Treatments Are Finally DONE !!!!

June 11th was a very exciting day for me and my family.  It was my last herceptin treatment.  These treatments have been going on for the last year and though I had some medical bumps in the road, I finally made it through the treatments.
Mom brought me roses to my last treatment.  Kevin came and seen me at my treatment, which was a surprise because I didn't know he was coming there.  And my sister met me and mom at the mall to do lunch and some shopping after the treatment was over.  It was very nice to spend the afternoon together, we don't do enough girl time with all the family commitments we always have going on.  We need to work on more girl time or girl trips in the future   :0)
Now the plan is to see the doctor in 2 months and she will try to wing me off the water pills and see if my body is ready for it.  I am also due for my 6 month mammogram next month, so that will be on the agenda as well.
But first,,,,,, we are going on CELEBRATION cruise with Hailey, Nana and one of my BFF's Lisa and family.  We lave in just over 3 weeks, can't wait for this relaxing trip.  We had this cruise planned last year and then cancer treatments took over our lives, so we had to put everything on hold.
Now my treatments are over and it's time to have some FUN !!!

Thank you everyone who prayed, supported and loved me through this last year.  It was a roller coaster ride that's for sure.  But a ride worth taking.  Love you all !

Sandy         XOXOXO

A lot has been going on Lately

I haven't did a blog lately because a lot has been going on with us.   We closed on our new house in April Sound and we will be closing on selling our house by June 15th.  We are moving to Montgomery and I couldn't be more happier about the change.  It will be nice to get a fresh start and get Hailey in a better school district - Bonus !   It's exciting how everything lately has just been falling into place - Good Karma !
We had this move planned last summer but then my cancer came into the picture and the move was put on hold another year. 

I have one more Herceptin treatment in 2 weeks (June 11th) and my treatments will be over.  Can't wait to have lunch with Mom and Sis and do some shopping after my treatment... Yahooo!  Girl Time !
It has been a very long year for my family and I am ready to close this treatment chapter to get some normalcy back into our lives.  I will have my port removed June 13th and boy am I ready for that.  The second port the doctor put in is "UGLY" and I truly hate how it looks and feels, but no worries I am almost there.  That will give the scar a month to heal before we leave on our week cruise.  I can't believe that vacation is finally here as well.  It was so disappointing to everyone to have to put the cruise off another year when I was diagnosed with BC, but it will be so worth the wait.   Ziplining in Rotan Honduras, 4-Wheelers in Belize and swimming with the dolphins in Cozumel and lots of shopping at each of these ports.    :0)
LIFE IS GOOD !!!!!

3/22/12 --- I finall Did It ! I Ditched the Wig !

I finally have a full head of hair, though it's only about an inch long on top.

I decided it's long enough for me to quit wearing the wig and just go with caps.

I think my hair will grow faster now, not being put under a wig for 10 hours + every day.

It's a very nice feeling to not be wearing it anymore, it's like freedom.



2/27/02 - Surgery Day - Another Port

I went in early AM expecting to get an arm port and came out with a chest port instead.  After discussing why my last chest port was removed because my arm was swelling, the Dr was not comfortable putting in a arm port.  He said it would most likley block again and I would be coming back to have it removed and inputting a chest port anyway.  After hearing that and going over all the plus and minus of the surgery, we decided it was best to go ahead and do the chest port.  I was not thrilled about him having to put the port tube through the jugular vein in the neck and being awake through the whole surgery.  They said it was safer for me to be awake through the surgery, I tend to agree but it was kinda weird to say the least.  All went well and for the most part I was only in pain for about 3 days, then the pain started to decrease dramatically once they removed the access line after my treatment on Tuesday 2/28/12.  I forgot how fast the treatments go when they run it through a port.  When they run it through an IV, the drip has to be super slow so they don't blow the veins and I am usually in there for at least 3 hours.  With the port, I can be in and out in half that time.
So I have 5 more treatments (3 weeks apart) and then I will be done.  June 11th is my last treatment and I plan to have them remove the chest port that very same week.  I want it out asap so the scar has time to heal before we leave on our cruise July 15th.  Yahoooooo !  It's going to be very special to have my mom there with us and one of my best friends and her family.  That's going to be one fabulous vacation, can't wait !
Sandy

Unexpected Events 2/20/12 Monday

This would be a picture of how many times my veins were blown on Monday when I went for my treatment.
Yep 7 times, 7 blown veins later.   This really stinks because it's official "my veins are shot" and can not take anymore IV's.  The chemo has damaged the veins and it's going to take more time for them to heal.
In the mean-time, I have 6 treatments left.  In order to finish those treatments, they are putting in another port.  This port will go in my upper arm and hopefully not be so bulky and noticeable as the one that was placed then removed from my chest area.   They thought my original port, was the reason my arm was swelling and part of the water retention problem, so they removed it back in November.  Guess what, I am still on water pills because my whole body is retaining water.     :0(
Unfortunately removing the port didn't help, but I have no regrets removing it.  It stuck too far out and was very uncomfortable.  I am hoping the arm port will be smaller and less noticeable.  I will have it removed in early June, after my last Herceptin treatment.

I go in Monday 2/27 to have the arm port placement done.  Kevin will be there with me.  He has to drive me home because they will be knocking me out completely.  I was hoping for just a local numbing, but that's not going to happen.  Surgery will be done at Memorial Herman Memorial City hospital at 9 am.
Then on Tuesday, I go to my oncologist to get my treatment done, that should have taken place this past Monday.
I will post more when the surgery is over.  For now I am looking forward to having a nice weekend with my peeps at the rodeo bbq cook-off........ then of course on Monday, it's surgery time.

xoxoxoxo
Sandy

2/17/12 Blood work

Well I went to Lab Corp this morning to do routine blood work before my herceptin treatment on Monday.  The girl had a hard time finding a vein, to which she kept digging around in my arm to find one.   This is after I already told her that my Dr has problems finding veins in my arms and they now have to put an IV in the back of my hand.  Apparently she was not trained or comfortable in doing the hand IV, so she thought with her expertise she would be able to find a vein in my arm.  Ha !  Well she did finally find a vein after about two minutes of moving the needle around over and over trying to hit a vein.  I have so much scar tissue from previous IV's when I had to get blood work every week.   Needless to say, she won't be getting a second chance on me again.  By the time I got to work I had a huge knot and swelling in the area where she took blood and of course bruising.
I am curious to see if my platlets, white and red blood cell levels have started to come up.  They have remined below normal even though I had my last chemo treatment on 10/13/11.
I will post results on Monday after my herceptin treatment.  
Come on June, that will be my last herceptin treatment. 

Have a nice weekend.

Sandy

2/14/12 - Back on the water pills

Well I tried once again to get off my water pills and I gained 7 lbs in 2 days.
I can always tell when it's not going well because my fingers swell up and I get this puffiness above my cheekbones.    So needless to say, I am back on water pills, not that I really ever got off them.
It's better than retaining water and being put back in the hospital again.  But the water pills really dry your skin out.  I can't put enough lotion on my arms and hands and I am now using a face moisturizer twice a day.
In due time, my body will decide it's ready.  I go Friday for more blood work to see where my levels are.
I will post those results next week if there has been any change.

2/13/12 - No Changes Lately

Look guys,,,,,,, I have hair coming back,,,,,,, finally !!!!   Hooray !
Hey, it's better than being bald! 

I have pretty much stayed the same lately.  Still on water pills to control the fluid retention, but that's a small price to pay for feeling much better and not being back in the hospital.
I will do blood work sometime this week, probably Friday since I have my herceptin appointment on Monday.  They want to check my levels periodically, especially with me on the diuretics for so long.
I try a few times a week to cut back the water pills to see if my body is ready and I always bloat right up.
So I will just keep trying and eventually my body will decide it's ready and the side effects from chemo will go away.  I would like to get off the diuretics as soon as I can, because of dehydration and my skin/face always feels dry and I knows it's from the diuretics.  I can't seem to get enough lotion on my arms and hands.

My hair continues to come in dark/thick and I have high hopes of getting rid of the wig in the next few months.  I plan to donate my wig to someone who needs one, but can't afford one.  I have the oncologist office working on finding someone when I am ready to be done with it.
Though my hair is coming in nicely, I am very impatient and have ordered the ovation shampoo to try and help move things along faster.  It's nice and thick but still doesn't have enough length to it for me to actually be able to shape it into a hair style.  But it won't be long and I will be able to do that, I am just very impatient and ready for the wig wearing days to be over with.

Blood Results from 1/20/12

Okay so I had my doctor appointment on Friday 1/20/12 and my lungs are staying completely clear, thanks to the diuretic that Dr. Bajwa has had me on.  It has been a blessing to have them drain with just a pill and not having a needle stuck in my back to drain under the lungs.
However my blood work results are a bit confusing to me since White, Red blood cells as well as platelets are low.  I completed chemo mid October, so I would have thought those counts would have gotten back to normal by now, but nope my body has to be difficult     :0 )
Here are the results that I faxed to my Oncologist this morning and I am waiting on a call back from her if she is the least bit concerned.  I will keep you posted once I know more.

                                        results            normal range                    

White blood cells            3.0                   4.0 - 10.5               Low

Red blood cells               3.09                  3.80 - 5.10             Low

HGB (hemoglobin)          10.6                 11.5 - 15.0              Low

Platelet Count                 106                  140 - 415                Low

1/16/12 Doctor Appointment this week

I have a followup appt with the Pulmonologist this Friday 1/20/12.  I will be getting an xray and blood work done on Thursday, and then the doctor will review the results with me on Friday.
I did miss a water pill one day last week and my fingers were noticeably swollen.  I was not able to get my wedding ring on the next morning.  So it doesn't look like the water retention is going away just yet.
I was so hoping I could get off these diarectics soon, but it's probably going to take longer for my veins to repair themselves and stop leaking fluid into my body.  I will blog again after my results on Friday.
My hair is getting thicker every day.  I just want it to grow faster already.  I am not very patient with this waiting for the hair to grow.

Sandy