Return to work......and update on my sister, Wanda....

Tuesday, November 12, 2013:

On Monday I saw my Oncologist's PA and then went to see my plastic surgeon.  All my radiation treatments are over and my Oncologist needed to put me on a pill I will take every day for the next 5 years.  She prescribed 1 mg. Arimidex.  ARIMIDEX works by lowering the amount of the hormone estrogen in the body.  I will be having a bone density test within the next few weeks to get a baseline for comparison of my bone health in the future.

Here are a list of possible side effects:

Based on information from a study in patients with early breast cancer, women with a history of blockages in heart arteries (ischemic heart disease) who take ARIMIDEX may have a slight increase in this type of heart disease compared to similar patients who take tamoxifen

ARIMIDEX can cause bone softening/weakening (osteoporosis) increasing the chance of fractures. In a clinical study in early breast cancer, there were more fractures (including fractures of the spine, hip, and wrist) with ARIMIDEX (10%) than with tamoxifen (7%)

In a clinical study in early breast cancer, some patients taking ARIMIDEX had an increase in cholesterol. Skin reactions, allergic reactions, and changes in blood tests of liver function have also been reported

In the early breast cancer clinical trial, the most common side effects seen with ARIMIDEX include hot flashes, joint symptoms (including arthritis and arthralgia), weakness, mood changes, pain, back pain, sore throat, nausea and vomiting, rash, depression, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, fractures, swelling of arms/legs, insomnia, and headache

In advanced breast cancer trials, the most common side effects seen with ARIMIDEX versus tamoxifen include hot flashes, nausea, decreased energy and weakness, pain, back pain, headache, bone pain, increased cough, shortness of breath, sore throat, and swelling of arms and legs. Joint pain/stiffness has been reported in association with the use of ARIMIDEX.

So, sounds like a lot of fun, doesn't it?  Sheesh.  I guess I should be thankful that there is a drug out there that will keep the cancer from returning, but that tiny, one milligram pill is going to be a tough one to swallow.

When I saw my plastic surgeon he said everything was going well with my healing.  I still have a tiny hole left in my breast where the open wound is still not totally healed.  I will go back to see Dr. Kays in a month.  He is wanting to make sure the radiation has not shrunk my breast a noticeable amount.  He has only seen a couple of cases where that has happened.  Honestly I don't think it will be a problem for me.  I do have some discoloration and have been told it will fade with time.  I also have a place on my back where the radiation went THROUGH my body and sunburned my back.  So, that means that my lungs got radiated.  I asked my Oncologist what it has done to my lungs and she said, hopefully nothing.  What the heck kind of answer is that?  She said my lungs sounded good and that worse case they could have been sunburned like my skin.  So, I guess if I don't have any symptoms then all is well.  (Fingers crossed).

The doctor allowed me to return to work tomorrow, Wednesday.  I have enough vacation time left that I did not use that I will not have to go back until January 2nd.  Yaaay!  If the Lord is willing and that is his plan then maybe, just maybe I will be one of the 30 that are being given the Voluntary Retirement Package at work.  If not, worse case, I will have about 7 1/2 months more to work and I will be out of there anyway.

Some of you may know this but for those that don't, my sister, Wanda, who is two years younger than me was diagnosed with an auto-immune disease about the same time I was diagnosed with cancer.  It is called Large granular lymphocyte.
What happens is the large granular lymphocytes are supposed to be the front line and kills all the bad cells in the body.  What happens though is something goes wrong in the body and the lgl's start killing off the civilians, the neutrophils, the good cells.  It has caused Wanda's white blood cell counts to fall to dangerous levels.  Her only symptoms that anything was wrong was she felt a little tired.  It was abnormal blood work that prompted her doctor to refer her to an oncologist who then diagnosed her condition.  To treat her, the Oncologist gave her massive doses of steroids (Prednisone) along with a cancer drug called Methotrexate, given in pill form once a week.  She was taking several pills of Methotrexate one time a week.  These drugs wreaked havoc on her health!  To begin with, her doctor expected her white blood count to fall once she began the routine.  True to form, that is what happened.  Every six weeks or so, she would go back to the doctor.  He would adjust the dosages of the steroid and Methotrexate each time based on her blood work.  As time went on, progress slowed and Wanda came down with the Shingles virus.  If you are familiar with this, it comes from the virus that is still in your body if you ever had chicken pox.  When your immune system is compromised is when it rears it's ugly head.  Ask anyone who has had it and they will tell you it is terribly, terribly painful.  The illness attacks the nerves in the body.  It can manifest itself anywhere on the body, including the eyes.  It is contagious when it is in the blister stages.  Thank God I did not go around her while she was contagious.  With my immune system already compromised, I could have gotten it very easily through contact.  With Wanda having shingles, it only complicated her getting better.  She had to start taking Lyrica along with the other drugs.  She was having serious multiple side effects, too many to mention here.  She gained 35 lbs. or so.  Her hair was falling out and the list goes on and on.  Her Oncologist finally decided to wean her off the Prednisone and reduce the amount of Methotrexate she was taking.  They did see an improvement in her white cell blood counts.  He also referred her a another physician in Chapel Hill.  This past Thursday we went to see Dr. Ma, an Oncologist.  She was great.  She said that even though LGL is called leukemia, it is not at all.  She said what Wanda had was very, very minor and would take months to ever get better.  In her 15 years practice she has only seen four other cases like Wanda's.  Since Wanda has responded to the Methotrexate she wants her to continue to take it.  There are two other drugs she can prescribe for her but she does not want to go there unless it is absolutely necessary.  She wants Wanda's white blood count to get to 1000 and stay at 1000 or better for a year, then she will take her off the Methotrexate.  She said the dosage Wanda is taking is very, very small and will not hurt her.  Wanda has gone back to work.  She has stopped taking the Lyrica and steroids.  She still has pain from the shingles but takes Ibuprofen for it.  Sometimes the pain may take a year or more to completely go away.  So, thank all of you for your prayers for Wanda.  It was all good news and her life can get back to normal.  I feel like what I went through in comparison to Wanda was a piece of cake.  We have both been blessed, are both on the mend and have a bright future to look forward to.

May god Bless you all.  I will continue to update this blog periodically if things dictate a need to do so.  But, for the most part, I hope all the drama in my life is over with. ;-)

Hugs and love,

Glenda

Update on Radiation Treatment.....

Sunday, October 27, 2013:

Happy Halloween!!

 

Hi Friends and Family,

I hope all is well with everyone.  I think of you often and look forward to seeing you soon.  I am nearing the end of my radiation treatments and all is going as expected.  I have had some odd side effects and am not sure if it comes from the radiation or the past chemo treatments.  Here is what is happening....the normal discoloration and sun burning of my breast is happening.  The open wound is almost but not quite healed up.  My breast skin is shrinking and causing my right arm to feel a pulling effect when I extend it.  I have to do a lot of stretching to keep it from becoming a more serious issue.  I am experiencing tiredness.  I just ignore it and keep on keeping on.  The not so normal effects I have are that I start itching all over.  It feels like I have been attacked by no-see-ums on every part of my body.  I have no redness or swelling and rubbing my skin with my hands helps.  It usually stops after a few minutes.  I never know when I will have an episode of itching.  I have also had an aching in my breast.  Kind of like a toothache that comes and goes.  A few days ago I began feeling if all my bones ached.  When I sit for a short while and get up I feel like my bones are 100 years old.  I get up really slow and move really slow until I get loosened up.  I will be talking to the Doctor about that, (which concerns me the most).  Some of the side effects of the chemo is osteoporosis, leukemia and other autoimmune diseases and that is always in the back of my mind when I begin to have a symptom I have not had before.  Maybe I am just getting the flu or something?  I hope that one day I won't think anything is out of the ordinary when I have a symptom.  I hope so.

It has now been 4 months and 4 days since my last chemo treatment and my hair is now about 1 inch long and starting to curl, thank goodness.  I was worried I would have straight hair!  I am posting some photos of my hair and of one of my radiation treatments.  (I finally got it downsized.)  The camera is at my feet and between my legs.  The technicians placed a pad on my knees to keep my breasts from showing.  This is a routine visit.  On some visits they take x-rays and photos and take a lot of measurements.  I am never on the table for more than 10 minutes.  The buzzing is when I am actually getting zapped with radiation.  I feel nothing while it is going on.

Please keep my sister, Wanda Adcock and sister in law, Barbara Fincannon in your prayers.

So, have a nice week and Halloween and don't let the Goblins get you!  Hahaha.

Hugs and love,

Glenda

Latest news.....radiation treatments.....

Saturday, October 12, 2013:

Hello Family and friends,

I think I am long overdue in updating my blog.  Actually, I don't feel there is enough going on with my treatment to warrant a lot of updates at this time.  The only thing going on right now is that I am having my radiation treatments 5 days a week.  I have had 13 treatments.  They don't last very long at all.  I am in and out in about 10 minutes.  The technicians get me setup on the table using a form that has been fitted just for me.  They go in and out of the room so as not to be exposed to the radiation.  They will make dots on my chest using a magic marker 'sort of' pen for reference.  The machine will start buzzing while I am actually being 'radiated'.  I have not experienced any side effects at this time.  Yaaaay!  I will be posting a video of my treatment as soon as I can figure out how to reduce the file size.   I am posting a photo of me and my cousin Robert.  He and his wife, Betty, came and stayed a few days with us and we really enjoyed their visit.  We will be heading to the beach shortly for a few days with some more friends and try to catch some FISH!!  I hope all of you are doing well and thanks for all your prayers and support.  I still want you to keep my sister Wanda Adcock and sister-in-law Barbara Fincannon in your prayers.  They are still facing serious health challenges.  I honestly feel that all of your prayers got me through my cancer treatments and are why I am now cancer free.  Praise the Lord and may God Bless you all.

 Hugs,

Glenda 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Me and Cuz (Robert).  Sunset at Ft. Fisher.

Betty's camera sure makes all my wrinkles disappear.  Got to get me one like hers!

 

 

 

 

Birthday Photos and the Gray Mare.....

Friday, September 20, 2013:

Hi Everyone,

The month of September is Birthday month in our family.  All of the girls and my Mom have birthdays in September.
On the 14th we all went to Mom's and she made a ton of enchiladas.  They were delicious and we had a good time.  I took a few photos and will post them at the bottom of this update.

I am doing very well and will have my 'dry run' for radiation next Wednesday.  They will then schedule my 'real treatment' appointments so we can get on with the program.  As of yesterday, the 19th, it has been exactly 3 months since my last chemo treatment.  You will see from the photos how much (little) my hair has grown.  It is growing twice as fast on my face!  I saw my oncologist yesterday and she said it would all fall out soon.  Well, I am not giving it a chance to fall out.  I am shaving it as fast as it shows up.  Hahaha.  The strange thing is the hair on my legs are blonde?!  Mother Nature is having a little fun with me I do believe.  My hair is not long enough to determine if it will be straight or curly but based on what I do have, it looks like it will be straight.  I will just have to wait and see.  You can still see my scalp because there is so little hair and it is baby fine and soft....and gray, gray, gray.  I may go back to coloring it.  Plenty of time to decide on that.

I have a girlfriend who is backpacking in the mountains this weekend and all of next week and I sure wish I could be there with her.  The timing just didn't work out for me.

Please keep my sister, Wanda Adcock in your prayers.  She is not having much luck with the drugs the doctor has prescribed to bring up her white blood cell count.  She cannot go back to work until it does.  She has been dealing with this since March of this year.  The drugs she has been taking are worse than the problem she has and the doctor has been trying really hard to get a handle on her condition.  He is having to increase and decrease dosages and her insurance company has denied approval of the one drug he feels will be the most beneficial.

I hope you all have a nice weekend and I will update you with more info in the future.

Hugs,

Glenda

Me, Cindy, my twin Brenda and Wanda

 

 

 

Brenda, Cindy, Wanda and me

 

 

Front of my head

 

 

Top of my head

 

 

Back/Side

 

 

Top

 

Left side

 

Right side

Hair, hair, everywhere!!

September 6, 2013:

Hi Friends and family,

Just a note to let everyone know I am fine and I feel like my old self again.  My open wound is healing enough that my plastic surgeon has given me the o.k. to proceed with the pre-radiation preparations with my Radiologist.  There is going to be a delay of a few days because my Radiologist will be out of town until this coming Thursday.  My life has been doctors or therapist appointments two or three times a week.  It's all good, though.  They are making sure I am as well as I can be.  My physical therapy is for the lymph node removal.  There is some minor lymphedema under my arm and some limited mobility in my arm.  The therapy is doing a great job of getting it all worked out!  Now about my hair.....I have hair showing up EVERYWHERE!  Even in places I never had hair.  It is all soft, blond and downy soft like a newborn baby's hair.  If the hair on my head were black, I would look like Eddie Munster.  Hahaha!  I have a widows peak and it is growing on the sides of my face down to the end of my eyebrows.  I don't ever remember having hair going from my head to my face like that?  The hair in my nose is back, on my legs, under my arms and ..you get the picture.  It is all so baby soft.  I hope my leg hair stays that way forever!  I will take another photo of my head in a few more days.

 This was taken on 8-29-2013

 

Close up, 8-29-2013

 

 

Eddie Munster

 

Please keep me in your prayers until I get through my radiation treatments.....because you never know...  Also, please put my sister and sister-in-law, Wanda Adcock and Barbara Fincannon in your prayers.  They are still facing health challenges and are not out of the woods just yet.  May God bless you all as I have been blessed.

 

Hugs,

 

Glenda



I'm baaaaccccckkkk!

Tuesday, August 20, 2013:

Hello everyone,

I hope you are having a nice summer.  Wayne and I took a break between Doctor's appointments and took a little road trip.  It was nice to get away and will be our last chance to go any place once my radiation gets started.  To give you an update on my progress, I have lost all my hair......AGAIN!  No one warned me about this.  Now, granted, I didn't have much to lose but now I have NONE AT All as of last week.  The Oncologist said it was normal and expected due to the anesthesia I was given when I had my surgery.  As of today, I can see something that looks like peach fuzz, like the soft hair women have over their lip.  I still have a few stiff hairs I didn't lose but I could probably count those.  I just want some hair before cold weather gets here or I will freeze.  Hahaha!  On a good note, I have a great tan on my bald head!

On my last visit with my plastic surgeon, I complained about the stench that was coming from the tape on my right breast, (which was taped over all the cut and stitched areas of the surgery).  He told me it was o.k. and to not pull or remove the tape.  He said if it begins to come loose I could cut the loose ends.  Well in the time between me seeing him again the stink only got worse and the drainage became thicker.  As a result the tape was staying very wet and of course began to 'let go'.  When it was obvious it would no longer stick to my skin, Wayne and I went to work cutting the loose pieces off.  When we did, we found a large open wound where the skin had split open.  It was a section about an inch wide and two inches long and it was gross.  We were out of town so we had to doctor it ourselves.  We did a good job and saw the Doctor on Monday.  He removed all the tape, cleaned everything up and explained that the split open area was common and nothing to worry about.  He said my immune system is still compromised and I am healing slower than normal.  He would not stitch it back up because it would only burst open again.  He instructed me on how to take care of the wound and also told me that he did not want me to have any radiation until I was healed up.  So, this has put my start time for radiation on hold for at least two weeks if not longer.  Once Dr. Kays says I am healed enough and gives me the o.k. to have radiation I will call my radiologist and start the process.  The radiologist does not want to do any of the pre-radiation testing and prep until I am released for treatment by Dr. Kays, and is adamant that I must start treatment no later than 8 weeks after my surgery.  I also started physical therapy today for my right arm lymph node removal so I won't lose any mobility.  Fun, fun, fun! 

So, that's all the news up to this point.  All is well with me and Wayne and I will update you further next week after my visit with my plastic surgeon.

Have a nice week and thanks for the prayers!

Glenda

What a wonderful day!

Monday, August 5, 2013:

Today has been a wonderful day.  The weather has been absolutely beautiful.  Low humidity, cool with a soft breeze.  I was feeling pretty froggy today and decided to wash all the window from the outside.  Well, I got it done and feel pretty proud of myself!  If my doctor were to read this he would probably ream me out but he doesn't know about my blog!  I used both my arms and really don't feel like I have caused myself any harm whatsoever.  I was pretty tired when I finished up, though.  Hahaha.

Later,

Glenda

Doctors, Doctors, Doctors!.......

Thursday, August 1, 2013:

Hello Everyone,

I hope you are having a good week.  Mine has been great.  I got to see all three of my 5 Doctors this week!  After all, it's not like I had anything 'pressing' to do.  Hahaha.  I will get to see my 4th Doctor next week and my 5th Doctor the week after.  My, oh my.  So, to catch you up on things, my surgery went well and I saw Dr. Kays on Monday.  He is the plastic surgeon.  He said I was healing wonderfully with very little bruising, no oozing and very little swelling.  I still had the drain tube in and I was putting out too much fluid for him to remove it at the time.  The drainage had to be less than 20ml per 12 hour period and I was putting out 60ml on Monday.  He also put a hold on my physical therapy until a later date as yet to be determined.  He did not want to risk me pulling out any stitches.  Wednesday I got to see Dr. Papazikos.  He will be my radiologist.  I will require 6 weeks of radiation going 5 days a week.  He explained what he would be doing and the why's and how's.  That won't happen until I heal from the surgery which is about 4 more weeks or so.  It's all a crap shoot if you ask me, as far as when things will happen.  So, I will see him later on in the month.  Today, I went to see Dr. Bebb, my surgeon.  He was very happy with how things were going with me.  I received the pathology results last week and we talked more about that.  Bottom line is there was no cancer anywhere in my breast tissue that he removed.  He removed 12 lymph nodes because that is all I had in that area.  Of the 12 nodes, 6 had cancer.  The largest size of cancer found was 3mm.  Which is pretty small.  He said that the chemo did a great job of getting rid of my cancer and the lymph nodes do not have a very good blood supply going to them and therefore did not get as high a dose of the chemo as the rest of my body.  But, the radiation I will be having will be zapping all the places that tiny molecules of the cancer may be hiding.  They will be shooting all of my right breast and the area directly above up to my clavicle where more nodes are located.  I asked why those lymph nodes could not be removed and he said it would cause extreme morbidity (whatever that may mean).  When I go for all the prep things I have to do prior to radiation I will be having another CT scan.  I really don't like having those things because of the mass amounts of radiation I get when I have it.  On the other hand, I look at all the radiation I will be blasted with and figure, what the heck!?  I don't have much choice.  The CT scan is just to make sure where all my organs are and they will use it to calculate distances, angles and whatnot for the radiation beams.  I am done with Dr. Bebb for 6 months and he will be the one scheduling my mammograms from here on out.  After seeing Dr. Bebb, Wayne and I went back to see Dr. Kays.  I had only been putting out 20ml of fluid for the past couple of days and I had him remove the drainage tube.  I was expecting it to hurt but I didn't feel a thing.  I am glad to get that out of me.  It was constantly pinching me and was always sore.  I now have an open hole in my side that he said would heal on it's own without any stitches.

I have the best husband in the world.  Throughout this whole ordeal Wayne has been with me to every doctor's appointment, every treatment and everything in between.  He has been chief cook and bottle washer, maid, housekeeper, grocery shopper and anything else I needed.  God blessed me when he gave me Wayne!  He is a mountain of strength and I love him so much.  Thank you, Wayne.  Thanks to all my friends and family that call, send messages, cards, flowers and well wishes.  I love you dearly.

I won't have much to report for probably a week or two.  I go see my Oncologist, Dr. Arb next week and back to see Dr. Kays.  Not sure when he will let me start physical therapy.  Honestly, I have full range of motion in my right arm and don't think I need it but I will go at least once to see what sort of exercises they want me to do.  Maybe they can get rid of my 'bingo arms'!!!  Hahahaha!  (If you don't know what that is you can google bingo wings)

Later and have a nice weekend.

Glenda

I am doing very well since my surgery.....

Saturday, July 27, 2013:

It has been 5 days since my surgery and I am doing very well.  I have some discomfort where all the stitches are under my breast and on the right side of my body under my arm where the drainage tube comes out of my body.  I have only needed a Tylenol during the day for a couple of days.  By the time I am ready for bed my right side has begun to irritate me quite a bit so I take one Oxycodone and go to bed.  It has helped me sleep really well up until last night.  It was a toss and turn sleep all night.  I am not supposed to sleep on my side but last night I did lay on my left side and all seems o.k.  Sometimes when I am standing I feel little pin prick type stings under my right arm.  Not sure what that is.  I begin physical therapy for my right arm this Tuesday.  This is to help regain strength and mobility and to keep lymphedema at bay.  I have been having some strange things happening to my fingernails in the past couple of weeks.  From my first chemo treatment I had a brown stripe appear on my left thumb.  It goes from the bottom of my nail to the tip.  Now I am having stripes show up on other fingernails.  All of the nails have little ridges (like ripples).  There is one ripple for every chemo treatment.  I was told it would go away as my nails grow out.  My nails are very tender.  I was trying to untie a knot in a  plastic grocery bag and could not do it because it felt like my nail would come off.  They are not 'lifting' off the nail bed as some chemo patients have had happen.  I have cut them very short to prevent snagging them on anything and causing them to pull off.  Wow!  That would hurt.  The bottoms of my feet are numb and my fingertips to the first joint are numb (more side effects that will go away in time).  I am eating well and sweet things still taste overly sweet to the point of being sickening.  I have lost some eyelashes and eyebrow hairs.  They are not as dark and thick.  I can't tell that my hair is growing any at all.  Still feels like a days growth of a man's beard.  There are a few spots about the size of the tip of my pinky that have no hair whatsoever.  I have not been completely bald. There has always been stubble.  I can see little hairs coming back on my arms.

 

Right thumb.  Dark brown stripe.  It is actually darker than it appears in photo.

 

 

So, all is well and I will update this blog later next week after all my doctor's appointments.

God has blessed me throughout this whole ordeal and I am very thankful.  It could have been so much worse.

 

Hugs,

Glenda



I am home again....

Wednesday,July 24, 2013:

Well family and friends.  It has been a really good two days.  I went in for my breast surgery yesterday and the plan was to go in to the mammographer and have her find the 'marker' that was in my left breast which marks where the tumor is/was.  Once it is identified, the Doctor over the mammography dept. goes in and puts a wire into the breast at the marker so the Surgeon will know where to go to remove the tumor and the surrounding tissue he has identified to remove.  So, I go in and they start looking for the marker.  It is a little titanium piece of metal that looks like a crinkled up stapler.  Well, after taking a lot of pictures from different views they could not find the marker or the tumor.  There was absolutely nothing there.  When I told them that Dr. Scott was the first Doctor I saw and that he did the biopsy on the tumor she said immediately that Dr. Scott does not leave 'markers' in his patients!  So, I was getting really nervous.  They contacted my surgeon and told him about the situation.  He directed them to have me have a sonogram and take several views and pictures which they did.  My surgery was supposed to begin at 11 a.m. but I was still waiting at 12:30 p.m.  We had some serious questions to ask Dr. Bebb, the surgeon who was going to be removing the 'tumor and surrounding tissue' wondering how he was going to identify the area he needed to remove since there was nothing there anymore.  Well, we had Dr. Wells, the anesthesiologist come in first and go over what he would be doing.   Dr. Bebb came in and we asked him how he would know where to cut and what to remove.  We knew he had probably had this happen before, and of course, he had.  He simply said that he had identified the quadrant where the tumor had been and he would be removing a pie shaped slice of tissue and would go down to the muscle but not remove any of the muscle and was certain he would get the tissue he needed to remove.  He also was removing all the lymph nodes under my right arm/breast.  He is a very religious man and I asked if he would pray for me and of course he said sure, took my hand and I took Wayne's and said a very powerful prayer.  One of the best I had ever heard and one that I really needed to hear!  Thank you God and Dr. Bebb.  You both delivered.  The next to come in was Dr. Kays.  He was the plastic surgeon who would be making the initial incisions for the breast lift (both breasts) and then he would let Dr. Bebb step in to do his surgery.  Then, Dr. Kays would finish up with the lift.  When Dr. Kays came in Wayne. Mom, my sisters Wanda and Cindy were in the exam room waiting for me to go to surgery.  Dr. Kays had me take my super sexy hospital gown and move it out of his way so he could draw and measure on my breasts.  He did a lot of  marking so he would know where to cut and make sure I would be symmetrical when he was done.  He is a sweet, sweet Doctor.  Things were running late in the operating room so it didn't matter that my pre-op was taking so long.  So, I was moved to the OR about 1 p.m.  I don't remember anything about the OR.  They had given me something in my IV just a little bit before they took me to the OR so all I remember is being rolled down the hall and that's it.  The surgery was planned for 3.5 hours but they were done in 2 hours.  They said I bled very, very little which makes it easy on them.  They removed the tissue and lymph nodes and removed an equal amount of tissue from my left breast so they would be a matching pair!  Hahaha!  When they started bringing me back out of the anesthesia I could hear someone calling my name and telling me to wake up.  I could hear them so clearly and I could hear everything around me but I could not make my body open my eyes or answer her.  I heard her walk away and tell the others I was about to come around then in a little while she came back and kept trying to get me to wake up.  I still heard it all and was telling my body to talk and to open my eyes and to make some kind of noise but my body would not respond.  My mind was alive and alert but was not working together with my motor skills.  I was getting scared in my mind and remember thinking that this must be how someone with Lou Gehrig's Disease must feel.  Aware of everything but unable to respond in any way.  I was finally able to let out a grunt and over time I talked and then opened my eyes.  I cannot tell you anything about what or who I saw when I opened my eyes.  I have no idea.  I finally remember seeing Wayne in my recovery room and then after a little while they took me to my room (which was very nice).  I was hooked up to IV's and hooked up to an 'on demand' morphine drip.  I was sooooo groggy and drifted in and out while talking to my family who were with me in my room.  They all left about 9 p.m. and from about 6:30 p.m. on my pain level was 0.  When I first got back to the room I told the nurse it was about a 2 so I was definitely getting better.  I used the morphine 1X for the pain and later in the night I just could not sleep so I hit is 3X's and managed to get about an hour and a half of sleep.  Whenever I would get almost to sleep a nurse would come in and turn on the light to take my blood pressure, temp and respiration!  About 4 a.m. I gave up and turned on the tv.  I will sleep really good tonight.  One of the problems with not going to sleep was they had both my legs wrapped in these sleeves that would pump up with air and then release.  There were three different sections on each leg and the pressure would move up and down my leg.  This would prevent me from getting blood clots.  I told them that was part of the problem with me not sleeping.  Since I had been getting up by myself to go to the bathroom she felt like I was moving around enough that she took them off me.  They also had to take my blood pressure on my leg.  This was because they removed the portacath from my left arm and could not use it and they could not use my right arm (ever again) because I had lymph nodes removed.  Dr. Kays finally came by around 2 p.m. today and checked on my bandages, gave me some instructions and told me I could go home and that I had done remarkably well.  So, now I am here at home.  I cannot lie down flat and must sleep in a reclining position.  I have a drain that goes from under my arm to outside my body down to a bulb.  It is stitched to the side of my body and I have to be careful not to pull on the tube because it hurts like a son of a gun.  We have to 'milk' the tube once in the morning and once before I go to bed and log the amounts of fluid that comes out.  I am starting to feel really sore every place a knife has cut me and up underneath my right arm which has something to do with the lymph nodes that were removed.  I am not long from going to bed since I did not sleep last night and it will be a welcome relief. I will probably be even more sore tomorrow but they gave me some good drugs and I don't intend to suffer any at all.  My throat is sore from the tube they had down my throat and I have a fat upper lip on one side where they must have bumped it or had it pinched somehow.  Not sure what my breasts will look like.  They kind of look odd and misshapen but I guess it will take time for things to 'settle out'!  Hahahaha! I thank everyone for having me in their prayers, putting me on their prayer list and for all the support you have given me.  I am on the mend.  Next Monday I will see Dr. Kays and on Wednesday I will see the radiologist for the first time and find out how many treatments I will need to have and when they will start.  I had been told I needed to wait at least 6 weeks after my surgery.  We will see!

Hugs to all,

Glenda

Counting down to surgery tomorrow.....

Monday, July 22, 2013:

I am in the countdown mode for my surgery tomorrow.  I have to be there at 9 a.m. and will be having some pre-surgery tests/procedures done before my surgery, which is scheduled for 11 a.m.  They will keep me overnight and if all is well I get to come home.

I had to run some errands this morning and whenever I go to a parking lot I always park way out away from other cars so I won't get door dings and to keep carts from crashing into my van.  So, today I parked way out and walked the distance into the store.  Once I got to the store I realized that I was walking at my 'normal' pace like I used to walk before starting all my chemo.  I was not out of breath, my legs were not burning, my core was not burning and I actually felt really, really good.  The last time I went to a store, Wayne was with me and I gave out!  I went in search of a place to sit down and there was only one bench and it was taken.  I ended up outside sitting on the curb, just to rest.  I am a lot more in tune with what folks with disabilities and the elderly must deal with on a daily basis. 

My appetite is back and almost all foods tastes good to me again.  Chocolate still tastes weird.  Kind of bitter.  So, all the times between my chemo treatments when I thought I was feeling good was not reality.  Now that I am feeling so good I realize I had been feeling pretty bad even though I thought I was o.k.  Hahahaha!

So, wish me well.  Say plenty of prayers for me and the doctors and nurses that will be taking care of me and pray for my family.  Hopefully they won't be stressing out. 

Hugs to all,

Glenda

One more week until surgery.....

Tuesday, July 16, 2013:

Hello everyone! 

 

This is my brother, Steve.  When I first cut my hair I said that I looked like him.  What do you think?

I never thought I would be glad I didn't have any hair but as hot as it is right now....I am glad!

 



Just to update you on my current state of health, I am steadily regaining my strength and stamina.  I have been able to eat more and nutrition is something I needed very much.  Instant mashed potatoes just don't get the job done!  My taste buds are still a little 'off' the mark but nothing like it was, thank goodness.  Smells don't seem to bother me anymore.  I still have a few side effects such as runny nose, dry mouth, dry eyes, white tongue and back ache.  The strange thing about the back ache was it didn't start until 3 weeks AFTER my last treatment.  I kept the back ache the whole 3 weeks after my 5th treatment then after the 6th (last) treatment it went away only to come back.  The only medication I am taking is Tylenol as needed for my back ache.

I am in the countdown mode until my surgery which is scheduled for 9 a.m., Tuesday, July 23 at New Hanover Regional Medical Center.  I had a pre surgery consultation a week ago with the plastic surgeon, Dr. Kays who will be working in concert with my general surgeon, Dr. Bebb.  They will be doing a lumpectomy of the right breast and will remove 15 lymph nodes.  They will also do a breast lift on both breasts.  This was recommended because I would be at risk of poor drainage of the lymphatic system which could drain into my right breast and cause it to swell to the size of a football (lymphedema).  By doing a lift it will help my lymphatic system to have better drainage.  I have nooooo problem with them doing a breast lift!  Hahahaha.  They will be doing an Anchor Mastopexy.  Here is an animated video of how the procedure is done:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDg4xEeH3UE    The surgery should take about 5 hours although I will be carted here and there for other things to be done to me prior to the actual surgery.  They told Wayne he will be there all day.  They will insert a drainage tube (or 2) in the area of my lymph node removal and the tube extends outside my body for several inches and drains into a bulb at the end of the tube.  The bulb will be pinned to the front of my shirt.  Where the tube exits my body, it will be sutured to my skin to keep it in place.  Twice a day either Wayne or I (if I am able) will milk the tube to drain the fluid into the bulb then pour it into a small cup with measurements on it.  We have to keep a log of how much fluid is removed.  I will be wearing a compression bra for at least 2 weeks.  I am a stomach sleeper but have to sleep on my back in a reclined position.  Not sure how long this will last.  Most likely I will have to go to physical therapy to ensure I maintain my arm strength and mobility and also to prevent lymphedema.  During my recovery phase I will be going to see a radiologist to see how many radiation treatments they want me to have and to get an understanding of what all that will entail.  I was told that 6 weeks after my surgery I would be able to start radiation treatments which would put me into the first week or so of September.  I have heard differing comments from folks about how radiation will affect me.  Some say it's pretty bad, some say it's nothing to it, others say it makes you tired.  Who knows?  Guess it's like everything else in the process.   I'll have to wait and see.

Just want to give a big 'I miss you' to all my friends at work.  Thanks for the prayers, calls and visits.  You mean the world to me.

Hugs,

Isaiah 40:29 He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.

Glenda

Still lacking physical stamina.....

Friday, June 28, 2013:

 

Self Portrait

Wayne is on the other side of me and we are having an

ice cream on the Kure Beach Pier.

 

 

It has been one week and two days since my final treatment.  Thankfully my side effects are few.  My mouth blisters were gone just a few days before my last treatment and thank God they have not returned.  I had to endure only a few hours of what I call 'chemo head' which is a condition where I am totally miserable and it all emanates from my head.  I do not have any strength or stamina to speak of.  My doctor wants me to walk or do some form of exercise for 20 minutes a day.  Heck, I can't even stand up for a few minutes without getting light headed.  I did manage a walk down to the cul-de-sac behind the house.  After the first trip I came back and sat down and rested  then a short while later I went back for round two.  When I got to the farthest end away from the house one of our neighbors came out to talk.  I had to sit down or I would have fallen down while talking to him.  I finally got up to go home and was very light headed.  I stood there long enough to get it together enough to venture home, which was only a few yards away.  As I was walking home here comes Wayne with some ice water, looking for me, because I had been gone too long.  Hahaha!  I was glad to see him.  He assisted me the rest of the way and I was toast for the rest of the day.  Part of my problem is I am unable to eat very much at all.  I have chemo induced anemia which will go away once I can eat normally again and my white blood cell count is still low.

This go round is different in that anything I eat gives me diarrhea within 30 minutes.  Some food has some flavor but my tongue somehow reads the texture as being other than it is.  For example, I had some instant mashed potatoes.  They tasted really good but the texture was like I was eating wet beach sand.  It felt as if it was sticking in the back of my mouth and was scratchy going down.  Cucumbers taste good but the texture is nothing like a cucumber to my taste buds.  I like the crunch of the cucumber.  I will be glad when my tongue starts sending the right messages to my brain so I can enjoy food again.  Another positive change from my last treatment is that I no longer have a backache.  Last go round it was a constant companion and now......nothing.  Yaaaay!  I am also getting a full nights sleep with the exception of one night this week. 

This morning I took a shower and all went well until I started toweling myself dry.  By the time I was done I was out of breath and my heart was pounding like a bass drum and all I had done was towel myself dry and put on my clothes.  I have lost 32 lbs. as of this morning, since beginning chemo 16 weeks ago.  I have no butt and no belly!!  My skin is exceptionally smooth and not dry at all as I expected it to be.  The only place I have any hair at all are my eyebrows and eyelashes.  I think I will now pronounce myself as BALD.  If you were to rub my head it feels like I have a lot of stubble.  It is hard to see it, though.  There are a lot of empty hair follicles on my head and bare spaces.  Heck!  I have been told my hair could come back blonde and straight!  Ya'll might see a whole new Me when this is done.  Hahahaha!  Anyway, all is well, lots of appointments next week for this and that as well as a pre-op with the plastic surgeon and pre-op testing at the hospital.  My surgery is scheduled for July 23rd.  I will keep you informed.  Please continue to pray for me, Barbara Fincannon and Jennifer Barnes.  May God Bless you all and keep you safe this 4th of July week.

Hugs,

Glenda

 

Sluggish kind of day.....

Saturday, June 22, 2013:

Hi All,

I am having a very sluggish day.  I was really sleepy yesterday afternoon and went to bed sooner than I usually do and this morning I was still very, very sleepy and slept until I was ready to get up in my own sweet time.  I have a little bit of the chemo head going on, still sleepy, food tastes terrible.  The taste of food went away very fast yesterday.  I had breakfast and all tasted 'normal' then  that afternoon I couldn't eat a thing.  Nasty, nasty, nasty.  Milk seems to be my beverage of choice and of course I am trying to ingest the obligatory mass amounts of water I have been told to drink.  The good thing is........ it won't be as long as it has been.  Hahahaha!

Have a nice weekend, no matter the weather.

Hugs,

Glenda

Day after my last chemo treatment.....

Thursday, June 20, 2013:

Yesterday I had my very last chemo treatment and slept through most of it which was a Godsend.  They gave me Benadryl in my IV just in case I had another reaction to the meds like I did last time.  I guess that is what made me so sleepy.  I remained sleepy the rest of the day but managed to stay awake until about 10 pm.  Of course when I went to bed I was wide awake.  Oh me, oh my, why oh why?!!!  They also gave me a liter of fluid to stave off dehydration and I was up and down all night visiting the bathroom.  All that fluid puffs me up all over.  I close my fists and they feel like they will burst they are so tight.  My rings won't fit either.  That should soon all go away.

All is going well today.  I had to get my Neulasta shot this morning at 10 a.m.  I got in and out of there pretty fast then I went off on some visiting.  Went to my Mom's and visited for a while, then went to my friend and hairdresser, Joy for a haircut!!!  Hahaha, just kidding.  She got a kick out of it too.  I got to visit with her for over an hour and catch up on things with her then I went to visit my friends Sammy and Jan.  We had ice cream and when I left they loaded me down with blueberries and canned tomatoes.  I need to go see them more often.  Hahahaha!

I hope all is well with all my friends at work and friends who are not at work!  Love and miss you all.

Later,

Glenda

All is well on the homefront......

Thursday, June 13, 2013:

Things have been going well since about Tuesday.  I am getting stronger and have been pushed to my limit since my sister's daughter's family has come to visit.  They have a 3 year old son and an 8 year old daughter and it is all about play, play, play!   Hahaha.  They are a lot of fun but can certainly wear out the grown ups (especially me).  I still have tongue blisters and neuropathy in my toes and fingers that seem to come and go.  Not a big deal, though.  It will be over soon.  Yaaayy!
 
I hope everyone has a nice weekend and makes it through the storm that is coming our way as I type this.  Good luck and God Bless.
 
Glenda

Whose tongue is in my mouth......?

Thursday, June 3, 2013:

Yes, you read it right.  My tongue feels as though it is a foreign object in my mouth.  It is swollen, cracked and dotted with blisters again.  The blisters extend down into my esophagus.  So much for the ice water, hunh?  In my previous post I was hoping the ice water would keep the tongue issues at bay.  Not!  Eating meat is a strange experience.  The texture is odd to say the least.

Strength?  I am as wimpy as someone who has been bedridden for a month or less or more!  Standing up for a minute or two makes me physically exhausted.  I never realized how much my core muscles are engaged/involved with the simple act of standing until now.  My core gets a lactic acid burn as if I were doing sit ups.  As a result I am quickly tired out to the point that I must sit down or fall down.  Once sitting I am as out of breath as though I had been exercising.  It takes me a few minutes to rest before I can get back up.  Sitting totally upright also has the same effect.  As a result I am doing a lot of sitting and lying down.  I can hardly wait until my strength returns.  It usually takes about 2 weeks or so.  Tick tock, tick tock........!

Also having the green apple foxtrot from time to time after eating the slightest amount of food.  I started using Metamucil every morning and it seems to help with any 'distress' I have.

This is all so strange to me.  I have never in my life had a major health issue or injury.  I was blessed with extraordinary health.  I have come to realize that I am a mere mortal and can suffer from the frailties of the common man.  I'm not complaining, just letting folks know what I am going through so don't feel sorry for me.

Please pray for my sister Wanda who is going through a major health challenge that began when mine did.  The medicine is kicking her butt right now.  Also keep my sister in law, Barbara in your prayers.  She is facing new health challenges as I write this.

Hugs to all,

Glenda

Chemo head.....

Tuesday, June 4, 2013:

I had been doing well from my treatment last Wednesday until.......late Saturday afternoon.  That is when 'chemo head' jumped all over me!  That is a state where my head feels like it is in a vice, I have no emotions, I don't really care if the house were to catch fire all around me because I would just sit and watch myself burn up with it  (or at least that is how I think I would do).  This feeling goes from the tip of my head to the bottom of my abdomen.  A total feeling of malaise.  I have been drinking the obligatory over abundance of water but this time I have been drinking ice water.  My mouth blisters have not reappeared with the vengeance of the last treatment and I am hoping it is because of the ICE water.  Keeping my fingers crossed.  They have popped up but they go away in a short time.  The chemo head went away as quickly as it appeared.  Thank you LORD!  By Sunday night I was feeling better.  Monday and today I have been feeling very lethargic and light headed.  Sunday morning when I got up I had to hold on to things to keep from falling down.  I made it to the kitchen and laid my head on the table.  My eyes had all kinds of psychedelic lights flashing in them.  Wayne gave me some orange juice and that helped.  I could not read anything in the paper.  It took a little while before the light show stopped and things appeared normal again.  It was kind of like when you get ready to pass out and have tunnel vision plus a light show to go along with it.  It may have been low sugar.  Last night after going to bed I began to have stomach cramps.  Now, mind you, I have been unable to eat very much at all.  Mainly because of the taste and some because of the texture.  I had some spaghetti, corn on the cob and about 10 potato chips.  The chips hurt my tongue with the texture.  Strange.  Finally, the cramps spurred me on to the bathroom.  For the first time since starting chemo I threw up.  (Sorry for the graphic.)  So I got to spend some quality time with 'John and the trash can'.  Not a fun night.  All of the above are contributing factors as to my condition today.  I just have absolutely no energy....and that is o.k.  My sweet hubby is taking very good care of me and I don't need to do anything around the house unless I want to.  I did have a small glass of orange juice this morning and I just ate a bowl of frozen blueberries that are sickeningly sweet tasting.  My taste buds make everything seem sweeter than they actually are.  Unsweet tea tastes sweet.  Hahahaha!!!

Strange things are still going on with my skin.  The palms of my hands look grey, my hands look as though they have been under water for several hours, I have a big round circle on the front of my left shin about 2" in dia. that looks like a bruise but it is not.  I get brown stripes on the top of my feet where my sandals straps are that come and go.  I still get a flushed face and it peels in the shower.  More like serious flaking when I rub hard with my fingers.  Even though I drink lots of water I still fight dehydration.  All night and all day I spend trotting to the  toilet.  My urine smells exactly like the chemicals they put in me.  Sometimes the color is pink, sometimes gray, sometimes clear, sometimes a pale yellow.  The chemo smell is nauseating to me.  Even thinking about going for a treatment nauseates me.  I can taste it.  Yuck!  I was concerned with damage that may be happening to my internal organs from the chemo but all my test results for my liver and kidneys and whatever else they check are 'normal'.  Maybe that is 'their' normal??  Oh well......

Another strange thing is the neuropathy in my hands and feet.  Most of the time my toes feel as if they are going to sleep.  Same with my fingers.  At other times the bottom of my feet feel like I have sand on them when I have shoes on.  The past few days my left foot feels 'normal'.  Today my right foot is feeling 'normal'.  I haven't had any pain.  Just a strange sensation.  Kind of like when you have been in the snow too long and your toes start to freeze.  The doctor told us that the sheath encasing the nerves in my hands and toes would be damaged but once  chemo was over with they would repair themselves and return to normal.  It should take anywhere from a few months to several months.

Good news:  My niece, husband and their two kids are coming in for a visit this week and I hope to have enough energy by then to be able to enjoy their company.  I will have to come up with some ghost stories for Zoë.  She loves them!

Side note:  The times when I post does not coincide with the posted time at the bottom of this page.  Don't know why and it really isn't a big deal.

Talk to you later.

Glenda

5 down and 1 to go!!

Saturday, June 1, 2013:

Well, the end of my chemo is within sight.  June 19th will be my last treatment then I will move on to the recovery, surgery, physical therapy, radiation and more recovery phases of this process.  I did not have a clue that having breast cancer could or would be such a long ordeal.  May God bless anyone and everyone that has ever had to deal with cancer of any kind.  I have a new and profound respect for cancer survivors and the struggles they have endured along the way.  My hat is off to you all.  I have always said that I would rather be ran over by a big truck than to get cancer of any kind. Well, I didn't get my wish.  Having to watch loved ones fight to live and then lose the battle is and was a horrible thing and it is my own selfishness that I wanted a truck to run over me.  I figured that would be the best thing to hope for because of the treatments and procedures one must endure once diagnosed with cancer.  Well, since the truck didn't show up and I have had to do it the hard way, it doesn't seem nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be.  Sure, it is no picnic but I am still here, my quality of life has not suffered and I am surrounded by my loving friends and family that are so good about calling me, sending me cards and doing little things for me that let me know how much they care.  Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

Today is the 3rd day after my treatment #5.  I had a reaction to one of the meds they give me in the beginning of the chemo.  It is in a little bag and it is clear liquid.  It is for nausea and I get it every time I go.  It is also one of the first meds they give me after they do all the flushing out of my tubes that are hooked up to my arm.  Once they started the drip I began to have a little cough, cough, cough.  Kind of like my throat was dry.  I noticed that I was breathing pretty shallow.  Not taking deep breaths.  I decided to go to the bathroom and I have to unplug the little stand my drips are hanging from and take it with me.  The trip to the bathroom is when I became aware that if I tried to take a deep breath that I couldn't.  It just caused me to cough more and harder.  When I got back to my chair (it only took a few minutes) I told the nurse something strange was going on.  By then my medicine was used up.  She then reported it to the Dr. and she told her to have some Benadryl ready in case it happened again while having the rest of my meds given to me.  Fortunately that was the only issue and I happily slept through most of my chemo.  I was really sleepy later that afternoon after getting home so I went to be early and then again yesterday I went to bed around 5:30 pm because I was sooooo sleepy.  My last treatment I had to deal with a backache and headache and the mouth sores through the 3 weeks between treatments.  About 5 days before #5 my mouth sores all but went away and food was tasting pretty good.  Not great, just good.  I was really wanting something to eat that had 'taste'....real 'taste' so I got out some frozen hot wings.  I microwaved 2 of them and sat down for what I thought would be a wonderful taste sensation.  Well, if you know of or have ever tried a Habanero Pepper then you can appreciate the FIRE that consumed my entire mouth!!!!!  My eyes were watering, my nose was running, I could not get enough ice in my mouth to douse the flames!!!!  My mouth blisters did not appreciate the hot sauce one bit and.....to top it off, I ate another one!!  What was I thinking????  I managed to survive with no long lasting effects and will stay clear of the hot wings until I can be sure it won't be that bad ever again.  Up to this point, today, the effect I call 'chemo head' has not reared it's ugly head and maybe it won't.  That is the most I can hope for.  No mouth sores, yet.  A little vertigo happens every now and then.  Food it beginning to taste strange.  I had some blueberry yogurt and all it tasted like was 'blue'.  No berry taste just the color blue.  Colors look strange to me from time to time.  What a strange phenomenon that is.  It is like trying on different colors of glasses.  Some with yellow lenses, blue lenses, dark green lenses.  Odd to say the least.  Well, to all my friends at work I want to give a big hug and hello and thanks for your thoughts and prayers.  And all of you that have me on your prayer list, please add my sister in law Barbara Fincannon.  She has bee going through this same battle as I and even longer than I have and could really use the power of prayer.

Hugs to you all and I will update if my status changes.

Glenda

Good news and not so good news.....

Tuesday, May 22, 2013:

I have currently been dealing with lots and lots of mouth blisters, swollen bottom lip and my tongue actually peels!!  I have also had a recurring and bothersome back ache and headache daily since the last treatment.  I occasionally break out with what appears to be the measles on my arms.  My skin looks strange.  It has an odd color to it.  I thin it all has to do with my liver.  There is no telling what all this chemo is doing to my internal organs.  I just hope they don't become permanently damaged.  Lord help me if it does.  Keep my in your prayers and I miss you all.  Now for more details.....

Last Thursday Wayne and I went to an appointment with Dr. Bebb my surgeon, for a sonogram of my tumor,  The sonographer (if that is what they are called) searched and searched but could not locate the tumor.  She finally found a place that she thought might be the spot but was not sure.  She got the doctor and he did the same thing, searching and searching,  He finally located the spot and in his words said he was 'ecstatic'.  He said that the oncologist was trying to put him out of business.  My tumor started out at 2 cm and is now 5 mm or went from about 1.5 inches to 1/8 inches in dia.  He said I was responding exceptionally well to the chemo.  He then said that the next step after my last chemo treatment would be to have my surgery.  This would be 4 weeks after the last treatment.  He said that he would be doing a lumpectomy and asked if we had talked about a breast lift.  I said not really so he proceeded to tell me that in addition to the lumpectomy he would be removing 15 lymph nodes from under my right armpit.  On this I balked and questioned why so many, that he had only found one lymph node involved.  His reply was yes he had biopsied one lymph node but he did see a problem with others.  I still questioned why so many and he sat down and said he didn't know how to say it but that when I came into his office the first time I was 'circling the drain' (this was something I never knew) and that now the chemo had done so well that the 'drain' was now plugged and the basin was filling back up with water and I was now swimming.  He said to ensure that we got all the cancer and ensure I did not have to worry about this in the future he needed to take out the 15 lymph nodes.  He went back to talking about a breast lift.  It was his recommendation that I have a lift because if I did not then where the lymph nodes drained that there was a strong likelihood that my right breast could end up swelling to the size of a football.  By lifting my breasts it would help with the drainage and I should not have any problems.  During the surgery they will put a couple of tubes to help with drainage while I am healing.  I will also have to wear a special corset type bra until I heal and have physical therapy to keep from losing any function in my arm.  In addition to all this I will have to have radiation 5 days a week for 4 to 6 weeks.  The radiation won't happen until 6 weeks or so after my surgery.  The surgery itself should take about 3 hours but I will be in the hospital for several hours.  I may have to stay overnight depending on how long it takes to coordinate everything.  There is a marker in my breast marking where the tumor is.  I will have an x-ray and they will place a wire into my breast so the doctors can go directly to the tumor.  So, it looks as though it is going to be a longer road than I had thought.  I have been dealing with a lot of anger over the weekend after getting all this information.  I was thinking....o.k. I have two more treatments and then a little surgery and I will be done.  NOT!  Now it will be about mid October, November before I will be done with all this.  I have gotten past the anger and realize I don't have any choice but to forge ahead.  It is what it is. 

We went to the plastic surgeon on Monday and he went into the details as to how he would perform the lift.  We asked all kinds of questions and will go back to see him a week prior to the surgery so he can take photos and I think he said he was going to draw on my chest.  Not sure if it will be then or later.  Whatever, right?  Hahaha.  OMG!

My good buddy, Patti made it through her hiking trip o.k. and I was happy to hear from her when she got back.  I am proud of you girl.  I know it was a tough hike.

Later.

Glenda

No energy......

Tuesday, May 14, 2013:

Just to give everyone an idea of how this chemo is 'working' on me, yesterday, Monday I had a few ball caps that needed washing.  I ran some water in the kitchen sink, dumped them in, put some soap on them and started brushing them clean with a fingernail brush.  It was easy work except for the fact that after about a minute of brushing the first one I had to get a chair to sit down in because I got so tired.  After resting for a couple of minutes I started again.  After brushing for another minute, my forearm muscles were so fatigued I had to rest again.  This cycle continued until I had completed all the washing then I rested again and I was done for the day.

Today I absolutely over did it.  I had an eye doctor's appointment for my annual check up.  I was there for about 2 hours.  I left there and went to Mom's, gave her a haircut and visited with her and Bill and my sister Brenda for about another 2 hours.  When I left there I had to go to Kmart.  I was there for about a half hour and did not think I would be have enough energy to get to the parking lot and then home.  I absolutely had 'run out of gas'!!  I did, of course, make it home o.k. and I was toast for the rest of the day.  So, this is a sample of a couple of days in the life of a chemo patient.  Yuck!  Tomorrow I have nothing planned so I can rest up for the sonogram I will have on Thursday.  I may not be able to update this until next week to let you know what the results are so don't worry.  I know it will be good news.  I am having trouble finding the lump which means it is shrinking.  I do hope that my friends that are going through this right now are having a better time of it than I am.  God bless you all!!

Glenda 

Today is Sunday, Mother's Day. Happy Mother's Day to all......

Sunday, 5-12-2013:

All was going pretty well, or at least as well as I expected, until about 2 a.m. Saturday morning.  I woke up and felt as bad as I ever had while going through this chemo.  I felt as though I had both the worse hangover plus a bad case of food poisoning you could imagine.  I haven't had the stomach distress that goes along with it, thank God.  I felt soooo bad I prayed for the Lord to help me get through it.  It was horrible.  I decided to get up about 3:30 a.m. and stayed up for a couple of hours then went back to bed at 5:30 a.m.  I finally got back up about 12:30 p.m.  I felt some better and tried to eat a little bit and went back to bed around 7 p.m.  All night long I tossed and turned, rolled and rolled, sweated and froze.  This morning (Sunday)  I felt a little better but my bone ache came back about noon.  My head is feeling like it is in a vice.  Hopefully the Tylenol will knock out some of the discomfort.  I really don't want to take the Allegra since the non drowsy kind made me so sleepy.  Wayne had cooked some bacon before I woke up this morning and when I started to smell it I had to get outside in a hurry.  I could not stand the smell of it.  After a while I went back inside and it was a little better.  I managed to eat half a piece of bacon and about half of a scrambled egg.  I have lost 22 lbs. since the beginning of this process.  My tongue feels swollen and blistered, my throat is sore, my lip is trying to blister and my tongue burns.  The Doctor said there is nothing that can be done about it.  My skin is beginning to feel and look like tree bark.  My fingertips are numb and the bottom of my feet feel like they are asleep.  My face and hands feel as if they are sunburned and will soon peel.  Hopefully things will settle down in my system and I will feel better soon.

Glenda

Chemo update......

Friday, 5-10-2013

I want to give a shout out to all my friends at work.  I miss you and I am doing well.  Feel free to call me if you like.
Hugs to you all.  Also a big shout out to my friend and backpacking buddy in Ohio who will be leaving this weekend to head to Tennessee for a training hike/orientation to prepare her to hike the Appalachian Trail with Warren Doyle.  You go Patti!!  I love you.  I was supposed to go with her but the little c got in the way and messed up those plans.  Hopefully I will be able to do another one Warren is holding in September.  Do a search on this guy if you like hiking or would like to hike the AT.  He is quite a guy and an older one at that!!  Hahahaha.

Sorry I haven't updated lately but I have been busy.  I had a really good week prior to my chemo treatment which was on Wed. the 8th and I am still having a good week up to this point after my treatment.  Hallelujah!!  I was able to get out into my flower beds and do some weeding and also got the screened in porch furniture and screens and enclosure cleaned of all the pollen that was EVERYWHERE.  I actually felt useful once again.  Praise the Lord.

The day of my treatment was o.k.  I was a little tired and probably one of the most annoying things I have to deal with is not being able to get a full nights sleep.  Out of 5 days I might get one night of really good rest.  So, I got sleepy having my treatment and took a much needed nap.  Later that night I started feeling really, really tired and went to bed early (7:30 Wed.) and went right off to sleep. I did  not sleep well and got up early and had the Dr.s office work me in early to get my Neulasta shot.  After I ran some errands and got back home I took my 'day after chemo steroid pills' and once it kicked in I had enough energy for two people!  Hahahaha.  I actually started taking the furniture off the deck and put it in the yard on Tuesday and finally it got a much needed cleaning.  Wayne has been busy getting the yard back in shape so he has had his hands full with all that and it is looking good.  Just wish the weeds would go away.  Today, Friday, I put up some strawberries after breakfast and then took on the task of getting my medical bills caught up and making sure my numbers matched the ins. companies.  They did up to a point and I came to realize I have overpaid one doctor and owe another doctor double what I will get back from the overpaid one but then....I will have met all my deductibles.  Whew!  And, thank God I have insurance even though we got it socked to us with the last contract the Union agreed to.  They really rolled over for G.E.

This afternoon I started having my 'bone ache' and as usual it is in my middle back around my ribs.  Normally a couple of Tylenol with knock it out but not this time.  I finally took an Allegra.  I know, it's for allergies but it is also good for bone aches.  I think it has helped somewhat but this non-drowsy stuff has made me drowsy.  Go figure!

At my chemo treatment I took some more photos of  my new friend Jen and another new friend Brigette.  Jen's little girl wants to see what it looks like where her Mom goes for treatment so I took a few and will post them below.

 

Cape Fear Cancer Specialists

(This is owned by New Hanover Regional Medical Center)

The Building

Funny how there are no signs on the building.

 

Jen hooked up to her Chemo

 

View of the room from my chair.  Jen is across from me.

 

 



More of the room from my viewpoint.

 

 

 

 

Jen and me

 

My new friend Brigette, what a doll baby she is.



The spots are back......

Sunday, 4-28-2013:

A few days ago I began having mouth blisters.  Since then I have gradually begun to have very sensitive skin on my face and hands.  It feels like a sunburn.  This has happened before.  The spots I have experienced in the past are back on my face.  My lips and tongue feel as if they have been constantly exposed to hot sauce.  I know this is all temporary and will go away soon.  I will just have to deal with it.

Glenda

Video of my haircut..........

This was taken on March, 23, 2013.  Wayne gave me the buzzcut and my sister Wanda assisted.

TKO of little bird.......

This is my second post today, Thursday, April 25, 2013:

We have a large bay window in our living room.  I heard something hit the window and caught a glimpse of a bird that had crashed into it.  It is a regular occurrence and if anyone has any suggestions on how to prevent it, let me know.  Anyway, I looked out onto the porch and saw a bird thrashing about.  I went out onto the porch and the bird was obviously dazed.  I picked it up, brought it into the house and got my camera and began a video.......
See below for the rest of the story after the video,

 

 

 

I was calling this little bird 'she' but it turns out it is a he and it is a Common Yellowthroat Warbler.  The males have the black mask.  It took this little bird about 5 minutes to fully revive.  I checked it's wings and legs for breaks and they appeared to be o.k.  Shortly after I quit videoing I went to move him to a safer place than the brick ledge so he would not get eaten by predators.  I picked him up then sat him back down and off he went into the trees.  I think he will be alright.  Yaaaay!

My tongue has been slashed by razor blades........

Thursday, April 25, 2013:

I had planned to go back to work today because I thought I was ready.  Well, sleeplessness has overtaken me again for two nights in a row as well as intestinal distress.  I was not able to get to sleep until after 4 a.m. but I got up at 8:30 a.m. in hopes that I will be able to sleep tonight.  My tongue feels as if I have been licking razor blades!  My lips are on fire as though I have been sucking on a rag full of crushed habanero peppers.  Holy cow, what next?!  I tried to eat around 11 a.m. and could not find anything that had any taste.  I was able to drink a coke but it was still strange tasting.  It tasted better than the water I have been trying to drink large amounts of.  Around noon I decided to try some steamed cabbage.  Up to this point I have been less sensitive to salt.  On the foods I have been able to eat I have to put extra salt to make it eatable.  So, I salted the cabbage and took a bite.  It was super, super salty!!  Yech!!!  It was lukewarm because my mouth has become sensitive to heat.  I managed to get most of it down and then my normal thing to do after eating is to  floss and brush my teeth then use regular mouthwash and if I am having trouble with my mouth I use the special mouthwash that has been prescribed.  Before I started the flossing I stuck out my tongue and looked in the mirror.  My tongue was full of blisters and was all wrinkly looking.  Wow!  I had heard about the blisters but it was my first time to experience them.  I am posting a photo below but I am not sure if you will be able to see the tiny little blisters all over my tongue.

 

 

Well enough for now.  I am going to make another post now about a little bird I met today......

 

Hahahaha.

 

Glenda