Got back from chemo about 2 hours ago. It was #6 of 6 – the final one,Yay! I started the day flushed, as you can see in the first photo. Probably from the steroids, that’s normal for me. I didn’t sleep well last night so I laid down for a nap but just spent an hour tossing and turning. Hopefully I’ll sleep better tonight. There are a few more pictures from my session. Thank you!!
Saw the oncologist today. Everything is going well and is where it’s expected to be (white blood cells, hemoglobin, etc). I see them again on Jan 18 for follow up labs to make sure my levels are returning to normal. I had to change my plastic surgeon’s appointment to Jan 17 because it conflicted with another appointment. So, my upcoming appointments are:
I felt good enough to go to the Christmas Eve service.
Thank you to everyone for all the support you’ve shared during the last six months. It means more than you’ll ever know.
Went back to work today after a week off, the usual routine. I’m beginning to understand what it means that chemo is cumulative. Where I used to have a good weekend right after chemo and an okay weekend after the yuk week, those days are quickly becoming yuk days too. Today I am still weak and worn out. Not as bad as last week but much more so than after round 4 (this was round 5). Only one round left than hopefully a month or more of rest. Yay!!
I’m almost completely recovered from round 5 of chemo. Same side effects as usual: profound weakness and fatigue. I also had to run interference with the VA and the plastic surgeon.
The plastic surgeon whom my breast surgeon works with (the only 1 she works with) used to be in a group and was certified by the VA through the group but he hasn’t put in paperwork to become certified now that he has his own practice. The initial consultation, surgery, and first 3 post op visits are covered under the referral to my breast surgeon. After that we have to jump through some hoops if his certification hasn’t come through yet.
Please continue to pray that his certification will go through quickly and smoothly. Thank you!
I had chemo number 5 today but yesterday I saw the Nurse Practitioner for my labs, etc. My magnesium is still low, even on supplements so they added another bag of fluids today and added magnesium to it. Hopefully it will come back to normal once my last chemo is done. I also asked about muscle twitching I have been having, especially around the eyes and she said that was probably from fatigue and suggested a natural sleep aid for me. I tried it last night but I was busy doing some things during my “fall asleep window” and ended up being up all night. Oh well. Hopefully tonight will go better. It’s a melatonin sleep aid with 10 milligrams of melatonin, a fast acting one and an extended release one. Today chemo went fine, no side effects yet, expecting those Sunday afternoon or Monday. Of course, I am fatigued but who wouldn’t be, right? LOL.
Meanwhile, I spoke with the Office of Community Care at the VA, the plastic surgeon’s office and left a message at my breast surgeon’s office. We are trying to get the plastic surgeon approved through the VA. So far, they are approved on the referral for the breast surgeon but that only lasts until Feb. So, I have an appointment with the plastic surgeon on January 10th, my breast MRI on January 11 and my follow up with the breast surgeon on January 17th. The plastic surgeon’s office said they are going to try to get a rush on the surgery to get it in before the current referral expires. I called community Care to see if we can extend the current referral time and left a message with the breast surgeon’s office about how to accomplish that. I am hoping to get the referral dates extended because my mom wants to be here for the surgery and we were planning on February or March.
That’s all for now. Thanks for all your support!!
