Gotta keep on keepin' on.......

Cancer again...that's 3 times in 2 years. This time it’s not breast cancer, but a new one called squamous cell carcinoma. New cancer, same old fighting spirit! My blog is still named for one of many songs that kept me going the first time around. Driving home from an upsetting appointment, I turned on the radio just as this line from Steve Miller Band's Jet Airliner was playing: "I've got to keep on keepin' on"....so I did just that. And I'll do it again.

Sunday, December 03, 2006

Day 3 on the new drug....blah!

Remember Huey Lewis and the News? Well, I WANT A NEW DRUG! One that won't make me ache all over.....

I was doing great on Saturday, the day after my first Taxol treatment. I was peppy, feeling good. My dad and I went out for coffee in the morning, after stopping at the hospital for my shot of Neulasta (the white count booster I get the day after treatment, to bring my count up faster so I can get chemo every other week instead of waiting 2 weeks for my body to bring up the white count on its own....make sense?) At the coffee shop, I ran into my friend Maya and her husband Michael and had a nice chat with them. I was so proud that I was up and about, feeling good and looking "not too shabby".

My mom and I shopped all of yesterday afternoon. It was great to be out and also to make progress on my Christmas shopping. Several times, she said "Let's get you home" but I insisted we keep going. I wasn't sure when or if the Taxol would hit me, and I wanted to take advantage of my energy. And, I thought if I tired myself out enough I would most likely be able to sleep in spite of the steroids. (I did sleep well, by the way.)

After dinner I started feeling a little achey, first in my neck and then my chest around my port. I thought it was the port but it kept spreading. The backs of my arms were next. I thought that was because of the Neulasta shot but then I realized it was in BOTH arms. The shot goes in one arm.

At that point, when I complained to John yet another time about the pains (I had been giving him a play-by-play all evening, I'm sure driving him crazy because he was trying to watch the Nebraska football game), he suggested I take some Advil or Tylenol before I went to bed. So I did and fell asleep pretty quickly.

When I woke up, around 10:30 this morning, I was achey all over. My body felt heavy. And my eyes were watering, like fountains. I wasn't crying, really, it was weird.

Everyone else was awake and I could hear them running around downstairs, getting the girls ready for Sunday School. Meanwhile, I needed help to get out of bed, and I was hungry, and no one checked in on me! Boo hoo hoo! That's what I get for making a big deal about being fine and wanting to do things myself!

Eventually, I dragged myself downstairs and heated up some spaghetti. It was wonderful. That, a cup of tea, and a shower really brought me back to life this morning.

So there you have it. That's how I'm doing. I'm achey and a big whiner-baby (the girls' new term for each other), but I am feeling better as the day goes on.

If this is the pattern for the next treatment, I'll be prepared. I'll do all the things I need to do on Saturday and expect to be a slug on Sunday. I don't like it, but at least I won't be surprised. And on the bright side, I don't have the queasy stomach like with the other drug. Here's to a more exciting menu from now on! No more living on crackers....

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