My Breast Cancer Story, Eleven Years Later...here I go again.

I have Chemo #4 on Monday.  It seems like I just found out that I had breast cancer and now I am half way done with the chemotherapy.I had exactly 2 really good days this round of treatment, yesterday and today. I have been full of energy! We had a great time shopping on Friday. I went with Sue, Pam and Jeffrey. Jeff went too but sat in the car, I let him go home after I caught him snoozing in the van and about scared the crap out of him when I knocked on the window.  I had a moment where I got really tired but I got a second wind and shopped some more. We started out at 5:00 a.m. at Meijer. Then we went to the mall. When we were there we lost track of Jeffrey and he kept calling me on the cell phone. We kept losing connection and he was getting so frustrated. When he finally found us he said "that was like playing Where's Waldo." Then he said, "no  it was really like playing Where's BALDO!!"  We all laughed so hard. He has his dad's sense of humor.   W...

I have good news! I have the O.K. to go to Thanksgiving with my family! My counts are going up so they said to stay in on Wednesday and rest and then go and enjoy my family on Thanksgiving. I am so happy. They also said that I can go shopping Friday but not to over do it. Friday shopping is a tradition with my sisters and I have so much fun with them. I am sure I won't last too long but I will be out there bright and early with my BC coffee thermos. I have a wonderful family and  great relatives and friends to be thankful for. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

I went to the oncologist today for my second bag of antibiotics. The chest x-ray came back and  it looked good. My counts are still low so I have to go back in the morning and have more blood drawn. In the mean time I can't leave my house until my counts are back up, only to go to the doctor. When I was sitting there with my mom we were watching the food network and I was actually wanting food, so we started talking about where we were going to go out to eat after we left the doctor and the nurse said, "you can't go to a restaurant you can't be around anyone right now!" Me and my mom looked at each other like huh, what?  There goes the bean and cheese chimichanga I was dreaming about. Then she told me I have to come back tomorrow for more blood work and "we will see how your holiday is going to go!"  This might put a damper on my day after Thanksgiving power shopping! She also said if I get a fever over 100 to go to the emergency room. They want to get m...

I have been having been feeling really lousy since my 3rd chemo treatment. I could not keep anything down for a few days and I feel like I have the flu. My chest is really congested and I have asthma so I have to be careful that it doesn’t get out of control. I went to the doctor today for my normal 3 week checkup. I ended up being there for 3 hours. The doctor listened to my chest and told me I had to start antibiotics through an I.V. This is the first time they accessed my port without any numbing cream and I about hit the ceiling! I am sitting here with tubes hanging out of my port as I type this. They left the I.V. line in because I have to go back tomorrow for another bag of antibiotics. Every time I look down at the tubes hanging off my port I get the creeps. I had a chest x-ray on the way home from the doctor‘s so I guess we will see what is going on tomorrow. Hopefully it’s not pneumonia. The nurse gave me a shot of steroids for the asthma too. My white count is really low...

This 3rd chemo has really kicked my butt.  I am just not snapping out of it. I am so tired and nauseated. I am really starting to hate this.  I went to the doctor and my red cell count is low and I am anemic. I had to get a shot and I will get it once a week until my count comes up.  I really can't wait until March when this is over. It seems like it will be forever before it gets here.  I am really trying not to get down about this but I am really sick of feeling like this.  I'm hungry and have no appetite. I force myself to eat then I'm sick. UGGG! I also have been having really bad leg cramps. The kind that you wake up with and your toes flare out!  My calves feel like I ran 20 miles. I feel so bad because I have not been calling my friends. I have just been so down and feeling icky.  I hope everyone understands. OK enough whining. I stayed at my sisters for 2 days and then came home to find out my dog was sick while I was gone....

P.J. party at Pam’s house. I couldn’t wait to get to Pam’s for the p.j, party with mom, and Sue. I was packed and ready to go for 2 days. Pam picked me up on her way home from work. I wasn’t feeling very good. I was feeling really nauseated since morning. I took an anti nausea pill and started feeling better, so we ordered food. Two steak subs, a greek salad, nachos supreme, and chicken wings. By the time we all filled our plates, it looked like army ants had walked over the spread. I ate so much! Then I fell asleep. I brought over stuff to do pedicures. I even brought everyone a tourbon to wear! I think they slipped me a sleeping pill so they didn’t have to wear them because after we ate I fell asleep and didn’t wake up for 14 hours!!! I guess I really needed the rest. At home I putz around and try to do too much. Here I lay on the couch like a queen waiting for someone to fan me with a banana leaf. Pam said she would if she had one! Hee hee.   Pam’s making a roast, potatoes, sa...

Happy Birthday to my beautiful sister Sharon November 07, 1953 - May 11, 1994 We miss you more everyday. I never needed you like I do now. I know you are with dad and that gives me so much peace. Here is something that Sharon wrote.                                                                                                I Am With You                                  ...

Another Chemo down and I feel like total crap. I came home and slept for 5 hours and have been whiney since I woke up. I just hate being down and out like this. I hate that I am drinking so much water I could float away, I hate that I have to pee every 2 minutes, and I hate that my head keeps getting really sweaty and then cold. And I hate that the acid reflux is soon to come and will not leave for at least a week. I will quit whining now . This chemo went good but I was there 4 hours. My mom took me and I didn’t sleep as much as I usually do. I had to get up and drag my I.V. to the bathroom 4 times! I just remembered something funny from the last chemo, my sister Sue and my mom were there and I fell asleep, I woke up at one point and made a statement to them saying….”You can’t go camping if you don’t know how to spell it, it is spelled with a K not a C!” Then I fell back asleep. They are still laughing at me about that one. I guess I can’t spell in my sleep. Another time I woke up a...