September 14, 2009

• Take that, cycle 2!

  Posted by Stephanie 9:20pm CST from the apartment Houston, TX

  Well, I am once again through the nasty part of cycle 2, and I'm quite happy about that. My visit home did a lot to boost me in preparation for the second half of this cycle. While I was home, I got to have breakfast/lunch out with several friends, relax all weekend with the Samster, and help get some stuff done around the house. I hate that I'm not there to give Sammy a hand 99% of the time right now. During marching season, being a band director becomes waaay more than a full-time job (especially since Sammy has no assistant director), and trying to tackle that, community band, church activities, essential house things like cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc., building in a little down-time to avoid insanity, oh, and be emotionally drained by the fact that your wife is having cancer treatment 1100 miles away......well, as you can imagine, it's a lot to take on. I think he's a super-hero for managing it all. I look forward to a time when I can be there all the time to help keep things rolling.

  So anyway, mom and I came back to Houston and I had chemo on Labor Day, then the followup Neulasta shot the next evening. I started feeling the achiness from the Neulasta and the effects from the chemo late Wednesday into Thursday, but it was bearable. Friday was much rougher. This time around, I definitely felt more of the ‘profound fatigue’ that my medical team said I’d have. Just stretching out in the recliner and flexing my foot caused a horrid, burning, deep ache to spread through my whole body. I felt like I’d run five marathons back to back. Thankfully, start to finish, the feeling bad only lasted three or four days, and by Saturday afternoon, I felt well enough to venture out of the apartment. That was the first time all week I’d been out of the apartment, aside from going to the hospital for chemo or bloodwork. I was starting to go stir crazy. Mom and I tried to go browsing in some stores near the apartment, but I still really couldn’t be on my feet for more than a half hour, so we settled for that and a fabulous Greek dinner out.

  My immune system is behaving itself thus far, though platelets are low, as expected. My platelets actually went up between Day 1 and Day 8, which was very unexpected. In the first cycle, they dropped by 20 or so during that first week, but this time, they went from the 130s up into the 170s. That means I have a little extra wiggle room, which will hopefully prevent a transfusion. Once I had the infusion on Day 8, they started dropping quickly—down 70 in the first two days, 50 over the next two, and today they were all the way down to 34. Needless to say, mom won’t let me help by chopping anything for lunch or dinner.

  Normally, I’d have nothing done this coming third week of the cycle, and then I’d be due at the end of it for a CT scan and a visit with Dr. Benjamin to determine if things are indeed working. However, we’re actually doing the scanning and doctor’s appointment early during this third week, so that if things are looking good, we can maybe set things in motion for some of my treatment to be done at home. I have bloodwork and a chest x-ray tomorrow, then a chest and abdominal CT early Tuesday morning, with the Dr. B appointment later that same day. A more optimal time for the CT scan would certainly be at the end of the cycle, to give the chemo another week to do it’s thing, but Dr. Benjamin assured me this would still give us the answers we seek.

  On a totally random sidenote, today was the first sunny day we've had in a week. I was almost blinded by it when I walked outside. It’s done nothing but rain all week—a welcome sight to this drought-stricken area of Texas. I hear it’s been lovely weather back home. I really love fall—the changing leaves, cooler evenings, comfort food, etc. Not too much “fall” down here in Houston. I’ll miss that if I’m still down here.

  Lots of important answers and decisions coming in the next couple of days. I will be back on here more often to keep the updates coming. Nighty night all.

  --Steph

  • 12:54 am
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