I don't feel much like writing right now, but I wanted to share this short update:
Chemo #6 was last Tuesday, and although the nausea was less intense than in round 5, I'm still having occasional episodes of queasiness (mainly scent-related again). But that was it - the last round! We're now back to the part of the game where we don't really know what's happening, so that's a little tough. But I have a PET scan scheduled for the 13th and we should have a better idea of the future once I see my doctor again afterwards.
Regardless of what comes next, making it to this point is something to celebrate, though I'm not sure it has really sunk in yet. We've come a long way - I can't believe that it's actually been 5 months already. I have started to feel a lot better in the last couple days and I'm very excited at the prospect of actually getting to feel good for more than a week. And I'm sure that I'll be more excited in two weeks when I don't have to go back in for another treatment!
So for now, we'll just try to enjoy a bit of a break.
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Friday, July 3, 2015
Five down
We went into cycle #5 on a high. We had just spent a wonderful, relaxing, much needed few days away at the shore and were feeling rested for the first time in months. Only two treatments left - the light at the end of the tunnel was starting to appear.
And then I was nauseous again, and it was quite a blow to the spirits to be dealing with something that we thought was under control.
I'd experienced a minor bit of nausea during the fourth infusion, but I hadn't been feeling great overall at that point and after napping for most of the treatment, it went away. So when I started to feel the same way during the fifth infusion, I figured I would just nap and would feel better shortly. Not so much.
Thankfully this was nothing like the level of nausea I had during the first treatment. I could still function and eat and was never close to throwing up, but I was uncomfortably queasy and it lasted the whole day. I was significantly better the next day but still felt a bit off. It wasn't until the third or fourth day that I really felt fine again.
On a related note, I've started having significant trouble with some smells making me feel sick. The worst smell? The infusion center. I'm sure it's an association issue, because just thinking about it too much makes me start smelling it and feeling queasy. Getting through the last treatment could be rough. There are also some smells around the house that have started getting to me - I've had to change my soap a couple times, and sometimes the dog is too smelly. Fortunately most things still smell fine, and I can usually combat a bad smell by finding a good one. But I'm trying not to rely on any one good smell too much because I don't want it to start being associated with bad things too.
My hair has continued to grow, which is annoying. What didn't fall out initially appears to be incredibly stubborn and doesn't look like it is going anywhere, and I can't tell for sure, but it looks like some of what did fall out might be coming back. But it is still so patchy that it looks pretty bad if it starts to get any length to it, so we have to keep shaving my head. The whole no maintenance thing was supposed to be the one perk to losing my hair ...
My energy levels haven't been great. At this point, it feels like things are a bit more even keel: my bad days aren't quite as bad, but my good days aren't quite as good either. My brain just doesn't work right sometimes. I have been having a lot more trouble sleeping lately. And it is incredibly hard to balance trying to be active when I do feel well so that I can wear myself out enough to be tired but not wear myself out too much that I can't recover.
The biggest news of late is that we had our appointment with a cancer risk genetic counselor this week. Although we don't know anything yet, it was a very informative session. Based on family history and my own experiences, there are a few things she flagged as possibilities. I don't fit all of the criteria for being high risk for any of them, but taken all together, she is recommending testing and is going to see if our insurance will cover it. Hopefully yes because I am extremely interested in having this done, but it is not cheap!
One more. Almost there.
And then I was nauseous again, and it was quite a blow to the spirits to be dealing with something that we thought was under control.
I'd experienced a minor bit of nausea during the fourth infusion, but I hadn't been feeling great overall at that point and after napping for most of the treatment, it went away. So when I started to feel the same way during the fifth infusion, I figured I would just nap and would feel better shortly. Not so much.
Thankfully this was nothing like the level of nausea I had during the first treatment. I could still function and eat and was never close to throwing up, but I was uncomfortably queasy and it lasted the whole day. I was significantly better the next day but still felt a bit off. It wasn't until the third or fourth day that I really felt fine again.
On a related note, I've started having significant trouble with some smells making me feel sick. The worst smell? The infusion center. I'm sure it's an association issue, because just thinking about it too much makes me start smelling it and feeling queasy. Getting through the last treatment could be rough. There are also some smells around the house that have started getting to me - I've had to change my soap a couple times, and sometimes the dog is too smelly. Fortunately most things still smell fine, and I can usually combat a bad smell by finding a good one. But I'm trying not to rely on any one good smell too much because I don't want it to start being associated with bad things too.
My hair has continued to grow, which is annoying. What didn't fall out initially appears to be incredibly stubborn and doesn't look like it is going anywhere, and I can't tell for sure, but it looks like some of what did fall out might be coming back. But it is still so patchy that it looks pretty bad if it starts to get any length to it, so we have to keep shaving my head. The whole no maintenance thing was supposed to be the one perk to losing my hair ...
My energy levels haven't been great. At this point, it feels like things are a bit more even keel: my bad days aren't quite as bad, but my good days aren't quite as good either. My brain just doesn't work right sometimes. I have been having a lot more trouble sleeping lately. And it is incredibly hard to balance trying to be active when I do feel well so that I can wear myself out enough to be tired but not wear myself out too much that I can't recover.
The biggest news of late is that we had our appointment with a cancer risk genetic counselor this week. Although we don't know anything yet, it was a very informative session. Based on family history and my own experiences, there are a few things she flagged as possibilities. I don't fit all of the criteria for being high risk for any of them, but taken all together, she is recommending testing and is going to see if our insurance will cover it. Hopefully yes because I am extremely interested in having this done, but it is not cheap!
One more. Almost there.
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