Day 117 - Round 8 The End!

Round 8... the final round of chemo sucky...

There is no internet connection here at OHSU for some reason. I don't know why, so I will write and then post later. Currently I am halfway done with my last treatment! Today has been so awesome. I never dreamed it would be here so fast. But it is and I am super duper excited.

So, I went in for my bone density scan. I had to strip down to just my panties and then wear one of those fabulous hospital gowns. Then I laid on a table while the machine took x-rays of my spine and my right hip. What they are looking for is how far the x-rays penetrate my bone. My spine looked great and so did my hip. No signs of bone loss. They only looked at my right hip because if they see bone loss there, then it should be throughout my whole body.

Then it was time to head upstairs for labs and meet with Dr. Luoh. I had to go pee really bad, so I walked back into the infusion room to get a specimen cup. Jon was back there and he has several specimens in his hand. I asked him if he can print up a label. He replied, "Can't you see I'm busy?" To which I retorted, "That's why God gave you two hands!" So he printed me a label. As I was leaving to go back to the waiting room, the starter nurse, Net, saw me and said that I she was just about to find me to start my line. Oh good... I got my needle and blood draw and then went out to wait for Dr. Luoh's appointment.

Got called in and saw Dr. Luoh. It's nice being the first patient on his list. Excellent. My appointment was done in 1/2 an hour. We talked about how this past go around was. I told him that it's good and that I didn't get sick at all. He was happy with that report. He checked my breast and said that it looks like the tumor is getting softer. We went over the bone density and the clotting test. He said that I am already ahead of the curve when it comes to the clotting issue... I guess meaning that I don't have any mutations, so we don't have to worry about blood clots. We talked about the next step and when I will be seeing him again. Looks like I will be seeing him in September. I said, oh yea, a summer vacation! We talked a little about surgery and lymph nodes. I asked him how long does chemo sucky stay in your body. He said that the medicine is in your body for about a week after. Then I asked him if I could get a picture with him since he took pictures of me at the beginning of treatment. So here is the result:

Me and Dr. Shiuh Wen Luoh

Following that, I went to go schedule my neulasta and hydration appointment. It was then Jon said he had a chair for me. It was 1030. Sweet! I got to start my treatment early which means I get to leave early! Maybe I'll get to stop and get a frappaccino.

I've been getting so many visitors today. Bruce Murdock (DJ for K103 radio), on his way home, stopped by to say hello. He stayed for about a half hour and we just talked about anything and everything. It was good to see him. Next, Jim Newman who works here at OHSU, stopped by for our last treatment. If you recall, we've met up with him twice before for lunch or just to converse. Today he bought and brought us lunch to celebrate. So flippin' excited. I had a cobb salad and the boys had a reuben. It was sooo tasty. Following that I got asked to be in a study. They want to take some of my tumor biopsy and search for DNA mutations. I don't know if I want to participate because it stays in my medical records. I wouldn't have to do anything or pay anything. Hmmm...

Bruce Murdock & me

Jim Newman, Brad and me

So I should now have about an hour left. I am so excited. Did I tell you how excited I am?? Very very very excited.

**** **** ****

Okay, now I am home. I go done with my chemo sucky at 2:40p... which was 20 minutes early. I was a tad bit disappointed as there were no whistle or bells or certificates stating that I was done with chemo sucky. But that's okay, I had my own cheering squad. I won't say that I am completely done with chemo sucky until I get though the weekend.

Here are a few more picures...

Kerry Weymouth (social worker) and me

Brad was complaining about the visitor's chairs being uncomfortable, so we traded places.

He thinks my chair was more comfy.

Dr. Luoh passed by and did a double take when he saw me sitting in a regular chair and Brad in the chemo chair. He just chuckled.

Two of my favorite Oncology Nurses, Beverly and Nicole.

And that concludes Phase 1 - neo-adjuvant chemotherapy. Off to Phase 2 - surgery. This will be my hiatus from everything and I won't have to do much but relax and get stronger.

Tomorrow I get my 4mg of Neulasta and my one liter of saline. Then I wait and see! I promise I will get a picture of the $6,000 shot. I want to get a picture tomorrow of the 4mg shot. Then I'll show you both!

Oh yes, when I got home, I had a package waiting on my front porch. My dear friends Annie, Brooke and Kelli sent me chocolate covered strawberries to celebrate my last and final treatment of chemo sucky. Thank you so much girls! I love you! xxxooo

I'm sure I am forgetting something.... so thank you if I haven't thanked you already!

Day 116 - 'Twas the night before chemo-sucky...

Hee hee hee!

'Twas the night before chemo-sucky and all through the house
Holly was jumping and hollering
And not quiet like a mouse!

Yay! I finally made it! The last treatment of chemo-sucky. I did it. I am soooo incredibly excited to be at this point. I knew I would get here, but it has come soooo fast. The 8 treatments or 16 weeks have really gone by in a flash. I am so ready to be done with Phase 1 and to move forward to Phase 2. (Phase 1 - chemo sucky; Phase 2 - surgery; Phase 3 - radiation; Phase 4 - reconstruction) I am happy to know that the finish line is in sight. And I am so happy not to have to take steroids tonight!!! Yeehaw!

Thanks to my KATU friends... we just got our second and last delivery of meals.

And now I remember what I was going to write about in the last post...
Chris, my brother-in-law, fixed my car!! It was a short in the spark plug wire that was making my car shake and quiver. The wire was broken and the current was most likely arching to the other side. That's why it would not shake sometimes and other times it would.

Tomorrow my day starts at 8.30a with a bone density test. Fun times.

Until tomorrow...

I've got it! I've got HAIR!

This isn't the thing I forgot to post. But I have hair! I was looking in the mirror in the hall of my house and there's lots of light. I was looking not for hair, but I was looking to see my left eye twitch. (It's been twitching all day long.) Anyway, I noticed that I have hair. It's not hair like you would have, but it's soft and peach fuzz-like. It's just perfect! I'm excited because it's about a millimeter or so long. You can only see it in the light... at least I can only see it in the light. Maybe you could see it better. I saw it earlier this past week, but I thought it was fuzz that was left on my head from one of my hats... ya know like yarn. But I didn't wear one of them at all today. :) It's very light and I am not sure if it has any pigmentation. From what I have read online, when hair grows back, it will be soft and fluffy at first and then become more like hair we're used to. I'm excited

Day 114 - No DNA Mutations!

So I've got more good news to report. Dr. Luoh released my test results for my likelihood of being predispositioned to getting blood clots. I checked mychart on OHSU's website. The two DNA mutations Dr. Luoh was looking for came back as negative for mutations. Here's one of the results:

Prothrombin mutation analysis shows that there is no mutation in either copy of the prothrombin gene at nucleotide 20210.

And here's the other result:

The Factor V Leiden mutation analysis shows that there is no mutation in either copy of the Factor V gene at codon 506.

So that's good news. Any news is good news, right? Yay!

And now I have yet another appointment scheduled... the clinic called today to schedule an appointment with the gyn-oc. So I see Dr. Melissa Moffitt on May 17. All my doctors visits will be next Thursday. It was funny, the clinic called and said that she wanted to schedule an appointment. I had to ask, "Um... what specialty are you calling about?" Does no one say what clinic or specialty they are scheduling for? Most annoying. So this afternoon I text my OBGYN to ask if she knew this doctor. She said to make sure that I look for the words "minimally invasive" when speaking to her. Good to know. :)

I'm am trying to get on a health kick right now. I have gained about 10-11 pounds in the past 4 months (good thing). I tried very hard to make sure I didn't lose any. But now I want to change that weight into muscle. And now that I am nearing the end of my treatment and feeling better, I feel like I can do more activities. So I am doing my sit ups again, eating less junk food and walking more. Yesterday I took the kids to the park. Nice one mile walk pushing a stroller. Today we danced around the living room.

I also want to give a shout out to one of my fellow chemo-sucky friends... his WMDs are doing its job as his tumor marker went from 225 to 45. Low numbers are good in this world. Very exciting.

Oh and Aunt Patti... I can't wait to see this week's card! I love receiving them. :) I enjoy the drawings!

I feel like I want to write more and I am forgetting... but I just can't figure out what I was going to write. Oh well. I'll remember and post later. :)

Day 113 - Neuropathy

It's Day 113 of my plight with breast cancer. I am so looking forward to this Thursday. It will be Round 8 of 8! I'm very excited. And more excited because Dr. Luoh and I found a great balance of meds to make sure I don't get sick!

So it's about a week and a half since my treatment. My fingers and toes are still feeling the neuropathy side effects. I am hoping they go away in time. I am not so sure. :(

Here's a definition of neuorpathy:

Mononeuropathy is damage to a single nerve or nerve group, which results in loss of movement, sensation, or other function of that nerve.

Causes, incidence, and risk factors

Mononeuropathy is a type of damage to nerves outside the brain and spinal cord (peripheral neuropathy).
Mononeuropathy is most often caused by injury, although body-wide (systemic) disorders may cause isolated nerve damage.
Long-term pressure on a nerve due to swelling or injury can result in mononeuropathy. The covering of the nerve (myelin sheath) or part of the nerve cell (the axon) may be damaged. This damage slows or prevents signals from traveling through the damaged nerves.

It goes between feeling like my fingers tips and toes are tingly to numbness to feeling like a car door slammed on them. It's really interesting. Can't really put your finger on the way it feels. Nevertheless, it's more annoying than anything. Sometimes it can feel like after you get something done on your mouth at the dentist like a cavity filled.... you know that your lips are still there, but can't really feel them.

But other than the neuropathy, that's all I've been dealing with the last week. I still can't believe that I am nearly there with the chemo-sucky. I am rejoicing and want to thank each one of you for supporting me through this. Without my cheering squad, I don't think I could have remained so positive.

Day 109 - No Steroids!

Today was a great day. No pains to speak of... well, maybe two... and they're called children! haha!

I forgot to post last week that I don't have to take the steroid dexamethasone. Dr. Luoh said if I didn't have any reaction to the taxol on treatment day, then I wouldn't have to take the dex the night before my next treatment. This is great news because the dex can make me retain water and make me more hungry. I feel like a friggin michelin man. I hope to loose the water retention weight which of course is right around my belly. I don't want the reconstructive surgeon to have any reason to do a skin graft from my stomach. I want the tissue expanders.

So, in lieu of my upcoming double mastectomy and immediate reconstruction (with tissue expanders), I've created a poll. Please participate in my non-scientific poll to the right. Would you increase, decrease or keep the same size of your breasts?

Day 108 - Who's calling?

Well, Sunday ended with a bang - good bang that is. I felt great all day long. Now if I only felt that great at night. I've been having severe hot flashes at night. I'm hot, then cold, then hot again. I can't sleep very well. But I'll manage. I think I'd rather have the flashes than the chemo-sucky.

So Monday I ended up staying home. I liked staying home. I was tired and fighting fatigue. In addition, I was having some leg pains that made my legs feel like rubber. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to stand, let alone walk. But I took some ibuprofen and the pain went away... just 400mg. Nevertheless. It was nice to be at home and not have to be feeling ill to the point where you're wondering when the nausea was going tos go away. I even managed to get in a little grocery shopping in. Monday I also took Amelia to her dentist appointment. She may have a little cavity. Boo. But she makes such a fuss about the x-ray machine that we didn't get any x-rays. But she did get her strawberry polish and flouride in. She did really well.

The title of my blog entry is "Who's calling?" My phone has been ringing - seems like - non-stop. I've got doctors offices calling me. And I don't even know why. First up was a call from the scheduler to tell me that I have new appointments and that if I had any questions or issues to call. Thank goodness I looked at my My Chart account for OHSU and saw that I have three tests scheduled for Tuesday, May 15. It all starts with a MRI. Next up, a mammogram at 1:20p, followed by an ultrasound at 2p. That's just on one day. Then they scheduled me with Dr. Naik for my surgery on Thursday, May 17 with the reconstruction surgeon, Dr. Thacker right after. Yay! I can't believe that I am finally here at this point... scheduling my actual surgery. It seemed like a millennium away. That was January 26! So happy to be at this point. I didn't think I was going to make it.

The next call I received was from a Maryann who said that she's waiting for a referral request and to give them a call if I had any questions. She left a voicemail. She didn't say from what office or who referred me to that office. I was clueless. So I called the number and the receptionist said that it was Dr. Dennis Bley who was the referring doctor. Really? I haven't spoken to him since January 13th. So I text his wife and said I was confused. I had called his office, but he's not in on Monday and there was now way of being able to leave him a message. So his wife, Desiree (who you may remember is my ob/gyn) asked him if he was doing something. He was clueless too, but said he would pull my file when he got to the office the next day. I didn't think it was him. The receptionist did say that I was calling the gastrointestinal group. Maybe it was to see a specialist because I am at a higher risk of getting pancreatic cancer? No clue. Desiree thought they wanted to check my hiney! Maybe do a colonoscopy. Heck at this point I wouldn't put it past any doctor.

Then while I was on the phone I got another call from OHSU. This time it was the bone density clinic. They wanted to schedule an appointment with me to check my bone density levels. I go in on Thursday before my last chemo-sucky treatment to get three low dose x-rays. No poking or prodding! I like that!

So I was doing the waiting game. In the meantime, I emailed the nurse navigator, Christine and asked a couple of questions... where am I meeting Drs. Naik and Thacker? Can I get an oophorectomy at the same time and is there a good doctor? And lastly who the heck is calling me from the gastrointestinal group.

Move forward to today. I get out of work (by the way I was having leg pains so I took two more ibuprofen - did the trick) and I have two messages on my phone. The first was from a dermatologist. And the second was from Maryann asking me to call her to set up an appointment. However, she again failed to leave information about what clinic and what doctor. This was getting very frustrating. So while sitting at Aamco to get my care read (check engine light went on... more later), I called the OHSU Breast Center to see if I could get a hold of Christine to find out who the heck keeps calling me and why. Amanda at the clinic says that when a department gets a referral, they must call the patient within 48 hours and if they didn't get anyone, they have to call again. If no answer, the third point of contact would be by letter. Sheesh, I am going to get more harrassing calls? In any case, I went to Becky's to pick up the girls and that's when I got a call from Christine.

Answer to Question 1. I only have to go to one floor and Dr. Thacker will come and see me. Christine said that she's on rotation on that floor and that if I need more time with Dr. Naik, then I can take my time. I have a set 15 minute appointment with her. Then at 2p it's with Dr. Thacker. Okay, that's good. Question 2. Christine said that I would have to talk with the two surgeons to see if they are comfortable with a third doctor doing an oophorectomy on me. That's a lot of surgery at one time (I agree). But I want to throw it out there. As for talking with a GYN oncologist or gyn-oc, someone will call me from the Breast Center to set up an appointment for that. Question 3. Christine said all these calls are coming from Dr. Samson the genetic counselor because of my BRCA2 results. I figured that was the case, but no one ever told me they would deluge me with all these doctors. I asked her how urgent it was for me to be setting up these appointments. There are just way too many right now. Christine said that it's for preventative care and that I can do them before surgery or I can do them after surgery. She said that it's not imparative that I have to do them right away and that I can take my time. She just said that because of my positive test, the doctors just want to see me. All I can see is "I want your $50 co-pay and then just tell you that I don't have to see you for another 5 years when you turn 40." I know they mean the best for me, but with all the other crap I have to get through, give a girl a break. Christine said she knew that there was a lot that I was going through right now and I didn't have to jump on everything. Heck, I may want to talk to a different dermatologist. She did say that the gastro clinic was for my increased risk of pancreatic cancer. I said, okay. So what I plan to do is get through this last round of chemo and my surgery before I start on the next process of this preventative care. It's not like I should have pancreatic cancer now. The PET scan showed no cancer in any of my other organs, and with having neo-adjuvant chemo-sucky, the cancer should not have spread to any other organs. So Christine agreed with me to just wait until I am more comfortable with where things are headed. She said that the doctors are just going to go over my increased risk probabilities... duh.

So back to my car issues... (will it EVER end?) My check engine light came on a few weeks ago on my way to chemo-sucky. The car started to ride rough, but only when at stop lights or idling. Then the light went out for a little bit. Then it came back on. At first we thought that there may be water in the gas. Nope. It wasn't that. To make a long story short, I took it in today to get the car error code read. PO302 with a cylinder #2 misfire. They wanted to take my car apart, but I said I wanted to talk to my husband first. Actuallly, I wanted to talk to my brother in law, Chris. So it looks like I will be driving it down to Albany this weekend so Chris can take a look at it. It could be wiring, coil or an injector. Who knows. Just pray that it's not overly expensive.

Fingers and toes still tingly.

Here are some pictures I meant to post earlier:

Me and funny man, Jon. Look, we're twins!

This is what my port looks like when I've got chemo-sucky going in.

If I remember, I'll upload a picture of my port without a needle stuck in it. In addition, I've got a picture of my $6000 shot (of which I now waste $2,000 of it)!