Labor Day Weekend

I know I haven't been on to update people lately but I've kind of been in limbo. I have finished the first stage of treatments and have slowly been building my energy back up. I was actually surprised at how wiped out I was from the chemo and radiation.

I spent last week in San Francisco and on the coast with my mother. It was a very laid back and lazy trip because I was still so very tired. It was such a nice place to relax though. I fell asleep a few times just sitting in a chair meditating and watching the waves crash against the rocks below.

This week I have been much better. I went and joined a new gym on Monday and have been enjoying working out on the treadmill as well as in the pool. I'm running out of time though to get back into shape before surgery.

I'm taking a mini vacation this weekend to go explore a couple state parks up in the Sierra Foothills with Chris. It has really been tough for me to go through the summer without several vacations planned. Oh well, life on life's terms and one day at a time is really how it has gone for me.

Next Tuesday, the 2nd, I have several doctor's appointments to prepare for surgery on the 5th. I've been getting very nervous the past few days about the surgery. I've never had any surgery this major and I am a little scared right now. I'm pretty confident though that I have a couple of great surgeons, as well as a great oncologist, so every thing should work out just fine.

Once the surgery is finished, I will be beginning chemo again, one week per month for the next four months and then I should be cancer free. Yippee.

I've got a very lite school schedule for the Fall semester and am hoping that the instructors are going to work with me with all of my medical issues.

Have a wonderful Labor Day Weekend!

Thursday and it's over.......

I've made it through the first stage of treatment! My 28 days of chemo and radiation are over it it feels so good to be free of the chemo pump. I'm expecting it will be about a week of recovery before I really feel good again. This last week or so has been the worst as far as fatigue and just not feeling well goes, but I made it through with no significant side effects.

Well it is past my bedtime again but I did at least want to post a brief update. Take care all and I will write more later.

Tuesday and 2 days to go!!

Wow! The time really has flown, well at least most of it. As of this Thursday I will be off of the radiation and chemo for about 1 month. I'm thinking I'm going to need about 1 week to recover from everything the doctors have been putting my body through. This last week has been full of minor pains, fatigue, irritability, and lots and lots of sleep. I've just tried to keep my eye on the fact that we are almost through and I can handle just about anything if I know it is only for a limited amount of time.

I'm hoping to get back to the gym as soon as treatment ends so I can get myself in the best shape possible for surgery. I'll also be able to start dieting at that point too. During this first phase of treatment I've been going through, the doctors have recommended not to attempt weight loss and I haven't. I have changed my diet quite a bit to include a lot more fruit and vegetables and less junk and animal fat. The diet change hasn't contributed to any weight loss though. Darn!

Well I think I'm going to take another nap. Hope everyone's having a great week.

5 weeks down.....

.... and 4 days to go! Next Thursday I will be done with the first phase of treatments, that is the daily chemo and radiation. I am so excited. This last week has been rough in that I've been really fatigued. I've had to give up walking to radiation after Wednesday. I was so tired after I got there that I didn't think I would make it all the way home. My body is needing more rest to recover from all of the toxins they are pumping in along with the radiation.

I got the report back from the urologist regarding my right kidney. I do have some hydronephrosis but as long as my kidney function tests remain normal I am not going to get treatment for that. They would put in stents, but the treatment could be more painful than what I am experiencing now.

Surgery to remove the cancer tumor is scheduled for September 5. I tried to get it moved up but my surgeon will be out of the country until that week and I've heard so many good things about her that I'm afraid it might not be a good idea to try and switch surgeons. I'm going to have to miss my first day of classes, but hopefully the instructors will work with me on that one.

Today I am going to the Relay for Life in Vallejo with my friend Karen. She is also a survivor and she couldn't make it to the Relay for Life we had in Fairfield. I think she is really going to enjoy the Survivor Lap and the opening ceremonies.

Have a great weekend. I'm going to have to take mine a little slow, but it will still be great.

Tuesday.....

....and I'm 3/4 of the way through the first stage of treatment. Went to see my oncologist yesterday and it was all good news. Since I haven't had any nausea, vomiting, neutropenia, etc., I most likely will not have any. She says I've got good bone marrow and that keeps replenishing my blood. Yay!

Radiation and chemo have been making me tired though. I've had to have a few nights with 12 to 17 hours of sleep, but then I wake up the next day more energetic again. Today was one of my days to sleep in, so I'm expecting to be more energetic tomorrow.

I'm still trying to walk to most of my radiation appointments and I get to the gym a couple of times on the weekends. I'm sure that has really helped too with the side effects and my good energy levels, considering.

I will be due for surgery in late August, but at the moment I have an appointment for September 5. I am really hoping I can get that changed so that I don't miss another semester of school behind all this cancer stuff.

I'm really enjoying my volunteer position in the infusion clinic. I think it's going to give me a lot of good experience that I would otherwise be missing out on while I take care of the cancer. The nurses are all really nice and they appreciate the help that they get from the volunteers.

Thursday and I'm getting tired.....

Well I've made it halfway through week 4 and I'm starting to feel the effects of the chemo and radiation. I'm much more fatigued this week than I have been previously and I am starting to be much pickier about food too. I slept for about 17 hours last night, but I feel pretty good now.

My mother, sister, and niece are all coming over for Girls Game Night tonight. Last time we had a game night it was a blast. We laughed so hard it hurt a few times.

I don't really have too much to write today. Maybe once I get this chemo pump off tomorrow I will feel like writing more.

Relay for LIfe and other stuff

So Saturday was the Relay for Life in Fairfield. I ended up with a team of 11 and most of them were there at the beginning. It was great being out there visiting and raising money for the American Cancer Society. The relay started off with a survivor ceromony and lap. They read off all of the names of survivors and then we walked the first lap together. Over 150 survivors had registered for this Relay for Life.

I walked 6 and a half miles throughout the day and was exhausted by the end. My sister came out and did over 13, while my boyfriend did just over 10. I can't even remember how many my niece and her friends did, but altogether we walked a lot of miles in our fight against cancer.

We stayed until the end of the Luminaria Ceremony. They had luminarias set up all the way around the quarter mile track and also on the bleachers spelling out "REMEMBER". The luminarias were all dedicated to someone who had had cancer and they lit them with glowsticks. Survivors and caregivers spoke at the ceremony and then a bagpipe player came in to slowly lead the group of us survivors around the track. It was a very intense and emotional lap as all of the supporters watched us make the lap.

I was amazed at the number of young people out there supporting the fight against cancer. It is really neat to see them involved in something so important. The Relay for Life also had lots of activities for smaller children like facepainting, beadworking, and tie-dying shirts, all free. Participants had lunch, dinner, and breakfast on Sunday provided too. I will definitely try to start a group earlier next year and be more prepared.

I slept in on Sunday. I was completely exhausted and I suspect only partly from the Relay for Life. I think the chemo and radiation is finally catching up with me physically and emotionally. I went to get my blood work done yesterday too and the levels are still within normal limits, although they are getting more and more toward the low end of normal. After I got my blood checked I went to the ER for a suspected bladder infection but they found no signs of bacteria in the urine so I'm guessing it is a side effect from either the chemo or radiation drying out my skin. I'll talk with oncology later today.

I'm going to try and walk to radiation today but if this fatigue doesn't go away I may be driving for my last two and a half weeks. I have to go to get hooked back up to the pump today too and then hopefully out to Sac State to get my paperwork turned in so I don't get dropped from the nursing program.

Have a great week and I'll try and do the same.......