Saturday, February 25, 2012

Feeling pretty good....

Well, chemo week was killer in the fatigue department...having to work my regular work schedule Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nearly killed me (so I thought). My work load was out of control but because I am a financial processing ninja, I made it through. I am learning that I need to pace myself when I feel so fatigued because my energy comes in bursts and fizzles out just as quickly. Some very good things happened though that let me know the chemo is doing its job. My neck which was so swollen that if you touched it, it would feel like a aired up soccer ball, has shrunk down to its normal size except for a small squishy bump like it had before. I can now take in deep breaths without feeling like something is squishing my throat and for the most part the horrible intense itching and rashes on my skin have gone away except what is still healing. I had weird twitching in my legs when I would lay down at night called nerve-apathy that would not let me get to sleep and now that seems to be gone too. The start of this week on Sunday, I felt like I was my old self again. No more fatigue or just overall weirdness feelings. My thinking was clear and I didn't feel the need to take so many naps. I don't know what I would do if I had to do chemo every week...I probably would not be able to work.I am definitely grateful for the week off before my next chemo this Monday.

So far, I have not noticed any hair loss whatsoever. Even when I brush my hair I get some hairs in my hairbrush but nothing of any significance. This next chemo could wipe my head bald for all I know, but for now I am enjoying the hair on my head with new-found appreciation! My mom though has been researching wigs for me and looking them up on Ebay and the intranet to find out what type and color matching my existing hair more correctly. I even went and had a wig consultation to see what my options are out there...kind of depressing I know! My doctor even wrote a "prescription" for a wig in case my insurance will cover part of the cost since a real wig is not cheap. Were talking hundreds of dollars for a full wig...who knew? I am hoping to never use that "prescription" but I have to be realistic. So, just for kicks...lets have a survey to see what wig I should get! See below:




 Fruit turban
                                                                             Pink Beehive




 Really long light brown hair with curl
                                                                                            



                                                                          Blue Afro



 Mowhawk
                                                           




                                                                 long dark brown hair with curl




More straight brown hair
                                                              




                                                                Super curly brown hair






Monday is my second chemo treatment and I expect I will feel the same as the last one but I wont know for sure. I want to thank everybody for their prayers, gifts of food and overall support as I go through this journey. I am feeling optimistic and strong right now, both mentally and physically, but I still need your prayers. For until I hear the words "your cured" I cant stop fighting. If God is with me, who can stand against me? I lean on him and draw strength from his promises. Love you my friends and family!


Shannon

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Oh yes...the first chemo!

Well, I have survived! what an experience this has been so far. I am learning of a new depth of trust with God to lead me through this, and frankly I would go mad without knowing that he loves me, will never forsake me, and will never give me more than I can bear. I have to hold onto that everyday for strength. I am so thankful for my family and friends, for everyone who is praying for me and holding me up. My mom has been such a huge rock in my life. She has been to almost every doctors appointment, helping me to ask questions and get understanding on how I need to take care of myself and how to deal with this. She had to go through this already when my dad Steve was diagnosed so she has a lot of insight into the whole process. I couldn't of asked for a better mom and dad!

The low down...

I got to my doctors at 9am Monday morning to start my first chemotherapy treatment and hunkered down for the next five hours!!! The nurse sat me down in a comfy recliner, put a pre-warmed blanket over me, and took my vitals... Jaime sat in a chair next to me and then began the waiting game. A pharmacist came and went over some of the side affects to the different chemo I would be taking and went over my lab results and asked me questions on my current health (i.e. temperature, eating, resting). Then she orders me up a nice shot that I was not expecting for birth control. Nice.... I guess I don't want to get pregnant while doing this perhaps. And then...more waiting. An hour later I get started on some anti-nausea after they accessed my port and I wait another half hour while that drips into me. Next up...happy juice! Or "anti-anxiety" given on the first treatment for my poor nerves. That made me feel really good...I started laughing about bananas with Jaime, I don't remember what I said even now! Next up they began to give me a test dose of the first chemo, I don't remember the name...maybe called Dacarbazine, but apparently some people get a bad reaction to it when they initially get it injected. No problem there...half hour goes by and I wait. The next chemo the nurse injects by hand into my line with DOXOrubicin or what she called "the red devil". This is the one that will cause me to lose my hair and probably the most side effects. That one went down fine. Next two up, each a half hour were Bleomycin and Vinblastine. For one of these I had to suck on ice so it would stop the chemo from coming into the veins in my mouth area where it could give me mouth sores. Last but not least, they gave me the remaining dose of Dacarbazine which I did just so fine with and a half hour later I am done!!!! Oh happy joy! 5 hours, 5 bathroom breaks and very hungry, I get to leave.

The after...

Oh WOW. I have never know fatigue quite like I felt after the chemo. I felt like my body was jello and that my bones would not hold up. At least I did not throw up though! The weirdest feeling...I wanted to sleep so bad but my mind was still awake. So, the rest of the afternoon I just laid down and drank lots and lots of water! Its very important to drink water so my kidneys don't fail from the toxic cancer cells that are destroyed. but, I made it through like a good trooper!

Thank you everyone for your support and prayers...for food sent over (thanks Sharon) and just for being there. Continue to pray for me and fight this with me!

Shannon

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Game On!!!

I do believe God is teaching me patience...by drowning me in it! Oh, but I guess it is all worth it, I think? I am glad to finally now know where this road is taking me and I have a clearer understanding of where I am going to end up. Monday made this experience very real to me when I went in for surgery for my port placement. I now have a bump on my upper chest that will be for specifically accessing my main arteries to flow in all the chemo they want to give me! Do I sound excited? I actually am. If you can imagine knowing that something will make you dramatically better by the first dose you would want it too. I am not excited however for the side effects to ensue, but there is a price to pay for everything. I most likely will have to say goodbye to my long luscious locks of hair and start doting a trendy head scarf. I will most likely be tired and grumpy...hehe. Other things could happen but I know that no matter what I face, God is surely by my side and he must think I am strong to put me through this. My hats (and hair) are off to all my predecessors in this noble fight! Let the games begin!

The Game Plan...

Tuesday I went in to see my Oncologist to find out my treatment plan and what all my testings came up with. A HUGE HALLELUIAH that my bone marrow came back negative for cancer. The other scans showed that the cancer is still concentrated in my chest and neck area and nothing below! The doctor was able to now stage me and he said I am at a "2" but a very big "2". This means that he will treat me as if I am at stage 3 only because the lymph-nodes are so big although still in one area. Monday I begin my first dose of chemo which will be a very intense concoction but will dramatically shrink my lymph-nodes and alleviate my current symptoms of itchy skin, night sweats and a lot of discomfort. I don't know exactly how I will fair but mostly likely it will knock me out for the day. I'm taking Tuesday off work too just in case its too much. I will be receiving chemo every-other week just one time that week for 4 to 6 cycles. That is the equivalent to 4 to 6 months of chemo. To top that off like a cherry, they have ordered me up 3 solid weeks of radiation to make sure this cancer is a goner! luckily for me, the radiation should be half the dose that most other cancer patients get only because of the type that I have. Some of the downsides to the radiation is the possibility of getting other types of cancer like breast cancer or certain neck cancers. These likelihoods are low, but I will be at a higher risk than most people.

I understand that the doctors have to disclose to you everything that could go wrong. For all of that, I simply look heavenward and give a nod. Yep, my God can take care of those things for me when I have no control of them myself. Do I have to lose my hair? No...I will prepare myself in case it does happen but will rejoice in an answered prayer when it doesn't. I don't know why God has put me on this road, but isn't he the author and finisher of our faith? I can only trust him that he knows what he's up to. I can only imagine what it was like for Job. "Have you considered my servant Job?" God says. The devil reply's " You have a hedge around him...let me touch his person and he will curse you" but Job did not curse God. Even when he had no clue in the world why this happened, he came out victorious after enduring the hardship.

When you pray for me, and PLEASE pray for me...pray that I will sail through the chemo treatment without the unnecessary side effects. Pray that I will qualify for financial aid since insurance will not cover everything. And pray that God will give me courage and strength for not only me, but for my husband and other family members to endure this with me. Fight with me!

Shannon