. I'm sure it felt hotter for those walking or riding the parade route. I didn't realize Joe was walking in the parade, with his students in the Future Educators of America club. Good show bro!

I got a good bit of walking in today, including a little jaunt with Stella around Joe and Linda's neighborhood. I carried Bella, because she was a bit gimpy and she loves to be carried around. Bella has a problem with her shoulder, always has, and since "we" haven't done much physically speaking for the past couple of months, the little munchkin was a bit sore yesterday and this morning. And so was I! My back was really hurting...it's finally feeling better this evening. I'm finally understanding that daily walking is very important while undergoing treatment (really at all times for that matter).

Looking forward to cooler weather....

....which we're supposed to get tomorrow. Tomorrow afternoon is DeLand High School's homecoming parade. My niece Elizabeth has worked on the floats and her boyfriend Michael is marching in the band. And of course both Joe and Angela work at the high school. I'm planning on going to watch. Hmmm, I haven't been to a homecoming parade since my high school days (if I remember correctly, which is iffy). Why, that was just a few years ago. ;-)

Took me and the dogs for another short walk today. I had my weekly blood work this afternoon: RBC still low. I did find out I'll be receiving Venofor (IV iron) after each chemo treatment from here on out. And I've been feeling a little queasy, so I took my anti-nausea meds today. Seems like every round of A/C takes a little more out of me, so I'll be glad to get the last one over with at the end of the month. Woo hoo!

Better Day

I felt a lot better today. I think part of feeling crummy is that I'm bored and restless. So today we (the dogs and I) went to my bro's house. I took the dogs for a walk while we were there. It does feel good to get out and move.

We're supposed to get a cold front by the end of the week and the weather's supposed to be dry, sunny and around the low eighties. Sounds like walking weather!

'buds

Szechwan Beef with just the right amount of heat and veggie fried rice can really wake up the taste buds. I had beef (iron, protein) and lots of veggies. Let's not talk about how much oil is used making this stuff; it tastes good! And enough sodium to make me drink lots of water this afternoon.

I managed to get out in the sun for a short time today. And I got on the treadmill today with Stella....I'm glad no one was around to see that train wreck. It's going to take a bit of work to get both of us walking on the thing at the same time.

Overall I felt a bit better today than yesterday. Hopefully I'll feel almost normal tomorrow.

A Belated Thank You

I'm finally getting around to saying thank you for all the wonderful birthday wishes last week. I was very touched! Hopefully I'll get around to thanking you all personally one of these days. xoxoxo

The Food (Addict) Network

So what did I do today because nothing tastes quite right? I watched cooking shows....funny how things seem wondrous and revolting at the same time when the taste buds aren't working properly. And does Paula Deen ever make anything that doesn't call for mayonnaise? Just wondering.

I finished reading Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. It was a fascinating and heartbreaking read. Remind me never to say I wish I lived in 19th century China.

Mood of Crab

I'm in a somewhat crabby mood today. I'm tired of being tired! And another overcast day to boot. Last night I was cleaning up the kitchen before going to bed and bumped my French press carafe and it went crashing onto the tile floor. Glass everywhere....there I was sweeping and vacuuming at 11:00 p.m. Thankfully I didn't get cut with glass and neither did the children.

I need to force myself onto the treadmill today. My doctor told me that walking everyday helps maintain stamina. I know she's right. Grrr.

Blah

Yeah, feeling out of it today. Slept so much yesterday that I didn't sleep as well last night. And I have this weird taste in my mouth. I had that after the last treatment and it lasted a few days. Problem is, when that happens, water is not appealing at all! I'll be downing some Gatorade today.

The skies are very overcast and it's been raining off and on. Not seeing a whole lot of sun these last couple of weeks. I need some sunshine!

I'll attempt to watch football this afternoon....it's questionable if I'll be able to stay awake for the whole game. Go Steelers!

Sleep Much?

I can't believe how much I slept today! Didn't get up till 10:00 am, then 2 1/2 hours later I'm back to sleeping for 5 hours! Amazing. So this seems to be the pattern: Day 3 I'm Rip Van Winkle-ish. The dogs were sleeping right along with me which means this evening they'll be bouncing off the walls. They're bored! Levi follows his own schedule regardless...just like a cat. Meow.

Round Three, Day Two

Not doing too badly....just woke up from a 2 hour nap. Today I received Neulasta, fluids and iron. One more cycle of A/C to go then on to Taxol, which is supposed to be much easier to tolerate. The most common side effect of Taxol is joint pain which can be relieved by taking ibuprofen.

Gonna go nosh on something now. Catch ya later!

Round Three

I woke up really tired today. I've been taking Tylenol PM every night, but last night I didn't and didn't sleep as well. This afternoon I had my third treatment of Adriamycin and Cytoxan (A/C) and yep, even more tired! I had an iron panel done last week and it came back borderline so tomorrow they'll give me iron via IV when I go back for Neulasta and fluids. That should help. My red blood count is still low, but not tanking, so we'll leave that one alone. My doc says I'm doing really well. :)

I'm going to take a nap now!

Happy Birthday.....

....to me!! Ah yes, tis my birthday. And I will celebrate with a chemo treatment on Thursday. :)

I haven't posted much lately because there is not much going on. It's been raining A LOT here this week! Not much sunshine these past few days which is unusual for here. Makes me want to crawl back into bed and zzzzzz.....but I won't.

Weekly bloodwork

I went for my weekly bloodwork today. White count was actually on the high side (from Neulasta) and my red count was still low, but up 1 point from last week. They also took blood for an iron panel. If my red count is still low next week, I may need an injection of Procrit.

A hairy thought: I'm finding I'm wearing bandannas with a cap far more than the wig! Which is exactly what I've read and heard everyone ends up doing. Taking a shower is a snap....I spend far less time in there now. I imagine my water bill will be lower! But I still can't wait to grow my hair back. :-)

Story time

So I went to the library to find something new to read....I get tired of reading about breast cancer all the time....I decided on a non-fiction book about food-- figures! Author Barbara Kingsolver moved her family from Tucson to southern Appalachia to live off the land. I actually think it's a great idea. Maybe I'd pick a different location, but the idea of getting back to a simpler life is appealing. As long as I could have a satellite dish to watch the Steelers, I'd be good to go!

I also picked up "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan," about two women in 19th century China. We'll see which book holds my short attention span the longest!

I'm waiting for the weather to cool off....I want to start taking my dogs to the dog park again and want to do some work in the backyard....it's a jungle out there! I have to be careful about insect bites and cuts and scratches, but I'll take the necessary precautions. Ciao for now!

Oh, I almost forgot....happy birthday Becky! xoxoxo

Ho hum

Nothing new to report....I'm feeling pretty good finally. Hope you are all well. Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

Thanks, Joe!

A big shout out to my brother Joe for shaving his head as a show of solidarity for his sister! Woo Hoo!! Okay, what about the rest of you???? ;-)

Weekly blood count results

White blood count good today, red count kinda low, but not low enough to warrant a booster shot. I guess that helps explain the extra-tiredness I've been feeling! Maybe I need to eat a steak or something. Sigh.

My Faux 'Do

My niece Chrissy wants to know what kind of new hairdo I selected. I picked out a short layered one that is similar to the last haircut. I guess I would call the color a medium auburn. Yep, I'm a somewhat fiery redhead! It's cute, but I miss my own hair!

Rainy day

We've had a lot of rain the last couple of days. We needed the rain and the temp has been below 90 degrees. :)

I'm feeling much better. I thought my weekly blood work was today, but it's tomorrow...chemo brain! At least that's my excuse for every time I forget something. Cheers all.

Not so tired today!

I'm feeling better today and thank goodness, because I'm completely out of dog and cat food and the natives are getting restless!

Another tired day

Pretty tired again today. Watched the first half of the Steelers-Bills game, crawled into bed at halftime planning on watching the rest and found I couldn't keep my eyes open! Eventually turned off the game because I kept falling asleep. I don't think I'll run around shopping after my next treatment....pretty sure that's what did me in this time!

I'm glad the Steelers won, but they were wearing these old-time "throwback" uniforms to commemorate the franchise's 75th season. The colors looked like brown and gold instead of black and gold, so to sum up my impression in one word: U-G-L-Y. Will they be wearing these for every home game this season??

Sleeping Marathon

Wow, I could sleep nonstop today. Just got up to have some soup. I don't feel queasy, but I'm definitely not up for much more than soup right now. I imagine I'll feel a lot better tomorrow. :-)

Okay, now I'm tired.

Took a nap after running around a bit this afternoon. And my dogs were incredibly annoying the entire time Maxine was here! They are still doing their best to annoy me. Sigh.

Happy Friday!

I'm feeling pretty good today. I slept well last night. Maxine and I are going to do a little window shopping and she'll head back home later this afternoon. I'm sure I'll be ready for a nap after shopping! Hope you are all well. xoxoxo

Chugging along

I went for the Neulasta shot and IV fluids today. I feel a little spaced out and tired, which is about the same as last time. Took a little nap this evening. Other than that, nothing new to report. :-)

Round Two

I had my second treatment today and all is well (so far). My doctor was very pleased with how well I did the first time around. She said usually the side effects are worse after the first treatment because it's such a shock to your body. So I feel blessed to have done so well!

Maxine was great company and we chatted up the nurses and the woman sitting next to me. After I was done we went to eat and went to a few stores. Kinda tired, but I won't nap so I can sleep well tonight.

Your prayers are helping tremendously....thank you!!

My New Look

So, okay, I'm a little freaked out about the no hair thing. I have to tell you, not a good look for me. It was a relief to get it done because the hair falling out in little chunks was also freaking me out. So I traded one freak scenario for another one.

Enough about the hair.....my next treatment is Wednesday. Family friend Maxine is coming down from the Villages to babysit. :) I told her to bring lots of stuff to read.

Alrighty then!

Ceremonial head shaving to commence at 1300 hours on Monday, the 10th of September. The salon is closed and Christine graciously offered to do it then.

Pittsburgh Steelers 34 Cleveland Browns 7
:-)

Hair There and Everywhere!

What a mess! The first clumps fell out today. Time to shave it! It's very disconcerting watching it fall out, but even more icky is the blooming mess it's making. No cooking or baking until it's all gone. I've always shed more hair than most people, but at this point I'm shedding hair more than my cat and 2 dogs put together! Yikes.

Think I'll put on my Steelers cap and go to the store. Game at 1:00p.m. GO STEELERS!!

BC Support Group

Yesterday I went to the breast cancer support group that meets the first Thursday of the month at the hospital near me. Very nice, upbeat group of women...we decided to form a team for the American Cancer Society's "Making Strides" walk at the end of October in Daytona Beach. It's supposed to be a very nice event. I'm planning on walking. We chose "The Booby Brigade" as our team name, tee hee. Try to say that 3 times fast....Yup. :)

Hair Today....

....gone tomorrow? Hmmm....think so....it's starting to thin kinda quickly. And it hurts! How weird is that? When I got my hair cut last week, Christine gave me a shampoo, conditioner and scalp treatment to try for thinning hair. It's made by Bain de Terre and I used it for the first time today. I'm afraid to even comb it now, sigh.

Good blood count and genetic testing results...

My blood work is good. My oncologist's nurse, Marty, called this morning to tell me I don't have the mutations for the breast cancer genes. Yahoo! I'll get a copy of the report next week and I'm sure I'll have questions for them. I'll post about this again once I have more info.

Gonna go take a nap....have a headache that won't go away....grrr.

Slow news day....

Nothing new here (I guess that's good!). Tomorrow afternoon I get blood drawn to check my WBC. I'm still feeling pretty good! God bless.

Friends

I finally spent the 2 seconds it took to look up and change the time zone on my blog. Much better!

One thing about contracting a crappy disease is that you start thinking about all the relationships in your life and you wonder why you let so many slightly fade or fade altogether. I'm hearing from folks I haven't kept in touch with very well and finding a new appreciation for all the people in my life. Something like this forces you to put things in their proper perspective and that's a good thing! And you find out what's going on in other people's lives and learn specifically how to pray for them and their families.

I found a new church home (again, it took something like this to finally get serious finding one). It's a small church I've visited a few times in the past and it's practically right around the corner from where I live. I've been attending the women's weekly Bible study and Sunday worship services. I've already met some great people and it's a great opportunity to serve others.

BBQ later today at my bro's house. Have a good holiday everyone! xoxoxo

I'm published!

I've been doing some freelance writing for Florida Hospital Fish Memorial in Orange City. I wrote an essay about breast cancer screening which appears in the September issue of Women's Lifestyle, a local publication. Yay!

Keeping busy....

Linda came over today and cleaned and we moved the furniture around in the bigger guest bedroom. I like it much better this way. I spent most of the day doing laundry. I got behind because my dryer vent needed cleaned. Got that done Thursday. It was pretty clogged, lol. Down here most of the homes have the vents going out through the roof so you have to get a chimney sweep service to clean it. Apparently this should be done every year and a half or so. At least now it doesn't take 3 hours to dry a load of towels! ;-)

I made chicken pastina soup today, too. Actually, it's not pastina but orzo. It's nearly impossible to find pastina in central FL. I have to say it smelled really good while it was simmering! I'm letting it cool and will have some tomorrow. Kinda late for it now.

You really needed to know all this didn't you? I promise if I've got nothing real exciting going on, I'll refrain from posting that day. LOL.

Bizarro World

Today I was driving to my hair salon in DeLand and noticed the traffic in the other direction was quite heavy. When I went to exit onto the main drag (route 17/92) through downtown DeLand, police had completely closed it and I had to exit in the opposite direction. So I immediately started grumbling because I don't know all the back roads and I was thinking, now what? I called the salon and told them about the road closure and I was hoping they could give me an alternate route to get there. I ended up backtracking to go another way. Pamela from the salon called me back to tell me there was a hostage situation at the Winn-Dixie on 17/92. Say what?? I guess that would explain the police that could be seen everywhere and the road blocks. I made it to the salon and my sister-in-law Linda had called me in the meantime to give me a news report. As it turns out, it wasn't really a hostage situation but someone had called in a bomb threat and the entire plaza had to be evacuated. There was no bomb, and no one was hurt, thankfully, but it certainly wreaked some havoc on sleepy, quiet DeLand! There also was a similar incident today in Clermont, in Lake County. Now the FBI is involved and the question is if these incidents are related to the Wal-Mart bomb threats that are occurring at an alarming rate across the country! I'm convinced we've all gone mad. Sheesh!

Much more important news: I love my new haircut! It's a pretty short (for me) sassy little shag. A little wax or pomade and I will look absolutely punkish, lol. I knew Christine would come up with something grand. I like it enough that I'll be bummed if/when I lose it from chemo. Now do I feel comfortable enough to post a pic on the Internet for all to see? Ummm, probably not, but you never know! ;)

Hair Hair and Hair

I have a hair appointment tomorrow and I'm not sure how short I want it cut! I'll let my stylist, Christine, help me with that. :)

Uneventful day....ran some errands. I'm realizing I have to get busier cuz I'm starting to go a little stir crazy!

Wigging out

I went to the Cancer Institute near me this afternoon to check out the wigs available via the American Cancer Society. Trying them on was quite amusing....my hair is too long and thick to try on the things properly! They didn't even sit on my head right, lol. So, it looks like a haircut first. I wasn't too crazy about the selection they had, but I found out about a retailer in Orange City (a few miles from here) that I'll have to check out. Thankfully my insurance covers 90% of the purchase of one. I was told by a nurse that if your hair is thick and the roots are strong, the hair loss may not be as bad. I'll prepare as if it's all going to go AWOL and it will be a pleasant surprise if it doesn't! ;-) Cheers.

Crazy Sexy Cancer

Tonight is the premiere of a documentary entitled "Crazy Sexy Cancer" on The Learning Channel (TLC) at 9:00 pm. A young woman, Kris Carr, diagnosed with a rare, incurable type of cancer documented her journey, as well as several other womens', for this film. I have a link to the film's website on the left of my blog.

Just from reading her blog and visiting her website, I can tell there is no doubt Kris has the "right stuff!" Even if you're not dealing with a cancer diagnosis, her outlook is one to embrace by every living, breathing human being!

Blood count good!

Went for lab work today and my WBC is good! I still have to be careful about being around sick people and large crowds, etc. and keep an eye on my temp, but I'm glad everything looked good today.

Rachel, you have to let me know if you get ham salad and report back....I'm still thinking about it, lol!

I'm hungry for.....

I don't know if this is typical, but I am craving the strangest things, food-wise. Ham salad?! I haven't eaten ham salad in years! I don't know where that came from. Not about to go hunt that down....yet. And yesterday I had a PB&J sandwich. Oh well.

Wal-Mart

I'm trying to be careful where I go until I know how my white blood count reacts to the chemo, but today Linda and I did a Wal-Mart run. I got most of the stuff on my list, but was ready to go before I got everything, which is quite typical for me. Sunday's a stupid day to go to Wal-Mart! No biggie, I can go another day this week.

Tonight I'm watching the Steeler game, yay.

Please keep my brother John in your prayers. He's been in physical rehab for a few weeks and will likely remain there another few weeks. He's not thrilled about being there. The goal is to get him walking again and out of the wheelchair. He's making progress, but I know it's not easy for him. Your prayers are appreciated.

Cat Naps

Linda and Joe came over today to move boxes of floor tile from the garage to the sun porch and Linda cleaned. I'm truly blessed. I did some laundry. :)

Other than taking occasional cat naps, I'm doing fairly well, thank God. Still drinking lots of water and I have some orange Gatorade that tastes like Tang. Not the best stuff I've ever tasted, but it will do.

I strung 2 streamers of pink ribbon and stapled all the cards I've gotten to them to keep me encouraged. Whether you've sent cards, emailed, called or just prayed.....THANK YOU!! Much love to you all.

zzzzzzz...

I slept a lot yesterday and even in the evening AND most of the night! I don't feel as tired today, thankfully. I have a pesky little headache that doesn't want to go away, but headaches are not unusual for me. :(

I'd like to go pick up a few things at the store today. Maybe this afternoon.

Thanks for all your prayers....without anyone even telling me, I know prayers are being said. Bless you.

Kinda tired

I got up this morning and had some breakfast, but felt really tired. I went back to bed and slept for about 3 hours. I feel a teeny bit queasy, so I drank some ginger ale and it's just about time to take one of my anti-nausea meds, so I should be okay.

I'm trying to figure out how to change the time zone on my posts. It's three hours behind Daylight Savings Time. I'm sure it's a simple thing to change, but I haven't found it yet!

End of Day Two...still okay!

Had the Neulasta and IV fluids today....non-eventful, thank God. Sooo, hopefully things will stay this way...time will tell!

Not bad so far....

I don't feel bad at all today...hope it stays that way!

I woke up in the middle of the night with DRY cottonmouth, but I brushed and drank some water before I went back to bed. It seems fine now. Had breakfast, no problem, no nausea. So far, so good.

Today I go for a Neulasta injection and IV fluids. Catch ya later!

Hellooooo

Well, so far so good. Tomorrow I may feel worse, but right now, not bad. Before the chemo, they gave me a steroid and another anti-nausea med via IV, then after that the red devil and then the Cytoxan. They took blood for the genetic testing. I drank water the whole time and I was hungry after, lol. Linda made chicken stir fry. By the way, I think this port is pretty nifty, although it can also be annoying.

Oh, this is great....I had an eye exam a couple of days ago and got new contacts. Well wouldn't you know, I developed a stye in my right eye. Sheesh! So my oncologist prescribed antibiotic drops. I also gave myself a paper cut on the way there today AND poked myself with a safety pin! I warned them that I was a total klutz. They gave me some Neosporin. I think they already think I'm kinda nuts.

Please don't be offended if I don't return calls right away....I'll get back to you! :) I may be feeling crappy tomorrow. We'll see!

Ready

My appointment for my first treatment is at 1:15 PM. I'll do my best to report back this evening. xoxoxo

Awaiting my first treatment

Well, tomorrow I receive my first chemo treatment, and I'm a little nervous about it. My sister-in-law, Linda, will take me. I think she'll be eligible for sainthood once this is all over.

I spoke with my oncologist's nurse today to review all the meds. No less then three are anti-nausea meds, wow. Hopefully, that'll do the trick. The other one is a topical anesthetic to help with the port site. Wednesday I go back for a shot of Neulasta (for white blood count) and IV fluids to combat dehydration. I was told to eat frequent small meals and drink LOTS of water.

Here we go!

Good news!

I had a PET/CT scan Friday, Aug. 10th and this past Friday I learned that all is clear, YAY!! I believe every organ in my body has now been reviewed thoroughly and there is no finding of cancer anywhere else. Whew.

The Adventure Begins.....

Hi there family, friends and animals,

I am a breast cancer survivor as of July 7, 2007. This blog is to keep those dear to me informed of my journey. I will be pestering all the women out there to follow breast cancer screening recommendations, so you are forewarned!

I am thankful for my Lord for loving me and creating good out of the bad. And He always does, even if we don't realize it!

This journey started in April of 2007. I went for a routine mammogram. My gynecologist's office called to tell me that there was no sign of cancer, just something like a skin fold or crease in my right breast. It was deemed as a "technical issue." I was advised to have it redone. I had the follow-up scheduled for May. I changed that appointment because something came up and it was just a technical issue, right? So, my next appt. was in June. To my surprise this was not just a technical issue. After the mammogram came an ultrasound then a little chat with the radiologist. It was then I was told that the "lesion" would likely result in a biopsy. WOW! Wasn't expecting that! He suggested a MRI first. So, I did the MRI and didn't freak out from claustrophobia, thank God. I was then called to go back in for another mammogram and ultrasound, it was needed to reassess the original findings. I met a great radiologist who said she suspected cancer. GREAT. I had a core needle biopsy the next day and found out not too many days after that (although it felt like an eternity), that I had invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) in my right breast. My radiologist then referred me to a surgeon who specializes in breast surgery and an oncologist who is a breast cancer specialist. I met my wonderful surgeon and was scheduled for a lumpectomy and sentinel node biopsy on July 26th. First I had a MRI on my left breast, which was normal, yay. The surgery went well and we thought the lymph nodes were clear. Well, it turns out there was 1 positive node, which by the way, wasn't one of the sentinel nodes. This finding solidified the need for chemotherapy, followed by radiation. I have to admit, the positive lymph node put a damper on things. But, I'm moving forward. I had a port inserted on August 14th in my left arm for chemo. I start that adventure August 21st. Eight rounds over 6 months, once every 3 weeks. Oh, joy. I'm being treated by the Cancer Institute of Florida in Orlando and so far I have been very impressed with my medical team; they are top-notch. And if you know me well, you know my attitude toward doctors, surgeons, etc., based on some not so good experiences with family. So my good feelings about my team says A LOT. I'm going to have genetic testing in order to determine how relevant breast cancer is for the rest of my family. I won't go into the technical aspects of all this here, but more info can be found at www.myriadtests.com.

I am very thankful this is considered an early breast cancer. Not as early as I would like, but no one asked me what kind of cancer I would prefer. Go figure. I am totally trusting God to walk beside me through this and He has also blessed me with an awesome family and a terrific group of friends. I want to thank all of you for your incredible support and prayers. Amen!