Not a bad day (or treament) after all!

Yesterday was a pretty good day despite all my trepidation about going for chemo. I set my alarm for 7:30 am (I've been sleeping in lately, so that was different). I was prepared with my music cd's and my book and blanket, and hustled to get showered and get the numbing cream on my port at 8 am (it has to be put on an hour before they insert the needle for it to work). It worked fine and I didn't feel a thing, and they were able to get the blood for labs (just barely)...looks like my taking the baby aspirin is really the answer to the finicky port problem ("Go me!" for troubleshooting on my own! : )

I sat next to a very pleasant and outgoing elderly gentleman patient (and his quiet wife) in the waiting room, and in the treatment room and we had occasional interesting chats in between my reading and music-listening. This mitigated the feeling of loss I had at not seeing my favorite nurse any more.

Also, I was seen by a Physician's Assistant (PA) that I hadn't met before. She is young, blonde, pretty and very professional and volunteered all sorts of information without being asked. I did ask her a question about the radiation treatment - She told me that I would still be "followed" by the oncology office during my radiation treatment, and I didn't know that. I will see them about halfway through the radiation and get labs and a checkup.

I also found out that the reason for my lack of energy lately was not due to what I assumed was just laziness on my part, but by the lowest hematocrit (HCT)/red cell count I've had thus far during chemotherapy. I think in my effort to live as normally as possible, I sometimes tend to minimize and forget the severe impact that all these toxic drugs are having on my body. I had noticed very SLIGHT shortness of breath (when singing or holding my breath under water), and the low HCT is the cause. This should resolve once I'm done and my labs get back to normal, so that's an encouraging thought. (I had very occasionally myself wondering if I had permanent heart or lung damage or some extreme explanation - sometimes it is not good to have a little medical knowledge...as one tends to know about and consider the worst case scenarios!)

Long story short on this chemo cycle - my white count is "borderline" for whether I needed the booster shot, and the PA and I decided that since I don't have to work until after New year's day, that I could try not having it this cycle as it may not really be necessary--my white count might be fine without it. That saves me about a week or so of aches and pains, which is GREAT!!! Hopefully I can enjoy my sister's upcoming birthday party a lot more if I'm not hurting. If I do fine this time without the booster shot, I might not need it for the next 2 times either. The only effects I've seen so far with this treatment is slight tiredness (and feeling a little "out of it"/sleepy for a while yesterday evening) and then waking up at about 4 am wide awake, but fairly energetic this morning, and I think this is probably from the steroid/Decadron.

After the doctor's visit I went to K&W and had liver & onions, spinach salad and fresh fruit in an effort to have some concentrated "blood-building" nutritous food. Then I did a few errands/exchanges/returns on Christmas gifts. I've been trying to read several books lately and I had a nice chat on the phone with my best friend from Buffalo - I'm looking forward to her visit to NC in June...she will be attending a nephew's wedding nearby at the Carolina Inn, and I'm excited about getting to see her. I'm also thinking I need to go ahead and reserve a house at the beach for some relaxation and fun in the sun this Spring/Summer. Living in the moment is wise, but having something pleasant to look forward to sure doesn't hurt! (I think that's called Hope : )