Adios Chemo…Hello Boobies!

Well hello everyone. Its been a while since I’ve posted and a lot is happening. I had my last chemo on Feb. 8th and I’m happy to report that it went well just like the one before. I can’t tell you how good it feels to know that I don’t have to have anymore. With the first three chemos the side effects seemed so much worse because all I could think about was how I can’t do this again. After this last one I felt like I could deal with the side effects better because I knew that I wouldn’t have to do it again. Right now all the major side effects are gone. I am just left with exhaustion and very weak muscles. My last blood work was ok except for low iron. I go back to see the oncologist in April so if I’m not back to normal levels she will probably want me to have an iron infusion again. I am supposed to start the Tamoxifen next week. I’ve already been having hot flashes since the chemo and one of the side effects of Tamoxifen is hot flashes. I think its going to be a long summer. I am hoping to start easing back into my walking and exercising routine this week. I had a jiffy boob appointment today and had my 7th and final fill. I will have my swap (expanders for implants) surgery next Wednesday March 2nd. I can’t believe its time already. It will be so nice to get these expanders out. I’m told that my hair should start growing back around a month after the last chemo which will be next week. I was mostly wearing hats around the house but now I’ve mastered tying a scarf so I’ve been wearing them a lot. I wear the wig when I go out and everyone who doesn’t know about the chemo can’t even tell I’m wearing a wig. Everyone who does know is amazed how good the wig looks. I’m glad I went with the more expensive one because not only does it look nice it is comfortable. Well I’m starting to get uncomfortable from the jiffy boob filling so I’m going to relax now and maybe take a nap :) I will let you know how the swap surgery goes and how my new boobs look Yippie!

xoxo

I don’t know when I’ve felt so popular!

Take a look at my week ahead:
Saturday – Wig consultation.
Monday – 1st Chemo (Today)
Tuesday – Dr. Jiffy Boob
Thursday – Consult w the surgeon who is putting in my chemo port
Friday – Chemo port outpatient surgery
Friday night - Highlight of my week *drum roll please* Christmas Movie night with us girls :)YAY

There is something wrong with this picture tho. I have to drag myself out to all these doctors and places. Wouldn’t it be easier for them to all come to me? I could just sit in a nice comfy chair and yell NEXT…see how they like sitting in a waiting room waiting for me bahhhahahaha. No Sweetpea there is no Santa Claus who will bring doctors to you. Even if there were they would just clog up your chimney and there would be all kinds of nasty needles and shiny torture tools clanking onto the hearth.

Well this past week wasn’t real great. I had my first of two iron infusions on Monday. It went well and wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. They set me up in a nice recliner and started me on an IV drip. Then the nurse came over and slowly pushed the Iron right into the vein. It just felt cold. I hung around for about 10 minutes to make sure there were no adverse reactions and I was on my way. So what does a girl do after an Iron infusion??? Shop! My sister and I went shopping for hats for my hairless days. I found some very cute ones too. I was pretty exhausted when I got home but felt pretty good otherwise…till the next day. Double Wow muscle and joint pain…Ouch. It was the worst in my right hip and it lasted for two days and contrary to popular belief the iron did not give me a wonderful feeling of more energy. I did however start feeling better just in time for my second infusion on Thursday. The good news is so far I haven’t had the muscle or joint pain and I do have a feeling that today I may have more energy than before…but then again it is only 10:00 am…I’m still hopeful tho :)

In an effort to not be so whiny I must say that things do seem to be coming along. I’ve been doing my finger crawl exercises up the wall and I can almost get my arms all the way up. I’m really not having any pain under my left arm anymore and a lot less pain under my right arm. When I start to do too much the pain under the right arm gets worse so I STOP :) I am getting use to the expanders too. They don’t feel as strange or as uncomfortable as before. Sleeping….well let’s not go there yet! So I will blog again with you soon and let you know how all this other stuff goes.

xoxoxoxo

Good Days and Bad Ones

I had a very busy couple days this week…since we last talked I’ve had my second jiffy boob appointment. The second fill went well. He didn’t pour the saline all over me this time :) I can definitely see some puffy little boobs forming. However one is filling up higher than the other :/ I know this is normal and they will eventually match. I still can’t really feel anything but some tightness while he is filling. Fortunately my right side is numb where the port is so the needle doesn’t hurt going in. Unfortunately the left side isn’t numb and does hurt blah. After this fill there seems to be a little less skin under the arms so that is more comfortable. I still have a hard time sleeping and found that sleeping on the living room couch is the most comfortable for now.

Last week I called to make my next appointment with the oncologist (she wanted to see me a week after my PET CT) but her office said she wasn’t available till the 12th of December. She (the doctor) called me back that afternoon and said to come to her office right after my PET CT and she would squeeze me in even if they had to page her during her rounds. She said she wanted to keep a close watch over me and boy is she. I haven’t even started my chemo yet! I had my PET CT on Wed. (the 24th) which took about an hour and a half then I went to see the oncologist. I was surprised to get in quickly but I had to wait a long time because she wanted to get the results of the PET CT before I left. They didn’t have a preliminary report ready so she called and told them she wanted it read NOW. We waited for them to call back and Praise the Lord it was clear. I am so relieved.

My blood work showed that my iron is low so I have to go on Monday and Thursday for an iron infusion. I also have to have the picc-line put in ASAP. I tried to schedule that when I got home from my appointment but they were gone and closed till after the holiday. They won’t be back in the office till Monday. I called the oncologists office and they are going to call on Monday to get it set up. The plan is to get all that done next week and start the chemo on December 6th. She wrote out all my scripts which included the Flagel for the fistula, a drug for nausea, the steroid to take the day before the day of and the day after the chemo, some Ativan to help me relax, and a cranial prosthesis aka wig :/ So that was a very very long day and by the time I got home I was so exhausted and in a good bit of pain. This upset me a lot because it was my babies 18th birthday and I was not able to celebrate it at all. I was curled up in a ball on my couch and the more I thought about it the more upset I got. If all that wasn’t bad enough I started to cry and hoped that B didn’t hear me but he did. He sat and hugged me for a while and that helped a lot but I still felt so bad that I couldn’t celebrate and on top of that I was sitting there crying. Hubby did go get him a cake and we sort of sang (he didn’t really want us to) and then we had cake. That horrible day was followed by Thanksgiving. J was home from school and I felt better but not great. Wonderful hubsie cooked the entire dinner (thankfully he is a good cook ;) and it was wonderful. Then the four of us watched some movies including Elf (one of my favorite Christmas movies). It was a wonderful day! I know I will continue to have good days and bad days but no matter what type of day I am also counting my blessings!!!

And now I’ve started my Christmas shopping….on-line of course! Oh and the Pre-lit Christmas tree is up…now I just need to get it decorated…any volunteers :)