Taxol 25% complete

Yesterday I had Taxol chemo dose 3 of the 12.  The only pain with the treatment is when they access and de-access the port.  I have a doorbell looking disk  about the diameter of a nickel that was surgically placed under my skin, just below my right collar bone.  It makes access to my veins easier.  Everyone in the room has to wear a mask during these processes, to keep things sanitary.  I use a topical ointment that is supposed to deaden it, but it still hurts as they place a rather large, deep needle into the surface of the port, using lots of pressure.  Besides that, nothing else hurts.  They take blood to the lab each time, and we have to wait an hour for those results before they can start treatment.  It's a good time to read and write.  After that, they give premeds, which soak in for 30 minutes, and then the chemo, which drips in for about 1 1/2 hours.  The part I like least is the premed Benadryl, which is new with this phase.  It's to prevent allergic reactions.  It takes affect almost immediately.  They say it makes you feel drunk.  I've never had alcohol, so never been drunk, but it's an awful feeling.  My limbs immediately feel heavy, my entire body is very tired and groggy.  It's hard to talk.  It feels like every little movement takes a great deal of effort, so I just lay there and half sleep and maybe total sleep too.  I wake up when they  come in the room and tell me what they are adding next, but that's about it.  Thankfully, I don't have to drive home or worry about anything else for the rest of the day.  I come home and sleep it off.  After about 5 hours at home, it wears off and I feel back to normal.  There's no nausea with this chemo, as long as I keep some food on my stomach.

Our church family is taking good care of us.  They started a "meal train" to spoil us with dinner every chemo Monday (mealtrain.com), which is a free online service where you can set up a meal calendar, email a group, and people sign up for a day to bring dinner.  Within 12 hours of the email, every chemo Monday was filled.  We are feeling the love and feel very thankful for their kindness.

My white blood cell counts have been too low for all of the treatments but 2, but close enough to give the treatment.  It's disappointing that the philosophy, at least with this medical network/group, seems to be pretty much limited to medication with no teaching/training about nutrition to aid my body in restoring its immune system--besides things to avoid because they might carry germs (mostly food handling precautions).  I've been reading and learning more about foods and practices that can aid in building white blood cells, so I'm hoping these might boost my immune system so I won't have to postpone treatment for any weeks or stay vulnerable to catching an illness.  (If your counts are too low for treatment, they send you home and give your body another week to build white blood cells, and if needed they can add medication to boost it.)

I missed the "before school photo" as I have for probably the past 8 first days for her, so this is what I took when she got off the bus.  Tenth grade, my baby!

These past two weeks have been much better than the Phase I chemo treatment.  They were also the strongest weeks I'll have for a while, since the weekly treatments compound over time, without much time for my body to rebuild.  On Tuesday, after my first Taxol treatment, I was scrubbing walls, baseboards, mopping (not moping), and all kinds of other neglected projects.  (There's a steroid in the chemo recipe that gives an energy boost that I can feel for Tuesday and Wednesday.  As the week progresses, I have to add in some off-my-feet times during the day.)  It was the day before school started for Courtney.  Courtney and Scott Jr. had doctor checkups that week, Heath had his wisdom teeth removed, we sanded and refinished some wood chairs, and prepared the bonus room for seminary, where an early-morning bible study class is held for high school youth every school morning at 6:00 a.m.  It is a blessing that Courtney can walk down the hall and we don't need to drive her.  We unlock the door front door, and the teachers do the rest!

The second Taxol week, I was able to take a road trip with Scott to Detroit from Tuesday morning until Thursday night, squeezing in a 29th wedding anniversary celebration along with work.  It was a nice get-away while Heath was still home to be our driver since Scott Jr. started his college classes.  While Scott was at work, I spent time with our close friends, the Holmes.  We met about 24 years ago in Dallas, when the boys were 2 and 3, and their daughter Allison was 2, with Ashley's birth soon after.  We quickly became close friends and it's been a life-long friendship.  Over the years, we have lived in the same city at the same time 5 different times, in 3 different states, and recently they've been only 4 hours away for the past 2 years, where Scott's been working a few days most weeks for the past 17 months.  So it's been fun keeping up the friendship.  

The Holmes Family, at Allison's wedding in Detroit.

The Holmes have been serving as mission presidents for our church in Detroit.  They watch over 100+ missionaries for three years.  Their 11 year-old and 14 year-old are with them.  The mission president can't leave the mission boundaries during his service, so they have had 2 daughters married in the Detroit Temple, sent a son off on a mission, and will soon meet their first grandchild that was born in July when Ashley brings him to Detroit.  They are an amazing family.  It was fun watching their lives of service.

Sweater party & Cody Cody Simpson, her latest music crush.

Friday, we celebrated Courtney's 15th birthday.  She is so much fun and such a delight. We laugh a lot.  She loves collecting vintage (some call them ugly) sweaters, and had her friends and family wear sweaters for her party (yes, in August--she cranked the AC up).  She hopes to get her learners driving permit soon.

This week, we are finishing up preparations before Heath leaves for BYU-Idaho on Friday.  He and Scott have a road trip planned to make memories along the way.  Their plans include Nauvoo, Illinois, where they will visit some church history sites, Bad Lands National Park, Mount Rushmore, and Yellow Stone National Park.  No camping, of course.  Heath moves into his apartment Thursday morning.  I'm so glad I was able to visit the campus with him in May, since chemo prevents me from joining in on this trip.  Heath will be greatly missed here at home.  I'm excited for his new adventure...there's Skype, and Christmas is just around the corner!

This year, the seminary class is studying the New Testament.  This week, they are learning about Christ's birth.  It's been fun experiencing a mini Christmas in August.  Two of my favorite people to read and think about in the events surrounding Christ's birth are Mary and Simeon.  

I love Luke 1:46-55 where Mary shares her faith and testimony.  Everywhere else, the scriptures talk about Mary watching, pondering, and keeping things in her heart.  But this is the one place where she shares her faith and knowledge of spiritual things, as a teenager.  Mary the Mother of Jesus bible story video is 4 minutes long.  It's powerful in learning more about this amazing woman.  

Simeon is another person I admire in the events surrounding Christ's birth.  He had been told by the spirit that before he died, he would see his Savior.  He was an old man, but full of faith in this promise.  He was prompted by the Holy Spirit to be at the temple on the same day that  Mary and Joseph presented Christ at the Temple.  I admire his life and preparation, that he followed the promptings of the spirit and was in the right place at the right time.  

Simeon gives us all an example of how to live so we are prepared to receive and then heed promptings so we can experience the spiritual events that God has in store of each of us in our lives.  I'm thankful for the earthly angels in my life that follow promptings of the spirit in my behalf, blessing my family through their love and kindness.   

  

Taxol & Time Usage

Today was my first chemo treatment with Taxol, which will be my new adventure for 11 more Mondays, finishing up just before Halloween.  Scott and I were very anxious about starting a new treatment, having read about some of the extreme side effects and allergic reactions.  Thankfully, it went well and with no extreme side effects so far (it has only been 8 hours since leaving the cancer center, but they said extreme reactions would have happened while the chemo was being given.)  My blood counts were again below their preferred level, but close enough to still do the chemo (sadly, the woman next to me had to go home and wait a week because her counts were too low--but this was after the pre-meds were given, so she had to sleep away the day WITHOUT getting her treatment). The nurse puts the meds in gradually with pauses to watch for allergic reactions, having all of the supplies needed in case I had a reaction.  The pre-meds included a high dose of Benadryl, which almost immediately made me very drowsy.

Taxol's side effects can vary, but most common are tingly sensations or numbness in the fingertips and toes.  If it gets to a point where I can't do buttons, I'm to let them know and they can adjust the dose.  Another common side effect is sore bones.  I can take Advil or Tylenol to help with this, as long as I take my temperature beforehand, and let it wear off for a few yours to make sure I'm not masking any fevers.

We returned home around 1:00 p.m.  I immediately went to bed and slept solid until 4:00 p.m.  My friend Cynde brought a wonderful dinner at 5:00, which was such a blessing, not needing to worry about any of that.  I have not felt nauseous yet, and have not taken any anti-nausea drugs (but the pre-meds included Zofran, which should be worn off by now, so we'll see how it goes).  I had an appetite and loved eating a healthy dinner!  With the previous phase, I would have no appetite for at least 4 days, so this is encouraging!!  I'm also excited that I'm able to be awake for a while to update this blog and accomplish a few more things.  Things are looking up!!! I'm stoked!  I've now learned that Mondays are a day to block out the calendar for nothing but chemo and sleeping.  After that, I'm hoping my week can be pretty normal, but I'll know a lot more once the chemo actually kicks in and starts doing it's work, which should start happening Wednesday or Thursday, with a cumulative effect as these 12 weeks go by.

Amazing sand sculpture made by a group from Bloomington.

On a different note, I am very thankful for the blessings the Lord has given me.  I have been able to serve in my volunteer church work, without missing any major events. This past weekend was our annual Beach Dance, held at the Midwest Sports Complex, where Tim donates use of his amazing beach volleyball courts.  Five stakes (groups of 8-10 congregations per stake) join in on this dance, including the 3 Indianapolis Stakes, Bloomington Stake, and Muncie Stake, with some groups traveling more than 1 1/2 hours for the event.  There were probably between 350 and 400 youth in attendance.  The nets are removed from 4 courts, leaving 4 courts remaining for sand volleyball.  There are corn hole games (an Indiana game I've learned about since moving here--a bean bag toss sort of game) in the grassy areas, and plenty of space for playing in the sand, along with plenty of room for dancing.  The dance was Saturday night, at the end of Phase 1 of treatments, so my blood counts and energy were close to the lowest level of all of chemo (the lowest was 6 days earlier).  I rested most of the morning to save up energy for the evening.  We were the dance hosts, and I was blessed with a huge extra dose of energy that I know was not of my own doing.  I was able to be on my feet for the 3 hour dance, visit with youth, group dance with my camp girls, re-stock refreshments, and dance a few dances with my wonderful husband (who was our full time water-boy, constantly refilling four 5 gallon containers with lemonade, fruit punch, and water during the entire night).  We are blessed from above when we give our all (even when our all is small) to serve others.  I'm again reminded of a phrase that has become one of my favorites:  "Grace shall be, as your day."  I know that we are given the extra power that we need from our Savior as we do our best to be instruments in His hands.  My dad left us with some advice that he lived by:  "You're wasting the Lord's time, and you're wasting your time if you don't do something every day to serve someone else."  I'm so thankful for his example.  I'm thankful that through this cancer adventure I've been blessed with needed energy to serve when I'm able to and/or when I need to.  I'm also thankful for all of the wonderful examples I'm surrounded by.  I'm thankful for my Savior and the enabling power he gives us through his atonement and his constant watchful care over us.

Back to School & Phase II

I’m thrilled to report that Phase I of this fight is behind us!!  I wasn’t as worn down at the end of round 4 of chemo as I’d expected.  The fatigue gradually increased, but not as severely as I had anticipated.  We met with another surgeon to learn more about our options and now have our plan in place.  A week from today, Monday, August 13, I’ll start Phase 2 of this adventure, 12 rounds of Taxol, given every Monday, ending October 29^th.  Scott can drive and work from the room.  Following Taxol, we wait 3 weeks, and then start Phase 3--surgery, probably on the Monday before Thanksgiving.  Surgery will consist of a lumpectomy (removing what remains of the shrunken cancer and enough surrounding tissue for clear margins), as well as removal of the lymph nodes associated with it.  They say recovery will be from 10-14 days.  My mom is coming into town for surgery, Thanksgiving, and recovery.  Three to four weeks after surgery, I’ll start Phase 4--radiation, 5 days a week for 6 weeks.   I’ll have family in town to help throughout the holiday treatments.  After that, team Fishers 1^st ward (my local church congregation) will step in to help with rides and other needs.  Phase 5 consists of drugs taken for several years into the future, which will block the hormones that feed my type of cancer. 

Looking at the entire process, it is still a bit over-whelming to see how much is still ahead, but taking one day at a time works really well.  The previous 12 weeks flew by.    

It’s been an amazing summer.  I feel so blessed to have enjoyed most of the things I’d looked forward to this summer.  The only big things I missed were two weddings—Jared’s in Texas, and Brett’s in Louisiana, due to plane trips and the risk of germ exposure.   Our family reunion, youth conference, girls camp, and the Color Run were events that provided a lot of memories. 

The Color Run was July 28^th in downtown Indy.  The Indy Star said there were about 10 thousand runners.  Maybe not the best germ avoidance location, but it was out-doors, and the crowd dispersed quickly as the race started.  Garrett drove 10 hours to join us for the race.  It was so fun having him for the weekend.  For the race, runners wear white clothing.  At each “K” of the 5K race, volunteers douse runners with a different powdered color.  At the end, runners are covered with 5 different colors.  At the finishing area, there’s a big field, and every 10 minutes or so, they have a count-down where everyone throws their packets of color, adding more color to the rainbows runners are already wearing.  It was a wholesome, family friendly event.  There were lots of strollers and wagons, kids of all ages with their parents, and even more young, fun, high school and college age kids (including some trapped in older bodies like me!).  It was a fun morning.

The summer is winding down.  Kirsten & Weston are returning to school today.  Heath leaves for school at the end of this month.  Scott Jr. starts classes on the 21st, and Courtney starts her sophomore year of high school on the 15^th.  My special forces team is shrinking!  It was such a blessing having a house full this summer.  Everyone has helped keep the house clean and the laundry running.  Besides preparing wonderful meals, Kirsten took on the role of personal trainer.  Every weekday morning at 6:45, she was ready to drag me on a run.  During TV commercials, she’d say, “On your feet everyone!” and lead us through some type of exercise during the break.  Commercials will never be the same at our house!  Courtney planted a garden and has kept us provided with tomatoes, sweet basil, carrots, and a few other herbs and vegetables.  Heath is our home organization pro—cleaning out the garage, the cubbies, and the pantry.  These areas have never looked better!  Scott Jr. has been our full time landscape manager.  He’s kept the flowerbeds weed free, the bushes nicely trimmed, and the grass mowed.  It’s been wonderful having 3 extra drivers!  They’ve been great!  I’ve only been to the grocery store probably 3 times this entire summer!        

I’m so thankful for my Savior and His loving, watchful care.  I’ve experienced miracles that have allowed me to participate in things that were important to me.  Two different times I started to come down with a fever that would have prevented my participation in events, and both times I was blessed with the fever entirely disappearing.  Many prayers and pleadings have been answered.  My heart is full of gratitude for the loving watchful care of my Savior and for the kind, loving words of support and encouragement from so many friends and family members.  Thank you for being a part of this journey!