Thursday, November 18, 2010

Not much has happened in the last week. Blood work came back good including potassium this week. I've been concentrating on eating food containing potassium including orange juice, pineapple, baked potato's, Progresso Chicken soup (has tons of K due to using potassium chloride as a salt), etc. I am tired of eating bananas so I'm trying to get more creative in things to eat.

Yesterdays chemo was another fun day. Requested Susan since she still seems to be the only one who could get my IV started. Waited 1.5 hours to be called and told someone else would get my IV started and start my Zometa (bone strengthener) until Susan was freed up. DUH!!!! If someone else starts my IV I really don't need Susan and I waited 1.5 hours for nothing! As you could imagine this brought out the "sweetness" in my personality - NOT! So the new nurse tried to find a vein until she gave up (thankfully she had enough sense not to try to stick me with needles knowing she couldn't find a vein) and went and found Susan. Susan laughed when she came in to the room and said she told them the same thing I thought - "If you get her IV started she doesn't need me!" So now almost 2 hours of sitting before they started treatments. Just another day in ......... (you fill in the blank).

Otherwise everything else is going well. Just tired as usual and frustrated that I can't do anything once I get home in the evening. Hopefully this weekend I could take a stab at trying to clean the house one room at a time. It may take all day to do the living-room but I'm bound and determined to do it.

Until next week - keep warm and healthy!

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Sorry for not checking in for a while. CAT scan was last week and although the news wasn't bad, it wasn't what I wanted to hear. NO CHANGE. Believe me - I am looking at this as a positive but I'm a little down since it means chemo continues for another 12 weeks. As my cousin Carol pointed out this brings it to right before my birthday and would make for a great present if the next CAT scan showed continued shrinking. In the mean time I continue to trek to the hospital every Wednesday for treatments.

Potassium level seems to be hanging in there and normal. I've been drinking a lot of orange juice which I'm guessing is helping. Chemo does strange things to your body. I'm sure it's because it brings your immune system way in way down so your susceptible to infections. I ended up with a bladder infection and an open sore on my tailbone. Doctor did a swab on the sore to make sure it wasn't anything exotic but everything came out OK. So pills and cream to clear up both infections.

I did learn last week (after 6 months no less) that you can request a certain nurse in chemo. So Susan will be my choice from now on since even in those rare times she doesn't get the IV in first time, it doesn't seem to hurt when she does it.

Tomorrow starts week 1 of the next 12 weeks. Hopefully it will be uneventful and I'll fly right through it.

Until there is more to report I wish you all good health!

Monday, November 1, 2010

CAT scan Wednesday to see if chemo is working. Keep your fingers crossed!