I can
honestly say that this regiment of chemotherapy and radiation is the hardest
treatment I've had to go through. Last week was awful - just awful. The
nausea kicked in and was the worst I think I've ever had.
The diarrhea was happening more often than I could tolerate.
The fatigue was so bad that I couldn't do the most basic of tasks, like
showering and getting ready for the day, without taking multiple breaks.
My physical state was precarious. My mental state was just awful. It's really hard to try to keep a smile on your face when you feel like death warmed over.
I spoke with my care team on Wednesday, and they switched up my meds. The steroids helped, but only marginally. It basically took the edge off the nausea....which was welcome, but didn't help with my lack of desire to eat.
On Friday, I had my 2-week check-up with my med-onc team. Unfortunately, I'm down 7 pounds in a two-week period. For someone going through treatment, this is *bad news*. If you loose too much weight, the meds that you're taking (including the chemotherapy), as well as your radiation levels, can become toxic. In addition to that, because I'm having such severe GI issues, it appears that my body isn't absorbing much of what I am able to eat, which makes the nausea and fatigue that much worse.
So, I have a new anti-nausea medicine, which is actually an anti-psychotic that has shown to work really well on nausea. It helped almost immediately (I felt a pretty significant difference on Saturday), so I'm happy about that. Additionally, the care team thinks that I should start getting IV fluids daily.....this should help with my nausea, my fatigue, and my body's ability to absorb nutrients from what I'm able to eat. I expect that I'll start this today, and if all it does is help me maintain where I'm at right now (and not continue the downward slide), I'll be happy.
Overall, the appointment with my care team on Friday went well. Dr. K. said that he feels that I'm handling this all really well (which is the exact opposite of what I think). He also said that he would be very surprised if Dr. Chong doesn't want me to go through the additional radiation treatments on the rogue lymph nodes.....I wasn't happy about this, but if it needs to happen to kick this cancer's ass, then so be it. That treatment would be much more targeted, and should not be as difficult to tolerate. I'm going to hold him to that expectation.... :)
This weekend was better. Not great, since I still get so damned tired, but anything is better. The fatigue is so frustrating. I will wake up in the morning, thinking I'm doing okay. But, getting my shower is like running a marathon. I do it, and I'm wiped.
So, I'm learning the art of resting, of pacing myself, of not pushing beyond where I know I can perform. I don't care for it, but there you go.
As always, my parents have been absolutely amazing in helping us out. They have been willing to drop everything at a moment's notice, and I couldn't be more grateful to them. They have been true angels. Love you guys, Mom and Dad. You mean the world to me!
I asked for help on facebook this week, and boy, did we get it. Friends have come over to help with cleaning the house, my parents helped with all of our laundry (2 weeks worth...), cooking meals for us....it's been amazing.
If you are currently going through a difficult time in your life, please don't be afraid to ask for help. People want to help you in some way - let them. Oftentimes, when you're going through a really rough patch, people will say "Let me know if I can help." 95% of the time, they actually mean it. My recommendation is to make a list of the things that you'd like help with - laundry, meals, cleaning the house, taking your kids for a few hours to allow for some uninterrupted sleep....there are plenty of things that people can, and will, help with. Let them. There is absolutely NO SHAME in asking for help. As people have told me, it's a sign of strength. Allowing others to help you takes some of the stress off of you and your immediate family, and oftentimes gives the person helping you a sense of fulfillment and happiness.
I'll end here, so as not to waste more energy than I can spare. I will try to update more often, but honestly, there are days when I just don't have the strength.
8 more radiations. Next Wednesday is my last one for this round, and then we will have a month (or so) break from both the radiation and chemotherapy. I'm looking forward to getting my energy back, going back to work, and hopefully, getting back to living again!
Peace out, my army. :)
My physical state was precarious. My mental state was just awful. It's really hard to try to keep a smile on your face when you feel like death warmed over.
I spoke with my care team on Wednesday, and they switched up my meds. The steroids helped, but only marginally. It basically took the edge off the nausea....which was welcome, but didn't help with my lack of desire to eat.
On Friday, I had my 2-week check-up with my med-onc team. Unfortunately, I'm down 7 pounds in a two-week period. For someone going through treatment, this is *bad news*. If you loose too much weight, the meds that you're taking (including the chemotherapy), as well as your radiation levels, can become toxic. In addition to that, because I'm having such severe GI issues, it appears that my body isn't absorbing much of what I am able to eat, which makes the nausea and fatigue that much worse.
So, I have a new anti-nausea medicine, which is actually an anti-psychotic that has shown to work really well on nausea. It helped almost immediately (I felt a pretty significant difference on Saturday), so I'm happy about that. Additionally, the care team thinks that I should start getting IV fluids daily.....this should help with my nausea, my fatigue, and my body's ability to absorb nutrients from what I'm able to eat. I expect that I'll start this today, and if all it does is help me maintain where I'm at right now (and not continue the downward slide), I'll be happy.
Overall, the appointment with my care team on Friday went well. Dr. K. said that he feels that I'm handling this all really well (which is the exact opposite of what I think). He also said that he would be very surprised if Dr. Chong doesn't want me to go through the additional radiation treatments on the rogue lymph nodes.....I wasn't happy about this, but if it needs to happen to kick this cancer's ass, then so be it. That treatment would be much more targeted, and should not be as difficult to tolerate. I'm going to hold him to that expectation.... :)
This weekend was better. Not great, since I still get so damned tired, but anything is better. The fatigue is so frustrating. I will wake up in the morning, thinking I'm doing okay. But, getting my shower is like running a marathon. I do it, and I'm wiped.
So, I'm learning the art of resting, of pacing myself, of not pushing beyond where I know I can perform. I don't care for it, but there you go.
As always, my parents have been absolutely amazing in helping us out. They have been willing to drop everything at a moment's notice, and I couldn't be more grateful to them. They have been true angels. Love you guys, Mom and Dad. You mean the world to me!
I asked for help on facebook this week, and boy, did we get it. Friends have come over to help with cleaning the house, my parents helped with all of our laundry (2 weeks worth...), cooking meals for us....it's been amazing.
If you are currently going through a difficult time in your life, please don't be afraid to ask for help. People want to help you in some way - let them. Oftentimes, when you're going through a really rough patch, people will say "Let me know if I can help." 95% of the time, they actually mean it. My recommendation is to make a list of the things that you'd like help with - laundry, meals, cleaning the house, taking your kids for a few hours to allow for some uninterrupted sleep....there are plenty of things that people can, and will, help with. Let them. There is absolutely NO SHAME in asking for help. As people have told me, it's a sign of strength. Allowing others to help you takes some of the stress off of you and your immediate family, and oftentimes gives the person helping you a sense of fulfillment and happiness.
I'll end here, so as not to waste more energy than I can spare. I will try to update more often, but honestly, there are days when I just don't have the strength.
8 more radiations. Next Wednesday is my last one for this round, and then we will have a month (or so) break from both the radiation and chemotherapy. I'm looking forward to getting my energy back, going back to work, and hopefully, getting back to living again!
Peace out, my army. :)
Comments:
Carol
Pack Urban said...
I
think you're doing very well. It's an aggressive treatment and you're a very
tough cookie. You will kick this thing!
April
8, 2013 at 10:52 AM
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