Short Version: Second Chemo treatment went well. They sped it up from 4 hours to 2.5. Yesterday my neck began to hurt so bad I could not hold up my head. It was on my left side where the port is located, so I think they must be connected in some way. Same thing started happening around noon today. Called surgeon that put in my port and she thinks it might be a kinked nerve. Asked if I could see chiropractor and they surprisingly said yes. Have chiropractor appointment tomorrow; hope it helps with this neck issue.
Chemo was interesting this week. To start off with they were running late. Like an hour and a half late. Wow, that wasn’t fun waiting an hour and a half to get infused with chemical agents. Yuck. So once they got me started I realized that the other two patients that were there that day taking treatments were terminally ill. They were basically extending their lives by doing chemo but still had very short life span estimates. Although they were both obviously Christians, and said that they were at peace with the fact they’d be with the maker sooner then they planned, it was still very hard to hear.
I completely understand this, as I am not afraid to die, because I know I am going to be in heaven; however what makes me sad are those I leave and the thought of my kids not growing up with a mom. I very rarely even allow this thought into my mind but spending several ours with the other patients made me think about it for a short time. This was very sad to me, as both were also recurrent cancer patients. I pray and pray that I will go into remission and stay that way, but on days when I’m faced with the harsh reality of re-occurrence, I do somewhat get panicked.
When I finally got done with this week’s treatment I was more than ready to get out of there and focus on the positives. The here and now and the fact that I believe in miracles and know God is going to take care of me, get me through this, and make me into a better person because of it. Thank you God for my healing. Thank you God for my healing.
It appears each treatment might make me feel differently, at least at first, though. This treatment has made it difficult for me to sleep. Last treatment I was exhausted, this treatment my mind won’t stop and let me sleep. I’m told it’s due to the steroids, which I can believe as my feet and hands are also swollen. My body is so tired yet my mind keeps going. The weird part is that I’m not worried or thinking about anything in particular but instead weird, off the wall random thoughts that keep racing through my mind.
Unfortunately yesterday I had a very weird thing happen: my head felt too heavy for my neck to hold up. My left side of my neck was in extreme pain. I think it has something to do with the fact that they sped up my chemo and during the infusion I could feel a cold numbness in my chest around port catheter connected to my vein. It felt weird when infusing; but since they were speeding up the treatment, to the ‘standard time’ as opposed to the four hours they have me scheduled for, I figured that was normal. So I went home last night and had to lie down. I also had to take some pain and anti-nauseous meds but after they had time to set in, the pain lessened. However I still did not sleep well, I woke up every 30 minutes to an hour, but I’m assuming this is due to the steroids.
Then around noon today my neck started doing the same thing. Before it got to the point it did yesterday, I went home to rest and take some pain meds. I also called my surgeon, Dr. Nicholas to see if any other patients had this issue. She called me back and this is an unusual occurrence. I told her I do see a chiropractor and asked if she thought I could see him? She did think it would be Ok and said it could be a kinked nerve especially if I regularly saw a chiropractor; he might be just what I needed to solve this odd occurrence. I have an appointment tomorrow with Dr. Coulter in Alva. Since Dr. Keeney stopped coming to Alva, I’ve been seeing Dr. Coulter. I will be interested to see if he’s comfortable manipulating me with a port-a-cath but I’m hopeful he can and get this pain out of my neck.
Overall all, this week has been more stressful then last, but could certainly be worse so I’m grateful these are the only issues I’m experiencing. We started my daily injections again today and will do this W-F. From the lab results last week, these shots are working very well. My white blood cell count was higher than it has ever been so this is very positive. I’m very happy Dr. Truong had the foresight to start me on these before my count dropped too low. He’s been very cautious with me and I’m so appreciative that Patty referred me to him five years ago. I’m so lucky to have him managing my care. While waiting for chemo there was a couple from Meade KS that had to come to Pratt for treatments. I think they said it was a 2 hour trip one way?! I started thinking about that and how lucky I am to have Pratt within 45 minutes as opposed to having to drive to Wichita.
I also started thinking about how fortunate I have been to have Patty taking care of me for so many years. She got me to Dr. Truong when she realized my white blood cell count was low five years ago and I was diagnosed with cyclic neutropenia. At that time I did not need an oncologist, but instead a hematologist, and Dr. Truong is both. He’s been working with me since then so I have built a trusting relationship with him that has been extremely beneficial for this diagnosis. Patty also took me seriously when I came in with a lump in my breast. She referred me to get the diagnosis and then also referred me when I asked her to so I could go to MD Anderson. She, and the other team members at the Kiowa Clinic, have been fantastic. We are truly lucky to have such a caring and personally connected medical team within our community. I know for a fact if I were still in Colorado Springs, my primary care doctor would not have taken near the interest or given me the care that Patty and the girls in Kiowa have. Thank you all so much. It’s good to know there is a team that cares in your corner. So far, I’ve been extremely lucky to have such a great team working to help me. All except for my first experience with the initial mammo and ultrasound in Wichita, I’ve been extremely happy with my care.
I also know that I’m extremely blessed to live in such a wonderful community. Over the past few days friends have brought us dinner on M and W nights. I cannot express how grateful we are for these angels nor did I realize what a stress it would take off of us by having someone do this. It really has lifted a burden that we didn’t realize we could use help with.
I appreciate everyone for helping me and my family as we go through this time in our life; words cannot express my gratitude. I know your prayers are working and can feel the love and positive thoughts that you are all sending my way. Thank you God for my healing.
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