14th Week of Treatment

I can't believe that it has been 14 weeks of treatment.  It has gone fast but at the same time it is slow.  I now only have 4 weeks left of chemo.  About 29 days if we want to be exact about it. haha  I'm so excited to be able to not have to worry about infection, being able to eat fresh produce, and starting to have my hair grow back!  I really do miss my hair, I thought I would get used to not having it but alas, that is not true.  I'm still hoping what little of my eyebrows are left will hold on for this last month.  I guess that is one good thing about having thick eyebrows, they last longer than people who have tweezed them thin!

Jonathan and I went and met with the radiologist on Wednesday last week.  He was impressed that I was doing so well going through R-CHOP and that I was working as much as I am.  He showed us the pictures of the PET scans of the before and after 3 rounds of chemo.  It was crazy to see how much of a difference there was.  He said it is about 95% gone.  I was so excited to see that and hear that.  It makes such a difference when it is said like that then when I was originally told the new dimensions of it.  The radiation will go in and kill the microscopic cancer cells that are left over improving my chance that the cancer will not come back.

I will be starting radiation, hopefully, a couple weeks sooner than what I had originally thought.  September 17th is my last round of Chemo, on September 26th I will go in to where I will have radiation and get a CT scan so they know where to shoot the beams at.  Then if I'm feeling well enough Dr. Kelly said that I would probably start radiation the first week in October.  I will have to go 5 days a week for 3.5 to 4 weeks.  Which means that I should be done with all my treatments by the end of October!  Woohoo

5th Chemo Treatment

Yesterday was my 5th Chemo treatment.  I now have one treatment left!  I have about 40 days to go before I can officially say that I am done going through Chemo.  The chemo treatment yesterday really made me not feel good and I was really depressed afterwards.  Needless to say, yesterday was a rough day for me.  Also, Yesterday I got my blood work back and my white blood count was lower than the normal range.  So, I had to go back today and get an injection to boost my white blood cells.  I have been told that I could make my bones hurt and that also that I shouldn't have a problem.  So we will see which way my body handles it.  I'm hoping for that not have a problem with it.  Next week Jonathan and I are going to meet with the radiologist that will be doing the radiation part of my treatment.  That more than likely won't start until 3 or 4 weeks after my last chemo session.  Next week we will find out more and hopefully get a schedule of when my treatments will start and for how long I will have to get them.

Today I am doing much better and not feeling sick like yesterday, which is so much better.  I'm and just tired and maybe a little nauseous.  I stayed home today from work and I will stay home again tomorrow.  Thursday and Friday I will probably go to work for half days like I have been previously on treatment weeks.  I have been doing pretty good and working 8 hour days on the weeks that I don't have treatment. 

I'm looking forward to being done with this and getting back to my "normal" schedule and life.  I miss being able to do the things that I was doing before I got diagnosed.  It has been hard not being able to play soccer, do yard work, help out around the house, and eat anything that I want (fresh produce).  Some days are definitely harder than others.

10th Week Of Treatment

So Monday was my fourth chemo treatment.  Last Thursday I had my PET scan.  I was the first appointment of the day which is very nice because I don't have to wait for anyone else.  I go in they take my blood glucose levels and put an IV in my arm.  Then I go lay in a chair and get Xanax to calm and relax me.  Along with the medicine they give me a shot of radiated sugar in the IV.  I sit and relax in the chair for an hour while the meds work into my system and the radiated sugar gets moving around.  Then after an hour I go in the the PET scan and lay there for about 30 minutes while it scans my body.  It is pretty painless and I pretty much sleep through the whole thing.  I'm not allowed to drive home after the procedure so Jonathan was there with me during the whole thing.  He just gets to hangout in the waiting room for two hours while I'm in the back getting scanned.

So on Monday I found out the results of my PET scan.  Originally the mass was about 8cmx4x4, it is now about 4cmx2x2.  Which is great news according to my Dr.  He was very excited to tell me about it and so therefore I am very exciting with the news.  I now will only have 2 chemo treatments left and then I'll be done with Chemo!  WooHoo!  After my last treatment I will get another PET scan to see how much is left and where it is located so that when I start radiation they know where to put the lasers, I'm assuming anyways.

My chemo treatments haven't been going too bad.  I have just been really tired this week, and I could really just lay down all day and do nothing.  But I don't, Tuesday I took a nap in the morning and afternoon, and then Wednesday I took a nap in the morning.  Today and tomorrow I am back at work for 1/2 the day and then I will go home and take a nap after that.

Other than this news, I don't have a whole lot of new exciting news.  Jonathan and I did buy tickets to 3 games for WSU football this season and I am so looking forward to going.  I may not make one of the games because it is the weekend after my last chemo session but the other two I will be there.  One is going to be Apple Cup this year and it is going to be super cold I'm sure, especially with little to no hair to keep my head warm!  I have also started making plans for next year trips that I want to take.  I have learned that I don't want to put things off anymore and I need to do the things that I want to do while I have a chance to do them!

8th Week of Treatment

So I haven't posted in a long time!  I'm already into my 8th week of treatment for chemo.  I now have about 10 weeks left of going through chemo and recovery (75 days, yes I'm keeping track).  I have now had 3 rounds of chemo and I'm doing and feeling pretty good.  To keep busy I have been pretty much keeping my life the same as before I was diagnosed with cancer.  I'm working pretty much everyday, I go watch Jonathan play soccer, take hemi on walks when it isn't too hot out, and hangout with friends when I can.  On Monday, I tried jogging for the first time since I last played soccer at the beginning of May.  I ran probably a total of 1/4 of a mile and my legs were definitely tired.  Today is Thursday and they are still sore!  I want to be able to keep my strength up in case the last rounds of treatment make me more sick/tired/weak.  I feel like staying active is really helping me to not feel so terrible during my rounds of chemo.  I have been feeling more tired after the infusions, for more days than just Monday and Tuesday.  This last infusion I was tired Monday - Friday.  Although I went to work 1/2 days on Wednesday and Thursday which probably made me more tired on Friday.  The nausea hasn't been too bad, the pills I have been given really help.  I haven't lost my appetite yet, so that is going good for me.  The day of my 3rd infusion, I weighed 101lbs this time.  That is up 2lbs since my last infusion.  So I'm gaining all the weight back that I lost when I was in the hospital for a week.

Last weekend was the fundraiser Kickball Tournament.  It was a great success and I'm so grateful and blessed for all the people that were there and involved in it all.  I don't have a final total yet but when I last looked it was over $9,000 made!  I would really like to thank Jeni, Chris, Michelle, Val, Jen, Jeni's Parent's, Teresa, and the ladies at Travel Leaders for helping with everything during the tournament.  Jeni did an awesome job organizing it and it went so smoothly!  I was able to make it out and watch the morning games and then the later in the afternoon games.

Next Thursday I have an appointment to go get another PET scan.  This will show how much the cancer has shrunk since I started chemo.  Jonathan and I are hoping that it is pretty much gone!  Even if it is nearly gone I will still have to go through 3 more rounds of chemo and then 4 weeks of radiation.

Well I have wrote enough for now I think, Thank you to everyone that has been commenting on my posts!  It really means a lot to have so many people care about how I'm doing!

4th Week, 2nd Treatment

So Monday I had my second infusion.  I got done a whole hour earlier than last time.  So that was nice!  The nurse said the next time I come, I could get done even earlier than this last time.  Its because the last drug that I get infused with has to be administered at increasing rates, and since I haven't had a reaction to it yet, I get to have it started at a higher rate than I have been starting it at.  WooHoo!
I went to work Thursday and Friday this week, it was nice to be able to get out of the house and help Jonathan with making some money.  Also, on Thursday I went to the Cancer Center to meet with Frankie and she buzzed my hair a little more and I got 2 wigs.  A blonde one and a red one.  I think Jonathan and I like the blonde one more than the red one.

This is the Blonde Wig.

This is the Red Wig.

Jonathan is in Spokane this weekend playing in Hoopfest.  His team is called Where's Waldo and he is playing with Brian, Craig, and Clint.  They have so far won one game and lost one game.  If they win the next one today they will play tomorrow sometime.  If they don't win though, they are done for the weekend.  I hope they do great!

Where's Waldo?

I love Brian and Clints new Hairdo!  They are lookin' good!

Kickball Tournament Fundraiser

If anyone is interested I can get you the information for the person to contact!

Third Week

This was the third week after treatment.  This week went pretty well.  I was able to go into work for half days in the morning.  It was nice to be able to get out of the house.  It was also really nice to be able to talk to people other than Hemi! haha
On Monday and Tuesday I went and watched Jonathan play soccer on the coed teams.  It definitly made me miss my teammates and playing thats for sure.  It was a bit chilly outside, so we will see if I go out to watch them again.  Jonathan is so amazing, he scored in both games!
Thursday I went to a class at the cancer center called "Look Good...Feel Good."  You watch a little video on what the class will talk about and then you get a little bag full of free make-up and then you get to put make-up on.  It was pretty fun!  The lady showed us how to make a turbin out of an old t-shirt and it actually looked pretty cute.  On Thursday evening I went over to my friends house and we had a little ladies night.  It was so nice to see them and kind of catch up and just be able to hangout with them!
The roots of my hair have started hurting and falling out already.  It had gotten so bad last night and this morning that Jonathan went and bought some clippers at the store.  He shaved my head for me.  He now says I have the GI Jane look.  After Jonathan shaved my head, he was amazing and sweet enough to go and shave his head the same as mine.  I'm going to post pictures to show the haircut before my first treatment and the haircut of today.  Next thursday I have an appt at the cancer center to get it completely shaved.  I'm going to look at wigs while I'm there too!  You can pick a wig to take home and wear during the cancer process.  Everyone thinks I should get some color that I would never do to my own hair....I think I will have to check it out.
So overall it has been a pretty busy week for me.  It has really gone by a lot faster than just sitting at home watching t.v. all day.  I'm going to have to do it more often that's for sure.

This is the haircut before going to my first treatment

This is the newest haircut.  We look like TWINS! haha