Chemo Treatment #2

June 24. Chemo Treatment #2. Not such a big deal now...took my pre-meds, wore the right clothing, put the numbing cream on my port, packed some snacks, my phone, a book and headed off to Waverly with my chemo partner: Mom. Vlad took the opportunity to take this nice shot of his thriving cactus collection, although it only represents about a third of the grand total.

For this treatment we brought the camera to capture the madness. First step is get your counts: My red blood count was good...white blood count was low (3.2---normal is 7-10). Everyone made waaay too much of a big deal about a few lost pounds. Don't worry about me losing too much weight folks...it will come back easily when I can eat all the food I love again. And I plan to have a huge smorgasbord at the end of the Chemo Phase with all kinds of indulgences. Zoe....can you convince Vlad to make some of those delicious spinach clatite for the party? And, oh!, how I look forward to the gigantic, homemade butter rich pound cake with gobs of chocolate ice cream with 6 candles to commemorate the end of each treatment.

Have any of you ever been in a chemo room? The chemo room at Waverly is an interesting combination of tranquilty and astounding bizarrity. Imagine patients settled into comfortable recliners, with books on their laps and friends by their sides. Their recliners face large open windows with unobstructed views of the beautiful upper branches of the trees that surround the building. It feels like you are in treehouse as you watch the sunlight dance between the leaves and see the birds and squirrels move effortlessly from one branch to another. There is a large table filled with books and magazines , poetry, music, scarves, hats and notes of inspiration. Some patients quietly talk to one another sharing their stories, some laugh easily, others cry, and others sit silent with their eyes closed. Each one of them is tentacled to a portable machine through a needle in their chest wall. Through this odd looking connection fluids pour into their bodies. What's astonishing is that this fluid is a poison that is both hurting them and healing them. An uncomfortable duality that makes you not want to be there, but never to miss a treatment.

Since my white cell count was down I have to take those expensive shots that tell my bone marrow to get busy building white blood cells. I'm not looking foward to those side effects, but I'll endure them as I do NOT want to be turned away Jul 15th for Treatment #3. I've got a schedule to keep and a party to plan!

After I received my fill of the herceptin, taxotere, and carboplatin, the plan was to head over to the Lovely Lady to shave my head and get fitted for the wig. However, with my groovy short haircut the balding is less noticable (at least that is what I am telling myself)....so...I'm hanging on to every hair on my head as long as I can. With great relief, Mom and I packed our bags and headed out for some shopping therapy. First the shoe store, then some fun boutiques, before we ended up at the grocery store to stock up on our favorite drink of the moment: Arizona de-caffinated, sugar-free ginseng ice tea. Only one grocery store sells it so when we find it--we stock up! Leftover jugs get converted into scoops for Vlad's homemade soil brews---and for whatever else inspires Vlad.......



It's Sunday afternoon as I am writing this blog and the effects of the chemo are setting in. Mostly loss of appetite, metal mouth, fatigue, a thirst that cannot be quenched, headaches....all manageable. It will be an uncomfortable week, but the further away I get from Jun 24th, the better I will feel and best of all, the smaller the tumor will be.

I'll end today's entry with a whimsical look at this thing we call cancer. Maybe if we can find a away to laugh at it we don't have to be so scared about it. It should be no surprise that Stephanie and Rhondi picked this card out. These 2 will always help you find your way back to the lighter side of life.