Last Cycle started

I just started my fourth and hopefully last cycle of chemo yesterday. I go everyday this week until Friday. I have learned how to deal with the cycles finally and have plenty of DVDs, books, and crocheting to do this week. Sitting on my butt and not overdoing it is the key to recovering faster from the chemo.

I have just come off of a wonderful 2 weeks of spending time with family and friends. Christmas and New Year's were both awesome! Then I took a few trip to hostels on the coast, and a couple of fabulous trips to San Francisco. I really felt almost like my old self with just a little more pain than I used to have. I took lots of rest stops and everything was fine. It was so nice being able to spend so much quality time with my family and friends. That is what I have been missing the most since I started the cancer treatment.

Yesterday I woke up with a new symptom that I am hoping and praying is not a sign of my cancer returning. I saw my PCP yesterday and have an appointment with my oncologist today. I am also hoping to get an appointment with my gastroenterologist in the near future for a follow up colonoscopy. Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers. I'm hoping that this isn't anything serious. I can't afford to get further behind on bills and school.

I'm hoping you all have a wonderful week! Take care.

3 down, 1 to go

Well I've just finished my third round of chemo. I'm a little tired, but so far not too many other horrible side effects. My mood is good and I've watched so many movies this week. I've been taking it super easy all week long so that I will have the energy to do all the exciting things I have planned for this Christmas season.

My last chemo cycle will be in January. As of right now, I am planning to take the winter intersession off from school so that I am fully recovered and ready to go for the Spring semester. And then on to graduation in May!

I'm also planning to have the colostomy reversed over the Spring Break, but that too is subject to change. I'm thinking it would be a good idea to be ready to go to work as soon as I graduate, rather than still having health issues to take care of.

Well my Christmas tree is up, and plans are to have Christmas at my house this year. Now I just have to get the gifts wrapped. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Best week in months

Well I've just had the best week since I found out I have cancer. I've been feeling almost like my normal self again. I've had energy, and I've been joking and smiling almost every day since Thanksgiving. It really makes me feel like I am going to truly survive the cancer treatment and return to my normal life.

Next Monday, the 8th, I start the third cycle of chemo. I've done so much this past week so that I can really take it easy once the treatment starts up. I plan to sit on the couch, watch videos and DVDs, and eat homemade applesauce and potato soup. I'm going to really take it easy this time through so that hopefully the recovery period will be shorter.

Classes are almost done for this semester. I can't believe how fast the semesters fly by! I'll be done with cancer, chemo, the ostomy, and school before I know it.

I'm really looking forward to this Christmas. It is going to be a simple one this year without all the extravagent gifts. Tomorrow my tree goes up and I can't wait to get out the ornaments and decorate.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Finally feeling good again and more...

Well once again that last round of chemo kind of kicked my butt. I was so tired and got to the point that I was starting to get depressed with all of this cancer treatment. My oncologist suggested that I talk to my primary doctor about anti-depressants so I did and that has really helped. I guess it is fairly normal for cancer patients to get depressed with everything we have to go through.

Well I'm feeling much better now but I've had a really busy week so I haven't had time to do some of the things I normally do. Last Monday I finally finished up my 5000 word paper that was due for my nursing class. What a relief to have that done. Now I just have to wait for the grade, and I'm hoping I did well on it.

Then along came Thanksgiving and I went on a cleaning spree. It was nice to finally have the energy to get some very needed cleaning done. My boyfriend and brother came over for Thanksgiving and we had a wonderful time. I hope everyone else had a good Thanksgiving too. I spent Friday recovering from my cleaning spree and Thanksgiving because I still get kind of tired with all that extra energy expenditure, but Saturday I was back to cleaning. I cleared out lots of space in my kitchen and bedroom and have lots of stuff to donate to the Salvation Army tomorrow.

Today I've been catching up on homework for my race and ethnicity class. I've made a huge dent in my homework and will definitely be caught up before class tomorrow. This semester has flown by and I'm glad that I've been able to keep up with it.

I didn't realize how devastating cancer could be before going through it myself but I am almost through with the chemo treatments. Two more cycles to go, one in December and the last in January. I think I'm finally starting to get the hang of it though. I just have to be sure to take it super easy during the week that I have chemo and then wait about 5 days afterwards before I get any sort of energy back.

I'm beginning to look forward to the Christmas season now. My mother, sister, niece, and I have plans to spend a few days together celebrating being together with family. That's what Christmas is all about anyway if you ask me.

Have a great week!

Round 2 is finished

Just a quick update. I finished the second round of chemo last Friday and I've decided chemo really is no fun at all. I finally feel better again today. I spent the last few days trying to force myself to eat and drink because I didn't want to end up in the hospital again. The chemo really took it out of me this time, but I only have 2 more rounds to go. I'm thinking I am going to make it through this after all. I just have to make it through January now, and that's right around the corner.

Halfway through Chemo Round 2

I started feeling much better last week. I guess my body really needed some extra time to get over the surgery and chemo. Lots more time than I expected.

I started my chemo week last Monday. So far so good. I feel a little more tired than I had, but not too bad so far. The only real problem I have is with the Decadron they give me before the start the chemo infusion. It's a steriod and one of the side effects it has on me is that it makes it difficult for me to stay asleep, even with the sleep medication my doctor prescribed. Oh well, it's only for one week.

Last Saturday I got to see my niece. She came up from college for the weekend and we had a very nice visit. I got to eat at my favorite Mexican restaurant, and we sat around and talked, looked at photos, and discussed photography. She has decided to minor in photography.

Sunday, Chris and I went to the Fungus Fair at the Ferry Building in San Francisco. We also took a short walk down the Embarcadero so I could take some photos of the Bay Bridge and stuff. It was really nice being able to get out and do a few things. We also ate at the Delancey Street Bistro at Brannon and Embarcadero. We got there between lunch and dinner, so they only had a limited menu available, but the food was excellent and the prices for San Francisco were great. I would definitely go back there again and again. Oh and free parking on Sundays. That's definitely a plus in San Francisco!

After my chemo treatment today, I am going to the beach to watch the sunset with one of my cancer buddies. We both need to start getting out more and doing some fun things. This cancer stuff has been going on too long for us now, and it is really starting to affect our moods. It keeps getting harder and harder to stay positive with all of the side effects and time we have put into fighting this awful disease.

Looking forward to the weekend, but have a great rest of the week.

Feeling Good!

Hello again everyone. This has been a very good week overall. I had class all day on Monday, and in addition, I spent a lot of time walking all over campus. I finally gave in and decided to drop my History of Religion class. After all the time I spent in the hospital, I was really feeling too far behind to ever catch up. It was an online class and Kaiser doesn't have internet access at the hospital. That's really about the only bad thing I can say about Kaiser though, so I'm not complaining.

Tuesday I was pretty tired from all the walking the day before, but I gave myself the day off and let my body recover from all the exercise. I watched the election results roll in all day as I dozed in and out of sleep. Overall I was very happy with the election, but I'm wondering what people were thinking on some of the issues and that's all I'm going to say about politics.

Wednesday and Thursday were fairly productive. I got a lot of studying and reading done, and it was nice. Friday, however, was fantastic! I really almost felt like my old self again. I was able to go and volunteer and it didn't wear me out. Then afterwards, the volunteer department had a fabulous holiday luncheon for all of the volunteers. The food was great, as was the company.

I did have an appointment with my oncologist yesterday too. We discussed several things, but I was really happy to find out the the 6 mm spot on my lungs has not changed in the past 4 months, which pretty much rules out any chance of it being cancerous. We also discussed this next round of chemo that I will be starting on Monday. This time we are going to be proactive about monitoring my WBC counts to make sure I don't end up in the hospital again. I also had to let the doctor know that if the chemo puts me in the hospital again, I don't think I have it in me to finish the last two rounds. All of this is preventative anyway, and not curative, so sometimes with cancer treatment, the negative outweighs the positive and it's just not worth it anymore. Besides, I'm already cancer free.

I'm really looking forward to seeing my niece today! She went away to college in September, but she's coming to the area for a quick weekend visit. We're going to have lunch and play with her new camera. Should be lots of fun. Well actually, it will definitely be lots of fun.

Have a fantastic weekend!