Wanting to let you all know how today went, also Ken has made a great little slideshow that goes to my song "she sings her song" that I will post after this.
The roughest part of yesterday is that I was given 3 high doses of steroids to counteract the high risk of allergic reactions to the Taxol (reactions can be serious ) So the steroids left me really hyper and so despite the sleeping pills, etc, I was "chatty Kathy" up until 2 am, when Ken just wanted to be snoring boring Ken. After all he had had a busy day too.
As expected the leg pains started last night as well.
One thing I had not realized is that they gave me an injection prior to the chemo drugs that is a strong anti nausea drug that lasts for 3 days. So that is likely why I have no nausea. Everything tastes pretty bad though. Today Ken and I walked all over buying hats, foods that looked like they might taste good, and birdhouses (ceramic ones). I sure hope that the birds have showed up by the time I get home tomorrow.
I got the printed results of the ct scan and, really nothing significant except nodularity of the vaginal cuff which they said could be residual disease. I am certain this likely represents scarring, but will talk to my doctor about that. I also got call from my other doctor to say that the PET scan was totally normal. WHICH IS GREAT NEWS. So the chemo is to treat microscopic disease that has spread, and the radiation is to treat any residual cancer cells left over after the surgery. There is still a chance of distant spread with this regime, but it is much lower with this treatment regime, however the hard part is to know more precise prognosis.
A hard question for anyone to answer. I guess in time I will just have to get used to SOME uncertainty.
Today I had to return to get an injection of Neulastin which is given 24 hours after chemo, to boost your bone marrow into making more blood cells. The main problems with chemo are that the cells that divide most rapidly in your body are you blood cells and that is how chemo works, by killing or altering the most rapidly dividing cells in body, which is also the cancer.
When your blood counts drop, the biggest concern is infections, when the neutrophil count gets down to a certain level, you are no longer able to fight off even simple infections. So for this reason during the 10-14 day part of the cycle you are suggested to avoid malls and public breeding grounds of germs........
Anemia, where your hemoglobin drops, also causes you to be tired and at times even need blood transfusions. If the platelets drop, you will bleed more easily. And for all of these reasons, that is why I got the Neulastin today, to prevent some of these issues..
We will be back here on the 15th of april for my second round of chemo, and since Ken is working on the 16th, figure we will have our pyjama party on the 16th, so start gathering good funny chick flicks.....
If my mom is reading this blog, wanted you to know I love you and that you are in the slideshow
Love and peace to all
Janet Bates..... My email is jankenb@gmail.com
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