Cancer Survivor, writing about Health and Fitness as you age

Week 7 was actually last week, so I am a little behind. I thought I'd give a little update on where I am with a few things. About the diet . I'm supposed to be on a low glycemic diet (quite simply, more fruit and vegetables than anything else). However, between the loss of appetite and weight and the desire to consume as many calories as I can when I do have appetite, the diet really hasn't worked out. At least not like I'd like. About the recovery . When I was first told about the chemotherapy drugs and their impacts, I was told that the effects are cumulative over time.  While the side effects have not necessarily gotten worse (although I may have gotten new ones over time), I've seen the cumulative effects impact my recovery time.  After each cycle, it takes me longer to recover. About the kids . The little one is still happy, happy. However, our older son apparently had some behavioural issues at camp. So even though he wasn't saying anything to us, M

I just wanted to tie out Week 6.  No significant change in this week from prior chemo weeks, except with cycle 3 came a side effect which I hadn't see in prior cycles. (One that required me to switch out the bananas in my oatmeal for prunes, unfortunately.)  Apparently it is quite common, except I had dodged that in the first 2 cycles. Although I was tired and out of sorts as usual, I was still able to take the boys to their swim classes on Saturday - it just takes a bit more out of me even if it is just for a short while.  Now that the swimming pool is open early, it is a lot of fun to watch Liam jumping around in the water, tiring himself out just before his class.  Lucas is usually eating his snack since he was at camp all week and got to play in the pool everyday. Next cycle will be a milestone, so looking forward to recovery week - Week 7!

This weekend I went to the library with what I thought was my funky hat, only to be asked by the librarian to remove it because it obscured my face, unless of course I have cancer.  Right.  Well I qualify.  So much for trying to go to the library and be somewhat incognito. Tuesday 12th July - Cycle 3 completed.  Didn't feel too bad the day of chemo and the day after, but went a bit downhill after that.  That has been fairly typical of the treatments so far. In the meantime, I've been trying to combat "chemo brain", by memorizing the phonetic alphabet (Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, etc.) It has also served a useful purpose since I'm on the phone so much leaving my contact information, medical claims, etc.  I just got tired of saying "A as in Apple". In the meantime, I am looking forward to recovery week, both for appetite, nausea and blood counts.

This week is recovery week in preparation for cycle 3 next week.  So what has the week been like? Fear factor increasing. You know, now that I'm over the diagnosis and the optimism of actively working on treatment, I start wondering, "If I don't have horrible side effects, does it mean that the drugs aren't working?" What about, "I don't feel anything changing, is it making a difference?" and most recently, "I've been infection free this past month, can I make it through the remaining 4 months?"  Naturally paranoia is also on the rise.Must. Keep. It. In. Check. Generally felt ok, and I know because I don't fall asleep sitting up at 8:00pm at night - that's my gauge.  Went in to work a couple of days, and those are usually long days, but I am very happy to go in when I am able to. I get a chance to have a conversation with my colleagues about...work and not other things. That's good for me, because that's what it's

I finally couldn't handle the constant hair fall, and had my head shaved - for my colleagues at work..err..surprise!  I think I've reached the point of I-really-don't-care-because-I-have-all-this-other-stuff-I'm-thinking-about. Spent the weekend with family in town and did a lot of resting.  Did not get curry goat, but did get some home cooking (red beans and rice, stewed chicken, macaroni pie). So..did you ever talk to the kids about what you have? Well, the way that was handled was typical for the way we deal with the kids - if we don't make an issue out of it, they won't.  Lucas is 9 and will soon be 10, he is not an introspective child, you know, the kind who wonders "Will I get cancer too?"  He is not that way at all. The conversation happened while we were walking down Main Street in Fredericksburg.  G and Lucas were talking about somebody who was bald, and G seizing the opportunity told him that I might be going bald too, because of the me

And here are my pictures from Fredericksburg! A bit different than you may have expected. We walked around the National Museum of the Pacific, but hardly had the chance to look in much detail (antsy 3-year old took care of that).   My husband's conclusion was while there may be some things that are German (like on the menu), some are definitely not.  But perhaps they were when the Fredericksburg immigrants moved there?  Immigrants do cling to what they know and bring those with them, while their home country evolves. Anyways, we had fun walking around and relaxing.  My dad didn't get a chance to do too much (G and I took the time to run away and put my cousin in charge of the boys and my dad).  So we had a break.  We had plans to do more sight-seeing on our way back, but we (me and G) were too tired to try. Tuesday 28th June : Cycle 2.  After checking my blood counts, I was able to get cycle 2 - Yaay!  My appointment was 9:30 am, and I got there are 9:15. Unfortunately th