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Weeks 17,18: Cycles 8,9

Where have I been? It has been a very hectic two weeks. My brother was visiting for one week, so there wasn't much  time for blogging (even though I didn't do too much with him).   It was a busy two weeks at school for my older one as well, but this coming week should be a bit slower. I know I need the routine.
On the kid front I am gaining ground on the discipline issue and the kids are doing well. I am shouting less, which makes everyone happy.

So, how did the last two cycles of chemo go? Much like the rest, however for sure I do have some additional symptoms or maybe it is more pronounced.

Side Effects
  • My eyelashes are gone and almost all of my eyebrows. I've also been more bold about being bald - if you come to my house, you run the risk of seeing me bald, but I've recently come into a bag of hats, so I may have something I feel like putting on. I don't know.  Just be prepared.
  • I have more pain around my nails now, so opening tupperware, chips/crisps packages, tetrapacks are a trifle difficult.  Anything that requires me to use my nails to pry it off hurts (feels like my entire nail is going to peel off - just wanted to share that).
  • Because the chemo drugs dry you out, I've been having to resort to a humidifier and saline nose drops because my nose is all haywire.
  • I have noticed that my eyes are twitching which is very irritating, but I hope it ends when the chemo does.  It's just one more thing that's not working right with me. Makes me sad.
  • With physical symptoms that are not severe, and with chemo winding down, there is certainly a bit more challenge mentally to stay focused and positive. There goes my sleep again, just when I was up to 6 hours unbroken sleep. 
  • And finally, with 3 more cycles to complete, I get to look forward to the stress of having another scan and then waiting on the results, to determine just what has happened to my tumour over these past 5 months.
  • My nutrition has been all over the place, and I will be glad to be done with chemo so I can focus on eating what I think is best for me, without worrying about whether it will interact with the chemo drugs. So on that score I have done poorly. (On the upside, I did make roasted brussel sprouts but the kids are not having any of it).

After all of this, I'll move on to the next thing on the list to reduce the numbers.  Which brings me to cancer by the numbers. I think I'll post some information on cancer by the numbers, you know when I talk about my blood counts, what does that mean?

In the meantime, I have #10,11,12 to look forward to and I'll be done. 5 months. Done. Walk in the park.
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Comments

Savi said…
Hi Sally,

Thank you for the update. Glad to hear that things are more peaceful at home (brussel sprouts aside!). Sorry to hear about all the annoying and painful side effects. Hang in there - only a few more weeks to go!

Love,
Savi
13 October 2011 at 11:12
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