Lucky Number Seven

This is round seven.
I'm in room 21.
If I wasn't on chemo, this would be a great excuse to go to Las Vegas.

My platelets went up over the weekend and I was able to start the round on time Monday morning.  After my conversation with the nurse manager last round about timing of chemo, I am very happy to report that chemo started earlier in the day and I got a good nights sleep.  This round has been pretty normal, yesterday I was very tired but this morning I woke up with plenty of energy.  

This is what a port looks like under the skin

I may end up staying an extra night in the hospital because I will again be getting a blood transfusion.   All of my medication, blood draws and infusions happen through a port that was surgically implanted in my chest before I began chemo.  Chemo started so quickly back in September, that I didn't do much research on a single port versus a double port.  A double port would allow for me to receive infusions at once.  Regularly I receive chemo and fluids through my port together, but blood products and chemo cannot mix.   Because I have a single port, we have to wait for my chemo to finish before giving me the blood transfusion.  It is not a problem to me, and as I previously stated, I'd rather stay an extra night in the hospital than take up next week with an out patient blood transfusion.

Many people have been asking what I do with my time in the hospital.  I sleep a lot, my body is basically fighting with the chemo the whole time it is in my body and that makes me quite tired.  As I've spent so much time here, I've gotten to know my nurses well, so I visit with them when I my blood pressure, lungs and temperature checked.  From the time I check in on Monday until I am discharged I must remain on the fourth floor.  Some of the staff refers to me as 'Speed Racer,' as I do an average of ten laps a day around the entire floor.  I spend a lot of time watching TV, surfing the web, and playing games on the iPad.  Though many people have given me books, my brain is just so fuzzy that I have trouble concentrating on reading them, blogging and sewing.  Those are the things I'd like to be doing though.

I'm in good spirits today.  Hopefully, I'll stay this way.  TEN ROUNDS TO GO!

Cresting the Mountain

It has been a while, sorry.

Did I ever mention that my oncologist has been on medical leave herself since October?  In her absence, I've been being taken care of by the team of oncologists and lead nurse practitioner.  Because my treatment has been going well with minimum side effects this hasn't been a problem.  Only recently has it became a little challenging that multiple people are in charge of my care.

Round 6:
It was a long round, made a little longer by the fact the the doctor didn't let the hospital know I was coming in.  The typical routine is that I get blood work done and a pre chemo check on Friday, then my orders for monday are sent to the hospital.  Since I was seeing a different doctor, my orders didn't arrive until after I did.  This made the usual Monday wait longer than normal.  Because this wait has been getting longer,  it was time to talk to the nurse manager about why that was.  I was happy to learn it was multiple factors, I was showing up too early and the hospital wasn't aware of my wait time since I hadn't mentioned it to the correct person in the past.  I was glad to be informed and escape this wait in the future.  This meant chemo in the evenings, and mesna all night, all week.  No sleep for the wicked.  While in the hospital, the greater Bay Area started experiencing a flu epidemic.  For me this meant I had to keep the door to my room closed and when I left my room I had to wear a mask.  It makes sense, but also made me feel a bit of cabin fever.  This round went well well overall.  I didn't loose my appetite or need a blood transfusion, though I was really weak when I left the hospital.

Chemo depletes your resources over time.  The longer it is in your system, the longer it takes to recover from it.  Since my cell count was low when I left the hospital, we knew they would dip further when I went home.  So, I spent the week after chemo exhausted on the couch and getting out patient blood transfusion.  This wasn't my favorite, as I was too weak to even get up to get my own glass of water.  My husband is a rockstar.  I hate that he has to take care of me so much, but am thankful he is willing to.  I felt much better after the blood transfusion, as I explained to my friend Kristine, it feels like your ski ball game has loaded (you put in quarters, hear the balls come down and play)!  Unfortunately, when they give you a transfusion, they also have to give you a diuretic to help you get rid of all the extra liquids in your body.  Translation, it makes you pee.  When you take a diuretic it dehydrates you, dehydration leads to constipation when you have been very sedentary for a week due to lack of energy when needing a transfusion.  I was very uncomfortable last week and am happy to be feeling better this week.

I've made it through six rounds of chemo.  Recently, more of my time has been treatment and recovery than feeling good.  Though it sounds goofy, I didn't realize how much energy I had before cancer became part of my life.  I guess I didn't realize it, until it was gone.  These past few rounds have been more challenging on my body and mind.  My brain feels like a television whose channel is constantly being changed.  It is mentally and emotionally taxing to not feel like yourself.  It actually makes it hard to write, as I keep loosing my train of thought.  Again, my husband is awesome and encouraging.  He keeps reminding me that this is the hard part, in three rounds we will be at the half way mark, the top of the mountain.  Sliding down the backside is easy.  Keep me strong in the tough climb.

*If you are waiting for an update on my Lotsa Helping Hands site, we are waiting to see if my platelets are high enough for treatment tomorrow.  Thanks for your caring and patience.