Snap...crackle...pop

Hello!

Have you all been enjoying the winter??  I know I haven't!  Like I said in my last post, I've been sick with something since after radiation, I guess it just wiped out my immune system.  An update on that:  The sciatica is gone, thank God, the sinus infection has cleared up, I've relatively stopped coughing, only a few here and there. 

Went to see the oncologist yesterday.  I wouldn't say it's good news, but it's not terrible news I guess.  My cancer markers have been slowly creeping up.  They went down right after radiation, but they've been increasing none the less.  He decided to stop the Xeloda, the chemo in pill form.  I've been on that for about 5 months, give or take.  That's disappointing because that's another treatment that's now crossed off the list.  But it's also a relief to me because I wasn't sure if it was working, and it was stressing me out to take pills after I ate, or 30 minutes after I ate.  Sometimes I would forget until 1 hour or 2 after I ate.  I prefer a scheduled, for sure it's working, chemo.  I hate depending on myself.

So the new plan is to start a new IV chemo, Navelbine, on Feb. 26th.  We are going to do the chemo on Saturdays like before so it doesn't totally screw our working schedules up.  Navelbine is pretty well tolerated, my hair shouldn't fall out (any more than it already has!), no real threat of nausea or vomiting, so that's good.  The thing with Navelbine (there's always something though) is that if you have it given through your arm veins, it burns a lot.  We discussed getting a port surgically implanted.  The thought of that makes my queasy, so I compromised with him.  I'll try the first treatment through and IV and see how I tolerate it.  If it hurts too much, we are going to get a port implanted.  I get knocked out for this and they put the port into the subclavian vein (above the collar bone).  There are benefits to it, I guess.  They don't have to poke me every time.  I am just not sure how I'll feel about it.  I'll be able to see it and feel it right below the skin.  I don't know.  We'll see how it goes.

Got an MRI of my head again.  I got to see the images this time, so there's proof that I have a brain!  I saw the spots that we are targeting.  They are like light gray spots.  We counted about 5 or 6.  They are still there, and I was worried that the radiation didn't help, but he said not necessarily.  The spots can be dead, but they will still remain there, it just doesn't disappear.  So I'm hoping that they are dead.  My numbness in my chin had gone away after radiation, but a few days ago, I've noticed that an area on my lower lip got numb again.  The radiation oncologist told me that the numbness might not go away.  I was just bummed because it had gone away, but then came back.  They don't seem that concerned about it.

I think I mentioned that I have been having severe pain (9-10 out of 10)  in my back, right side.  Sitting and standing make it worse as does coughing.  The only relief I get is when I am horizontal!  Had to go to the ER last Monday because it was so bad and I thought it was kidney stones.  There were kidney stones floating around, but nothing to be causing this pain.  They concluded it was a pulled muscle.  I didn't believe them.  I've had pulled muscles and it never hurt this bad.  So I told my oncologist yesterday and he determined it was a fractured rib.  He said that that particular site on my rib has more disease on it, so it makes it very fragile and easy to break.  I know I coughed and I heard a pop, so it makes sense.  There's not much you can do for a broken rib except wait until it heals.  I have vicodin, but I can only take that when I'm home.  The worst pain is when I'm at work.  Great.

On the way home from my parent's, it started to thunder and lightening.  We decided to stop at the dock near the lake and watch the lightening display.  Wow, it was amazing.  Saw some pretty awesome strikes, lit up the whole sky to daytime.  Now it's incredibly windy.  We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto!

I decided that I must have some bad juju hanging around me.  My brother-in-law asked me how much bad luck can one person have?  Well, I was never one to have GOOD luck, so I'm not really surprised.  I can say that I am LUCKY in many ways.  But I do have a lot of not so good luck.  Maybe if I spin counter clockwise while eating a carrot and singing "Sweet Home Alabama", I might get rid of it?  LOL
If anyone has any ideas, let me know. Your opinions are always welcome.  

I do have to say that this bout of pain and sickness scared the hell out of me.  I try my damnedest to not think about anything but today, but it made me terrified of what MAY come.  That's all I'm really going to say about that.  LOL, I sounded like Forrest Gump! 

Dana Farber has opened up a new building, connected to the old building, called the Yawkey Center.  It's been open for 3 weeks, and they still have a lot of kinks to work out!  We were shuffled to all the wrong places, then reshuffled.  The place is huge.  There are things that I don't like about it.  For instance, Laboratory Services used to be small, personable, and only Breast Cancer patients.  Now they grouped all types of cancer, and it's a large room, lots more people, longer waiting and very cold and impersonal.  I feel like cattle being herded.  They say it's more efficient, but look at what you lost!  I have 2 favorite phlebotomists that I only use.  Now, I hardly saw them.  I used to be able to see them and talk to them.  That's what I love about Dana Farber.  They are not "institutional", they focused on individual patients.  And the waiting rooms to see the doctors?  They are huge!  They have to yell across the room to call your name.  I feel like such a small fish.  And the ironic thing??  It was designed by a patient committee!!!!  Really!?  What kind of patients did they use?!  All in the name of saving money and making things "efficient".  Yeah, how'd that work for ya?!  I plan on complaining to someone, via email or phone call.

I'm going to leave on a good note!  I visited my parents and they made me homemade tiramisu!!  Love that stuff.  Mmm.

Till next time!  Hopefully I will have happier news!