Chemo today

Thankfully my platelets were high enough for chemo today-- up to 138, well over the 100 minimum I  needed and way above last week's level of 52. My WBC is low but not too low to prevent me from getting chemo. I was stoked but what a long day! 

Amelia was sick yesterday and had drainage from her ear in the evening letting me know her "cold" the doctor told me she had on Friday was an ear infection. Poor thing was sick all weekend and did not sleep well. My wonderful husband took it upon himself to get up with her allowing me to sleep so I could recover and be ready for chemo. Poor guy has been dragging- what a trooper. Oh how I love that guy at times like these. :) 

Because I didn't know if Amelia was contagious and not wanting to make anyone else's kids sick, I decided to wait for Ammon to get home after 4pm yesterday and then get my blood drawn. Because of that delay, my blood results weren't ready bright and early this morning. Once I heard they were good though, I was ecstatic and headed over. I first needed to meet with the doctor (it was time for my every 3 week visit) but with a different doctor. My regular doc just had a baby and is on maternity leave. After my visit, I started chemo but quite late at 11:30am and was set to be there for at least 5 hours. This was much more delayed than expected so I had to spend some time arranging for Amelia to be taken to her doctor's appointment, the last appt available at 3:10 in the afternoon, since I wouldn't be able to make it. I also made arrangements for Connor to ride the bus home and stay at a friend's house after school. I am so grateful that all worked out!

My chemo went fine. I am trying to pay attention to my body to see if I have some of the dreaded side effects that my previous regime of having the drugs every week were meant to eliminate. The side effects I most worry about are numbness in my hands and feet (neuropathy) and debilitating nausea. The neuropathy should hit within the first day...so far so good...but the nausea will be more on the 3rd or 4th day once the anti-nausea drugs wear off. I'm not looking forward to that if it hits me.

I also was given a WBC shot called Neulasta. It's a $5,000 shot that my insurance thankfully completely paid for. It is good for 10 days and will allow my bone marrow to be rebuilt in time for my next chemo. Good and bad with this shot- good is I don't have to give myself daily shots..super YEAH..bad is I definitely have more bone pain because the dose is more concentrated. I guess every option comes with its positives and negatives.

I just am very grateful that I was recovered enough to keep up the schedule so I will finish at the end of this month! With my new schedule, I only have one more treatment!! I can't tell you how excited I am! This has been a long road but looking back, it's gone by pretty fast. I've realized most things in my life are like that. Everything I look forward to, whether good or bad, seem to take forever in anticipation and while I'm living them but once I get near to the end, they seem to have passed more quickly than expected. I just feel blessed to be nearing the end and returning to Health!

Change in chemo

So my platelet counts were too low AGAIN this week. They have to be a minimum of 100 to get chemo and they were 55 last week and 52 this week! I don't know how they went down but somehow it was possible. This was a big bummer and pretty scary to me when I heard but my doctor, via my nurse, reassured me this is very common. Many patients that have every week treatments like I had been receiving usually get to a point where their bodies can't recover quickly enough anymore. I was reassured again that my prognosis doesn't change. That's excellent news!

To manage this ongoing problem, my doc has now decided to change how I receive my chemo. What I had been receiving was Carbo Platinin every 3 weeks and small doses of Taxol every week. My doctor has now changed it to me having Carbo still every 3 weeks but the full dose of Taxol too at that time because my body is now needing so much more time to recover. The only reason the Taxol was spaced out before was to reduce side effects. So...those might increase but at least I'll have the 2 weeks in between treatments to recover. If I'm good to get chemo next week, I'll actually finish early by a week. That also means I have a week to play with if I'm not yet recovered. I kindof like the idea of less treatments so I'm ok with this change. Another plus of this more spread out schedule is I don't have to give myself daily shots of Neupogen for my WBC. I'll only need to take those shots the week I have chemo. That will be less shots (yeah!) and the added benefit of not having to deal with the terrible mail-order pharmacy I am now forced by my insurance to use. Long story short- they have messed up my order so many times (I think we're up to 4 or 5 times now) and I have had to spend a good hour on the phone with them everytime to straighten it out...and then they usually still get something wrong. I tell you, that is not how I wish to spend my "free" time when I'm supposed to be recovering.

So, this new schedule has me hopeful that all will work out well. I feel it's all in the Lord's hands and He has plans for my future. Indeed, I have so much to look forward to and live for :)  I know I wouldn't have nearly as positive progress and outlook without the sustaining power of prayers and supportive loved ones in my life. I can't say enough how much I love and appreciate all of you!!