Yesterday, my wonderful husband booked our 20th Anniversary trip to Mexico. 66 days and counting....
It has been the perfect motivation for me to get back out and run. The chemo-induced menopause has caused me to gain a decent amount of weight since I finished treatment. I've decided to take it easy and am following the Couch to 5K running program. Today was my first workout. I'm wearing my heart rate monitor just to be on the safe side. So far so good.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Haircut
Today, I had my first post chemo haircut. My hair was needing a little shape so I headed in to see Lori for a cut. I still haven't decided how much "growing" I will do but am happy to now have a semi-hairstyle. It will be perfect for the warmer weather.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Flush Number 2
Last week, I had my second port flush. Deja Vue "Today is my first official port flush. My cancer center schedules them every 8 weeks. Hopefully, that means the next port flush will in warmer weather." Unfortunately, that was not the case. A winter storm was headed our way so I actually went in a day early for my port flush because the forecast was calling for snow, sleet and ice.
The port flush isn't a bad experience at all. The actual procedure is quick and painless. My only complaint is both times I've developed jaw pain following the flush. This time I also noticed a slight bruise on my neck. Not a big deal at all and not too surprising as I'm still bruising quite easily. Blood work and my follow-up oncologist appointment will be coming in mid April and I'm once again hoping for warmer weather.
The port flush isn't a bad experience at all. The actual procedure is quick and painless. My only complaint is both times I've developed jaw pain following the flush. This time I also noticed a slight bruise on my neck. Not a big deal at all and not too surprising as I'm still bruising quite easily. Blood work and my follow-up oncologist appointment will be coming in mid April and I'm once again hoping for warmer weather.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
The Road to Recovery
My apologies for being absent from the blog for so long. It doesn't seem possible that it has been 7 weeks since I posted; maybe, that is because I've been stuck on the road to recovery.
Post-treatment recovery is like a long car ride to normal. “Am I there yet?” keeps running through my brain. Plus, will I recognize it when I arrive. Improvement is like a rest stop where I can once again ask “Is this the new normal?”
In the last month, I’ve had major improvement with the hot flashes. Instead of many a day, I am now going days without hot flashes. Does this mean the chemo-induced menopause is coming to an end? I certainly hope so. It is so nice to sleep through the night and not wake up in a puddle of sweat.
My energy level is still not where I want it to be. A dog walk leaves me exhausted and weak. I’m still falling asleep most nights well before 9pm and 8 hours of sleep just doesn't feel like enough. I’m hopeful this isn’t the new normal. I want more energy. I want to be back out running and just a little closer to my old self.
This week, I returned to volunteering for the Probate Court. Maybe by returning to normal activities, I can trick my body into feeling normal. You know, fake it until you can make it :-)
The worst part about the road to recovery is the speed bumps. Life before a diagnosis of cancer has the same speed bumps. Maybe it is a sore throat or pain in one spot or the other. Before cancer, you just ride over the bump, no big deal. After cancer, these bumps leave you wondering, is it more than just a sore throat? Is that pain something more than just pain?
For now, I will celebrate each good day and focus on the glimmers of good in each bad day. Most importantly, I will keep my eyes on the road to recovery and hopefully soon I will spot the express lanes.
Post-treatment recovery is like a long car ride to normal. “Am I there yet?” keeps running through my brain. Plus, will I recognize it when I arrive. Improvement is like a rest stop where I can once again ask “Is this the new normal?”
In the last month, I’ve had major improvement with the hot flashes. Instead of many a day, I am now going days without hot flashes. Does this mean the chemo-induced menopause is coming to an end? I certainly hope so. It is so nice to sleep through the night and not wake up in a puddle of sweat.
My energy level is still not where I want it to be. A dog walk leaves me exhausted and weak. I’m still falling asleep most nights well before 9pm and 8 hours of sleep just doesn't feel like enough. I’m hopeful this isn’t the new normal. I want more energy. I want to be back out running and just a little closer to my old self.
This week, I returned to volunteering for the Probate Court. Maybe by returning to normal activities, I can trick my body into feeling normal. You know, fake it until you can make it :-)
The worst part about the road to recovery is the speed bumps. Life before a diagnosis of cancer has the same speed bumps. Maybe it is a sore throat or pain in one spot or the other. Before cancer, you just ride over the bump, no big deal. After cancer, these bumps leave you wondering, is it more than just a sore throat? Is that pain something more than just pain?
For now, I will celebrate each good day and focus on the glimmers of good in each bad day. Most importantly, I will keep my eyes on the road to recovery and hopefully soon I will spot the express lanes.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Diminishing Side Effects
I’m happy to report that my chemo side effects are slowly diminishing. Most days the only ones that are still noticeable are the fatigue and the hot flashes. I’m now eight weeks out from my last chemo and have had to start shaving my legs again and have a decent amount of hair on my head. If it wasn’t so cold outside, I could get away with calling this short hair-do a personal choice. It will be difficult to avoid coloring my hair. I have a strange patch of dark hair right in the front and the rest of my head is a mix of gray and dark. A friend who is growing out her chemo hair said her hair initially came in very gray and as it grew the color returned. I'm going to try and see what happens before I rush back to Loreal.
I still have days where my family calls me on the chemo brain although given the chemo-induced menopause it also could just be hormone (or lack thereof) brain. I’ve read online that chemo-induced menopause can be temporary. I guess I’ll find that out eventually.
Today is my first official port flush. My cancer center schedules them every 8 weeks. Hopefully, that means the next port flush will in warmer weather.
I still have days where my family calls me on the chemo brain although given the chemo-induced menopause it also could just be hormone (or lack thereof) brain. I’ve read online that chemo-induced menopause can be temporary. I guess I’ll find that out eventually.
Today is my first official port flush. My cancer center schedules them every 8 weeks. Hopefully, that means the next port flush will in warmer weather.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
If I wasn't so tired, I'd be doing a happy dance!
Well, my post treatment doctor appointment was Tuesday morning and I'm just now blogging about it. That should tell you something. Not that the results were bad but that I'm still enduring some intense fatigue. The good news is that my CT scans from the end of December look good. No evidence of the masses that were seen in August. I will see my oncologist in April and if my blood work is good with no increased cancer markers, I won't need repeat scans until the summer. Personally, I'm hoping for PET Scans. The prep and procedure is much easier than the CT Scans. Really, they aren't fooling anyone when they try to create pina colada flavored barium.
A little bit of trivia about Barium. We learned this week watching "Factory Made" that barium is used in high end bowling balls to help give them the unbalanced roll need for those nifty looking curve balls. It came as quite a relief to Gary who has tried for years to get the cheap old bowling alley balls to do that.
So now I'm officially a lymphoma survivor. Right now it feels good but not as good as it will feel when I'm done with all the chemotherapy side effects. For lymphoma patients that seek out my blog for information, right now the main side effects are fatigue, peripheral neuropathy (which still seems worse in my right hand and right foot), a little chemo brain and hot flashes from the chemo-induced menopause. I actually think the hot flashes and fatigue go hand in hand because it really is hard to get a good nights sleep. I know a lot of cancer patients who add Ambien to there medications but right now I'm trying to avoid it.
I've been researching post treatment recovery and understand that it can take months to fully recover. My white blood count was a little low and I know that can be causing some of the fatigue. Right now I'm trying to aid the recovery with exercise, nutrition and daily naps. I will let you know how that goes and until then thanks again for all the light, love, warm thoughts and prayers.
A little bit of trivia about Barium. We learned this week watching "Factory Made" that barium is used in high end bowling balls to help give them the unbalanced roll need for those nifty looking curve balls. It came as quite a relief to Gary who has tried for years to get the cheap old bowling alley balls to do that.
So now I'm officially a lymphoma survivor. Right now it feels good but not as good as it will feel when I'm done with all the chemotherapy side effects. For lymphoma patients that seek out my blog for information, right now the main side effects are fatigue, peripheral neuropathy (which still seems worse in my right hand and right foot), a little chemo brain and hot flashes from the chemo-induced menopause. I actually think the hot flashes and fatigue go hand in hand because it really is hard to get a good nights sleep. I know a lot of cancer patients who add Ambien to there medications but right now I'm trying to avoid it.
I've been researching post treatment recovery and understand that it can take months to fully recover. My white blood count was a little low and I know that can be causing some of the fatigue. Right now I'm trying to aid the recovery with exercise, nutrition and daily naps. I will let you know how that goes and until then thanks again for all the light, love, warm thoughts and prayers.
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