Day 4

Thanks for everyone's emails, thoughts and prayers.  I'm gradually feeling better and I hope I have at least one or two really good days before I have to start this whole thing over again.  I guess I can look forward to the 3rd and 4th weeks not being so hard.  Until we've done the whole 4 week cycle I really don't know what to expect.

I do know I'm about to float away!  I'm supposed to drink a half gallon to a whole gallon of water/gatorade/juice a day so I spend a lot of time close to a bathroom.  The chemo is hard on the kidneys so they want to protect them as much as possible, which means I'm turning into a "heavy drinker".  Gatorade has never been one of my favorites but even it is tasting good as a water substitute.  Send me any good "mixed drink" recipes you have out there that I might be interested in substituting for water - I'm going to need them!

Love, Rhonda

The "Cycle"

Rhonda has done well today.  She ate reasonable meals including chicken soup for dinner.  She has kept up drinking lots of fluids per doctors orders, too.  An excellent patient!  See her post just below for her version.  

I wanted to explain just a little about the chemo cycle she will be on.  It is four weeks per each cycle or "series" as Rhonda calls it.  The second and third weeks will be the most sensitive in terms of possible infections, so we will be more careful in those weeks.  This is week 1, following the first Monday treatment.

In weeks 2 and 3, we may get out in public less just as a precaution.  However, the oncologist said crowds are not really a problem, but being around coughing, sneezing, feverish folks, etc. could be.  So, we will be happy to still entertain WELL visits at home in these weeks.  Just expect to lather up with the gel alcohol hand cleanser at the front table.  :-)  Also, we have no plans to travel toward Mexico in those weeks.  :-)  :-)

In weeks 2 and 3, meals from outside the home will be screened closely.  Two things in particular that the doctors mentioned:  1) Eat only cooked foods.   2) Do not eat anything that could not be peeled and / or cooked.   So, for instance, we will not need fresh salads, nuts or fruits.  As for that, the screener (that will be me until Katie arrives on the local scene), will take stock before passing food on to the queen bee.  And, I say that in the most loving sense possible!

As Rhonda mentioned before, weeks 1 and 2 will be heavy dose sessions involving two chemo drugs.  They are the longest and involve the most side effects.  Among the side effects will be the lowering of the body's immune system and lowering of white blood cell counts.  Week 3 and 4 are less intense with only one drug and a shorter chemo session.  That means the body has some time to make a recovery in the last half of the cycle.  That is why weeks 2 and 3 are the lowest in the cycle.  We will be doing some extra cleaning around the household surfaces during the cycle and especially in weeks 2 & 3.  Kitchen, bath, utility rooms and door knobs, etc.

The cycle will repeat every 4 weeks for a total of 4 cycles.  That assumes there are no unforseen delays, but that is the basic plan.  So, starting date was 4/27.  End date for chemo treatments will be 15 Mondays after that or August 10, per plan.

Thanks again for all the prayers and support given and offered in so many ways.

Kind regards,

David

Day 2

Not much to report except that  I'm hanging in there.  I'm more tired than usual and my face looks sunburned from the steroids I'm taking.  The sad thing is that I feel like I'm revisiting morning sickness.  I have this constant, low-grade nausea that I recognize all too well even though it's been 19 years since I last experienced it.  Some things you just never forget! 

Thanks again for the thoughts and prayers - I hope I'm feeling a lot better by Thursday.

Love, 

Rhonda

Chemo One Is Over

Mom spent 9 am to 5:30 pm at the clinic today getting her first chemotherapy treatment. She said she spent the day reading, sleeping, and doing crosswords. She's back in town and eating dinner right now. She says she's feeling good except for a headache which was a possible side effect of all the meds she got today. 

Thanks for your prayers!

Katie

Prayers, Please!

Tomorrow is my first chemo treatment and I'd be lying if I didn't admit to being apprehensive.  I have to be in Houston by 9 am  and the treatment will last about 6 hours.  Again, fear of the unknown is always hard to deal with.  We've been given all the possible side effects but you never know how each person will react, which makes it hard to prepare yourself.  I have my iPod, my blanket and a book so I guess I'm set.  We'll let you know how things went after we get back tomorrow.

Thanks for the prayers,

Rhonda

Doctor Week

This past week has been doctor week, so I haven't been able to blog much.  We've made two trips to Houston and I saw a new primary care physician here in Lake Jackson.  Boy was I his challenge of the day.  I had typed up everything that had happened and all the tests I have had since September.  It was two pages, double spaced.  He had no idea what he was getting into when he walked in the door!  My mom dropped me off and then picked me up.  It felt just like high school again.  I called and said "I'm finished, can you come get me?"  Then I stood outside the doctor's office on the sidewalk and waited for her to drive up.  NOT a good memory!  As you can tell, I'm still chaffing at the driving restriction.  Twelve more days...

Friday I met with Steven Smith and he cut and styled my hair the way I wanted it for my wig. It's sad to think I won't need his services again for a while.  He always makes me laugh and I enjoy seeing him once a month.  David and I headed to Houston after that and dropped in at the hair salon where my wig was awaiting me.  They took pictures of my hair from all sides and showed me my "cranial prostheses" before it was styled.  It's a little lighter than my hair is now, so those of you who voted for blonde get a minor victory!  It seemed really tight when they put it on over my hair but the stylist told me it would fit right when my hair wasn't there.   I go back next Saturday for the final fitting and for them to shear me.  I'm sure it will be a trauma,  but a necessary one.

After that I saw the pulmonary specialist and he declared my chest clear and sounding good.  I got a pneumonia shot, good for 5 years, and don't have to go back for 6 weeks.  That leaves Monday as the biggest hurdle on the horizon.  My first chemo treatment begins at 9 am and will be about 6 hours long.  There's a room at the doctor's office with several recliners in it for the chemo  patients.  They told me to bring my lunch, which seems weird.  I guess I'll get to know, or at least recognize, all the Monday regulars.  

As I type this Deborah Williams is in my front yard, weeding my flower beds.  How awesome is that?  God has blessed us with such wonderful, thoughtful friends.  Dinner was delivered again last night and was greatly appreciated after a long, long day.  I can't decide if my week has just caught up with me or if my pneumonia shot is causing a reaction, but I'm moving slowly today. This might be a movie-watching day.  I'd watch the Astros but they're just making me mad right now!  

Enjoy your weekend!

Rhonda

Bring It On

I saw the oncologist today and my first chemo treatment will be this coming Monday, April 27th.  Each treatment is really a 4 week series, so I will go every week.  The first two weeks of a treatment are long, about 6 hours in length, because I will receive 2 different drugs.  One of them is hard on the kidneys so they will spend the first 2 hours hydrating me with fluids before starting the actual medication.  The last 2 weeks will be only one drug and the chemo will last about an hour.  Sixteen weeks seems like a long time right now but hopefully it will go by fairly fast.  I should finish up just in time to go back to work the middle of August.  Yea.

We experienced another "God thing" today.  The oncology nurse gave me two pamphlets for wig salons that they recommend.  Since my hair will begin falling out within 10-14 days of the first treatment we decided to investigate after my doctor appt.  I just chose one at random and we were blown away by how helpful and caring the people were.  They specialize in hair loss for any reason, and we sat down with Kristen who has been working with women's prosthesis products for 19 years.  (By the way, it's a "cranial prosthesis", not a wig!)  The past 9 years she has been the director of a cancer center in Atlanta, GA, and moved to Houston in November.  She was this huge walking encyclopedia of knowledge about treatments, side effects, support groups, and all kinds of things we hadn't even thought about.  By the time we left I felt like I'd been in a private therapy session and it was wonderful.  What a blessing to sit down with someone who obviously knew what she was talking about and who could put such a positive, but realistic,  outlook on my situation.  It's obvious she has a passion for helping women with cancer and I'm so thankful God put her in our path.

The name of the business is Artemis Hair Studio and they will custom fit the wig, style it and provide the products I need to care for it.   By the way, we matched the wig color to the color of my own hair.  Sorry all you folks who voted differently!  Kristen recommended sticking as closely to my own hair as possible because "you've already lost so much because of this disease - you should recognize yourself when you look in the mirror."

Thanks again to those who provided dinner tonight.  I was exhausted by the time we got home and it was so nice to have it waiting for us.  It was delicious, too!  

Love to all,

Rhonda