Round 2 in da books!

Round 2 is done, and a week has passed.  It wasn't as bad as the first one honestly.  I had two days where I was very tired (Monday and Wednesday - I was fine Tuesday - go figure).  I did  not lose my sense of taste, which was both good and bad.  Good for the obvious, bad because it meant that everything still tasted good, and when I get sick and miserable, I eat.  I have some catch up work to do. 

I'm half way through this portion of the treatment.  I decided to sign up for our local 5k (literally less than 1/2 a mile from my house to the starting line) on May 14th which should be right after my last round of these drugs.  I'll walk it, but I'm looking forward to flipping off Lenny!  

The Prayers are working!

I went in for appointment with my Oncologist and she wanted to check out Lenny.  She said he's down 10-15%!!  And my bloodwork was spot on - so I recovered well.   

Hair loss happens at about 14 days, and I was losing handfuls of hair.  I decided I wanted to be the reason I lost my hair, so I chopped it all of (it's about 1/4 of an inch) and will be wearing wigs, hats, etc.  It was kind of freeing.  Showering was nothing.  So happy to be able to be in and out in 5 minutes and not have to worry about anything.  I wore the wig out for my first outing - need to do something with the bangs - not sure what.  But I did learn to just let the hair go and not fuss with it.  It looks pretty natural.  

The Fog Has Lifted

Yesterday was tough.  I was weak even taking the trash cans to the curb and they have wheels!!  I hate feeling like that!  But I slept very well last night and I'm wide awake and ready to go today!

One of the side effects of chemo is that it can make food taste different, and for the last two days coffee tasted like sawdust.  As I love my morning cup of joe, that was sad for me.  But today it tastes amazing.  Just like it's supposed to.  Seriously, if I have 2 days of feeling punky every two weeks, I'm perfectly fine with that.  I'll rest and let the chemo ninjas do their job on Lenny, and then when I'm feeling full of piss and vinegar, like I do right now, I'll get back to working out and eating well to keep my body in prime condition to help the chemo ninjas.  

This is definitely a journey, and I'm interested in seeing out the patterns develop.  

The odd thing is that there are definite perks to having cancer.  One is that you realize how loved you are.  I think we tend to go through life with blinders on, not paying attention to those around us, really.  When you go through this, you realize that so many people have your back in varied and incredibly wonderful ways.  I love that.  

There is a phrase on the breast cancer forums - "I'll be in your pocket" - meaning that whenever you're going through something scary, bad, sad, or just something that makes you nervous, I'll be thinking of you and will be "in your pocket" close to your heart, lending you my support.  I have a lot of pocket pals.  And if you ever need me to return that favor, I'm there.   

LOVE to you all!  

A New Experience

Well, today has brought a change in the way I taste things.  My mouth feels as if it has a film over it and everything tastes like sawdust.  I'm hungry, but nothing tastes good.  It's an interesting experience for someone who has never met a food she doesn't like.  

I've been tracking my calories on My Fitness Pal, mainly because I want to make sure I'm eating decently, but also because I have to keep up my calories.  I've done a 180.  It used to be that I had to track so I didn't overeat (and I still managed to do so anyway).  

I have to remember that this is a GOOD thing - it means chemo is working.  I just have to remember that once I'm through this and get my taste back, eating ALL things is not a good idea, no matter how tempting.  :p  

No real new news to report

I've discovered I'm one of the lucky ones when it comes to nausea.  I get some indigestion, but that's about it.  I'm not hungry (which is extremely unusual for me - I have never met a meal I couldn't eat), but I'm making myself eat.  I've been living on broccoli cheddar soup - Panera, Safeway and homemade - doesn't matter - I want it all.  And that's about the only thing I truly want. 

I did make the mistake of adding spice to some red beans and rice.  I'm the gal who can eat HOT!  I impressed a bunch of people in India when I ate a serrano pepper raw to stop them from making my food mild.  I figured a wee bit of Frank's would be nothing.  Ha!!  Yeah, that did not work.  Oh well, live and learn.  :)

I'm still doing well energy-wise.  But chemo is cumulative, so I'll see how I feel after a few rounds.  Plus I'm switching meds after 4 rounds, so I may react to that one 100% differently.  Again, we'll see.  But for now, I'm okay.  I still have my hair, but I'm told that I'll lose that around the time of my second dose.  Fun times.  I'm a bit vain about my hair, and thought about cold cap therapy, but I think I'd be more stressed about that then just losing the damned stuff and being done with it.  I have lots of hats sent by so many wonderful friends!  

So Far So Good!

So far so good!  I woke up at 4AM with a happy tummy and managed to talk myself into having symptoms.  It's funny how the brain operates at 4AM.  I woke up with a happy stomach, and convinced myself that I could not feel well, so I have to be sick, so I felt sick.  I finally told myself I was stupid, go back to sleep and I managed it.  

I managed a workout and a 1.5 mile dog walk.  So that was good.  Not too hungry, but I'm downing a protein shake.  We'll see how that sits.  I'm supposed to get the bulk of the symptoms tomorrow but as I'm on a dense dose regimen (more chemo than normal) I may feel it today.  We'll see.  Fingers crossed!  

I have a couple of cases of chemo hiccups, but those make me drink water, so that's okay.