So I haven't posted in awhile which makes everyone worry lol so I'll post an update :) I haven't been posting because well, the radiation is actually making me lazy. I'm not going to say tired because its not a nodding off need a nap tired its a OMG I have to find my laptop, plug it in, sit in the office, find a pillow for the chair and then attempt to type - oh hell no do I feel like getting out of this chair feeling :)
I have 4 treatments left. Thu/Fri/Mon/Tue. They were going to do 15 but after seeing Dr. Nyamuswa (chemo) last Wednesday, he spoke with Dr. Dean (radiation) and decided the important thing was getting me to chemo ASAP and 12 treatments would do.
Thank goodness because I have a wicked sore throat. They told me I'd get one but man its worse than strep. You never know how much saliva your mouth produces until you can't swallow! My teeth are sensitive too. At night my eyes burn like allergies and my skin gets super hot. I've been sleeping with a refrigerated ice pack on my forehead and eyes (or at least falling asleep that way) which does help. If this is the worse of it, well I'll take it. It can always be worse!
The other thing thats not helping is I'm back on Bactrim (antibiotic). Last Tuesday West noticed the incision on the back of my neck was starting to open up. Wednesday at my chemo appointment the doctor put me on Bactrim to prevent infection and the stuff is hard on your stomach and gives you a nasty taste in your mouth. My appetite has decreased a lot since I've been on it so its kinda like being sick to your stomach, hot, and have a sore throat all at the same time. Thank goodness today is my last dose! I missed radiation on Friday because they didn't want to radiate an open wound so I went to see Dr. Lee (surgeon) on Monday who said to treat it with a wet/dry dressing and continue radiation, eventhough radiation was the cause of the wound breaking open. He insisted that most important thing was getting to chemo which means getting through radiation ASAP and said he doesn't mind wound care just don't skip radiation, even if it makes the wound worse.
Speaking of my appointment last Wed, Dr. Nyamuswa set me up with a treatment plan. They took a CBC to check my white blood cell count and flushed my port. Did I mention in all the madness I had a port surgically inserted underneath the skin of my right arm? Theres more info on what a port is here: http://powerportadvantage.com/about.html but basically instead of having to poke you with a needle every time they need to take blood or admin chemo, they use whats called a port. Its a plastic implant that is hooked to a catheter that leads into the major vein near my heart. When they need to draw blood or give me something through IV they stick a needle into the port and its instant access. It came in really handy in the hospitals because I didn't (usually) need to get stuck for lab work and it made admin morphine really quick! Anyway, for some reason at the docs office my port would take meds but wouldnt release blood for blood work so they had to do it the old fashioned way. The nurse said sometimes that just happens and the next time they try it could work perfect- that its real positional. My CBC came back really good, or at least thats what the doc said. Not sure if thats really good for a cancer patient or really good for a healthy patient but if he's pleased, I'm pleased.
The doc said we can't start chemo during radiation, that with me healing from spinal surgery, it would just be too much on the bone marrow so we have to wait. In the meantime he put me on Tamoxifen, a drug that stops estrogen production which is the chemical that is feeding my cancer. It mimics menopause so I'm having heat flashes, mood swings, sick to my stomach, sore throat, hot skin, an incision that won't heal..all at the same time. Yuck! Again, though...if this is the worse of radiation, I can handle this...this isn't so bad. I start chemo next week. Next Wed at 9:30 if I remember right. They said it will be about a 3 hour process, an hour for blood tests and premeds and 2 hours to administer the chemo. I can't remember the names of the chemo drugs right now but its pretty strong stuff. Its the hard hitting make you lose your hair and feel crappy kind but if it kills cancer, I'm on board. I'll do that every three weeks for 4 treatments and then they'll assess how that's working and then go into a weekly chemo regimen with a drug that's not as strong.
So, all in all I'm hanging in there. The mornings are good. The evenings, around 7 and later are the I'm tired and started to feel crappy times but I'm pushing through and am looking forward to being done with this radiation!
