Round 9, Day 12

Yesterday was R9D12. I got full treatment and a Neulasta shot. I had fever and chills all afternoon into the evening. My legs are kind of MS weak today. Despite the beautiful weather outside, I have spent the day inside resting.

I will have another scan on 11/10. We are hopeful that it will correlate with the last drop in the CA19-9 tumor-marker numbers. I am determined not to freak out this time waiting. Fortunately it will only be a 3-day wait until I go in for my next chemo on 11/13.

I am looking forward to a couple of weeks of good days. Hopefully it will start tomorrow. :-)

Round 9 Day 5

I mispoke about why I wasn't treated on Thursday. My platelet count was too low, a condition called thrombocytopenia. Today it was just barely where it needed to be, so I did get a full treatment. I also got a Procrit shot. Hopefully I'll be in good shape for treatment again in a week.

Major chemo headache today, so that's all folks.

Tumor Markers and Dog Shows

We went in yesterday to start round 9, day 1. My red cells were too low for treatment (my schedule was a bit off), so the Dr. decided not to treat me. I will go back on Monday and hopefully get back on track.

Today I found out that my CA19-9 tumor marker numbers have gone back down from 1350 to 1050. Whew! We suspect that my body is adjusting to the new regime and that hopefully the liver tumor that was growing is backing off. I will get the two treatments in this round and we will do another CT scan.

The Dr. said that everytime he sees me I look a little more beat up. I told him if he'd been through what I've been through over the past 7 months, he'd look a little beat up as well. We laughed. It's hard to know if it's the cancer, the treatment, or a combination of both (which I believe). I think it's a fine line between quality of life and treatment, but I'm willing to stay the course for awhile.

My friend/breeder took our dog Kohlbi to Rapid City, SD for a three-day dog show. Today he got his championship by getting winner's dog, best of winners, and then best of breed. He went on to show in groups and made the cut, which is great. WOOHOO! They will come home after the show tomorrow. No need to stay.

Is it cold in here, or is it just me?

I'm cold. I'm almost always cold now. I usually have 3-4 layers of shirts and sweatshirts on. I have a winter hat I wear around the house--sometimes to bed. I often put the hood of my sweatshirt up on top of that.

Michael and I used to be in the same climatic zone. We were cliimatically compatible. We were both usually warm and liked things cooler. A few days ago, Michael turned on the furnace for me. He's comfortable, I am cold. Hopefully our marriage will survive this major life change in temperature.

I wore sweats in the house this summer because of the air conditioning. On warm days I would sit in the swing on the front porch and read. I was in the shade but got the warmth of the sun. I took a jacket with me to the movies, restaurants, and other places, because I knew there was a good chance I'd get cold.

Don't get me wrong; I'm still not a fan of hot weather. At the national, while sitting ringside and watching dogs, I would have on 2-3 layers and still have to go outside to warm up. The weather in Topeka was perfect--mid-70's. I love spring and fall.

Today we bought an electric mattress pad with dual controls. Perhaps that will help me warm up better when I go to bed. Most of the time, I get chilled. At the suggestion of a cold-blooded friend, whose propensity for heat I have not understood until now, I'm wearing a down vest over my core with a t-shirt and two sweatshirts underneath. Perhaps I will be able to just wear the vest over a shirt and forego the extra layers.

I'm not exactly sure if the pancan or the chemo is causing this climatic change into the ice age. Perhaps my blood counts contribute. I just know that some days I get a little wistful about the menopausal hot flashes I used to sweat and grumble about and wish they'd come back.

I know; no woman in her right mind would say that. I blame everything on chemo brain now.

Back Home for Round 8, Day 13

We are home from the Samoyed National dog show in Topeka, KS. It was fun and it's a long, tiring week even if you don't have cancer. :-) Kohlbi 'made the cut' in his Open Dog class from ~30 to the final 10. He didn't get the points, but showed well.

We picked up a rescue dog this morning to bring to Denver to go to his new home. It really worked out well that we were in Kansas, only had one dog with us to start, and were able to help.

Tomorrow I go in for chemo to make up for last Thursday while I was gone. Technically this is my week off, so won't get another treatment until Thursday the following week. I felt pretty good through the week. The first couple of days I had eating issues (not eating much), but it got better.

It's fun to go to the National (or anywhere else), but it's always good to get home. Our house sitter told us that Boris (the male kitten) decided he likes baths and playing in the water. Those kids, they're always doing something new. :-)