Hair loss, Cr. Citron, Work

I lost a lot of hair yesterday. I would say under 5% but it still seemed like a lot to me. No one would ever notice. I still have a lot of hair. It was just distressing to see it come out. I was told I would still have some loss. I am so glad I have the vast majority of my hair.

I went to see Dr. Citron. (oncologist) He asked me how I was feeling and what side effects I was having. I told him I had facial twitching, bloody nose, loss of sensation in hands/feet, headaches, nausea, diarrhea, muscle and joint pain, extreme taste changes, mouth sores, rash, heartburn and fatigue. He said they were all chemo side effects. He said that taxotere, carboplatin and herceptin is a particularly difficult chemo regimen. I feel like I am doing terribly with this. He said the fact that I didn't have to be hospitalized yet or need a blood transfusion puts me ahead of a lot of patients on these drugs. He looked at my blood counts. Every single one is below normal. He said that that is to be expected after chemo but they should start coming up on their own now. He said they should be close to normal before the next chemo treatment in two weeks.

Dr. Citron offered me the option of lowering the chemo dose and doing it for a longer period of time. He said it is an option, but that it is ill advised because any cancer cells that haven't been killed at the high dose will likely survive multiple hits with low dose chemotherapy. Obviously I am not going to take this option. What is the point of doing it if it is unlikely to work? If I was going to quit doing it (and I would love to) I wouldn't do the low dose. On a bright note, my herceptin has been changed from every week to every three weeks. That was the original plan, every week at first and then every three weeks for a year. So, it will now be every three weeks. Yippie!

I am going back to work today. I wouldn't because I do not feel well at all, but I do not have a choice. I have to attend my NY State paramedic refresher. I will be in the classroom from 7 am to 5 pm today through Friday and then next week Monday through Thursday. It is required to maintain my paramedic certification. My certification expires February 28th. It is a big deal if it lapses.

I know I will start feeling better in the next few days. It has taken about 10 days after each chemo treatment.

Thanks everyone for the help and support.

Chilling

Julianna is taking a nap. She is still sick but she is doing a lot better. My cough is getting a little better. I am still suffering the chemo side effects. I am having a great deal of difficulty eating. The chemo kills appetite. It also makes everything taste weird. It causes most things to taste like metal. It also makes things taste extremely salty. I like salt, but I am having trouble eating foods that are even a little salty. It usually gets a little better about 10 days after the chemo. It hasn't yet returned to completely normal between the chemos, but it does get better. I have found I can eat milk cholcolate and that tastes almost normal. Dark is bad, mettalic. I also can drink milk and its not so bad. The taste changes are a known side effect of the carboplatin.

I have not lost any weight from this. Go figure! I don't eat more than a few bites for a whole week. When I go to the doctor and they weigh me I am the same. How can this be?? I said the same thing after surgery. They cut off parts. I didn't eat for a week and I weighed the same in the end. I go to the doctor tomorrow so I will see if I lost anything.

I am going to go back to work Tuesday morning at 7 am. I am hoping I am feeling ok by then. It is for my paramedic refresher, required by NY state, so there is no flexibility in the date.

Good luck to the NY Jets. My Aunt Joan and Uncle Mort should make them win!!!!!

Sick

The lung infection turned into a raging inferno. Julianna is sick too. She has an upper respiratory tract infection. I took her to the doctor yesterday. She seems ok but is on augmentin and tylenol. My babysitter Christine took her today even though she was sick. Thank God! There was no way I could have done much for her today.

I am chilling on my couch. I thought about going to the oncologist but I am scared that he might admit me to the hospital. I have to do the neupagen shot tonight. I am hoping it will increase my counts so I can get rid of this infection.

I can't wait until spring when chemo will be over!!

Chest X-ray

I had my chest x-ray today. The reason for this is that I have an unexplained dry cough. It can be nothing, pneumonitis caused by the herceptin, or the cancer could have spread to my lungs. Obviously the last scenario had been weighing heavily on my mind.

I had the prescription for the x-ray. The nurse practitioner wrote "STAT" on it, also scary. When I got there they took me in pretty quickly. They did two views. When I was finished in the radiology office I went upstairs to the oncology office.

The nurse practitioner said she would go down to radiology herself to find out the results. I waited awhile. When she came back she said there was nothing visible on the x-ray. They think it is an opportunistic viral infection of the lung. Yippie!!!!! I have never been so happy to have a lung infection.

I try my best not to let negative thoughts invade my head. I must admit it was very difficult this last week. I realize that the cancer being in my lungs would mean I would not be here to see my daughter's third birthday. It was overwhelming to me to even entertain these thoughts, but harder to make them go away.

I am so happy about the outcome of this x-ray!!!!!!

Thank-you everyone for your prayers, positive thoughts and words of encouragement. They mean more than you will ever know.

Pictures Chemo #3

Vanna trying on a cap!
The nurse giving me a shot of ativan through the port,

Ativan is good!!

Vanna keeping track of the order we are using the caps.

The cooler full of dry ice and cold caps.

Everything to drink, Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate

Colleen wearing a cold cap.

Colleen shocked at the temperature even though hers was pretty warm.

Chemo #3

Today was my third chemo. It was a bit tough, but I got through it. So far my only side effects are heartburn and difficulty with balance. I know there are a lot more to come.

Before we started they drew blood and said the counts were ok to proceed. I advised the nurses that I have a cough. It started shortly after my last herceptin treatment. Of course the first place I go is "Oh no, its in my lungs". I know it is not likely but it is hard not to think that way. I have since researched and found out that pneuminitis is a side effect of herceptin. My chemo office agrees and they are sending my for a chest xray tomorrow to rule this out.

The cold caps went well. My friend Vanna came with my and expertly handled the whole operation. Before she got to my house to go with me I had gone to Roosevelt to get the dry ice. The guy who runs the ice place also runs a food bank out of his building. He feeds over 100 families in the area. I brought a bunch of stuff to donate.

The office also advised me that they had another patient who was going to start the caps on Thursday. I am happy that more people are finding out about them. I spoke to her online and she is happy about having the opportunity to save her hair.

We finished the chemo at 5:18. That means I need to have the caps on until 8:18. Vanna had to go home and take care of her daughter Summer so my friend Colleen came over to help with the rest of the caps. Vanna showed her how to do the first one. After that Colleen handled it like a pro, all by herself. At 8:18 I was finished with the caps. It was nice to get the cold and the weight off my head.

Julianna is going to stay the night over at the O'Brien's house. This is nice because I can take a much needed sleeping pill. The decadron keeps me awake all night so I need something to counter it.

So, I am halfway there!!!!!! 3 chemos down, 3 to go!!!

Florida

Julianna and I are home from our Florida trip. We visited with my dad and Betty and Julianna was spoiled rotten. We went to the zoo, fed the ducks and went out to a lot of lunches. I am preparing for chemo on Monday.

We had a nice time and she was a very good girl on the plane ride home. It is a bit tough traveling with a two year old when kind of tired, but I am very glad we made the trip.

Picking oranges with Grandma and Pop-Pop.
Birthday celebration!

On the train at the zoo.