Hair Woes

Well the day has arrived. This morning when I got out of the shower, my hair was uncharacteristically tangled. When I finally got the first tangle out, it came with a large clump of hair. Everything I read about hair loss said that it would happen about 2-3 weeks after the first chemo. For me it has hit exactly 14 days after my first chemo. Not sure how well you can see in this picture, but I combed my hair later in the day today and as you can see, the hair is still falling out at an alarming rate.

So, we are off on a new adventure of hats, scarves and turbans. I’ll take some pics to post here in the next few days or so.

A little work accomplished

Today went fairly well I made it to work and saw my first client. My second client was in home and I felt too lightheaded to drive but as it turned out they needed to cancel. So I went home and laid down for a few hours. I was able to get up and do a little puttering around the house off and on. I feel a lot better than I did but still nowhere near 100%. I expect the curve to continue upward though.

Latest Chemo Side Effects

This is Sheri’s mom, on a cruise, attempting to post updates for her.

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Written 9/18/2023 8:41PM
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Well, I managed to get myself to work today. I’m extremely exhausted, weak and moving very slowly. I was able to see 3 clients in the office, then 1 at their home before I had to end my day. I had to call off on one client. I’m not going to be up to my early client tomorrow either.

I have a bone scan tomorrow at 1100 and when it’s done so is my day. I will try to rest.

So far, the flushing and sleeplessness has resolved but now I have the gut upset, exhaustion, and bone pain. The bone pain is from the shot I get the day after chemo that stimulates WBC production.

Hoping I’ll feel a little better tomorrow and more so by Wednesday. Just taking it day by day right now. It’s so surrreal!!

Thanks for listening! 

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Written 9/19/2023 5:04PM
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Today I had a bone scan to get done so I had to get up and shower. That was difficult. I am still exhausted and having bone pain. The Advil takes care of the worst of the bone pain, so that’s good. My bone scan was at 11:00 and I’ve been resting since. I don’t feel too bad as long as I don’t try to exert myself. I have company on the bed with me~ [photo of Sheri with her pup]

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Written 9/23/2023 1:37PM
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Two days ago I had to go to the ER due to having a fever and sore throat. Both the Covid test and the strep throat test were negative. All my labs came back at expected levels for where I am in the chemo cycle. I had an appointment with the oncology PA yesterday (Thank goodness for Zoom!!). She gave me a prescription med for the diarrhea and two doses this morning seems to have knocked it out. The abdominal cramping continues. The PA said it should resolve as the diarrhea resolves. It makes it very hard to move because that’s when it hurts. It hurts to roll over in bed and to pull/push myself to a sitting position.

The exhaustion seems to be getting better slowly. I’m not sleeping as much during the day and when I’m awake and laying in bed, I can hold my phone for more than just a minute or so. The PA encouraged me to drink more fluids and that would help resolve the fatigue. So far today I managed a 20 ounce container of tea and a protein shake and am switching to water now. I’m trying really hard to drink more because I know I need it but it’s hard when things taste weird.

I really hope I can make it to church in the morning. Just because I want to go but also it’ll be like a test run for Monday, being able to be out and about.

The bone density test I had on Tuesday came back showing I have osteopenia so we may have to adjust my chemo or treatment meds to account for that. Also, I need to take more Vitamin D than I was taking so Kenn got some from Walmart when he picked up my prescription.

Thank you all!!

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9/25/2023 10:07PM
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Went into the doctor’s today for some extra IV fluids and labs. They’ve scheduled me to come into the office for both of my non chemo weeks, for extra IV fluids. Not sure what lab work was drawn.

It took the whole weekend with the new meds to control the diarrhea but it seems much better now. I still have the abdominal cramping, hoping that resolves soon too. I have much more energy (though nowhere near normal). Managed to go with Kenn to get the calcium supplements I need, but had to stop and rest several times. And I move so slow!! It’s crazy.

Will try to update tomorrow about how the day goes. Thanks!

Tomorrow I hope to be back at work. It’s only 2 clients so it should be an easier way to ease back into the flow.

Chemo #1 side effects

Well, I was doing good with very mild side-effects until about half-way through the day today. My face was flushed and I had a mild headache, indigestion, and dry mouth. All very tolerable and manageable. This afternoon though, the fatigue has set in. I’ve sIept on and off since 230. I finally took some migraine medicine (can’t take Tylenol right now due to elevated liver levels) and got rid of the headache. I’m attempting to post this from my phone while lying in bed. I’ve had chills, plus I’m still flushed from the steroid. The flushing should go away tomorrow.

In good news, I got this lovely scarf from a charity that uses the scarfs to share women’s stories of their cancer journeys. You use the scarf until you’re done, then send it back along with your story and the charity cleans it and sends it to another person. Here are a few pictures ~

So, that was my cheery item yesterday. Today has been a day of rest. I’m hoping and praying I’ll feel up to working tomorrow. Thank you for your support!!

Chemo Day 1 Done!!

I was up all night due to the steroids they give you to help manage symptoms. So I got all my snacks and lunch prepared and got out my dad’s old cooler to take my cryotherapy mitts and booties into. So my dad who passed of cancer in 2004 was with me in spirit.

The cryotherapy helps to keep the chemo from getting into your hands and feet by constricting the blood vessels. That in turn helps prevent peripheral neuropathy.

I got to the center and got hooked up to my port for the pre-medications. I had a cozy jacket especially for chemotherapy with zippers for ports and all but I wasn’t cold so I didn’t need to zip up. This was a gift from a dear friend.

While the pre-meds were infusing, I had to put on the cryotherapy mitts and booties. they are to be on for 15 minutes before and 15 minutes after the Docetaxel plus the 60 minutes of the Docetaxel infusion. Not gonna lie, it was brutal to wear those for that entire time. My hands were hurting bad, the feet not as bad. Luckily I had to take a bathroom break and had to take them off for that and that gave me just enough break to get through the full 90 minutes.

During the cryotherapy I was able to cover up with my fuzzy blanket. Oh, I forgot to tell you, all during the cryotherapy, I was also being fed ice chips by my sweet hubby, to reduce the chance of getting mouth ulcers.

After the cryotherapy was done, I put on these great fuzzy socks that my mom got for me.

They felt sooo good!!! Here’s closer picture of them, they’re great!!

Meanwhile my son decided to join in solidarity with me (how I will likely be in a few weeks)

All in all it went very well. I didn’t have any side effects and was even able to run some errands today and go thrifting. Praise God!! I am praying that this symptom free time will continue or at least return by Monday so I can go to work. Thanks for all your support!!!

Showing support…

From time to time, I (Sheri’s mom) will post something. Today is one of those days. Sheri is getting her first chemo infusion. While her son, Ryan, couldn’t be there, he posted this photo on Facebook showing his support for his mom.

My husband and I are wearing our pink ribbon wrist bands to show our support.

I hope to be with Sheri in Colorado for her surgery and initial recovery. I know she has a wonderful support group between her husband and local friends. Please keep her in your thoughts and remember to help in any way you can.

Today’s labwork results

I just got a call from the oncologist’s nurse. Apparently my magnesium is a little low so they’re going to prescribe SlowMag for me. Also one of my liver enzymes is slightly elevated so I have to abstain from Tylenol (and Excedrin for my headaches) and alcohol until the liver enzymes come back up. What a ride this is going to be!!

Countdown to Chemo

Well, my first chemo infusion is in 2 days. Friday morning at 10:00 MST. Tomorrow morning I have to get labs drawn and I see my primary care practitioner. I got a book, Dear God, They Say It’s Cancer, and I’ve been reading it and journaling about the first days after I was diagnosed. I find it somewhat comforting to get those facts down on paper and journal about how I felt at that time, as best as I can remember, lol. Eventually I will “catch up” with where I am currently at and will continue to journal.

I’m pretty nervous about chemo and what side effects I will have. Honestly, I’m just plain scared. I am hoping to rest the rest of the day on Friday and Saturday as needed, Sunday too. And then be able to go to work on Monday. That way I will only miss one day of work per chemo cycle. I have read a lot of horror stories about chemo reactions but I have also read some from people who were able to do the chemo, rest a few days and then get back to regular activity, albeit slower than previously.

I think have prepared myself and the house as much as I think I can. I have stocked up on soup and fruit and will get popsicles this weekend when we go grocery shopping. I have all the anti-nausea meds that they prescribed. I have a bag with a blanket and small pillow, change of clothes, ear buds, phone charger, books and a chemo symptom tracker for the actual time I will be at chemo. I also have a set of cold mitts and booties to decrease the chance of getting peripheral neuropathy from the Docetaxel, the first chemo med that will be infused. I will also be drinking a Slurpee (if we can find a flavor I like on the way there, lol) or eating ice chips to cut down on the chance of mouth sores.

I will have a total of four medications. The regimen is called TCHP: Taxotere (or Doxetaxel), Carboplatin, Herceptin (Trastuzumab) and Perjeta (Pertuzumab). As I understand it, the Doxetaxel and Carboplatin are the actual traditional chemo and the Herceptin and Perjeta are for the HER2 positive portion of the tumors. The total infusion time will be about 2.5 hours. The Doxetaxel takes about 1 hour and the Carboplatin takes about 30 minutes. The Herceptin and Perjeta are going to be injections, as I recall. I’m not sure yet where the rest of the anticipated time goes, maybe to saline flushes and other sundry items. I will know soon enough I suppose.

The day after the chemo, I go in the morning to Penrose Hospital, very close to the house, to get an injection of a drug that helps to increase your production of white blood cells (WBC), particularly, the neutrophils. This will be my schedule for each cycle – Thursday morning: get labs drawn and see the doctor, Friday: chemo infusion and injection, Saturday: injection for WBC production. Then in 3 weeks, we do it all again. I will do this for 6 cycles. If all goes well and I tolerate the chemo well, my last day of chemo will be December 29.This will place my first surgery around the end of January to mid February.

I will update about the first chemo as soon as I feel up to it. As always, thanks so much for your support and your thoughts and prayers!!!

The scoop on surgery

I saw the surgeon on Friday, September 8. She said basically what we knew already, that I have to have a mastectomy. Even if the chemotherapy shrinks the tumors, they are so far apart that we wouldn’t be able to get a cosmetically pleasing effect from taking out only the tumors. Plus, if we only did a lumpectomy, we would have to do radiation afterwards, which would further change the look of the end result.

I am choosing to have reconstruction, which will take place 4-6 months after the mastectomy. They do this so that the first surgical site can heal appropriately before doing the reconstruction. As my surgeon said “We fix the cancer first, then do the reconstruction.” When they do the mastectomy, they will put in devices called expanders that will be used to stretch the remaining skin to accommodate the reconstruction.

Praise God I chose to sign up for short term disability in my benefit package this year in June, just a month before my diagnosis. This should cover some of my lost income from at least one of the surgeries. I am still trying to find out all the details about the coverage for the second surgery.

My fundraising Tupperware online party has been a huge success and I can’t thank those of you who have participated enough! Not only will the funds that Michelle is donating be a big help but we also get a bunch of Tupperware for our kitchen! If you are interested in Tupperware, please see my friend Michelle here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/6103469066358153

My mom sent me a Wool& dress for me to wear to chemotherapy since the neckline allows for access to my port and the Merino wool (not your mother’s wool!!) will keep me warm or cool, as needed. I wore it to church today and grabbed a pic of Kenn and I.

Labor Day weekend surprise visit

My son Ryan decided to surprise me with a visit form Kansas this past weekend. He showed up on the front porch Saturday morning. He said he had an appointment in Denver to get to so we chatted for a while and he headed out, letting me know he’d have all day Sunday to hang out with us. We had grocery shopping to do and other errands on Saturday anyways. Sunday morning he met us at church, then we went to Texas Roadhouse for lunch. We hung out at the house for a while (everyone napped) and then went to the Labor Day Lift Off Balloon Glow that night. Before we headed out, he showed me what his appointment in Denver had been for. He had gotten his first tattoo in honor of me!! I was so touched!!

Here are some photos from the Balloon glow ~

Here’s the sunset over Pikes Peak ~

and my son Ryan and I ~

Sunday Kenn and I went to Manitou Cliff Dwellings. Neither of us had been there yet, even after living here for 10+ years and 30+ years (me and him). Here’s a few pics form there ~

All in all, it was a great weekend!! Yes, that is Kenn there at the Cliff Dwellings. LOL.

I will post more after I see the surgical oncologist this Friday.

It’s not a weakness…

 

Moved to a new platform

 I have moved the blog to WordPress since people couldn't sign up to follow by email here.  The new address is:

https://fromthesaucer.com/

Thanks!!