Saturday, December 22, 2012

Chemo - Round 2

Yesterday morning, Nathan & I dropped the kids off at the neighbor's house bright & early and headed to my second round of chemo.

After drawing blood, they sent me up to see the doc. He didn't have much new to say. Basically he just addressed some issues I'm having (sore feet & insomnia) and sent me on my way. He did say that my potassium is low and that my hemoglobin is getting to the point where I have to start watching for symptoms like shortness of breath, pale skin, fatigue, rapid heart rate, etc. If it gets lower, I may need a blood transfusion. Fun!

Back in the infusion center, my nurse started pumping me with fluids. Her evil plan to make me exercise (by walking back & forth to the bathroom) was once again successful. 5 trips this time! The chemo meds weren't too bad, other than the awful taste. In case you didn't know, some people can taste meds given via IV. I can even taste the Heparin she gives me at the end. YUCK! Thank goodness for Jolly Ranchers!

Yesterday afternoon, I had a few bouts of severe nausea but never got sick. Today has been much the same. I slept until 11 & then had a wonderful day with Nathan's dad, stepmom, and brother. They brought half of Toys R Us to the kids. We spent the afternoon & evening watching the 3Es play in the middle of the living room floor. It was so great! LOVE my babies!

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Bone Marrow - CLEAR!


Today, I had to go in for blood work & a quick visit with the oncologist. He is very happy with my progress so far. The swollen node in my neck is visibly smaller, and my cough is gone! This means the first chemo treatment did exactly what we hoped it would do: started shrinking the tumor! WOOHOO!

Doc said my labs look great. I'm showing no signs of Tumor Lysis Syndrome, which would mean my body is having trouble getting rid of the dead/dying cancer cells. My kidneys are functioning just as they should, so he's happy with that (as am I). I have to continue on Allipurinol (for uric acid) until my next treatment, but should be able to discontinue it if my kidneys can keep up.

The long-awaited results of my bone marrow biopsy show that there is NO BONE MARROW INVOLVEMENT! WOOHOO! This means that my cancer is officially Stage II B. My International Prognostic Index (IPI) score is 1. Each point 0-5 is a poor prognostic factor. I have one, which was high LDH (lactate dehydrogenase). He said it's barely high, but still high. A score of 1 is considered the low risk group. You can read more about IPI at this link, but let me assure you, it's good news! 

So, with the good news of the bone marrow biopsy, our current plan remains pretty much unchanged. 3 more chemo treatments and then a repeat PET scan. That scan, along with a visit with the Radiation Oncologist, will determine whether more chemo and/or radiation are needed. 

Upcoming appointments:
12/21/12 (maybe...Mayans?) - blood work, oncologist check-up, chemo treatment
12/23/12 (yes...a Sunday) - Neulasta shot (to boost WBC production...and make my bones ache just in time for Christmas)

Monday, December 10, 2012

(Almost) Bald Is Beautiful

Several of the medications in my chemo regimen cause hair loss. It's not a matter of if my hair will fall out, but when it will. I've read/heard different time tables...anywhere from 10 days past the 1st treatment to right after 2nd treatment. Since my hair was down past my shoulders, I worried about the mess that would come when it starts falling out. I've heard that it doesn't fall out a few strands at a time. It's like your hair follicles just open up and your hair runs away screaming.

So, in order to avoid as much of the upcoming mess as possible, and in order to prepare the kids (okay, and myself) for the shock of bald Momma, I decided to take matters into my own hands. My sweet hubby stopped by and talked to the lady who normally cuts my hair last week. (Big confession...I don't pay huge prices to get my hair done. I go to Great Clips. LOL!) She said she would be honored to shave me bald. How sweet! She even offered to come out to the house to shave it for me so we could avoid crowds/gawkers.

After much discussion, I decided that Saturday was the day. 8 days post-treatment. After a great visit with (one set of) the ILs, I tried to take a nap. But as I lay in bed, tossing & turning, I started to chicken out. I got up & told Nathan we had to leave immediately...before I decided against it.

Before we left, I read the kids a new book we got called "Mom Has Cancer". It's a great little picture book that explains a lot.





As we walked across the parking lot to the hair place, my heart was pounding. I was more nervous about walking through that door than I've been any other time during this whole ordeal. Well...maybe with the exception of the port placement.

We picked a great time to go. There was only one customer there, and my hair lady was almost done with her. We sat for a few minutes, and then it was my turn. My hair lady confessed that she was very nervous, having never done a buzz cut on a woman. I told her that we could be nervous and possibly cry together.

Here I am, gearing up for the big cut!


Now we're halfway there...


WOW...


They were left with this big pile to clean up...


Bald is beautiful! Thank you, Amy!

The only person who cried was the other hairdresser in the shop. We all stayed strong!

Emory loves my new cut. He says, "I will love you even if you don't have any hair."

Evie likes it, and even asked if she could cut all her hair off.

Emmit hates it. He wouldn't touch my head, and informed that I am not allowed to pick him up at school unless I wear a hat.

Nathan says it looks pretty cool.

I love it, except for that whole cold head thing. Thank goodness for caps & scarves!

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

I Have Cancer

I have cancer.

I have non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

I have Stage II-B Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma.

I have cancer.

It doesn't matter how many times I say it. It doesn't matter which words I use. It still sounds like I'm talking about someone else. I know it's real. I know it's inside me. I feel bad. I have who knows what kind of poison running through my body attacking this shit. But it just doesn't seem like I, Suzi Mitchell, could possibly be talking about myself when I say the words "I have cancer."

I guess it'll really sink in later. Maybe when all my hair falls out. Maybe when I go for my next round of chemo. Maybe when I hear the word "remission". Who knows. I'm sure it'll sink in at some point.


Saturday, December 1, 2012

Stage II B

Yesterday, my oncologist met with us before my first chemo infusion. While we're still waiting on the results of the bone marrow biopsy, he has gone ahead and staged my lymphoma. Stage II B. Stage II means the cancer showed up on the PET scan somewhere besides the main tumor. It is also in a few lymph nodes on the right side of my neck. B means I'm having other symptoms, like drenching night sweats and weight loss. Once the bone marrow biopsy results come back, the stage may change, but it doesn't change the early treatment plan. It'll just let us know if there's more cancer to fight. He said it's likely that there is some in the marrow, as I am anemic, but he's hopeful there's nothing there.

My first chemo treatment went well. The longest part was getting fluids. They apparently wanted to make me spend most of the day walking back & forth to the bathroom. Their evil plan worked. I made 6 trips to pee while we were there. The three chemo meds only took about an hour. One was an hour long drip. The other two were pushed via syringe. It wasn't so bad, except for the strange tastes in the back of my mouth. 

I slept all day yesterday and all night last night. I've been tired today, but I ate a giant plate of spaghetti. It was divine. After having eaten very little over the past 2 weeks, that huge plate really hit the spot. And thankfully, it has stayed in that spot. 

Nathan has been awesome with the kids. I can tell they are testing his patience, but he's doing great. They don't understand what all is going on, so they are up to their usual badness.

Thanks for your continued thoughts & prayers.