Well, it's been some time, hasn't it? Cancer-wise, there hasn't been much to talk about. Just going through chemotherapy. I've finished the four rounds of "AC" - the red stuff so corrosive the nurses had to push it with a big syringe so they could make sure none of it escaped the IV to do I-don't-know-what to my skin and the other stuff that was also super-poisonous but less dramatically so.
I've finished two rounds of Taxol, which is supposed to be easier. And it is - it doesn't cause nausea, so there's no lying around feeling just dizzy and sick enough to not be able to do anything.
And, by the way, I've had a pretty awesome summer, even around the cancer crap. We had a family vacation in Milwaukee at Summerfest (missing only Tom, who is in the Poconos being a camp counselor) and going to a bunch of other concerts and generally just having a good time. I feel kind of guilty, sometimes, because my social (concert-going) life hasn't slowed down all that much, but I'm working only half-time. My feelings on that (I forget if I've shared them here before) - I don't want to save up all my energy to go to work and then be exhausted the rest of the time and feel like I'm missing out on life. It turns out, actually, that working a half-time schedule is just about right, even given my new, "easy" chemotherapy.
Taxol, my oncologist warned, can cause bone pain and neuropathy, which is nerve damage that causes the pins-and-needles feeling in your feet and hands. He knew what he was talking about - the Friday after treatment, I start feeling achy all over, like I've got the flu. The first time, it lasted well into the next week, but I was able to cope with it with someVicodin (yes, it was prescribed for me) and get back to work regular hours by the next Wednesday.
The second treatment, though, I had a getaway planned with Jeff. Two nights (and two good concerts) in Madison, the Thursday and Friday after chemotherapy. Thursday (Motion City Soundtrack at the Barrymore) went well, but by Friday, the pain was starting to set in. We had lunch at a Buffalo Wild Wings and watched the Cubs game, and did a little shopping, but I was already wondering if I was going to make it. I did - we saw Ra Ra Riot at a free show outside the Majestic at Live On King Street. The concert was a lot of fun, but wow, did I feel awful. Saturday, we woke up, packed up and came home so I could lie on the sofa, which is what I did for the next five days. So now I know not to push it too hard. =)
Thursday, I worked six hours and went out to dinner with Jeff, and I worked a full eight hours today (Friday). Feeling pretty good, except for the fact that my feet and fingers alternate between being numb and feeling like they're being attacked with pins and needles. Oh, and there's a bonus - sometimes, out of nowhere, I get a sharp stabbing pain in my leg or arm. I almost dropped a wine glass at dinner Thursday, and feel like my leg is breaking out from underneath me at times, so there's that. In case I wasn't graceful enough in my normal life.
Oh, and just to lodge one final complaint: I can't even go bald right. I've never lost a bunch of the dark stubble on the top of my head, so I look all weird and scrubby. C'mon, get it together!
Overall, though, I think I'm doing OK. I've been really, really low - spending days on the sofa feeling like you've got the flu will do that to you - but I've also had moments where I've been able to appreciate just how good I have it.
I have two more chemotherapy sessions to get through, then radiation and surgery to remove the mass in my right breast. I don't know what order that will be in - I should probably start talking to my doctors about that, huh?
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