done and done

Well I can officially announce that I am DONE chemo! I had my 6th and final tx on Wednesday. What a wonderful feeling. I also met me new oncologist. She is the same doctor that I saw when I had my first treatment. In a way it was nice seeing her the first and the last. My original oncologist took a position at Genentech with only 11 days notice. Treatment went as well as expected. We finished treatment and went directly to the airport to p/u my parents, talk about timing. I was so afraid we were going to be late but we made it. My next appt with my oncologist will be in 3-4 weeks and then from there to be determined. On Thursday, while shopping with my mom, I got a call from my cardiologists office regarding my echo. Good news is the fluid around my heart is the same, stable as they call it. They did however see fluid in my lung (so they thought). I got a chest x-ray and was told that there is NO fluid in my lung, great news. As for the fluid around my heart, we are going to get an echo in 6 weeks to see if it gone. If in fact it is from chemo then the fluid should be gone in 6 weeks when I get the echo. Not much I can do about it now. My doc did tell me to start taking aleve once in the morning and one at night to help with the pain that I get in my chest. As for running, if it hurts while running, I need to stop. Given that I just finished 6 chemo tx I am going to continue to take it easy, just do my long walks. No reason to rush back in to things. I have an appt on 10/4 to get more tattoos and more images done then I will start radiation on 10/11. All in all, a good few days with good news:)

It is so nice having my parents here. What a great way to finish up my chemo. We took it easy the first 2 days then made it to Amy and Dema's wedding Friday night at the Cliff House. It was so amazing, congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Brinza! Yesterday my mom and Mark golfed while I slept all day. My dad stayed home to take care of me (make me toast!). Today we are heading down to Morro Bay and will be back on Wednesday to meet up with Peg and Ed. I'll write when we get back in town.
Cheers...

no results

Still no results from my echo that I had yesterday. I emailed my doctor to remind him and he said that he still does not have results and should know tomorrow. I told him to call me as soon as he gets them on my cell. Today I had my appt for my mold and marking for radiation at 10am. Stacy picked me up and drove me to my appt. She even greeted me with a mocha:) So very interesting appt. I had to lay on the CT machine with my left arm over my head while they took pictures and made marks where the future radiation beams will go. They had me sit up at one point and they put something under my back to make a mold of my body that I will lay on each time I get radiation. I asked the tech if I got to keep the mold when I was done and she said yes. At first I was excited until I stood up and looked at it and realized it was a blue trash bag filled with something inside that hardened to form the mold. Not was I was thinking at all. After they took some pictures and got me lined up correctly on the table the tech then gave me 2 black dot tattoos. She put ink on my skin and then pushed a needle in. They are so small, you would not even see them unless I pointed them out. I will be getting 2-3 more marks at my appt next week. After the appt Stacy and I went to University Cafe for lunch. She was just going to drop me off but we decided we'd walk instead. I met her at her house so she could pick-up her dog, Brooklyn, and we took a walk. We were chatting away when I looked at my watch and noticed we had been walking for an hour. At that point we both decided that a 2 hour walk would be enough. Thanks Stacy for a great day and some good girl time! I am so blessed.

Tomorrow I will get labs then see my doctor at 8:45am then chemo at 9:30am. My LAST one, yippie! I hope to be done by 12:30 so we can get to the airport to get my parents. They get in at 1:45 so even if I am there until 1:30 we should be fine. I am so excited for them to visit.

I'll write tomorrow with an update on chemo and my echo. Night night...

Back in Campbell

I got back Saturday night from LA. What a great trip. It was so great to see Jill and I am so glad that we have reconnected after many years. When we saw each other, it was like we never skipped a beat. It seemed like we picked up right where we left off. To me, that is the sign of a true friend. She showed me such a good time and mostly nice just sitting around at night chatting and catching up. While I was there I mentioned to Jill my thoughts about doing the 3 day next year in PA (I wanted to do it this year but given the circumstances could not). Jill is also from PA. It only took her a few seconds before she said, count me in. So it is on. We (me, Jill, and my sister) are doing the 3 day next year, 10/14-10/16 in Philadelphia, PA. As soon as I get registered I will post/email my link. I am super excited and looking forward to doing the walk with them. If anyone else is interested, let me know. The more the better!

Tomorrow I have my f/u echo at 12pm then I am meeting Jill to walk the dish in Palo Alto. As soon as I hear from my doctor with the results of the echo I will update my blog. I emailed him tonight to remind him to keep his eyes out, so I hope to hear from him tomorrow afternoon. Then on Tuesday at 10am I have my CT appt for my radiation fitting. Stacy is coming with me to my appt and then we are going to walk the dish. On Wednesday I will get my LAST chemo tx. That feels so good to say and I really cannot believe it is time already. Tx starts at 9:30am and we are hoping it stays on schedule b/c my parents get in at 1:45 and we'd love to be able to pick them up at the airport. As usual we will have our nice dinner out. This one will be extra special b/c we are celebrating my last tx and even more special b/c my parents will be here to celebrate with us.

This has been a crazy experience and I am so thankful and blessed to have such wonderful supporters and friends. Words cannot express how thankful I am. Love you all...
Bring on the 4th quarter (as Mark calls it)!!!

Radiation

My appt went very well today. Feels great to have my next plan. I will be getting 28 radiation tx. starting 10/11-11/21. I will for sure get red/pink skin over the areas that they radiate. Some people complain of feeling fatigue towards the end of each week. I discussed returning to work and she told me if I had a desk job then for sure I could do it but given the demands of my job she said it was up to me. She's support whatever decision I made. As of now I have off until 10/31 so if I return 11/1 I'll only have 3 weeks left. I am undecided at this point, have to make some calls tomorrow. As for long-term side effects given it is on my left side, there is a small chance of some heart problems in the future and also problems with my lungs. The other long-term effect would be cancer. I know, it sounds crazy. We are doing something to treat cancer that can cause cancer. Any type of radiation can cause cancer. Of course they have to tell me ALL of the possible side effects. Given the dose and the amount I'll be getting, I am not worried at all. The first step is getting "marked" for radiation. This will be done next week. They will be doing a CT scan and also timing my breathing and mark the areas with a small tattoo where the beams will go during each tx. This will take about an hour. Then I will go back on 10/4 to do a "practice run", as they called it. They do this ahead of time to deal with any kinks they may come across so we aren't dealing with them on the day of. Then I'll get my first radiation tx on Monday 10/11.

That's all for now, my head is tired. Off to watch the Bachelor Pad.

great day for a bridal shower

Today was a wonderful day. I had a bridal shower at my house for my co-workers, Amy and fiance, Brian and Debbie, and Prad. The weather turned out to be great along with the company. It was so nice to see everyone. Amy's mom, Edna, was in town and was able to make it. I know how nice it is to have family in town for these special occasions. A special thank you to Jackie and Rachel for coming early and helping me set-up. I must admit, earlier this week I was still not feeling well from chemo and a little worried that I'd still feel like crap today. Not the case at all. The entire day went well. The gang left around 430, I cleaned up, and then time for the cowboys game!

I had to make a special call tonight to Sadie to wish her good luck tomorrow. She is starting Kindergarten. I cannot believe how fast the years have gone. I can only imagine what my sister must be going through. I still remember a few days after she was home from the hosptial my sister called me and asked me if I'd come over and show her how to give Sadie a bath. I can remember that day like it was yesterday. I know that she is going to have a great day and I cannot wait to hear all about it.

Wow, what an end to the cowboys game. I can't believe they lost the game due to a "holding" penalty. So tomorrow I have an appt at 1pm with Dr. Horst, my radiation oncologist. I met with her back in April so we need to regroup and make a plan for my radiation. Nothing planned for Tuesday and then Wednesday I am off to LA to visit my friend Jill. I'll write tomorrow night with an update on my appt.

Night Night...

Wednesday

I am so glad that number 5 is over. I have to admit, I felt so much worse with this one. Just when I thought I could predict how things were going to pan out, I was wrong. Usually the first 2 days after tx I felt well enough to do things. Not this time. Friday and Saturday I slept most of the day. Sunday was actually a better day for me. Today I am finally feeling back to normal. It was a nice surprise to wake up to a wet ground. Guess it rained over night, crazy for CA. I am also feeling more depressed. I can tell b/c I don't want to leave the house. Yesterday I was planning on a walk but of course I talked myself out of it. Not today. I am leaving here in a few minutes to go meet Mark for lunch then I promise myself to go for a nice walk. The weather is great, there is no reason for me to sit inside. We had our own little holiday cook-out on Monday. Mark went out and got burgers, kielbasa, and corn for the grill and came home with a really nice card. Yesterday I got a card in the mail from my mom and then flowers arrived from my parents. They really brightened my day. Tomorrow night we are going to the Old Pro for "Pints for Prostates", it should be a nice time. I know Mark is excited b/c there are 2 big football games on. I am sure he'd rather be watching them from his own TV but what a better place then a sports bar to watch them! On Friday I have lots of errands to do to get ready for the bridal shower that is at my house on Sunday. Hope the weather is nice so we can have it by the pool.

Off to meet Mark for lunch...

tx day

In the process of getting my 5th tx. It is so exciting yet a little scary b/c I am almost done. I know I should be super psyched knowing that I only have 1 left after this but it will be a little difficult getting back to norm and I know will take some time. Then of course there is the burden of radiation 5 days a week. Well as Mark would say, I am almost done the 3rd quarter! My RBC's were a few points lower (nothing major) and platelets were up slightly. WBC count was perfect. So basically still anemic which I can tell. Maybe I'll get a big fat steak for dinner tonight. Well only about an hour left then out of here. Write later or in the next few days:-)