Happy New Year - 2011

Wow! The first day of a brand new year. It was a sunny Southern California winter day. Too nice to be inside, I began the new year with a 3 mile walk around the neighborhood. Later, my son and I headed back to the mall for more shopping, this time for hubby's birthday gifts. Tomorrow is his big day. It's really crazy with Christmas and two birthdays within a week's time, but when they are over, I'm done for the rest of the year! Whew!

Tonight was game night. My son received a new game for Christmas so we brought it out and settled in for a relaxing evening. It's called Pandemic and the object is to save the world from outbreaks of infections. Sadly to say, we failed to cure all the infections and time ran out for the world. It was really a fun game. We'll have to try again soon and maybe we'll have better luck saving the world.

I have no new news to share related to my treatment. I'm feeling well and still have my hair. However, if the oncology nurse was right, my hair should begin thinning any day now.
Uh oh!

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.