Reflections and Update

I can’t believe June is almost over. With that said, I am excited it is because that means I have completed my four required rounds of the red devil and Cytoxan chemo regimen. They will not be missed in the least. I am currently working through day 5 of this round and will be more energetic by Sunday. This round has been pretty easy as the others. I did think I was going to have death by heartburn on Wednesday, but I made it. Just low energy levels for the next couple days. I am going to get fluids at the hospital today, so that should help. A girl can only drink so much water.

Next steps will be to start the second regimen of chemo on a drug called Taxol. I will get this weekly starting July 9. This is supposed to be a walk in the park compared to the last drugs. Bring it on. The main side effects will be some fatigue and potential for neuropathy, numbness in hands and feet. I hear I could lose some nails too. To combat this, I will be doing ice baths on my hands and feet during chemo. The numbness could be permanent, so we will monitor closely. I did meet my new dr at Duke last week. She was great and I am happy that the clinic is very similar to what I am used to. Interestingly, she was of the opinion that I was treated pretty aggressively for my cancer. She said she would have done chemo just not the red devil. I was a little mixed on hearing this. At the end of the day, I am thankful I was treated aggressively. I have too much left to do on this earth. I want to live a long life with my kids and husband. So, the stress, pain and fear was not in vain. She assured me that I have had enough chemo to kill an elephant for my 1cm tumor, and that I should be on track for another 50 years. With that news, she said she did not recommend the 12 Taxol treatments originally on my plate. She wants to stop at 8 if I can get through those with no issues. So, this means I will end chemo treatments at the end of August. Yay!!  The end is near. Radiation will be next, but I will get done well in advance of the holidays and hopefully feeling like my old self.

When I look back to mid March, it is hard to fathom what all I have been through. Those were some pretty dark and scary days. The testing and waiting, the diagnosis, the surgeries, the unknowns. Today, I really see the end and that is so motivating. You can’t help but be changed by something like this. This has opened my eyes to a lot of things. My eyes weren’t always fixated on the right things. The small stuff no longer matters and that is very freeing.

So, to end on a lighter note…Patsy is in retirement and I found my new do. Real hair is the way to go. So one pic of the new wig and one pic of me and my precious grandson, Matt, playing our favorite game of who has more hair when the wig comes off. He wins every damn time. LOL.  He had lunch with me after chemo this week so when we got home, I had to take some pics. The wig comes off after the door closes at the house  lol!!

Just keeping it real, folks! I love how all my gray/white hair decided to stay put. Stubborn. Haha! Going with the flow.

All my love…live each day big for you never know what tomorrow will bring.

Rachel