For Saturday 03/12/11

Yesterday was not that bad. I took the nausea meds as prescribed and these seemed to take care of any symptoms. I was able to play in my sewing studio for a couple of hours in the afternoon before getting really tired and weak. I was able to eat, which is always a good thing. It seems that the evening times are more difficult. I guess my energy level peaks in the afternoon and loses steam in the evening. I try to watch fun movies or read a fun book to keep my mind off of the discomfort. Shannon introduced me to Angry Birds, a game on my phone, so I’ll play that as an added distraction.

Tomorrow I go for my finial post op visit with the doctor at UCI.

That’s about all to report for now.

Hugs,

Dar

Friday 03/11/11

Chemo was uneventful today. Yeah! Arrived at 8:30 and left about 3:30. My hemoglobin went up from 8.3 to 8.4 so at least it is going up. I have to go to the outpatient unit of the hospital on Monday to do a type and cross match and then Lindsay is taking me down to UCI for my final post op visit with the surgeon. On Tuesday, Betty is taking me to the outpatient unit so I can have 2 units of a blood transfusion. I guess it takes 3-4 hours per unit so it will be another long day. But Lindsay is working that day so she can come down from the ICU and visit with me throughout the day. She said I will feel a whole lot better after the transfusion. I feel pretty good right now. My potassium was a bit low so Lindsay has ordered me to eat a banana a day. J My albumin was up to 3.4 so it has almost doubled. It is still under the “normal” parameters but as long as I keep the protein intake up I should be ok. Oh! And the CA125 was 102! Normal is under 35 but when I was first diagnosed it was 204 and after surgery it was 143. So it is going in the right direction.

That’s about all for now. Hugs to everyone!

Dar

Thursday 03/10/11

I understand now why I’ve been so tired. Lindsay took me to the oncologist’s office for the Wed blood tests prior to the Friday chemo and my hemoglobin was down to 8.3. It’s supposed to be above 12. So I’m anemic. After the chemo on Friday I will probably have to have a blood transfusion next week. Yesterday I was given a shot of Procrit, which is supposed to stimulate the growth of red blood cells. If it does its job, I might not have to have as many blood transfusions.

If the chemo is killing off the red blood cells it means it is also killing off the cancer cells so I need to be grateful that it is working and take these setbacks as they come.

The schedule goes…on the Wed before the Fri chemo I have blood tests…Fri is chemo…the next Fri I have blood tests…the next Fri I have blood tests…the next Wed I have blood tests…and then Fri I have chemo. Chemo is every 3 weeks with blood tests every week.

I went to my quilt guild meeting on Tuesday night. Betty picked me up and we had dinner with some of the members and the speaker. I was really tired after the meeting ended at 9pm but I was so glad to see so many wonderful friends.

Today I will get my stuff together for tomorrow. I have to be at the oncologist’s office at 8:30am and will probably not be done until 3 or 4 in the afternoon. So I need to bring things to do, my quilt from my friendship group, and snacks and drinks for the day. Lindsay will drop me off and then come back and pick me up. Today I also need to hem a pair of pants for Shannon and if I feel up to it I may try to work in my sewing studio. Wes came over yesterday and spent the night. He will be leaving this morning to go back down to Long Beach. He said he will be back on Sunday.

On Monday, Lindsay will be taking me back down to UCI for a final post op check-up with the surgeon. Tomorrow is 7 weeks since the surgery.

Hugs to all of you!

Dar

Sunday 03/06/11

Friday after I posted I really started to go stir crazy. I had been housebound for almost a week. I called Lindsay and asked her to come over. I was so tired of being alone and I finally understood the meaning of being bored. So she came and picked me up. It felt so good to be out of the house and in the beautiful sunshine. We went to Target for about an hour and a half. I had to sit down three times to rest, but it was good for me to be out. We went to Lindsay’s house and while she went to pick up Taylor from school, I sat outside and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Taylor had an after school function so Lindsay came back by herself. We went into the house and just talked. We left her house around 4 and stopped at the pharmacy to pick up an rx and then home. Shannon was home at 5:30. It is so great to have him home that early. At his other job he wouldn’t get home until around 7:30. Now he leaves an hour later in the morning and gets home 2 hours earlier at night. Friday ended up being a really good day.

Yesterday was an even better day! I drove for the first time in a couple of months. Shannon and I went to lunch and I almost finished the whole meal. Then we went to a quilting store in Apple Valley so I could get some light fabric for the mystery quilt my quilt guild is doing, and then we went through the car wash. By the time we got home I was really tired but excited.  I now feel confident to drive by myself. It gives me a huge sense of independence. Last night I ate almost a full serving of spaghetti and some salad. It feels so good to get hungry and then actually be able to eat a decent size meal.

Wes is supposed to be here today to take care of cat chores and a few other things this morning. Shannon and I may go out later this afternoon (I’ll drive J) to the store to get a few things.

Hugs to all of you!

Dar

Friday 03/04/11

Today is 6 weeks since the surgery. I am still a bit sore but I am moving around with no problems. Still feel weak and I get tired quickly. But yesterday I did two loads of laundry, emptied and filled the dishwasher, worked on my dissertation research, looked through my stash for fabric to start the Pine Needles Mystery Quilt, cut some fabric and then decided against the combinations, and made spaghetti for dinner. That was probably the most productive day I have had thus far. I do something and then need to sit down and rest, go to the next thing…sit down and rest. I know the more I do, the more I’ll be able to do. I have two more loads of laundry to do today and hope to get into my sewing studio for a while this afternoon.

Next Wednesday I go to the oncologist to do blood work and then next Friday will be my 2^nd Chemo treatment (with new drugs).

I continue to feel your encouragement, support, and love. I am so grateful to have your thoughts and prayers.

Hugs,

Dar

Thursday 03/03/11

Not much to write about. Some days are better than others but mostly every day I feel better. I’m concentrating on eating. I don’t want to lose any more weight. I also have more energy when I eat enough. But that continues to be a challenge.

That’s about all for now.

Hugs,

Dar

Saturday 02/26/11

After dealing with that hacking dry cough for several months, the answer seems to have appeared in a humidifier. Since having that running in the bedroom the past couple of nights, the cough has all but disappeared. One more symptom gone. Yeah!

Now I need to work on the eating again. Yesterday I hardly ate anything. Nothing sounded good and as hard as Shannon tried to tempt me with a variety of foods, I just couldn’t seem to get much down. When we were out doing errands we stopped at IHOP as my usual favorite is Pigs in a Blanket. I was able to eat one but then I was done. We brought the rest home and although I tried to eat another one last night, I could only get down half. Looks like I’m going to have to start taking the nausea medicine so I can have an appetite. According to the scale at the doctor’s office yesterday, I have lost another 5lbs.

Going to just hunker down and watch the snow today. It feels good to be relatively pain and symptom free.

Hugs to all,

Dar