Okay...so I have decided to go get my head shaved tomorrow. My hair hasn't started to fall out yet. However, I want to avoid the experience of finding clumps of hair on my pillow or having bunches of it come out in the shower. I've heard how traumatic it can be, especially for women, to start losing hair by the handful.
Just making the decision to shave my head has made me feel empowered. It's like I am choosing to shave my head, and not being forced to do it because my hair is falling out. It is also giving me a sense of relief that I will have one less thing to worry about when I get ready in the morning. I'm just crossing my fingers that I will have as pretty of a head as my mom did when she went through chemo.
Some of you might be wondering if I might be one of those people who defies the odds and doesn't lose her hair. Well, I have been assured by my oncologist and her nursing staff that this first round of chemo I am receiving will without question make my hair fall out. So I know I am not doing this all for not.
I have made an appointment at Shine, SCCA's salon, which has cosmotologists that provide the free service of shaving heads for people receiving the type of chemotherapy that attacks the hair follicles. They will also hopefully teach me some different scarf-tying techniques. Lord knows I will need the help!
As you know, my first chemo session was on Friday. The day was definitely a long one, but it went really smoothly. And it was so great having my big sister, Laurie, there for all the fun;) Here's how the day went: 9 a.m.- Physical therapy. 10:20 - blood draw. 11:30 - Appt. with nurse practictioner. 12 p.m -Lunch at Chandler's Cove on Lake Union (Never again! Right Laur?). 2 p.m. - Quick tour of the chemo infusion floor, which is basically when they show you where all the food is:). 2:15 p.m. - Receive IV premeds, 2:45 - chemo infusion begins. 5:30 - All done:)
The chemo infusion rooms at SCCA are called bays. I was in bay #36 and was quite impressed with the accommodations: a spacious room with an incredibly comfortable tempur-pedic bed, a nice flat screen TV, and a comfy recliner for my sis. Not all the rooms are like this one so I felt very lucky to have landed it. I also loved my chemo nurse, Michelle, and hope to get her again for some of my future infusions.
I felt fine at the end of the infusion and it really wasn't until I got home that I started to feel a little weird...kind of felt like I had a couple glasses of wine on board. Then before I went to bed that night, I started to feel a little nauseated, but not too bad (I didn't throw up! Yay!). I was able to manage the nausea with just one of the several prescription meds they sent home with me. Saturday morning, I felt like I had done a whole lot of partying the night before. And it was more of the same on Sunday and Monday. And today I'm feeling almost back to normal...just tired. However, I'm finding that if I force myself to keep active, walk etc. that definitely helps reduce my fatigue.
That's all for now...wish me luck on my head shave tomorrow:)
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Here we go!
So it's official! I have my first chemotherapy infusion this Friday, May 18. I'm not gonna lie. I am definitely nervous about how my body is going to react to this first dose. They say your first infusion typically gives you a pretty good indication as to how your body will react to the rest of the treatments. Nausea and fatigue are the two main issues I will have to deal with...The nausea I plan to stay on top of by taking the oral anti-nausea medication before I actually start feeling symptoms. And I plan to continue to get exercise daily in order to help reduce the fatigue. I have started a routine of doing a 45 minute brisk walk in the afternoon and then picking up Nicholas at his daycare on the way home. And I hope to keep that up as much as possible through my 20 weeks of chemo.
On Friday, I got a sneak peek of what to expect at the infusion thanks to Molly, my amazing friend and high school classmate. Molly also has breast cancer, and I spent time visiting with her at one of her last chemo sessions. Only two to go, Molly! Yay! Spending time in an SCCA infusion room with her has helped alleviate a lot of my anxiety about the whole chemo experience. What would I do without you, my friend?! Molly will be getting her breast surgery after she is done with chemo...so it has been wonderful for the two of us to get an idea of what to expect from what's to come. I only hope that I handle my chemo treatments (and all of the side effects that come with them) with as much grace and positivity as Molly.
So my big sister, Laurie, will be spending my first chemo day with me. And I fully expect us to have lots of shits and giggles. No pressure, Laur:)
I will keep you all posted on how the first chemo goes. I hope you are all having a wonderful Mother's Day weekend!!
On Friday, I got a sneak peek of what to expect at the infusion thanks to Molly, my amazing friend and high school classmate. Molly also has breast cancer, and I spent time visiting with her at one of her last chemo sessions. Only two to go, Molly! Yay! Spending time in an SCCA infusion room with her has helped alleviate a lot of my anxiety about the whole chemo experience. What would I do without you, my friend?! Molly will be getting her breast surgery after she is done with chemo...so it has been wonderful for the two of us to get an idea of what to expect from what's to come. I only hope that I handle my chemo treatments (and all of the side effects that come with them) with as much grace and positivity as Molly.
So my big sister, Laurie, will be spending my first chemo day with me. And I fully expect us to have lots of shits and giggles. No pressure, Laur:)
I will keep you all posted on how the first chemo goes. I hope you are all having a wonderful Mother's Day weekend!!
Friday, May 4, 2012
Another Day, Another IV (really!?!)
As many of you know, I am a bit of a needle phobe. Okay...so perhaps that is a slight understatement. Given that I have gone through childbirth, have had tons of major dental work, and just had major surgery, you would think that I would start to get less anxious about IVs, blood draws, shots, etc. But it seems that I still get uncomfortable whenever any sort of needle is involved.
And to my dismay, two out of three of my appointments today involved needles. My first appointment of the day was my three-week follow up with my plastic surgeon. During my surgery, my surgeon placed a tissue expander under the pectoral muscle beneath each breast. If you are thinking ouch, your instincts are right on. The purpose of the expanders is to gradually expand the tissue in preparation for the reconstructive surgery down the road. So every couple weeks, saline solution is injected into the expanders. Since today was the first time I was actually awake for them to inject fluid into the expanders (they added 120 ccs to each breast during my surgery), I was pretty nervous to have it done. But I can honestly say...it was a piece of cake. They pumped in 60 ccs of fluid in each breast, and I didn't feel anything except a little bit of pressure.
My second appointment of the day was needle-free. Yay! This was the appt. with my oncologist. We talked about the different types of chemotherapy drugs I will be getting as well as each of their lovely side effects. Timing wise, it's looking like my port will be placed late next week and then chemo will most likely start on Friday, May 18. My chemo treatments will be given over a period of about 20 weeks. My first round will be given every two weeks for 8 weeks and then the second will be given every week for 12 weeks.
My last appointment of the day was the MUGA heart test, which checks to make sure your heart is good and ready for chemo. I naively thought this would be a simple ultrasound of my heart. But unfortunately, like all of those other scans I've had since my diagnosis (CT/bone/MRI), I had to get yet another IV. Even though it made me a little squeamish, I was pretty fascinated by what they do for this test. They basically draw your blood, add radioactive markers to the blood and then they hook you up to a EKG machine, give you back your radioactive blood and take pictures of how your heart is pumping your blood. George, the tech who administered the test, made me feel much more comfortable by explaining things as he went. His sense of humor and the palm tree lights I got look at on the ceiling didn't hurt either:)
Okay...now that I have probably totally grossed many of you out, I thought I would end this post with some of the words from a couple of cards I received that I got a total kick out of.
So the first one was from my friend, Laura. And it said "Everything happens for a reason. Usually it's because life sucks." Totally made me laugh. Thanks Laura!
And the other I just received today from my friend, Caitlin. It has a picture of a yummy looking chocolate chip cookie on it and gives a four-part definition to the words Tough Cookie. 1. Someone with just the right mix of sweetness and strength. 2. One who doesn't crumble under pressure. 3. A fighter who's too busy kicking butt to sit down and cry, but knows it's okay to do both. 4. A person who doesn't always ask for support, but has lots of friends who do anything to help. This one made me smile. Thanks Caitlin!
Signing off for now. Have a wonderful weekend everyone!!
And to my dismay, two out of three of my appointments today involved needles. My first appointment of the day was my three-week follow up with my plastic surgeon. During my surgery, my surgeon placed a tissue expander under the pectoral muscle beneath each breast. If you are thinking ouch, your instincts are right on. The purpose of the expanders is to gradually expand the tissue in preparation for the reconstructive surgery down the road. So every couple weeks, saline solution is injected into the expanders. Since today was the first time I was actually awake for them to inject fluid into the expanders (they added 120 ccs to each breast during my surgery), I was pretty nervous to have it done. But I can honestly say...it was a piece of cake. They pumped in 60 ccs of fluid in each breast, and I didn't feel anything except a little bit of pressure.
My second appointment of the day was needle-free. Yay! This was the appt. with my oncologist. We talked about the different types of chemotherapy drugs I will be getting as well as each of their lovely side effects. Timing wise, it's looking like my port will be placed late next week and then chemo will most likely start on Friday, May 18. My chemo treatments will be given over a period of about 20 weeks. My first round will be given every two weeks for 8 weeks and then the second will be given every week for 12 weeks.
My last appointment of the day was the MUGA heart test, which checks to make sure your heart is good and ready for chemo. I naively thought this would be a simple ultrasound of my heart. But unfortunately, like all of those other scans I've had since my diagnosis (CT/bone/MRI), I had to get yet another IV. Even though it made me a little squeamish, I was pretty fascinated by what they do for this test. They basically draw your blood, add radioactive markers to the blood and then they hook you up to a EKG machine, give you back your radioactive blood and take pictures of how your heart is pumping your blood. George, the tech who administered the test, made me feel much more comfortable by explaining things as he went. His sense of humor and the palm tree lights I got look at on the ceiling didn't hurt either:)
Okay...now that I have probably totally grossed many of you out, I thought I would end this post with some of the words from a couple of cards I received that I got a total kick out of.
So the first one was from my friend, Laura. And it said "Everything happens for a reason. Usually it's because life sucks." Totally made me laugh. Thanks Laura!
And the other I just received today from my friend, Caitlin. It has a picture of a yummy looking chocolate chip cookie on it and gives a four-part definition to the words Tough Cookie. 1. Someone with just the right mix of sweetness and strength. 2. One who doesn't crumble under pressure. 3. A fighter who's too busy kicking butt to sit down and cry, but knows it's okay to do both. 4. A person who doesn't always ask for support, but has lots of friends who do anything to help. This one made me smile. Thanks Caitlin!
Signing off for now. Have a wonderful weekend everyone!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)