Ringing in the New Year

Here it is, the last day of 2010. I am ready to leave this year behind and move on to the next. I can't label it as one of my good years but it certainly will be one of the most memorable. And though I start the new year out still tending to my health, by this time next year, I'll be a completely healed person with all of this cancer stuff behind me. I'll be the new me! Healthy, strong and re-energized with life!

This last day of the year has been a good one for me. I almost feel like my old self. No complaints of aches or other side effects. I think I'm on the mend. I pray the next three treatments are as gentle on me as this first round.

Well, it's almost time to make some noise! Happy 2011 to all my family and friends!

Week Two - An Easier Start

It was almost, just another ordinary day. I felt great this morning and most of the day. After lunch, I completed another 3-mile walk around the neighborhood.. I heard rain is coming tomorrow, so I took advantage of the sunshine today.

I picked up my fluoride trays today. They are pretty neat. They mold around my teeth perfectly. The instructions are to use them once a day, soaking my teeth in the fluoride gel for 30 minutes. I gave this a try this evening during a movie we were watching. I guess I put too much gel in the trays this first time. When I slapped them on my teeth, a bunch of gel squished out and I had to spit out a mouthful of fluoride. Yuck! Other than overdosing on the gel, they fit comfortably and did their thing. I feel good that my teeth are getting all this protection. The last thing I want is this chemotherapy treatment leaving me with any collateral damage. I'm pretty sure I'll still have my terrific and expensive smile when this is over and done.

I'm just a little achy as I get ready for bed. I'm going to take some Tylenol PM tonight and try to sleep in in the morning. No reason to get up early tomorrow so a little extra sleep is my plan. I need to be able to stay up for New Year's Eve tomorrow night. We don't have any party plans but I can't remember ever missing the chance to ring in the new year even if it's just the 3 of us at home. I'm thinking it might just be my son and me up at that time, but you never know...maybe the hubby will last that long too.

First Week is Behind Me

If I were counting, that's one week down, eleven more to go. But who's counting? I'm looking forward to these next 2 weeks being better than the first. I have no real complaints at this time except the aches and pains in my joints now. My hips, knees and shoulders seem to be the most bother. I tried to skip the Tylenol last night, but by 1:00am, I broke down and took a couple so I could sleep. I feel like a broken down old lady. Sheesh! The Tyelenol did work eventually and I woke rested and feeling better. 

Today was my first blood check since chemo. I have a standing order to go in to the lab every week to have it taken so they can check that I'm not anemic or that my white blood cell count is not dropping too low. The Neulasta shot should prevent the white blood count drop and I'm eating iron-rich food in my diet, that should help the red blood cell count. I'm sure they look at lots of other things too to make sure I'm staying healthy. The report is sent to the doctor so I won't hear about the results unless there's a problem. I will ask about them when I go in for my next treatment in two weeks. I have to give more blood next week too. Eventually, if they feel I'm doing well through the treatments, they will have me checked less often. They will always do a blood test when I go in for a treatment. They won't give me the chemo if anything is out of order.

So the rain came and I did get to the mall. But I wasn't quite into it as I thought I would be. I was getting knee and back aches and kept the visit short. I couldn't find anything my size of what I was looking for so I came back empty handed. I need to wait until they restock. Of course, then they'll be bringing out the spring wear but I need some warm weather stuff now. 

Today I laid down for my first afternoon nap. I'm not a napping kind of person. I usually feel worse afterwards and never get the energy I need. But today it helped. Around 4pm I was feeling a bit tired, perhaps because of the short night of sleep and a small nap really helped. I guess I will use them as necessary to help me heal and re-energize. 

I Keep Getting Better

I have little to complain about today except a few small aches by end of day. Could have been my fault since I was out for two rounds of exercise. I really need to slow down I suppose and not overdo it. But it was my son's fault...really.

The morning was wonderful. I felt energized from a good night's sleep and woke up with no aches. I ate a good breakfast and was out early for my 3 mile walk around the neighborhood. No problems with the hill or fatigue. The weather was splendid, the sun warming up the crisp morning. I wore my new knit hat to keep my ears warm. I really think it's cute and it will work well after the hair falls sadly away. I keep checking my brush after running it through my hair. Nothing scary yet. The shower drain is clear too. :-)

I picked up my wig today. I am now ready for the inevitable. I think it's a great style, probably way cuter looking than my own hair styling, or lack of, I should say. I have been due for a cut and highlights, but didn't see throwing away good money when my hair was going to come out soon. So wearing the new wig will be just like I went in for that haircut and color highlighting. It's similar to what I would have liked done. I'll post a picture when I put it on next. I need to show the guys what the new look will be like. I don't want anyone not recognizing the really gorgeous woman that just showed up. Ha ha.

About that extra round of exercise. In the afternoon my son wanted to hit the disc golf course while the weather was so wonderful. We have rain coming in for tomorrow. So I followed him around the 17 holes and logged another 2 1/2 miles of walking. I did rest at some holes. I was bothered a little by an achy lower back. But the weather was too nice to stay inside.

Dinner and a good book afterwards is the plan. I'm looking forward to another great day tomorrow. My exercise will be shopping at the mall. There are still some great after-Christmas sales to check out.

Today Had Great Potential

The day started out great! I had a decent sleep after taking a couple of Tylenol (my new best friends). Had some eggs, toast and fruit for breakfast and went out for a 3 mile walk. I felt pretty good afterwards. I thought I was finally over the achiness. Not so. It caught up with me by early evening.


I went to the dentist today to see about fluoride treatments to protect my teeth during chemotherapy. Tooth deterioration,  cavities and other bad stuff can happen. I definitely don't want anything to mess up all the money I've spent on my teeth for braces and straightening. They made impressions of the top and bottom teeth to make custom trays for me to soak my teeth in flouride gel. I'm not sure if I wear them overnight or for a shorter period of time. The dental assistant told me I would be given instructions for use when I picked them up. I was sent home with the fluoride toothpaste gel. I'll brush my teeth with it a couple of times a day until the trays are ready. Preventive care during chemotherapy is so high maintenance and I'm a low-maintenance person.


A quick trip to the library later on to exchange some books was the last I wanted to handle by early evening. Small, but annoying aches can be felt in my arms, back, hips, shins, and head. I skipped the Claritin today and am not sure if I would have been better with it or not. I have no idea if it was working the first few days when I was taking it. Without it I could have felt worse. Well, a couple of Tylenol at bedtime should be sufficient tonight. I could have taken a dose earlier in the day, but I'm trying to minimize the quantity of drugs I put in my body. Tylenol is bad for your liver if used for prolonged periods. I don't know when these pains will go away, so I'm stretching out my pain relief. If I feel I need it, I will not hesitate to down a couple.


I'm still drinking lots of water, about 10 glasses (5 bottles) a day and am eating well at all meals with healthy snacks in between. I aim to stay healthy and strong as best as I can. They say the fatigue will set in eventually. Probably the next treatment and on. I'll just focus on the side effects I have now. No need to wish the next ones on. 

This "Achy-Bone Stuff" is Getting Old!

I guess I shouldn't be complaining, since I don't have a lot of side effects yet, but this achiness is getting a bit old. The two Tylenol last night did little to help this time. I couldn't find a position that was comfortable. Besides the big bones, like the thighs and hip, my knees started hurting too. And now my upper arms! Sheesh!

I did eventually find sleep though broken up,  and woke feeling okay. By lunch the aches creeped on back. I wanted to go out for a walk so I took a couple of Tylenol and it worked! My son and I headed to the local park's disc golf course and I walked the 17 holes (hole 14 does not exist) scoring for my son, for a total of 2.6 miles. Alas, the Tylenol wore off and the aches are back. I'll try a couple more Tylenol tonight hoping sleep falls upon me sooner and longer this night. I don't know how long these aches are supposed to last, but I'd be way out there excited if they go away soon. And I'm taking the Claritin as recommended but I'm starting to think it's just a placebo and it isn't working on me. Or maybe things could be worse. Yikes! I'm not going to take a Claritin tomorrow, so we'll see what happens.

As for eating, I'm still getting my 3 meals and snacks in between. Food isn't an aversion though it doesn't have that OMG kind of taste anymore. But somethings are still pretty awesome. A vanilla shake from Jack in the Box was heavenly. I'm having a glass of red wine tonight, the first drink of alcohol since Monday, the 20th. That's an alcohol drought record for me! It's not wise to mix alcohol with all those toxic drugs and I wasn't sure if it would mess up my stomach. The Cabernet seems a lot drier than I remember. Perks up my mouth. I probably won't do a lot over the next 12 weeks, Dry mouth is a problem with chemo and alcohol justs adds to that. I don't want mouth ulcers and such. Water is so much better for me right now.

Christmas Day - I made it!

Well, I made it through the day and a busy day it was. Christmas in our house is always a crazy day, has been for 16 years. With two birthdays to celebrate on the same day (one is my son's), it's never an easy ride. And then add a dose of chemotherapy, some Decadron and a shot of Neulasta. Not the best way to spend an important holiday, but I'm happy the way it turned out.

I'm really happy to report I was able to partake in all meals today, loving prepared by my own hands. Ha ha. I have had absolutely no nausea since chemo day. That's a blessing for sure! Our current traditional Christmas breakfast is chili relleno casserole, cinnamon rolls and fruit salad. I helped myself to each of the items but did leave most of the green chilis behind on the plate. I don't know what spicy food can do to me and I don't want to find out. I followed up with fresh cut veggies and fruit for snacks throughout the day. Dinner was ham, mashed potatoes and other sides. I had a little bit of everything so I'm definitely keeping the calorie intake up. It could have been healthier, but hey, it's Christmas. The guys in the house wanted nothing less. I'm still doing okay with taste. Even the Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake my son selected for his birthday cake tasted pretty good. There is a funny taste in my mouth, but it's not ruining food yet.

Now let's talk about achiness. Oy! It's like having the flu without the fever and stomach problems. Just the achy body. The aches are mostly in my thigh bones, hips and back. I took a Claritin this morning but it's not stopping all the pain, if it's doing anything at all. I kept thinking I should take a Tylenol to help. But if I felt too good, I'd end up pushing myself more than I should. So I used the achy pains to pace my activities and rested when I needed to. I will take a couple before bed tonight because it really helped me sleep good last night. It does work. I'm hoping the aches are only for a few days and eventually I will be past this. One day at a time.

Christmas Eve Day

Well, the day started out pretty good. I had a somewhat busy agenda that was probably a bit too much for me. Nothing I couldn't of handled last year. In the morning I dashed to the grocery store for a couple of last minute items I forgot yesterday. Then out to Party City with my son to figure out what the theme of his birthday celebration was going to be this year. He's going to be 16 so it's a big year for him. We went with a black and gold theme. Got the decorations and a handful of mylar balloons (the latex ones won't last a day) and headed back home.

I am now starting to get some of the side effects that I've been hearing about. Annoying,  but they are tolerable. The Decadron messes up your regularity so I'm pumping my system with lots of water, fiber, fresh fruits and veggies. I even went out for a 3 mile walk around the neighborhood to add more stimulation. By end of day, some progress has been made to move things along, and the cramping has subsided. It was a beautiful day for a walk, but looking back, I probably shouldn't have taken such a long one and one that went up hill! That didn't help my next new side effect coming up next.

In the early evening we headed over to church for the Christmas Eve service and then to Macaroni Grille for dinner. By now a new side effect, achiness in the bones from the Neulasta shot, has settled into my leg and hip bones. I haven't chosen to take anything for it yet besides the Claritin this morning but I do plan to take some Tylenol PM to help me sleep tonight. The 3 mile walk, with hill, was probably a bit overboard. I probably ache a bit from that too.

And now I've just finished my gift wrapping. It's a record this year! I'm usually still wrapping past midnight. I didn't think that would be too good for me so I started earlier in the day and spread it out. I think I'm ready for Christmas now. Time to relax and get back to the true meaning behind all the hustle and bustle. Good night all. Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday Jesus!

... And Happy Birthday to my son who was also born on Christmas Day.

A Shot of Neulasta

Well, so far so good. I woke up feeling pretty much the same as yesterday which was much like the day before. I keep wondering when it will catch up to me. My luck can't keep holding on.

Today I received my first Neulasta shot. This drug stimulates the production of white blood cells in bone marrow to reduce the risk of infection. One common side effect is bone pain which can be from mild to severe. Tylenol can be effective for milder pain. However, the current recommendation is to use Claritin, an allergy drug. Somehow, someone found out Claritin helped to relieve the bone pain caused by the Neulasta shot. And a bit of Tylenol along with it should pretty much wipe out any twinges. So I took a Claritin earlier today and will continue it for the next 2-3 days. I guess it must be working because none of my bones are aching yet. But I don't want to dance the happy dance yet. For some patients, pain comes the first day, to others in a the next couple of days, and for others yet, the pain shows up 7 days later. Everybody's body behaves differently. That is a resounding statement for patients of chemotherapy. So I will just have to wait and see what I will experience. But I'm sure hoping the Claritin does the job!

First Day of Treatment

Okay, so here it is at the end of the day and I can happily say I survived the first treatment of chemotherapy. My appointment was at 10:00am, giving me plenty of time to sleep in, have breakfast, relax, and pack water, snacks, reading material, and electronics to keep my son and I occupied over the next 4.5 hours. You would have thought I was packing for a road trip! I was so happy to have my son with me this first treatment. His support helped me get through the first day jitters. Our day was almost uneventful.

See how great I look?

The IV was put in near my wrist and was comfortable after the nurse positioned it within a couple of tries. The delivery of drugs went as follows: first was a saline solution, then came the premeds to handle the nausea, next was the Taxotere, followed by the Cytoxan, then more saline at the end. The scary time for a first treatment is during the Taxotere infusion. There can be some serious allergic reactions to watch out for, but lucky me, I didn't feel a thing. And no side effects, like nausea, either. During the lengthy infusion I was entertained by another very friendly and talkative patient that happened to have been a past employee with my current place of employment. We had lots to talk about, which left me no time to read my books or magazines, play with electronics, or visit with my son. I had definitely over-packed. Talking with others really helped the time pass by fast. Of course my son may say different. He kept himself busy with his books and occasional conversations I could squeeze in with him between my new friend's dialogs.


So you might think this was one boring day, but no! I had to get things going a bit, or my son was going to die from boredom. So there I am reaching down with my IV'd arm into my bag to get something when I felt some serious pain around the needle. I must have done something to move it wrong. It was hurting bad so I looked up and called for a nurse. "NURSE, NURSE, something is wrong. I'm hurting over here!" As they rushed over, I glanced back down at my wrist and saw it was ballooning up around the needle. The needle had slid out of the vein and the solution was dripping into surrounding tissue. A nurse was at my side turning off the IV and removing the needle lickety-split. She repositioned the needle further up into the crook of my arm and started up the IV once again. Thankfully, the transfusion completed without any more problems. The swelling at the original site was remedied by use of a heating pad. By the time I was going home, there was no swelling left to be seen. It was a bit scary since I didn't know what was happening at first, but the nurses have seen this happen before and knew what to do, responding immediately. We have a great team working with us at this oncology center. They are very caring and have wealths of information to share with us about how to handle all of the possible side effects that we may experience.


I continue to be nausea-free. I snacked and drank loads of water during the treatment, had dinner afterwards and continue to drink lots of water into the evening. I even got out to the mall and finished my Christmas shopping this evening. I pray the rest of the next 12 weeks of treatment is as gentle as today. Time will tell.

The Journey Begins - One Day Before

Hi, I'm Lynn. I confess up front, I am not a blogger. I don't keep a journal.  I can barely keep my Facebook profile up-to-date. However, I'm going to give this blogging thing a try. My reason makes it important. Today is the day before my first chemotherapy treatment and the beginning of another leg in my journey to eradicate any possible cancer from my body. With this blog, I aim to capture what it is like to go through this process, day-by-day. I've read about and talked to many cancer survivors, all with their own stories, experiences, and words of wisdom. This will be my story. And it's also a great way to keep my support group of family and friends up to date on my progress.


The chemotherapy I am going through is called TC chemotherapy. It is a common treatment for breast cancer, the cancer I was diagnosed with last September. TC stands for Taxotere and Cytoxan, the two drugs I will be receiving. My therapy consists of 4 treatments, each 3 weeks apart, the first starting tomorrow. The drugs will be infused by IV into a vein in my arm or hand. I sure do hope my veins cooperate. I'm drinking tons of water to plump them up.


Today I began taking my first drugs in preparation for chemotherapy. The day before, the day of treatment, and the day after, I will take Decadron, a pretty strong steroid drug. This drug helps to alleviate the nausea caused by the chemotherapy medications, helps to stimulate my appetite, and prevents and treats inflammation in the body. The drug comes with side effects (what drug doesn't?) but the two doses I took today were uneventful. I do like the way this is starting out.


The exciting part of my day was wig and hat shopping. As can be expected in many chemotherapy treatments, hair loss is a possible side effect. I've been told my combo of drugs will most certainly lead to me losing my hair. So a wig and hats to keep my head warm were a must. I was apprehensive when I walked into the store, and sure I wouldn't find anything I'd like, but as it turned out, I found a really cute wig, a style I would have liked my hairdresser to do with my real hair. The look is definitely me! I have new hats too, one to sleep in, one for around the house, and one for out and about if I don't want to wear my new hair. All in all, a very successful shopping trip that has relieved some of the stress this situation has brought upon me. Now all I have to do is grab a couple of last minute Christmas gifts, grocery shop, gift wrap, and finish up these last Christmas cards. I think it's doable!