Chemo - Round 4

Well - Round 4 was a week ago. There was so much going on. My step-Dad had just passed and we were planning his funeral. Round 4 was not as bad as round 3; maybe because I didn't have the cold that knocked me out. Thursday night of chemo I was feeling really blah, but it got better each day. By this Tuesday, I was feeling better. I'm done with my first set of drugs [(Adriamycin /Cyclophosphamide /Avastin (Avastin is the clinical trial drug)]. I start my next round on Thursday, March 26th (unfortunately, that is Katie's 10th birthday). The next set of drugs will be Paclitaxel plus the Avastin. The regimen that I am following is: Adriamycin cyclophosphamide followed by Paclitaxel every two weeks with growth factor support (which is the shot that I get the day after chemo). The next 12 rounds will be weekly. My last scheduled chemo round will be the last day of school for the girls. I am so looking forward to that day.

My Step-Dad

It's so hard to understand how things are going right now. My Step-Father passed away Wednesday morning, March 11. This all seems so unbelievable. My Mom and him were married for almost 22 years and he's been Grandfather (Papa) to all of our children. He cared for my mother so well after her diagnosis. We have all been grieving her, and he seemed to be doing ok. Not great, but ok. He came to my daughters' Music concert 2 weeks ago, he was visiting my sister at bowling, my other sister's for dinner and going out with friends. He was at my house Tuesday dropping off pasta for the girls. We are told it was a heart-attack. He was found at his home. My sisters and I and our families are struggling with all of this. My Mom's birthday is today, she would have been 65.

So, many tears have been shed in my house over these last 4 months; as I was diagnosed, as my Mom got sicker, as my Mom passed, and now as my Step-Dad has passed. The support shown to us by everyone - by cards and kinds words, by visitations at the funeral home, by phone calls and messages. Thank you for that.

Chemo - Round 3

Round 3 - Round 3 was hard. It's amazing how quickly the drugs work to affect your system. There are so many side-effects and I didn't realize I would get so many of them. I'm on 3 different drugs and they all 3 have different side-effects. I was down for about 5 hours Thursday night (last Thursday, 2/26 ). I felt better on Friday, went for my white blood cell count booster shot. I got the shot in the belly again this week. It doesn't seem to hurt as much there. But, then I think I over did it that day. By early evening I was in bed for the rest of the night and in bed most of the day on Saturday. Sunday was church and then on the couch for the day. I stayed home from work on Monday. Really it was one of the first un-scheduled days off of work from not feeling well. I was back to work on Tuesday, but had a busy week with the girls. I felt much better by Wednesday. I have one more round of these 3 drugs. My next treatment is next week, 3/12. Then I have two weeks off and then I start my once a week treatment.