Happy May Day!!

Ok…so you may not be very happy on this cold and wet May Day, but it IS May and that means that warmer weather should be here to stay sometime soon. I think. I hope? Let’s try this again…I KNOW. The power of positive thinking….right? I KNOW that May will have MORE warm days than cold days…it just might not seem like it right now. J

So I am realizing that I really haven’t written in a very long time. Sorry about that! I think I just got sidetracked with being busy (state volleyball tournaments, weddings, showers, impromptu dental appointments). And then after I had my very last big chemo day, I wasn’t feeling so hot, so I wasn’t up for writing much of anything.

My oncologist says that chemo is cumulative so that it builds up in your system over time. I can tell by my finger nails and toe nails. They look pretty awful right now….bruised and yellowed in places with a tendency to bend backwards in pain when I catch them on things. I had no idea that this was even a symptom of chemo, but a survivor I recently met, told me that they will probably fall off. Lovely. I have never been nail-less before. I guess that is just part of the deal.

Other than having nail issues, last week I felt pretty nauseous, tired and I had a hard time eating. It wasn’t hard to eat because my stomach felt off; it was difficult to eat because things just tasted awful. It bums me out when I look forward to eating something and then it just tastes off and it is hard to swallow. That is one of my least favorite symptoms of chemo. (Not that I really love any of the symptoms…but the taste thing just bums me out…because I love to eat and I love to ENJOY my food!) The good news is that I didn’t get hives this time around. Hooray!

So my last big round of chemo was on April 19^th. What does that mean? Well, instead of going in for harsh IV chemo drugs every 3 weeks (Carboplatin, Taxotere and Herceptin), I will only have to go in every 3 weeks for 1 of the drugs (Herceptin).

What’s the scoop with Herceptin? Well…it has been the drug I have received intravenously every week since I started chemo on January 4^th. It is supposed to be the drug that carries the least amount of “chemo” side effects of the 3 drugs that I have been getting, so I hope to feel better moving forward. Oh…and my hair should start to grow back too! Yay! (It will be interesting to see how it grows back…people keep telling me that their hair grew back thicker and curlier. Since I originally had thick, curly/wavy hair, I just hope it comes back the same, if not similar. We shall see!)

The one risk that comes with taking Herceptin is the risk of REVERSIBLE heart damage. (And yes, I did say reversible.) I had an Echocardiogram before starting my treatment in January, I had a follow up Echocardiogram last Friday and will continue to have them every 3 months to monitor my heart function until I am done taking Herceptin at the end of 2013. I have not gotten the results from Friday’s test, but I am hopeful that all is well.

Other things that are coming up soon…Race for the Cure on Mother’s Day and then surgery 2 days after that. Also, I will have another journal entry and some Benefit pictures to post in the next week.

Thanks for following along with my journey... J

Love to all,

Nae