Skip to main content

Week 19, Cycle 10 of 12

Yes, I completed cycle 10, but I may not do 11,12. The pain in my fingers is not going away, and since most people only get about 10 cycles, we think that may have been my last. I will confirm with my doctor on Tuesday whether or not I get one last cycle (#11), but either way, there isn't going to be #12.

What that means - I am done with chemo, potentially - Yaaay! But surgery is a lot closer - Boo! But I can finally get this thing out of me - Yaaay! And I've just had a follow-up MRI, so I am waiting on the results of that - Boo!
Regardless, I am counting step 1 of 3 complete (or almost). Surgery is step 2, Radiation is step 3.

So what have my Tuesdays been like? I've had friends give me a lift these past few cycles because the Benadryl that I get leaves me feeling very woozy. If things run late I get home by 1:30pm or 2:00pm (after being at the doctor since 9-ish). If things run smoothly, I am done by 12:30pm. Either way, it is a long day. I get home and I get into my bed as fast as I can and pretty much stay there until I am forced to get out of the bed when the kids come home (usually around 4:00pm). In that time, I sleep the sleep of the drugged (as I imagine it). I don't move and I wake up feeling like I've been beaten about the body. In Trini parlance I would say I feel "mash up", NOT refreshed. It takes me about an hour to really wake up. And then I feel better on Wednesday.

Tuesdays are also the days when I feel I can legitimately "sign off". It is my day for myself - or as much of the day as I can make it. I might keep that even if I don't have chemo anymore.

I still am not sleeping well, but on the discipline front we are seeing results and the kids seem to have found their listening ears again.

And that's about it for now.

Comments

stressbug said…
Listening ears...we could all do a little better in that department. Here's listening to you, kid.
Savi said…
Hi Sally,

I hope this Tuesday hasn't been so rough for you. Glad to hear you will soon be done with the chemo, and fingers and toes crossed for all to go well with the next stages.

Take care,
Savi
Austin Trini said…
Hello everyone -

I will post some more on the next blog, but step 1 is complete. Chemo is done, now if only I can manage my kids as well as I managed the chemo!

Popular posts from this blog

I wish...

This post is my one rant to looking back (I've been told by my doctors not to), but I've justified it to myself by deciding if it makes one person make a different choice, then that's fine with me.  So now that I know what I know, what do I wish? I wish I understood that when a mammogram comes back negative, it does not necessarily mean that they examined all the tissue and they were able to see clearly that nothing was there (a true negative). It could also mean, they've looked and they cannot distinguish normal from tumour tissue (inconclusive).  So ladies, when the radiologist tells you "Ma'am you've got dense breasts", know that it means they can't see a darned thing. If you think something is going wrong, press for an alternative diagnostic tool or monitor yourself more closely in the coming months knowing that the mammogram you just had that said negative, really said, "We don't know".  Oh..and enlist the aid of a specialist ...

Fitness Photo Shoot

Fitness after stage III breast cancer Plank on ball in silhouette Why a fitness shoot? I am not a fitness model, nor am I ripped like one, but I wanted to do a fitness shoot for a few different reasons: 1. As a reminder of how far I have come At the 5-year anniversary of my diagnosis of stage III breast cancer, it seemed a good time to remind myself how far I have come since I went through the trauma of diagnosis and treatment. That no matter how low I felt at the time, I came through it. Not all my sisters made it and many are still struggling today (shout out to my IV-leagers - those living with stage IV,  EVERY DAY). 2. As a reminder of how much the body can do It is a moment for me to acknowledge that while there are things I still cannot do, there are things I could not do when I first started lifting weights, that I can do now and THAT is amazing to me. When I first started weight lifting maybe I could do shoulder presses with 7.5 lbs, now I can do more t...

Job Search2: Networking etiquette..

On which I have a few ideas.  As my husband keeps telling me, I won't get a job by spending hours in front of the computer submitting applications to online job postings.  The best use of any job-seeker's time is spent talking to friends and acquaintances and letting them know that you are looking for a job and what your skills and interests are. So here is what I found tricky about networking: How hard to push?  Working parents are busy, so if I asked a friend, who is a working parent, about a position I had seen at their company, do I ask a second time? How soon after? And what if there is another position - do I talk about that too?  If that friend is very enthusiastic about getting more information for me on a post then I hear nothing, what then?  Is it realistic to think they'll get back to me?  I find it difficult to broach the topic again.  I might ask a second time but for me there is no third time. What do I trade in return? In the net...