So I got to spend 4 days with my dear aunt and uncle - they drove from San Francisco to Portland just to hang out with us. Wonderful!!
On Thursday, they returned to the bay area, Then the CT scan was done, then Thursday evening my 2 youngest kids, and 2 of their friends all flew to Portland. Bliss!!
Friday - yesterday, the kids saw the infusion room, and they felt a lot better about where and how I was getting treatment. Friendly, efficient, compassionate nurses with a sense of humor. Bright, big windows, with an awesome view of sun setting on a snow covered Mt. Hood, with that delicate pink color of this time of day and this time of light.
Oh, and the CT scan showed NO new lesions, and a 25% or so decrease in volume of the liver mass. Looking like two more rounds of chemo, then maybe liver surgery in late January. Very very good news.
My eldest kiddo is gonna be here 12/27, so everyone but her hubbie, D, will here be together. Wish he could come, but I understand he has got other family members that need his presence this season.
Hope you are all enjoying this holiday season - I am being so blessed, it is ridiculous. God remains steadfastly in love with us. As I am learning, it is the presence, not the presents of loved ones that brings the joy.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Monday, December 13, 2010
Finally back to writing
Hello:
The last 3 weeks have been more challenging than in the past. I am finishing up the 4th round of chemo, then Thursday a CT of most of my body, then more chemo starting Friday. and maybe a decision about whether i need surgery for the liver mass.
The frustrating change was adding neulasta - which increases the kind of white blood cells that fight bacterial infections - it retails for $6000.00 per shot, every two weeks. Whew! And it makes me really tired and crabby and feeling like I have a bacterial infection for about 5-10 days....
But another thing that is interesting. There is like NO sunlight here most of December - they call any sightings "sun breaks" - and I was getting pretty disheartened. So I tried a therapeutic light for seasonal affective disorder. Not only did my mood improve, but so did energy, and the neurocognitive testing, the results of which had been low and stable over 3 weeks, shot up by 10 points the first day, 15 points the first week of light therapy. (So if I use this daily for 5 weeks, I'll be smart?) Gotta see if there is any cognitive data for using light therapy.
Went to Yoga today, and realized that there is ototoxicity from at least one of the meds. The teacher, who has a wonderful British accent, kept telling us to roll up in a fecal ball to stretch. Sounds gross to me, but I am new to yoga. Finally I asked her - she mean "fetal ball" all this time.
Hope your are having a great time this holiday season. And taking time to give yourself and those you love your presence, not just presents.
The last 3 weeks have been more challenging than in the past. I am finishing up the 4th round of chemo, then Thursday a CT of most of my body, then more chemo starting Friday. and maybe a decision about whether i need surgery for the liver mass.
The frustrating change was adding neulasta - which increases the kind of white blood cells that fight bacterial infections - it retails for $6000.00 per shot, every two weeks. Whew! And it makes me really tired and crabby and feeling like I have a bacterial infection for about 5-10 days....
But another thing that is interesting. There is like NO sunlight here most of December - they call any sightings "sun breaks" - and I was getting pretty disheartened. So I tried a therapeutic light for seasonal affective disorder. Not only did my mood improve, but so did energy, and the neurocognitive testing, the results of which had been low and stable over 3 weeks, shot up by 10 points the first day, 15 points the first week of light therapy. (So if I use this daily for 5 weeks, I'll be smart?) Gotta see if there is any cognitive data for using light therapy.
Went to Yoga today, and realized that there is ototoxicity from at least one of the meds. The teacher, who has a wonderful British accent, kept telling us to roll up in a fecal ball to stretch. Sounds gross to me, but I am new to yoga. Finally I asked her - she mean "fetal ball" all this time.
Hope your are having a great time this holiday season. And taking time to give yourself and those you love your presence, not just presents.
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