So the oncologist said today would be like "being hit by a truck" ...always something to look forward to? I will admit that I felt pretty darn good yesterday...but today I was a wee bit more tired. Okay, whilst I didn't feel like I got hit by a truck it was a bit more "in my face" to start the day. But I kept the Doors song in mind and kept singing, "break on through to the other side" and that seemed to get me through. You do whatever it takes at times like these!
This should be the worst of the days (although a cumulative effect as it will get a little bit worse each time). So I am feeling blessed.
Sunday, 7 April 2013
Saturday, 6 April 2013
Day 2...fatigue or not to fatigue
Another great day today....They say that the real fatigue is to set in ...tomorrow or the next day. Well, today I felt a little less energetic but as suggested by the doctor, I went for a walk when feeling this way. It was a gorgeous day and the family went out for a couple hours along the Warrandyte trail. And that pretty much kept today's fatigue at bay.
I plan on doing the same tomorrow. No need to play into the "average" type person symptoms I say...after all, I was in the 1 percent margin for having the reaction the other day. Why not be in the small percentage that don't feel the major fatigue?
Or...is it per the film we watched tonight, The Castle, "you're dreamin'?". I will let you know tomorrow!
I plan on doing the same tomorrow. No need to play into the "average" type person symptoms I say...after all, I was in the 1 percent margin for having the reaction the other day. Why not be in the small percentage that don't feel the major fatigue?
Or...is it per the film we watched tonight, The Castle, "you're dreamin'?". I will let you know tomorrow!
Thursday, 4 April 2013
How cool is this...
I just got a call from the Royal Childrens hospital and they wanted to know if they can use my breast tissue that was removed for cancer research! What an honour to be helping others get rid of this nasty piece of work in our world!
How do I feel today?! Day one after chemo is going really well! I got my walk in. Had a coffee and a beautiful breakfast ...it tasted a little like tin foil but was able to mask that taste as per the directions in the cookbook I talked about in an earlier blog. So great outcome. Have been drinking LOTS of water to flush the system.
The coming 2-3 days is when I will probably the fatigue and exercise is best to combat that so will go for another walk later today when a bit cooler. One day closer to the end of this journey. I love the sounds of that!
How do I feel today?! Day one after chemo is going really well! I got my walk in. Had a coffee and a beautiful breakfast ...it tasted a little like tin foil but was able to mask that taste as per the directions in the cookbook I talked about in an earlier blog. So great outcome. Have been drinking LOTS of water to flush the system.
The coming 2-3 days is when I will probably the fatigue and exercise is best to combat that so will go for another walk later today when a bit cooler. One day closer to the end of this journey. I love the sounds of that!
Round One
This morning Laurice had her first session of Chemo;
The morning started with a visit with her Oncologist Prof Michael Green, He began with some great news in that Laurice wouldn't not be needing Radiation Therapy!!
Prof Green once again explained some of the possible side effects of her particular chemo cocktail, stressing that she would be pumped full of pre-chemo meds to ward off nausea before the chemo starts and that there was a remote chance (1% of cases) that there may be an allergic reaction to one of the drugs ; Taxotere.
The Chemo Clinic is right across the hall from Prof Green's office, so before long Laurice was seated in a big recliner, the room was full of patients receiving various forms of chemo. Laurice was the youngest in the room and a quick look around was enough to convince her that life is too short to wear bad wigs and when her time comes to loose her hair ( in the next 2 weeks!) she will proudly be bold and go bald! rather than suffer under one of the favoured polyester wigs we spotted today.
Lucy the Chemo Nurse began searching in vain for vein (pardon the pun) but after 3 attempts gave up and deferred to her colleague, Amy who looked like she was fresh out of nursing school. However Amy was clearly in charge of the oncology unit and didn't mess around, she looked Laurice's arm up and down , grabbed a needle and got a vein at first try ( much to Laurice's 'the needle-phobe's' delight). First came the pre chemo meds and a flu shot, Laurice had no problem, then came the Cyclophosphamide, apart from being able to "feel" the drug entering her body and a faint metallic taste, Laurice was feeling OK and spent her time chatting and reading.
Just as we were enjoying some cheese and crackers, the patient next to Laurice started getting her dose of Taxotere. ( the 2nd of Laurice's chemo cocktail) Within 5 mins she started feeling hot and had tightness in her chest, the nurses recognising an allergic reaction and quickly administered drugs to reverse the reaction and bring the unfortunate lady back to normal again. I said to Laurice that this was her lucky day, since if this reaction happens in 1% of cases, the lady next to her was the 1% and Laurice would now "statistically" be more likely to fall in the 99 %!
Well no one told the statisticians that Laurice was supposed to be in the 99%!!! . Just 3 mins into her scheduled 1hr dose, Laurice had an allergic reaction. She felt the drug go into her arm , her chest tightened and she began to find it hard to breathe, she turn bright red and her temperature shot way up. her head was swimming and she felt like passing out. The nurse quickly turned off the IV gave her
hydrocortisone to reverse the effects of the Taxotere. They then gave her a huge dose of fenergen ( an antihistamine ) After half an hour she started feeling a bit drowsy so Laurice said to me " get me 300mls of strong iced coffee STAT!!!" I fetched the coffee and Laurice self-administered over the next 20 mins, while the last of the fenergen went into her arm. Then it was time for the Taxotere again, this time around Laurice broke through the 3 minute barrier without any issues!!
Laurice has alway taken pride in her project management capabilities however what was supposed to be a 3 hour morning turned into a long 7 hour day! Being behind schedule NEVER makes Laurice comfortable!
Armed with a bag full of anti nausea drugs I took a slightly groggy but otherwise fine Laurice home. The next few days will be all about managing nausea and waiting for the chemo truck to hit around day 4!
Thank you for all of your messages of support and a huge thank you to the Team Laurice Support crew for stocking up the fridge and freezer while we were at the hospital,
More updates soon
Team Laurice
The morning started with a visit with her Oncologist Prof Michael Green, He began with some great news in that Laurice wouldn't not be needing Radiation Therapy!!
Prof Green once again explained some of the possible side effects of her particular chemo cocktail, stressing that she would be pumped full of pre-chemo meds to ward off nausea before the chemo starts and that there was a remote chance (1% of cases) that there may be an allergic reaction to one of the drugs ; Taxotere.
The Chemo Clinic is right across the hall from Prof Green's office, so before long Laurice was seated in a big recliner, the room was full of patients receiving various forms of chemo. Laurice was the youngest in the room and a quick look around was enough to convince her that life is too short to wear bad wigs and when her time comes to loose her hair ( in the next 2 weeks!) she will proudly be bold and go bald! rather than suffer under one of the favoured polyester wigs we spotted today.
Lucy the Chemo Nurse began searching in vain for vein (pardon the pun) but after 3 attempts gave up and deferred to her colleague, Amy who looked like she was fresh out of nursing school. However Amy was clearly in charge of the oncology unit and didn't mess around, she looked Laurice's arm up and down , grabbed a needle and got a vein at first try ( much to Laurice's 'the needle-phobe's' delight). First came the pre chemo meds and a flu shot, Laurice had no problem, then came the Cyclophosphamide, apart from being able to "feel" the drug entering her body and a faint metallic taste, Laurice was feeling OK and spent her time chatting and reading.
Just as we were enjoying some cheese and crackers, the patient next to Laurice started getting her dose of Taxotere. ( the 2nd of Laurice's chemo cocktail) Within 5 mins she started feeling hot and had tightness in her chest, the nurses recognising an allergic reaction and quickly administered drugs to reverse the reaction and bring the unfortunate lady back to normal again. I said to Laurice that this was her lucky day, since if this reaction happens in 1% of cases, the lady next to her was the 1% and Laurice would now "statistically" be more likely to fall in the 99 %!
Well no one told the statisticians that Laurice was supposed to be in the 99%!!! . Just 3 mins into her scheduled 1hr dose, Laurice had an allergic reaction. She felt the drug go into her arm , her chest tightened and she began to find it hard to breathe, she turn bright red and her temperature shot way up. her head was swimming and she felt like passing out. The nurse quickly turned off the IV gave her
hydrocortisone to reverse the effects of the Taxotere. They then gave her a huge dose of fenergen ( an antihistamine ) After half an hour she started feeling a bit drowsy so Laurice said to me " get me 300mls of strong iced coffee STAT!!!" I fetched the coffee and Laurice self-administered over the next 20 mins, while the last of the fenergen went into her arm. Then it was time for the Taxotere again, this time around Laurice broke through the 3 minute barrier without any issues!!
Laurice has alway taken pride in her project management capabilities however what was supposed to be a 3 hour morning turned into a long 7 hour day! Being behind schedule NEVER makes Laurice comfortable!
Armed with a bag full of anti nausea drugs I took a slightly groggy but otherwise fine Laurice home. The next few days will be all about managing nausea and waiting for the chemo truck to hit around day 4!
Thank you for all of your messages of support and a huge thank you to the Team Laurice Support crew for stocking up the fridge and freezer while we were at the hospital,
More updates soon
Team Laurice
Wednesday, 3 April 2013
Blah
I was in a terrible space today. I woke up with a headache and a very sore throat. Since I am a person that is NEVER sick this not only made me not feel well but messed with my head! One is not supposed to be sick prior to going into chemo. So my apologies to those I came across today and especially Marge, Tony, Keeley and Zac who had to put up with my miserable grouchy space!
All fine at the surgeon, although it was a surreal scene out of Pulp Fiction (when the needle is sticking out of Uma Thurman's chest) for about 10 minutes. Ugh.
Then off to the oncology dept to get the run down on all the possible ways I am going to feel horrible in the coming week/months. I told Marissa I had been looking forward to meeting with her but I took it all back after our talk. She said she gets that a lot. I asked her why she did what she did for a living...but it sounded kind of like my job...she loves what she does and she meets great people (just not always given the greatest of circumstances). I get that.
Off I go to bed...in a sour space (but feel like I've almost kicked the worst of it with the 20 000 mg of Vitamin C I put in me on top of washing it down with the Green Gunk (made especially by Tony) and the Everything Juice (made by me) and the mint and lemongrass tea (made straight from the garden). Tomorrow I'll be back on track and ready to get on the chemotrain.
All fine at the surgeon, although it was a surreal scene out of Pulp Fiction (when the needle is sticking out of Uma Thurman's chest) for about 10 minutes. Ugh.
Then off to the oncology dept to get the run down on all the possible ways I am going to feel horrible in the coming week/months. I told Marissa I had been looking forward to meeting with her but I took it all back after our talk. She said she gets that a lot. I asked her why she did what she did for a living...but it sounded kind of like my job...she loves what she does and she meets great people (just not always given the greatest of circumstances). I get that.
Off I go to bed...in a sour space (but feel like I've almost kicked the worst of it with the 20 000 mg of Vitamin C I put in me on top of washing it down with the Green Gunk (made especially by Tony) and the Everything Juice (made by me) and the mint and lemongrass tea (made straight from the garden). Tomorrow I'll be back on track and ready to get on the chemotrain.
Tuesday, 2 April 2013
C Day - Thursday!
Tomorrow (or now today as it's early morning as I write this) I am off to see the surgeon and then the chemo-ologist (I just made that up as I was writing a friend of mine...I kind of like it). Her name is Marissa. Marissa will take me through all the do's and dont's, the questions, the layout of the routine, how to make yourself feel better when going through the down times, etc. I met her last week - I like her!
So we'll have a fun day with the kids (Keeley has asked to go to one of the universities and walk around...can't help but to feed THAT passion!). I've been wanting to go to a Thai place down near University of Melbourne so we might hit both and call it a successful day!
Then Thursday will be the day I start chemo. I basically meet with the Oncologist first for a couple minutes, then head off to meet Marissa. The whole "routine" will take around 3 hours. Then they say typically you don't feel too bad for around 12-24 hours...then you feel like BLEEP BLEEP! So the doors will be locked and the shades down as I hole myself up if I feel like BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP!
The three week cycle for people typically means that for a week you feel really horrible and very fatigued and your taste buds usually are struggling to work with much enthusiasm since the chemo strips them right back (a very important reason why to get the food intake right to be able to keep the strength up). Then the second week you start to get some taste back and the third week the body starts to feel "okay" again...then they fill you up for the next dose. now, that's how a lot of people feel on average but everyone feels different. So I'll work out how I feel and then respond accordingly.
It will be really important to stay healthy and strong at this time. The white blood cell count is key as the immune system is extremely vulnerable. So this is where the food / hydration is quite important.
I met with some of the key members of Team Laurice today who are contributing to the food during this cycle. A friend loaned me a cookbook which she used whilst supporting someone else going through this .... (Book is: The Cancer Fighting Kitchen http://rebeccakatz.com/books/the-cancer-fighting-kitchen/) A good book to have at this point in time!
So that's it for now. If I don't get online tomorrow then the next blog may be from Tony giving you an update on things!
Thanks for your continued support my friends!
So we'll have a fun day with the kids (Keeley has asked to go to one of the universities and walk around...can't help but to feed THAT passion!). I've been wanting to go to a Thai place down near University of Melbourne so we might hit both and call it a successful day!
Then Thursday will be the day I start chemo. I basically meet with the Oncologist first for a couple minutes, then head off to meet Marissa. The whole "routine" will take around 3 hours. Then they say typically you don't feel too bad for around 12-24 hours...then you feel like BLEEP BLEEP! So the doors will be locked and the shades down as I hole myself up if I feel like BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP!
The three week cycle for people typically means that for a week you feel really horrible and very fatigued and your taste buds usually are struggling to work with much enthusiasm since the chemo strips them right back (a very important reason why to get the food intake right to be able to keep the strength up). Then the second week you start to get some taste back and the third week the body starts to feel "okay" again...then they fill you up for the next dose. now, that's how a lot of people feel on average but everyone feels different. So I'll work out how I feel and then respond accordingly.
It will be really important to stay healthy and strong at this time. The white blood cell count is key as the immune system is extremely vulnerable. So this is where the food / hydration is quite important.
I met with some of the key members of Team Laurice today who are contributing to the food during this cycle. A friend loaned me a cookbook which she used whilst supporting someone else going through this .... (Book is: The Cancer Fighting Kitchen http://rebeccakatz.com/books/the-cancer-fighting-kitchen/) A good book to have at this point in time!
So that's it for now. If I don't get online tomorrow then the next blog may be from Tony giving you an update on things!
Thanks for your continued support my friends!
Shave for a Cure - Thanks for your support!
Keeley and I wanted to thank everyone who helped us raise money for the World's Greatest Shave. Keeley was the only one in the Junior school that participated (dying her hair red). The local hair dresser (Adina at McAdam Square) sponsored me by cutting my hair quite short (in anticipation of losing it all in the next three weeks-it will be more forgiving as I lose it with this style!) and putting a flare of red and blond in it as well.
We raised just over $600 so we thank everyone for their very kind donations! Check out Team Laurice here:
http://my.leukaemiafoundation.org.au/TeamPage.aspx?Referrer=http%3a%2f%2fwww.worldsgreatestshave.com%2fsupport&teamID=76179
In the past week we have learned of several friends who are supporting their friends children who are currently battling Leukemia. It's a horrendous cancer so to hear of 5 children under the age of 21 in just the past week (by two degrees of separation) is quite profound.
It's a small effort we did but as we all know ...a small effort goes a long ways!
To give and then not feel that one has given is the very best of all ways of giving.
Max Beerbohm
We raised just over $600 so we thank everyone for their very kind donations! Check out Team Laurice here:
http://my.leukaemiafoundation.org.au/TeamPage.aspx?Referrer=http%3a%2f%2fwww.worldsgreatestshave.com%2fsupport&teamID=76179
In the past week we have learned of several friends who are supporting their friends children who are currently battling Leukemia. It's a horrendous cancer so to hear of 5 children under the age of 21 in just the past week (by two degrees of separation) is quite profound.
It's a small effort we did but as we all know ...a small effort goes a long ways!
To give and then not feel that one has given is the very best of all ways of giving.
Max Beerbohm
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