YAY! Last chemo today!

Another milestone has been reached :-) -- just finished my 8th & final chemo treatment! It was the end of my 4 Taxol rounds, after my 4 AC rounds. Had to wait about 45 minutes for my mini physical & to review my labs from the previous day. Kaiser recently switched computer systems & there are delays, including getting my lab results back, so several other oncology patients were delayed as well. Before my appointment, I picked up a bento lunch box from KTA Supermarket & then Pete & Kailee came with me -- Kailee was entertaining others in the waiting areas, just walking around, smiling, getting into the magazines, trying to go downstairs.

Dr. Margaret Hu reviewed my labs & gave me a check-up. Nothing off the charts, just a few elevated liver enzymes readings (I bought some milk thistle extract to help detox my liver later on). After settling into my easy chair, I gave Ann, the oncology nurse, some Big Island Candy cookies & asked her to give some other cookies to the oncology pharmacist, the other nurse (a high school friend's mom) who helped me a few times, & the other staff in the department. Just wanted to thank the staff for being so nice & helpful to them.

Started my IVs & premeds around 10:40 am & didn't finish until about 2:45 pm. I tried not to drink too much water so I wouldn't need to drag the IV pump so much to the bathroom. Took a 2-hour nap & then surfed the TV channels. Too out of it to write in a journal nor to read anything. It was nice to see some familiar faces in the waiting area & chemo room on my last day -- 3 other older women I had met previously had on-going chemo to treat either breast & colon cancers which had spread. One woman was hoping to go back to school, but her cancer derailed her plans. Before she left, she said she hopes she doesn't have to see me again in this room & we wished each other good luck.

I'm feeling a bit groggy right now (about 10:30 pm)-- from the Benadryl they give me at the beginning to prevent allergic reactions & from the Gabapentin to prevent muscle & joint pain. Ate my lunch before I got too sleepy, plus I only had a banana & a bit of sponge cake for breakfast. So I'll still need to take the Gabapentin, the Neupogen shots, and the handfuls of supplements & the bitter Chinese herbal teas. Next step is figuring out how to live fully as a "survivor" in remission (we don't say we've been cured, because there are no guarantees after treatment). At least I'm done dripping toxic chemicals into my body!

Rough Night

Ugh, last night & today were a drag. Couldn't sleep much because of the hot flashes & the throbbing pain in my back from the Neupogen shots, plus Kailee woke up before 1 am wailing so loudly, so I brought him into my bed to keep him from waking up Mom & the neighbors! Woke up feeling wiped out from tossing & turning all night. Thought I'd have some nice sleep since Pete's been away since last Wednesday. He's been scoring AP Economics exams in Lincoln, Nebraska & will be back Friday night. It's kind of a "working vacation" for him I guess, but not much to do in that college town, especially without a car. He accepted this temp job at the last minute because we weren't sure how well I'd tolerate the Taxol. At least it's a bit of $$$ in the bank & is now part of his resume.

I've always been grateful for Pete letting me sleep in & taking care of Kailee so I could take a nap, boy do I MISS Pete! Luckily, today, Mom stayed home to help watch Kailee & do stuff around the house. It was pretty hot & muggy today -- but then again, I wasn't quite sure if it was even more so due to my hot flashes! Thought the black cohosh would help, but I guess it takes a while to take effect. I think Kailee's getting more fussy w/out Pete around -- perhaps Pete's absence may even be causing him to wake up in the middle of the night. People think he's such a good baby, but I have video camera footage to dispute their perception that he's always good natured.

Today I also visited another blog spot -- in memory of Herb Holman, who passed away this past December 15 from stage 4 colon cancer. His memorial service was on the UC-Berkeley campus in mid January, only a few days after my mastectomy, so even if I had known, I wasn't in any shape to attend, unfortunately. He was a community activist, educator, businessman, & was well known for his tireless work, giving spirit & sense of community. I 1st met him when I was working at Asian Health Services in Oakland in the early 1990s & he was the Ricoh copier representative. As the admin assistant in the health ed dept., I had to be the copier expert. But I'd bump into him at other community functions & also worked with him again when I was setting up a campaign office in Oakland for the No on Prop. 187 efforts. Anyway, it was very sad to hear about his passing when I was in the Bay Area recuperating.

Mom's on the wait list to get colon cancer screening & for an appoinment w/a dietitian at Kaiser. She was recently diagnosed w/high cholesterol & type 2 diabetes -- she's adamant about not taking western medicine since the last time she took some presription pain killers, it made her blood pressure rise. She'll have a diabetes eye check done later this month & next week she'll see an acupuncturist. She'll definitely be putting her herbs to good use. I'll try to get some info in Chinese for her.

Oncologist Visit & Another Blog Resource

My check up w/Dr. Levey today went OK -- he was behind schedule so I waited about 45 minutes to see him. My energy level's not too bad today -- Kailee went to bed around 9:30 last night & woke about 6 am. My sister-in-law Ellen dropped by at 8am w/her toddler Anndrea to help watch Kailee in the morning so I could sleep in a bit before my appointment. Luckily Mom came back from work to watch Kailee while I went to Kaiser.

My past two blood pressure readings (yesterday & today) have been normal for the 1st time since my diagnosis. Perhaps my stress level is decreasing or something, but I was happy about that. Dr. Levey asked how my neuropathy was doing -- I said it's not painful, just annoying having constant tingling & numbness in my hands & feet, but they don't interfere w/my walking or fine motor skills (e.g. buttoning a shirt, handling small items, etc.). He thinks the sensation will fade away over several months, hopefully with no residual effects, but no guarantee. But with just one more Taxol treatment to go, I thought I could just put up with it & not have to switch medication. I asked about follow-up visits after my last chemo & he said every 3 months he'll be checking up on me. Every 6-8 weeks I should have my port flushed to avoid blood clots -- I should keep it in for the next few years in case I have a recurrence & need more chemo. So this "watchful waiting" period hopefully won't be such a dark cloud over me.

I recently heard about another free website at www.caringbridge.org, it specializes in people going through a health crisis. In the local paper, there was a picture & story about a little girl w/cancer who lives in Kailua-Kona whose family created a blog to update folks about her condition. I read about the website's history & profiles of some families who used it -- they were so touching & some made me cry, especially about the babies or young mothers who didn't survive their diseases. I don't know how many folks actually visit my site, but I appreciate the well-wishes & other positive messages. I'm trying to be more consistent with writing on this site to just get my thoughts down & that later, I can look back on all this and make better sense of this whole cancer experience. Thanks goodness for the internet!