Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!  I hope you were able to spend the day with family and friends and ate too much :)

We were all together with all 7 kids, several girlfriends and a boyfriend, it was a full house.  Cameron (my 8 year old grandson) went around the long table and asked all 16 of us what we were thankful for....I could only say, "for being with all of you right now."  I was blessed today.

Things have been fairly quiet here.  Still no determination on the spot on my right lung.  My biopsy came back negative for cancer but my Oncologist thinks it is a false negative because it is so small.  So we have another CT Scan scheduled for January 4th.  Until then, I enjoy my days without chemotherapy - YAHOO.

I still have a lot of pain on my left side of my back, left shoulder and left upper arm.  There is a tremendous amount of scar tissue from my shoulder to my waist from my lung removal, so the pain is a result of that.  Thank Goodness for pain patches and Oxycodone.

It's Been A While

It has been quite a while since I posted anything.  For the most part things have been quiet. It has been 4 weeks since my last Chemotherapy.  Next week I go for more CT Scans to see if the chemo is working.  Fingers crossed.

The only noteworthy thing in the past 4 weeks was Primary Doctor visit just to check in and make sure everything else is ok, and today, an eye exam.  Cancer treatments have a weird effect on the body.  This year my distance vision got better and my reading vision got worse. And my left eye changed more drastically than the right.  New bifocals coming my way.

Although it has been quiet these past few weeks, things are still a bit frustrating around here.  My Chemobrain is in full force.  I don't remember things from this morning half the time.  I can only laugh and move on to the next thing.

The worst part of the past few weeks is my hair loss.  Last year my chemo caused my hair to thin out so much that I volunteered to buzz it.  This year it is falling out in clumps.

The above picture was my daughter Maria's attempt to hide "my baldness."  Yes, I walked around with this love painting on my head for a few days, but in reality it really looks like this...

No hair. At all.

But one thing this disease has taught me is don't fret the small stuff and with a lung cancer battle, no hair is the least of my worries.  I'm not a wig person, so bandana's have been a lifesaver.

Cycle One Complete - For The Third Round of Chemotherapy

It's been an interesting week. I had my Chemotherapy on Wednesday and so far, no unexpected results. I have an upset stomach and am very, very tired. Thursday, I had my Neulasta shot. Just like timework, 8 hours after pain developed in my ribcage and hips. So far it has been manageable - Alleve during the day and Percoset at night. Today, as a gift from my sister Maria, I had a massage. I was nervous as to how it would be given the muscle and bone pain but to my surprise it was very relaxing. Tonight, though, my pain is a bit more intense in my hips and legs so that may be from the massage - not sure. Overall, so far things are not bad. I don't have the enormous amount of energy and motivation I had last week - but I do know that things could be much worse - and I am thankful they aren't. For the next 2 weeks, I have to keep a close watch on the bone pain and take medications before it gets bad. In the meantime, I await my hair falling out again. Good thing I've always had short hair so this aspect doesn't bother me too much. The hardest part for me right now is mentally. I find myself constantly thinking about what the last 17 months have been like. I belong to several Lung Cancer Facebook groups and I know that I am much better off than many people. But, the bottom line is, it is hard. Mentally and Physically.

A New Chapter

My one month vacation from all treatments will come to an end this coming Wednesday.  While my radiation treatments have ended, I will begin Chemotherapy again.

This time the two Chemotherapy drugs will be Carboplatin and Taxotere.  Taxotere tends to aggressively attack the white blood cells making me extremely susceptible to infection.  So they will give me a shot of Neulasta the day after each Chemo treatment.

Neulasta^® works like a natural protein in your body to signal the growth of new white blood cells. Neulasta^® helps reduce your risk of infection in a chemotherapy cycle with just one injection. It is a prescription medication given approximately 24 hours after you receive chemotherapy treatment to provide ongoing support through that cycle. The most common side effect of Neulasta is pain in the bones and in your arms and legs.

These treatments will be every three weeks.  So this week, I have Chemo on Wednesday and then my Neulasta injection on Thursday.  My understanding is the bone and joint pain starts on Day 3 and lasts about 10 days.  Then day 21, I start all over again.

My doctor still feels I will get new scans done in September so we will know then if all of these treatments have done anything.